Back to our regularly scheduled program…

The holidays are over, and it’s back to the old routine. The Farmer went back to work today, which means I have to do morning chores again. Naturally, it also happens to be one of the coldest days we’ve had this winter, with a way wicked wind whipping through clothing.

I hate cold weather. (Okay, so I hate really hot weather too. I’m just a temperate kind of gal.)

I put on thermal underwear, flannel pants and gym pants. I put on a shirt, sweater and winter coat. I stayed fairly warm, except the wind still managed to slip through the fabrics and spread its’ vile chilliness.

The goats weren’t thrilled about moving out, and even the sheep with their way wooly coats were tucked in the shed this morning. Usually the cold doesn’t phase them and they sleep out in the field, but I suspect the wind was whipping through their wool and getting to skin, so they were feeling winter’s bite also.

We’ve been missing a hen for a couple of days. I found her this morning in the hen house which I thought The Farmer was looking into every night to see if there were any eggs. You know what they say about assuming things! Our hens are elderly, so I suspect it was just old age.

That meant a long trek out into the woods to dispose of the corpus not so delicti (a body, but no crime… and it wasn’t too delicti-delectable looking either). Toby went with me until we got to the electric fence. It wasn’t on, but he doesn’t take any chances and won’t go near it. We never saw it happen, but at some point in time, he must have gotten zapped but good, because we can’t even carry him across without he totally freaks out.

It seemed to take forever to get all the animals fed, check water, dispose of a chicken corpse, and otherwise finish up the chores this morning. I’m glad we have heated water buckets so I don’t have to chop ice, and I'm glad I don’t have to shovel snow. There were a few flakes floating around, but not enough to really say it was snowing.

And I’m thrilled to be back inside where it’s WARM.
I’m afraid I wouldn’t make a very good pioneer!