After the Blizzard

 It was a real "rip snorter". The forecast got it right for our region: 40 hours of snow with gusting winds of up to 55 MPH causing dangerous white outs and the accumulation of upwards of 2 feet of snow. Check. Check. Checkity-Check. Safe inside home and barn, we weathered the storm with nary a hitch. We were prepared for losing power, but surprisingly, that didn't happen. Not even a blip. The worst part for us (read that Sean) was braving the cold to bring food and water to the critters in the barn and coop. For our family, the Blizzard of '15 was a day spent laughing, relaxing, and eating homemade french onion soap.

The turkeys we worried over awoke confused about their new surroundings, but then in laid-back turkey-style accepted it and set about checking out their new digs. They will be housed in the barn for the remainder of the winter. It makes caring for them easier and for that reason alone, it makes sense. What they will lose in fresh air and yard to roam, they will make up for in dry, secure, warm shelter. Sean captured this image for us. It is a great shot showing the lovely iridescent feathers of Aquila, our Red Breasted Bronze tom next to the more muted tones of Priscilla, his hen. Lazarus is the big tom on the left. His hen, Martha, is facing away from the camera, looking around their new home.

"What did You do?" the bucklings seem to ask. 

It is easy to see that the bucklings were not pleased with the howling winds; tails tucked and eyes wide. Poor lads!

In extreme weather, such as that which we were having, we keep the barn doors closed tight and latched. We go in as little as possible because every time we open the door, heat escapes and a freezing blast of air and snow blow in. Despite the wind pummeling the building and against the metal roof, the goats, Jasmine, Ebony, barn guineas and chicks all rode it out well. I imagine they are going to be a little stir crazy by the time we get the doors to the pasture shoveled out and clear to open, but we'll bring them extra yummy treats to placate them in the meantime.

Sean took this image of Molly. I love her nose and head covered in snow. :) Silly puppy! 

Molly, in contrast, was just loving the new development of snow. That silly puppy whined at the door to go outside repeatedly. She was the image of pure joy, swimming through snow drifts and making a complete mess of herself. We let her play as long as we thought it prudent and then, called for her to come back inside, but she couldn't hear us over the wind- or more likely, ignored our calls in favor of running through another mound of snow. Wet, cold, and shivering Molly raced inside to plop down in front of the fire or onto the unsuspecting lap of whoever was sitting most conveniently accessible to her. With a mighty shake, snow was dislodged and strewn across the room followed by shrieks of "Molly!" An hour's rest and Molly was back at the door to be let outside again.

So how much snow was there really?

3 pm Sean shoveled off the steps to make checking barn less hazardous. 

3 pm Snow drifts up to my waist in spots. Sean shoveled a path to the barn.

4:30 am. Still snowing, but it was time for Sean and I to shovel out the van so
our working people could get to their jobs. An hour and a half later, we finished. 

Some perspective. 

We have a path to the outside water supply, but the front steps will have to
wait a bit longer. I am thinking, Spring thaw. ;)

When the wind died down, the morning snow was sort of pretty floating from the sky. 

The chicken yard was one huge snow drift, but the path shoveled to remained
semi-clear for the most part. 

By noon, the snow had stopped. We certainly have our work cut out in
shoveling off the front steps. 

Sean came home of lunch and we decided to open the door for the geese and ducks. Our coop and it's attached ell has plenty of room for the chickens to roost, but so many birds in close quarters makes for unhappy, grumpy birds. The chickens chose to stay near the door. The geese and ducks eagerly swam through the snow in a flurry of quacks and honks and played until the sun began to set.

With another smaller storm expected to hit on Friday into Saturday, it seems that winter is finally here. We really can't complain, we are at the end of January already. Realistically, it has been a fairly mild winter. Still, I am hoping for an early spring. :)

Thanks for checking in with us today, friends. I am glad you came.

~Sean and Sonja ♥