Snow Buddies

We have this great weather app on our iPad (MeteoGroup’s Weather Pro). We keep the iPad on the kitchen table so we can easily get a break down of the week’s … or the day’s forecasts. We’ve been watching a ‘Monster Wave’ of snow heading our way all week.

At first we joked that it was only ‘Day Seven’. Seems ‘Day Seven’ often has interesting weather in the works. But each morning that hill of snow moved closer and closer … until tonight … finally … our local tv weatherman was warning everyone about the big storm coming.

Looks like we’re in for 30cm of snow. Only the second big storm of this entire winter. Not too bad. I have lots of relatives who live in the Huronia region – especially in Midland and Penetang. Now THEY know what a snowstorm is. They have to use snowblowers to clear their sidewalks in Midland. By this time of year people look like they are walking in ‘hallways of snow’. Lake effect snow fall is impressive in their neck of the woods.

I’m not sure if I’ll wait for the whole storm to work its way through before I get the plow out. WE don’t need to go anywhere. And I sure would prefer that the donkeys stayed in the barns … or at least the back paddock. I’ve brought up the hay from the front paddock. So there isn’t any food down there to entice them down. They don’t seem to mind the snow all that much. What they do mind are the high heels the snow makes out of their hooves!

I gave everyone a good helping of free choice hay this afternoon. We had a hay picnic under the fir tree (aka Tree Fort). I have completely lost any confidence in my ability to predict which hay they’ll like and which they’ll leave behind. Some days it is green hay they prefer. Some days it is brown crunchy coarse hay. I find the green hay easiest to pack into hay bags.

In the afternoons I try to get the chance to just ‘hang out’ with the herd. In the morning I’m pretty busy cleaning out barns, refilling hay bags, scooping up manure… By four o’clock all any of them want is some time where I’ll give them each a good rub down. Even on the coldest days my mitts end up tossed onto the hay. They each have such warm fur coats it isn’t hard to keep my fingers toasty!

When faced with such soft noses and big eyes how can I refuse?! Hope you all stay warm through the storm tomorrow. And if you happen to live in sunny South Africa … hopefully you won’t find the day too hot! 😉