A Gift Wrapped as a Day

Somehow the sunshine this morning was completely off of my radar. We woke to a world covered with fresh snow sticking to trees, overhead wires and the fine lace of our fencing. Before I was able to finish breakfast the sun came out and that snow began falling as melting rain.

The skies were breathtaking. Big white puffy clouds. A line of dark stormy ones off on the horizon. And whole swaths of baby blue. I only shared three of the many shots I took! Even Darby spent time just watching the skies over the back fence.

I opened up the Guinea Coop to the fresh air. We were already above freezing by mid-morning. Darby was hanging out as my sidekick and spent some time talking to them with me. She doesn’t have the  ‘Good morning Guin Guins’ down yet. But if body language crosses species (as we know it does) they seem to be more comfortable with each other. I am really hoping when they are free range that they and the donkeys will just mix ‘easy peasy’.

This afternoon was a completely different story. Just as I was heading out (around 4 o’clock) I glanced out the window to notice the back woods looked like they were in fog? Everywhere else was still sunny. Before I got to the barns in came a curtain of raining snow. The sound was amazing … exactly like pouring rain! Only it was tiny balls of snow – miniature soft hail. I had to drive the Bully down to the front paddock and felt like I needed goggles to be able to see. The jennies were holed up in the wind shelters. I opened up the hay barn and they all scurried in. My buddy (aka Rosie) turned right around and followed me out to where I was scooping up manure and soiled hay. Couldn’t leave her just standing there growing a snow coat … so I cozied down into the hay bed with her and we rode it out together. Loved the sound of the snow on the tarp and Rosie’s contented chewing. It would have been easy to just have an afternoon snooze in there!

By the time I came in the skies were dark and my boot prints were glowing blue in the garage light. The snow had stopped and the jennies were settling into the barns for the night. There is enough new snow out there that I’ll need to do something to help them move around the back paddock in the morning. We are still slated to have a major thaw this weekend. Wonder what it will all look like by  Monday?