Messy

That was a sloppy day! We ran errands in town this morning. You only have to drive about ten minutes south of us to totally lose the snow!

The fog was impressive too! Here we are still tonight with ankle deep snow (and slush). Half an hour south of us the city is green and dry. Drive down to our Philly family and they were out for a stroll on a mild American Thanksgiving Day!

The flock were brazen enough to tackle the snowy paddock this afternoon. This is the first snow for the Newbies. They really were perplexed about what they should do … walk on it? Eat it? Was it alive?!

I had a great chuckle watching Paddy come barreling out of the Coop beside himself with excitement. I could tell he had found something he considered to be a great treasure. At first I thought he was searching for Lily – to present it to her – followed by all ten of the rest of the hens. He makes a ‘Woot Woot’ sound when he has something tasty in his sights. I stopped my work and went to follow and watch. He wasn’t looking for Lily, or Tweedle Deb, or Sophie. He was running trying to get a spot to himself where he could gobble up whatever it was that was dangling from his beak. (This is where you should stop if you are at all squeamish.)

He had somehow found a frog! A dried out – very flattened – frog. Likely in a hay bale. It took forever for me to figure that out. Not something I expected on this snowy day! Ha! Finally he managed to lose all the hens and came out to where I was to drop it on the ground at my feet where he was intending on enjoying the full meal to himself. (He was right in assuming that I wouldn’t lay claim to it … well … partially right …)

He gobbled it once … spit it out … gobbled it again … spit it out. You see, the trouble was … he could get the body past his palate… but the legs stuck out on either side of his beak. Note – this was a dried out flattened frog months from its best before date! As I watched I could see that he was now struggling … with the body stuck in his throat but the rest not going down. I suddenly realized that he could actually choke on that thing!

I managed to catch him – and pulled it out (again) … very gross. And this is where I realized he has totally wrapped himself right inside my heart strings. Because … oh crikey … should I even admit this? Here goes … I pulled the legs off the carcass and handed it all back to him. The sound of his happy chortling as he swallowed it all and waddled away was almost worth it! 😉

Now that I’ve totally grossed you out … we can return to more normal topics. Like Christmas shopping! The tree lights – the snow – and being in a large store or two today – kicked us into high gear. They get me as soon as the carols are playing while I wander the aisles with my actual shopping list. In order to get to the cashiers you have to zig zag through a gauntlet of ‘stocking stuffer’ displays. So many great things! Who knew there was so much stuff that would be perfect for those you love and enjoy.

Like more lights! This time for the Goat Cafe. I’m pretty sure when I left these two I could hear MayMay humming ‘All I Want For Christmas’. (Did you know goats do not have upper front teeth?)

When I made a run to the manure composting bin earlier she and Dotty followed me down. MayMay decided the straw bedding was as far as she wanted to go in all the wet slushy muddy lower paddock. Dotty was way ahead of us. She has taken on the job of slowly eating the huge stump of the downed fir tree at the gate. I think that will be a ten year project.

I’m thinking the fog and the snow will last another day … maybe two. But I’m betting on green grass and sandy paddocks by the weekend.

Here’s Rosie saying goodnight at five o’clock. Dark enough for ya? 😉

Hugs from the Meadow Mice