Sometimes life is a graceful narrative moving to the beat of a favorite song. Sometimes, however, life moves to a staccato rhythm straight from a middle school garage band.
Right now, I’ve got a thirteen year-old drummer banging a wild beat in my head.
Adult onset ADD? Too much coffee? Who knows. In my defense, it’s been a crazy, crazy week…
We drove down to Durango to help Excellent Son Sawyer celebrate his TWENTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY. (We’re not stupid—we arrived a week after the actual day so he could get the party started with his friends.) We cooked dinner for an unending stream of amazingly polite young people who will change the world one day. Serious awesome-ness. How did twenty-one years go by so fast? I think the space-time continuum has been violated. 🙂
Winter—the really, really cold kind—arrived in the barnyard early. After we got home from Durango I only had one morning to batten down the hatches. While the angry skies rolled in I got busy installing heated water containers, wrapping the run with plastic, adding a fresh bale of straw into the goat shed and giving Mr. Doink a few fresh blankies. This was not a friendly storm. The snow started flying and the temps kept falling and falling.
A rainbow appeared as the storm rolled in…
Within a few hours it looked like this.
It was a brutal week. I made many, many trips out to the barnyard to make sure everyone was ok. Extra treats were freely dispensed. Pathways were shoveled. The goats kinda hunkered down and didn’t go out much. The chickens congregated close to the south-facing shed wall, looking for warmth. Doink was tucked in every night, blankie wrapped snug over his big ol’ back. He looked like a burrito 🙂
Doink is in that pile of straw and blankets somewhere!
Lucy knows how important it is to stay hydrated in the cold!
Yum Yum Yum! Doink loved the last of the zucchini from the garden.
If you shovel, they will come.
The cold definitely took its toll on Napoleon’s gorgeous comb and wattles. The chickens choose to spend at least some time outside regardless of the temperature, and I let them. They all got nipped a bit, but Napoleon got clobbered. I’m wondering if the dramatic drop in temps made it worse? Only time will tell how his handsome-ness recovers. I’ll keep a close eye on him. He’s one tough bird.
It doesn’t bother him. Not one bit. But it’s not pretty.
They ventured out anywhere I shoveled.
The storm has passed and we’re slowly thawing out. But there’s one more thing to share. In the midst of the deep freeze my two favorite people in the world, my cousin Beth and her husband Fayne, arrived from Texas.
Keela couldn’t contain her joy – the relatives are here!
That’s a whole story by itself. A good one…stay tuned!
(Shared at Tuesdays With A Twist, Backyard Farming Connection, Homestead Barn Hop, Thank Goodness It’s Monday, Clever Chicks, Simple Saturdays, From the Farm, Old-Fashioned Friday, Little House Friday, Fabulous Friday, HomeAcre Hop and Simple Lives Thursday)
Poor Napoleon! We have been lucky to not have the extreme cold you have had, but it has been terrible for my five molting Buff Orpingtons, who now actually look like naked neck chickens. It’s really hard to watch! They look at me as if to say, “What the heck!”
Ah, so that’s what frostbite on a comb looks like. I’ve never seen it before! Poor thing. I hope you enjoy your visit and have a wonderful weekend! And stay warm 😀
Vickie recently posted…Rustic Woodland Centerpiece
I got 8: of snow (a record) last Friday, and 4 degrees a couple days ago. Luckily we knew we had a window of time, and got everything prepped- the coop mostly. Girls all snug 🙂 Doink looks very comfy!
Nancy @ Little Homestead in Boise recently posted…And Now For Something British… Record Cold
Your have awesome looking animals…love your rooster. If the last week is a glimpse of what winter is going to be like, I may be hibernating this year!\
Marigene recently posted…Another Fall Table
Brrrrr!! Still warm here in Italy although there’s snow up in the mountains – thankfully a way from us. Doink looks nice and warm; my chickens aren’t moulting yet but I’m expecting them to start any day now and I’m wondering whether to try Vaseline on my big Black Copper Marans’ comb to stop frostbite getting hold. I’ve heard it works but never tried it myself. May have to experiment. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Cath recently posted…Nov 13, Chicken nutrition: what do backyard chickens eat?
I tried the Vaseline last year. My White Leghorns still got nipped by the cold. I didn’t use it this time because it was so messy—and catching Napoleon is not easy!