Old Man Winter (Mother Nature's crotchety husband) has been giving us some pretty extreme ups and downs this month.
That photo was taken about two weeks ago from the top of the haystack. At that point I thought the snow was here to stay. Wrong! Last week it warmed up and rained and rained and the snow has been replaced with ice.
Kevin wonders if anyone will notice what else is different in the above two pictures, besides the receding snow and Bob(cat). Hint - it has to do with the tractor!
Since we last posted a blog, there has been much to do around the place (as always). One chore was to give the goat barn a cleanout. While the does were shut outside (and while they loudly protested!), soiled bedding and waste hay (lots of waste hay!) was scooped out by Rollie with Bob(cat). He used the grapple tool instead of the bucket to take big bites of debris away.
Instead of the usual pile, the straw and hay were dumped over the fence into the pig enclosure. The pigs enjoy rooting through it and just laying on it on sunny days.
Yes, they are getting pretty big. By this time next month they will be in the freezer.
Birch switched places with Belle and Bluebelle, joining Tamarack and the three wethers in the boy's club.
I planned to get a couple of kittens this winter. They will live in the shop until spring and then be allowed to roam about on rodent patrol. Instead of kittens, we have adopted a couple of adolescent kitties. Meet Mimsy and Jazz!
Sorry about the poor pictures! It is hard to capture a decent portrait when the subject is climbing all over the photographer, purring loudly all the while. That is Wimsy, such a little love bug! Jazz is quite tame and doesn't mind a good cuddle too but he just isn't that interested in coming out of his cozy places to pose. Hopefully next time I can do better.
We will take this opportunity to thank you all for reading our blog posts and encouraging us as we slowly focus and grow our little farm business. We wish you all the best this holiday season and a wonderful new year. Be well friends!