Winter Blast

Winter whooshed through Busy Solitude Farm yesterday, dropping the temperature to single digits, whipping winds up to 50 mph, and bringing snow, then lake effect snow.  The snow is light and fluffy and only a few inches deep, but I still shovel a path to the barn so I don't have to put on boots each time I check the hens.

I wrapped the hen pen with heavy plastic to reduce drafts.  The old barn siding allows lots of air through, and along with the air...

...snow!  This is the "back door" of the barn.  It faces due west and bears the brunt of the winter winds.  I meant to rebuild it this summer, but it's one more item on the "to do" list that never got done.  So I now have to shovel inside the barn as well as the path to it!  You'll also note that the top of the feed can is upside down -- I have a new bag of feed in my car, waiting to get to the barn.  Guess there are still chores to do this morning!

Happily, the chickens (and duck at the waterer) can bask under the heat lamp and with their new plastic wrap stay relatively comfortable inside.  No way are they going outside today!  And good blizzard news, Miss Peep and one of the Ameraucana hens both layed yesterday after two months off!

Last night Oskar looked back over his shoulder as if to say "you expect me to go out in this?"  Next thing I saw was...

...his tracks in the snow, and just a few seconds later...

...he raced back to the door and that was that for the night!

All the schools are closed today -- I'm calling it a snow day, too!