In the beginning and end of the season, the snow is pretty wet. Right now it's soft powder, which makes rearranging it in the yard and driveway MUCH easier.
I try to keep the open runs clear of the deep stuff for the chukars... they look like little chihuahuas trying to plow through the snow!
Looking back at my weather charts (I'm such a weather geek
) we usually start warming up around the first of March. I was trying to figure out the earliest date that I could feel confident about safely shipping in eggs or chicks, and came up with March 1st. BUT... we're still in the teens to low 30s then as lows... 30s to 40s as highs. Warm enough, but not really warm by most people's standards, eh?
Thought you might enjoy this, Tori-this is what we woke up to this morning! Baby moose in front of the unfinished greenhouse/mudroom/work area with our little Nigerian Dwarf Goat thrown in for good measure!
(She insists on coming in to sleep at night so we have a little pen for her in the greenhouse part, and then in the morning, she jumps out of the pen, and lets us know when it's time for her to go out to be with everybody else!)
Just before my daughter caught this on the camera, they were touching noses on the window-it was sooo cute!!! She is such a sweetie, and not fearful of just about anything, as this shows!!!
snow dances to bring the clouds in, I guess... Still bringing in ducks to thaw them out... still watching like a hawk for frostbite...
when is it going to end?
Sad part is, I'm actually getting used to the temps now... -30F doesn't feel so bad anymore. I guess I'm literally and figuratively numb to it now. This was me this morning...
This morning's rounds brought another mallard hen inside with frozen feet.
Now, they have thick bedding in their house, AND we just added a heat lamp a couple of days ago. So why are her feet frozen solid?
She's in the bathtub this morning, and looks like she's getting the movement back in them. I think we're seriously going to have to reconsider having ducks. The Alaska Sealife Center in Seward wants eggs this year for one of their research projects, but I don't know how much longer I can take this. Every day this week we have had a duck (or two or three) in the bathtub... this is nuts!
Geez, Tori, how frustrating! I'm not sure what's happening with your ducks since ours seem to love the cold. They're out waddling around while the chickens hide in the coop. Of course, we're not seeing the temps like you are but still.
How's the weather doing this afternoon? Are you included in the blizzard warning going around? We've been getting snow for the last four hours and it's warmed up about 5 degrees. Supposed to have 50mph gust tonight though. Wes is trying to get a roof on the coop as fast as possible.