Roller Coaster Weather Continues

Well, after last weekend’s storm, the weather warmed up.  It was balmy.  The llamas thought they’d go out to pasture since it was nice, but there really is nowhere to go.  There’s still snow.

Maybeline, Aurora and Odie

That means everyone is stuck in the barnyard; I doubt they will go to pasture for quite a while with the snow pack. They just stand around and get cranky with one another.

The herd having leftovers for breakfast.

Or try on hats.

Cutie sporting her own hat creation made from twine.

Anyhow, after a couple of nice days, we hit rock bottom again.

Frost on the door.

We had delays at school; I was feeding really hard to try and keep everyone going.

Flora and Pretzel–I am so grateful for my water setup.

I’m happy to say, I didn’t lose anyone, not even an old hen.

I know he’s not an old hen, but he’s awfully handsome.

But we’re warm for the weekend (seriously, it’s still below average, but it feels warm after the last couple of days).

Reva enjoying the sunshine.

But look what’s coming.  Another cold spell.

So I keep worrying about my girls and Aurora and I hope we just have an early spring.  But while I was crazy doing chores and they were just surviving, there were also a lot of changes in who was where on the farm.  Tomorrow, I’ll start sharing those changes.

Wild Weather

Our wild weather continues.  After record high temperatures with tornadoes and a derecho on the 15th, we are still having weather challenges.  The day after Christmas saw fairly warm weather.  Just as I was coming in from milking, I started hearing thunder and seeing lightning.

By the time I got in the house, the rain really picked up.  Then there was hail.  That’s crazy.  We are not supposed to have thunderstorms and hail this time of year.

Hail on the deck.

Now we’re cooling down. Tuesday morning, just as I was getting Salem out to the car for his vet visit, the freezing rain started.

Salem napping after we got home from his first round of vaccinations.

Luckily, my trip to the vet is almost all gravel.  It wasn’t bad driving down, but by the time I got to the highway on my way home, the vehicles were traveling really slowly, and two trucks had simply pulled off the road.  I decided to go a little farther, but stick with gravel.  I made it home, but my patio was already getting slick.

It covered the window in ice.

It was still raining (and freezing) in the early afternoon.  There was quite a bit of ice building up on the trees.  Thankfully, there wasn’t any wind.

Sky is hibernating in the house (just a quick run out to take care of business).

The goats haven’t been out to pasture, so as soon as I schedule this post, I’m going out to give them some hay.

Bambi, Popcorn, and Flora

Tomorrow, the temperatures are supposed to go down.  By Saturday, we’re expecting another round of snow and a high temperature of about 7°F.

sunset

Sunset

At least we’ve had some pretty sunsets as a consolation to these weather challenges.

 

Our First Real Snow of the Year

Friday morning dawned beautiful with a pink sunrise.  (This is the view out of my classroom window–the gym is called the “Round House”)

By the time I got home, the rain had arrived.  The goats were trying for a last little bit of eating, but there was a drizzle and fog setting in.

Overnight it changed into snow.

Sky

Why, yes, it is still pitch black out when I go out to milk right now.

Zinnia headed back to the barn after getting milked.

By the time daylight broke, the clouds were gone and the sun was shining.

Coral in the Love Shack

There was a quick bit of ice as it changed from rain to snow.

It’s hard to see the sparkle of the ice in the tree tops.

The llamas were first to venture out to pasture.

Maybeline, Aurora, and Odie

It didn’t take long for the goats to come out too.

Xerxes coming out

The herd

I am so grateful the storm we had was just a mild snow.  My heart goes out to those who suffered such devastation from this system.