white out

I think everyone was caught a bit unawares with this storm. We didn't even have time to hear the "name" repeated ad nauseum so we would all know what winter storm we are all suffering in. The totals just kept creeping up and up every time I checked.

This was my first time in a long while to suffer through a commute in poor weather conditions. It took three hours to get home (normally a forty-minute commute) so plenty of time to listen to all the NPR my heart could desire. Turns out all my heart desires is about two hours.

I got home in time to join the shoveling brigade, because the plow is temporarily out of commission. DON'T ASK. There were 4 shovels and 5 shovellers, so Secondo was dispatched on his break to bring the rabbit into the basement again. On one of my breaks I headed back to check on the sheep.

The boys were just fine. Plenty of hay, plenty of shelter.

My iPhone was running out of juice, and I zoomed in to capture them in the shed.

Along with the snow, it looks like a watercolor effect was added on Photoshop—

but I didn't do anything to the photo.

The girls needed some attention. Primo explained in his recent 4-H presentation on "Getting your Farm Ready for the Winter" that farm animals require 50-100% more nutrients via feed during extreme weather conditions, depending on the animal's natural climate.

Wool sheep are pretty well adapted to handle the cold and snow; if you look at the picture you can see a layer of snow on their coats that indicates they were happily spending time outside the shed. As as result, I suspect they are closer to the 50% requirement, but seven of them are (hopefully) pregnant, which does place more demand on their systems.

So I filled their hay racks, tromped a path out to the water tank for them, and then thanked our lucky stars that the water heaters are working just fine for now. At least something is working just fine!