Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind

The winds around here most certainly do blow with gusto and continuity. I didn't name the place "Windswept Farm" for nothing. The winds are rather pleasant in the summer, and keep down the bugs. But in the winter, they are cruel and harsh:

 Winter is here for sure, and these Virginia cows had a lot to get used to. But they did so surprisingly well and in rather short order. Now they seem almost immune to the cold, although they don't much like the wind either:

I open the barn door on wintry nights (which is every night these days) so the cows can sleep indoors. But that raises concerns of the wind catching in the barn because of the open door. There seems to be no easy answers:

They get one big, round bale at a time. And when they get near the end of the bale, I go out daily and fluff it up with a hay fork, turning it over and exposing new, tasty hay:

Earlier this winter, back when we had occasional  milder days, I let the chickens out but left the barn door open a crack so they could get inside and explore the cows' bedding hay. They nested in it, ate seeds in it and (of course) pooped in it:

The dogs don't seem to mind the cold and winds as long as they don't have to stay outside too long:

And they're all happy to come back inside when called. Well, sometimes Seamus, he with the ultra-thick wooly coat, hesitates. And little PeeWee will start moving toward the door but forget half way where he's going and why. I have to remind him and, if he takes too long, go out and carry him inside:

The Red Polls are hardy animals who would rather paw through the snow for the grass below than eat fresh hay which was cut from the same field just a couple of months ago. I imagine it's instinct which drives them to do what their ancestors had to do to survive:

But when I drop a new hay bale into the feeder, they're all excited and anxious to give it the taste test:

And twice now, cows have come into heat. That meant that they were not pregnant and I had to order semen from the Artificial Insemination company:

I generally close the barn door during wintry days, but wanted to keep it open on the nicer days to air out. In order to keep the door open but the cattle out, I ran two chains across the door. The chickens liked the free access it gave them:

Winter has brought big snows, light snows, rare mild days and some brutal, nearly unbearable temperatures (we are in a frigid spell right now). But the animals are faring well - and springtime, while not quite "just around the corner," is at least getting closer with each passing day. Most of these photos were taken a few weeks ago and the current status of the fields is a solid, ice crusted snow cover more than a foot in depth. Currently, the cattle do not leave their barn/hay bale feeder/stock tank triangle. They will be happy when spring arrives, and so will I: