Buttoning Up For Winter Weather

Yesterday I wrote of winter's arrival with respect to the Red Polls. Today I focus on the rest of the farm, beginning with a winter sunset over my neighbors' barn:

The eastern sky is sometimes glorious in the morning, but the western sky is the wonder of the late afternoons now, as the sun sets:

My usually quiet county road became loud and busy with giant tractors, hauling tankers filled with liquid manure from the big dairy farm up the road:

They drove south, fully loaded, and then north again, empty, for another load. Apparently they were spreading it over someone's fields. All I knew was that a tanker roared past my house every five minutes or so:

I hired a local guy to help me haul 100 small, square bales of hay to the barn and stack them inside. They are to be used as bedding for the cows, though they eat them also:

Then another snow began, slowly at first but gradually increasing:

The dogs and I stayed warm inside the house. The chickens and pigeons were locked in the barn, out of the winds. The cattle had to brave the cold, snow and wind - but I gave them extra grain and a barn to sleep in at night:

The dogs thought it was great fun:

The ramp down into the dog yard became covered with ice and very treacherous. This was no problem for the dogs, except that PeeWee needs to be carried, both in and out. That meant that I had to negotiate that icy slope:

The round bales became snow covered and frozen, making it difficult to cut the string off before feeding them to the cows:

I kept finding apples in the crotches of trees. I have a small Red Squirrel. It's awfully cute, but I worry about how much trouble it may cause. I'll just wait and see how this unfolds:

The Rugosa Roses went dormant long ago, but I found several rose buds and leaves, frozen solid. Yes, indeed, winter has arrived: