The Red Poll Girls In February

Can you believe it? This happened in February here in the north country. The cows went out into the field, apparently searching for grass to eat:

They found nothing much which was edible, so they soon returned to their hay bales:

Violet, Gracie and Rosella eating hay:

Violet and Rosella, resting and chewing their cuds:

Eating, cud chewing and pooping - a cow's major responsibilities:

This hay bale was so badly frozen that I removed the bale feeder so they could more easily get at what remained of it. It worked. They eventually ate it right down to the ground, then used the strewn hay around it as a bed:

I put out two four foot diameter bales at a time. They both don't quite fit inside the feeder, but the cows know what to do:

A lovely scene after a fresh snow:

Rosella, resting after working to eat out the unfrozen insides of the hay bales:

It was snowing when I took this photo and the cows' backs were collecting snow. Their fur is so well insulating that the snow doesn't melt:

Hunger drives a cow forward and keeps her going. Come to think of it, it's a major motivator in my life too:

Jasmine turned to see what I was up to: