An Early, Frigid December Morning

It's been a cold, blustery December so far and early morning chores are particularly rugged. I wait until the sun is up before going outside. Of course it is quiet and cold as I walk from the house to the barn. My barn was behind me as I took this photo. The red barn you see is the neighbors' barn, across the road:

 I love seeing the sun rise above the horizon. In this case, it seemed to be behind the horse and buggy sign, warning motorists to watch for Amish travelers:

 The cattle had enough hay that morning, though I have to bring out a new bale every other day:

 Cold winds blasted the barn with blowing snow, and icicles hung from its eaves:

 Tire tracks from my tractor decorated the snow from the previous day, so at least we'd had no new snow:

 The Rugosa rose hips were shriveled and snow capped:

 It was far too cold to leave the dogs in their run while I did the chores and it seemed eerily deserted:

 Chickadees were eating sunflower seeds:

 All thirteen hens were locked in their coop and I left a light on for them until the sun was fully up. One hen (the white one) has already laid three green eggs. I didn't have a camera at the time, though, so I never got a photo before I ate them. There will be more eggs in the spring:

 All 21 white fantail pigeons seem to be enjoying their big room. Like the chickens, they too have a heated water fountain. It gets plenty cold in their room, but their water never freezes: