Red Poll Cows In Winter

I do the chores twice each day but only occasionally walk out into the pasture for a closeup look at the herd (especially in winter). But this day I did walk out, just at dusk, and found the horses and cows snacking on hay and bedding down for the night:

 Scarlett and Amy at dusk:

 Rosella:

The girls have proven themselves to be winter hardy, living outdoors all year in all kinds of weather:

Jasmine is the friendliest cow, the only one who routinely enjoys being petted:

They often turn their backs to the wind, as they were doing here, though Violet felt she had to keep a wary eye on me as I approached:

When the sheep farmers brought over more stemmy hay which their sheep wouldn't eat, we managed to get the bale feeder around the load. The next morning, I found that the cows had pushed the bale feeder across the ice to a new location, giving them access to even more of the new hay. I couldn't tell, however, if it was because they liked the hay so much or because they were making a statement that they didn't like it. Either way, they ate most of it in short order:

 A new hay bale in the cold, wintry rain:

And eating hay in the snow. Eating hay is their primary activity all day, every day, and through much of the night:

 Jasmine:

A four foot round bale lasts only two days, or sometimes two and a half days:

 Amy: