Wintertime In The North Country

As the cold and wind strengthened, I moved the bale feeder to the east side of the barn to protect the herd from the difficult westerly winds:

 On windy days they were more comfortable, and on calm days they seemed quite happy:

 Eating as much hay as possible, as fast as possible, is their main activity these days:

 The fantail pigeons have been pooping up a storm and I'm dreading the day I have to clean out that room:

 There are piles of frozen poop everywhere:

 But the birds look happy and healthy:

 The chickens are doing well also, though they too are prodigious poopers:

 The old timers used to recommend not cleaning chicken coops during the winter as the natural composting of manure helped provide a little heat. I'm not at all sure that's true, but it makes me feel better to think so:

 I have to keep taking the bale spear off the tractor and replacing it with the bucket so I can clear the driveway of snow:

 I have a long driveway and clearing it is a time consuming and bone chilling job:

 And the snow piles are getting deeper:

 The little horses and big cows are winter hardy and, for the most part, require only a constant supply of hay and water from me. I keep reminding myself that winter will soon become spring: