A Not So Fond Farewell To The Snow

This winter has been long, cold, snowy and difficult. I went out to turn on the barn lights and feed the cows every morning at 6:00:

The house looks inviting when it's slippery and cold outside:

Little Rosella has developed a fascination with the tractor, though I can't imagine why. I have to be careful that she is not too near it when I start to move it:

The snow banks were eight feet hign in places:

But winter seemed to end suddenly one day when the temperature soared into the 40s. I wanted to let the chickens out, but there was snow, as much as four feet deep, piled in front of their door:

So I removed as much snow as I could with the tractor, then shoveled the rest and opened the door for the chickens:

They came to the doorway and stood there, not sure what to do, so I went inside and gave them a push:

The landscape was all snow, so there wasn't much for them to eat. Nevertheless, they were happy to get outdoors and seemed to enjoy the warmer weather and sun:

At first they broke into small groups, but soon I began seeing the flock of all sixteen of them, traveling together:

I went into the barn and cleaned out all the chicken and pigeon poop - enough to fill the tractor bucket. I added the cow manure from the other end of the barn and then dumped everything on the manure pile:

I also opened the pigeons' window, but this is as adventurous as they got. One pigeon sat on the windowsill and looked outside - and then it was over:

No chickens were hit by cars or attacked by predators. Everything went well except that a few of them resisted going back indoors until it was almost dark. One part of winter which I enjoy is being able to put the chickens to bed early so I can go indoors and relax for the night:

Joy On The Rutland Nature Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I had hiked only as far as the bridge and then turned around and began heading back to our car (see Part 1, yesterday):

By now the excessive running had slowed down and the side excursions to sniff for wildlife had begun. Fergus and Clover sped down a bank into the forest to explore:

Jack, who apparently considers himself a hunting dog, wanted to follow them but was restrained by the leash. That, of course, is exactly why he was on a leash:

We continued on our way. The trail, being an old railroad bed, was flat and straight:

And everyone was happy. Little Daphne had a big smile on her face:

There was more exploring off the trail, down the banks and into the forest - wherever they could smell some animal had been. But they didn't go far:

By this time, Jack had come to understand some basic rules, like keeping reasonably near me and coming when called. He's a fast learner:

Getting their second wind, Clover and Fergus began running again - not always in the same direction. They just love to run:

The moment the dogs spotted the road and our car ahead of them, they got excited and wanted to run all the way to it. I had to holler, "Stop!" quite a few times, but they obeyed:

True happiness:

Even Seamus was smiling, though it's a little more difficult to see his smile, buried beneath all that black wool. He went to the groomer the very next day:

We stopped again at the dead calf for a sniff, and then I had the dogs heel the rest of the way to the car. This had not been much of an outing, but it was fun and a sign of better weather just around the corner: