SnOw way!

You may have heard that we had a little snow storm here in Iowa. It's true. We did.
I woke up this morning and tried to look out the window to get an idea of what we were up against....tried to look out the window...

Well, that wasn't very productive, so I put on my eighteen layers of clothes and headed for the great unknown. The only door that I could get out of was the cellar door, which, for some unknown reason, was fortuitously, snow-free.

Once outside, I discovered the reason that I couldn't get out the other doors.

Front door....

 Aaaaand the back door..

Well, yeah, of course I brought my camera out with me, what kind of a silly question is that?

Although they were uncooperative for a photo, I checked on the horses first and everything was fine there, except that the strong, swirling winds had blown snow all over inside the barn, creating indoor snowdrifts-never had that happen before.

At least the water de-icer in the stock tank seems to be holding up; there is enough open water for the horses to drink from.

I knew that the rams might be bearing the brunt of the storm since their pasture is a bit more out in the open and is exposed to the harsh wind, so I wanted to check on them next.

Something told me that they might be in trouble, and I was right, there was definitely a problem...

OK, so they didn't really write this...I have cabin fever....I can not be held responsible for my actions.

"Where are you, boys???"

"Here we are mom!"

At least Mother Nature was kind enough to leave a little "mote" of a clearing around the ram-hut, but the drifts all around them were about 4 feet deep.

Since the boys were surrounded by drifts, I had to shovel a path for them so that they could get to their water. I just hope they don't realise that the snow is at fence-level most of the way around their pasture and they can now easily step over the fences and go on walkabout.

"It's about time you got out here!"

"Thanks, Mom!"

The ewes seemed to be faring a lot better than the boys; there are enough clearings around their barn that they are able to get in and out without any trouble, and they have access to water inside the barn.

The rest of the menagerie seems to be holding their own, but because mother nature decided to add insult to injury with frigid temperatures over the next few days, I am going to have to add more bedding for the chickens. And since the wind will continue to sculpt the landscape, I will have to monitor everyone throughout the day...and probably re-shovel several times.

Of course, some members of this household are completely unaffected by the weather.

 "Don't worry, I'll find a way to get us to the front door!"

"Yeah, never mind, this is never going to work."

I know that most of the country is in the same boat that we are, so I hope that you are all safe and warm. Enjoy the day off : ).