Ordinary things in winter

I looked out the window in the middle of the night last night and the whole landscape was glittery, moonlight reflecting off a fresh light snow and hoar frost covering the limbs of every tree. Even this morning through a light fog of ice crystals everything is glittering. The light is almost too much for my old eyes. It’s in the 20’s today but the temps are supposed to really bottom out in the next few days. We haven’t had below zero temps in a few winters. Yah, gotta love that global warming.

Last night I scooped up some waste hay around the stack and filled the outside dogs houses. They can’t seem to keep straw or hay in their houses, it’s all over the floor in front of the houses. The houses are inside the barn and I think Bubba, the male cocker actually sleeps outside the doghouse in the straw on the floor. I worry about the outside dogs when it gets real cold, but they get hot and nervous when you bring them inside and it’s a major hassle with the inside dogs trying to kill them every chance they get. We had Sarah inside a lot last winter after she had surgery on her mouth but she never seemed real happy with the situation.

I have been carrying Lily and Charlie’s hay outside for them, trying to keep the stall a little cleaner. They don’t seem to mind as long as it isn’t windy. I watch them and the horses across the road walking around the pasture with their noses on the ground as if grazing. I can’t imagine what they could eat even if they paw the snow away. I guess its just habit.

Hens are still laying pretty well but something is carrying eggs down under the shelf where some of their nests are, back behind the bottom nest where the turkey is sitting and eating some of them. That turkey hisses and bites at me when I try to get in the nest you think she would chase away whatever is moving the eggs. Maybe its a rat, I doubt the possum could squeeze behind her, but I never have saw rats eating eggs before so maybe something else is doing it. I have a hard time picturing a rat carrying one of those big eggs. I thought maybe the hens are just squeezing behind there so I put up some new nests. We’ll see what works.

When I went to get sunflower seeds for the birds out of the big plastic bucket on the porch there was a field mouse or vole in it. How it got in there I don’t know, there was a plastic lid on the can with a bag of salt sitting on top that. It couldn’t get out. I called the dogs and Peanut jumped right in the bucket and killed it. Then she jumped out and someone else reached in and grabbed it and ran out the door. Jack Russell’s are so funny when they kill something. It’s a quick death bite and shake, then they usually walk away like nothing happened. I think Buddy carried it outside. So far it hasn’t turned back up inside.

Steve has got to have his colonoscopy in Saginaw tomorrow. He can’t eat solid food today so I will have to eat mine when he’s not around. Hopefully the trip won’t be too hard on him, but I am not looking forward to tomorrow. It’s going to be a long day. We are grateful he has VA medical care to use but the long drives are tough.

Such are the days of ordinary people in the winter.