Snow and a Caption Contest

 

With this, our second snowfall of the season (we’ve actually had three, but the first one was just snow flurries), I decided I was curious about what is considered typical snowfall up here at 7,000ft in the Central Mountains of New Mexico.

So, I went back into my archives, and thank goodness for labels, because I was able to quickly locate all of my snow related posts going back to our first winter here in 2007.

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This is what I discovered………..

First Snow Fall of the Year:

1. October 22, 2007
2. October 14, 2008
3. October 28, 2009

Last Snow Fall of the Year:

1. May 23, 2007
2. April 12, 2009
3. TBA

Snow Posts in 2007/08~ 24

Snow Posts in 2008/09~ 14

Snow Posts in 2009/10~ 2 so far…..

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So, this winter will be helpful in proving what is normal or typical regarding the snowfall in our area each year. I just hope that we don’t get one of those late Memorial Day weekend snowfalls or the chances of my fruit trees producing will be slim to none. And by the time the first day of summer rolls around, we can’t help but be fed up with snow, even though it’s beautiful during the holidays. And the snow does a great job at blanketing and softening all of our dead, brown grass around here.

But Sunday morning, the chickens weren’t as happy to see the white stuff and insisted on being fed inside their house.

I was relieved to see that the Mrs. Cotton and her chicks survived the cold night in their temporary coop, too.

(Underneath those angled board on the right is a little house filled with straw and shavings, and underneath the left board is their feeder and waterer)

I’ve been letting all 4 of them out into the main coop during the day, but Mrs. Cotton isn’t the top chicken with all of my hens.

And even though she tries her best to stand up to them and defend her chicks, she’s smaller and ends up flattened and defeated with a couple of them.

So, I don’t want to risk putting her and the chicks in at night with my entire flock just yet.

(Clockwise from far right: Barred Rock Betty, Cuckoo Marans Mandy, and Welsumer Wanda)

Besides, for now,  Mrs. Cotton seems much more comfortable herding her babies into the temporary coop at the first sign of trouble. It’s easier to defend them in that confined space, too.

After I was done feeding, watering and spreading straw for the chickens, it was time to head to the barn. Of course, Baby Doll starts whinnying and nickering to me as soon as I step foot out of the door. Actually the nickering is a new behavior from my mare. She’s only been doing that for about two months, and she does it whenever she sees me for the first time, even when it’s not time to be fed and even if she is already busy eating.

I’m not sure what has changed, considering I’ve owned her now for going on three years and can’t remember her nickering to me in this way, but I do think the nickering is rather sweet.

Of course, she seems to be the most eager and happy to see me in the morning because she knows she’s getting her carrots first thing, followed by a cupful of grain and then her hay. For dinner she just gets her hay, so breakfast is a special deal for her.

And the llamas, goats and sheep act like they are starving no matter how much or how often they are fed, or how wide their bellies.

More, please!

 

Jenna loves to go with me to the barn every time I head up there. She’s very helpful with refilling all the water buckets, too. And her favorite thing to do is slop around the mud.

(She has a few years before she grows into her old hand-me-down barn coat)

When I got back to the house and decided to check on my flock again, I noticed that my trio of fancy chickens, including Mr. Cotton, Phyllis Diller, and Sid Vicious hadn’t left the chicken house and seemed to be in some sort of important meeting.

 

What do you think they were up to? Shall we have a little Name-That-Caption contest?

Whoever’s caption makes me laugh the loudest wins a hat or scarf (your choice), hand-knit by me.

(PS: You’ll have to give me a couple weeks to knit your hat or scarf as I’m still behind in getting my Pay-It-Forward goodies made and sent out. I’m such a slacker! Don’t hate me. gah!) 

 

Ok, so go ahead. What do you think my Silkie Rooster,  Polish Rooster and my Polish Hen were up to?

Contest ends this Friday (11/20) at Midnight!