In the morning

My morning starts with shoveling grain and filling two large water buckets with warm water (so it won't freeze during this horribly cold weather we are having) and then I make my way out to the barn.

Good morning my lovelies! Talulah (pygmy goat) hides in a cozy spot behind the 'hay house' so you can't see her (-;

Here is my sweet Teapot, waiting ever-so-patiently for me to open the door to their stall (:

When I draw back the doors to the two chicken coops, these hens run to gobble up the snow.

This White Sussex is laying an egg.

Oh! There it is, along with another lovely egg. Usually there are 5 or 6 in there first thing, but the hens don't lay as much when the night has been very, very cold.

These chickens bask in the small bit of sunshine that winter allots them.

And this silly hen catches a ride on Talulah's back. She fell off a few times but got right back up there. Talulah is very warm when I pet her, so she likely feels wonderful to freezing chicken feet!

As I walk back to the house, I have the feeling that I am being followed.

Oh, it is so cold! You always forget what winter feels like when the weather is gorgeous and warm. A forest landscape, blanketed entirely in snow and eerily silent is a magical place to spend a moment, it really is.

Every day begins the same around here. I wake, let the dog out, fill the kettle, make oatmeal and fill buckets. While everyone eats, I go out to the barn and bring food and water, let the chickens out of their coops and the sheep and goat out of their stall. I check everyone to make sure all is well, pat Talulah for she does love her morning snuggles, tell Pippin and Teapot how much I love them, and then trudge back to the house with the sheep bouncing along behind me.

When I get back inside, I eat breakfast and make tea for everyone, and then sit down by the fire (Jason has built a lovely warm fire while I was otherwise engaged) and play with the little ones (: And so begins the day!