Finn and Gerri

Winter Storm Finn was a fizzle. We were all geared up for 7” of snow Tuesday and got maybe 2 or 3. With no precipitation forecast on Wednesday, I shoveled out the run a little and uncovered the dust bath. Silvia was soon bathing vigorously while Luella waited for a chance to jump in too.

Silvia dust bathing

Winter Storm Gerri was a different thing. I cannot remember the last time we had an all-day snow. I suppose we have about a foot of snow by now. We are in a crisis at the moment, or at least Terry is, because we have no satellite signal for the TV. Terry has been out a couple of times clearing snow off the satellite dish, to no avail. Life in the country.

It was a heavy, wet snow that stuck to the trees, turning the world into a winter wonderland. I’m glad we’re having winter weather in the winter. It makes me feel less like the End of Days is upon us because of climate change.

The fifth oak

River birches in the snow

The boys spent their snow day sleeping in the study window. Oh wait. That’s how they spend every day.

Snoozing in the study

When I went out to do the chicken chores, the snow was already deep, and the shade shelters had blown over.

Morning in the chicken run

The snow had drifted a good way up the coop door. I didn’t want all that moisture in the coop, so I shoveled it away before going in.

Drift up the coop door

Jane just gave us an electric snowblower that she hadn’t used in a long time. I plugged it in at the coop and cleared a little bit of the run. The chickens squawked in the coop (“Jesus Christ! It’s a snowblower!”)

Snowblower in the run

I put out some scratch grains, but only Bonnie and Frankie came out for it. When I went in the coop to do the chores, several other of the girls ran out, although I don’t know if they ate anything. Their primary motivation was to get away from me. My pal Silvia hung around wanting attention.

Even with the snow cleared, there was little interest in leaving the coop for treats

I took the snowblower to the deck next. The deck is such a pain in the neck (literally) to shovel because you have to heave the snow over the railing. The snowblower was a vast improvement. I didn’t have a watch, but I’m sure I was done in 10 or 15 minutes with no damage to my back. The electric snowblower isn’t awfully powerful, so I can’t wait until the snow stops falling, like Terry does with big snowblower on the driveway. We don’t know when the snow will stop (no TV). It is supposed to get cold, and I’m not optimistic that I’ll be able to do anything with frozen blocks of snow in the morning. We’ll see.

Snowblowing the deck