Joy

Bunnies munching away on some precious exposed grass

The weather, as in many places in North America has been cold. Wait, that is an understatement. It is often cold in winter here but it has been -20 many days lately and very snowy. Last night we had a heavy rainfall and the temperature went up to 4 degrees melting the snow and exposing grass. Today I chipped off the ice around the rabbit tractors and moved them which was very difficult but so exciting. It was exciting for two reasons. The first is having been frozen in place for weeks the bunnies have been forced to poop in the same outdoor corner of their pen. Bunnies in general are pretty tidy creatures and prefer to keep their poop in one place, away from where they sleep. It has been accumulating so I was happy to move their pen and give them a fresh, clean toilet. The second reason is there was green grass left frozen under the snow and the bunnies haven't seen that in months. Finally,  greens.

some old grass is divine to some

Winter a few days before

The baby bunnies are growing quickly now and some of them have even started to mount the others. They may be females or males just practicing  but I thought "Uh oh, better separate them very soon so they don't inbreed". Jim has assembled a wooden shipping crate, cut appropriate holes in it and attached it to the top, back part of our chicken tractor and added a ladder. Today, after looking at rabbit genitalia we will hopefully be able to tell the males from the females and move the males into their new home. All of the pens need to be cleaned and fresh bedding laid because some of the bottom wood shavings have been frozen to the bottom of the pens and now we are able to remove it. Lots of work to be done and I am just getting over a cold but I have to seize the day; this one day of warmth.

One of our "extra" roosters

The chickens ventured out from their coop and found ground to scratch at and peck though, though it was sloppy and semi-frozen, at least they were out and about. All three of the chicks that hatched in the summer are roosters, something a chicken farmer hates to discover.

Three additional layers would have been welcomed for additional eggs. Instead I have three roosters challenging my lead rooster for position, dividing the flock and while one rooster crowing in the morning is charming, three more roosters bent on crowing every hour of the day, is not at all charming and may even bring out some annoyed neighbors. We need to dispatch them but only one is even remotely close to a good roasting weight. So we have these roosters (Thomson, Thomson and Thomson) that we call the "trouble makers" that I just don't know what to do with. I am thinking of separating them from the flock but that means more work to keep them fed and warm. I am counting the days until execution.

The dog looked a bit overwhelmed, I presume with the sudden thawed out barrage of smells coming from the forest. She started to wander further and further having to be called back. She is ten now and doesn't always here me calling if she gets carried away and wanders too far from the yard. Our property backs onto complete wilderness, up hill and very rugged. The last time she wandered away, tired of whistling and calling in vain, I asked my eight year old to get his recorder and make some "music". Finally a use for that high pitched noise that most parents dread in the younger years.

It worked and she came so now that is our go-to tool for getting the lost dog back. She came back, this time from along the road looking all shaky, she drank to the bottom of her water bowl. With tears in my eyes at the realization that she could have been struck by a car, I welcomed her back. She lay down on the mat at the back door and then threw up. She threw up an entire, undigested turkey dinner! We sure didn't feed it to her so I sit there wondering what adventure she has had? What people she has come across and where on earth did she score a meal? A few hours later, she was her old self again, being shooed away from begging at the kitchen table while we ate our own dinner.

Millicent Dog

I sit here in the house now watching the bunnies munching away, the house surrounded by the sound of chickens, I can't help but be reminded of the first days of spring. It is only one day, but the sun is out and the animals have a break. Tomorrow when it drops way down to below freezing and starts to snow I will be warmed by the memory of this beautiful, warm, winter day. It may look bleak, dead and cold but in fact the animals would tell you if they could, that there is so much more provided for them on a day like today. The animals have a certain exuberance in any weather and it is often infectious. I find myself smiling on the bleakest days.