Nelson County Rocks

 

We’ve had a generally mild and snowless winter–until mid-afternoon yesterday.  This was our hens’ first experience of snow, and they didn’t take to it.  They promptly headed not just into their run, but most of them continued right on into the henhouse.  In mid-morning when we open up the outer door to the run, the hens generally come charging out: today one black australorp gingerly took a few steps out, looked back at all the others who were hesitating, and ran back in herself. (Cold by itself they have no problem with.  But chickens are…chicken.)

In any case, Monika and I enjoyed the snowy afternoon and evening by our wood stove, and then the beautiful vistas in the sun this morning, here and down by the Tye River.    By afternoon, the four inches of snow were rapidly melting away.  And the hens were pecking away at the remaining small clumps of snow.

click here for more pictures of our 24 hour winter

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Today began with this beautiful view out our living room window, as the full moon was going down and the early sun rays beginning to reach the trees.  And it’s turned into another gorgeous day, still without snow this season.  While pruning our butterfly bushes in the back, I looked over to our chicken run and saw one of our Wyandottes lying on the ground, looking dead, which she proved to be when Monika and I examined her.  It appears that she died from a problem with an ill-formed egg in her cloaca canal.  This was our first loss since the death of one Black Austalorp in (mail) transit from the hatchery.  We buried her with sadness in our back yard, at least knowing that she had a good life here.