An Icy Morning

Sunday we had lovely weather -- for sitting by the fire with a coloring book.  In the morning, we brought the horses into the barn.  It had been raining a bit and the rain was flipping between ice and slush and something in between.  Jackson was wet underneath his blanket and happy to be rid of its soggy weight in the dry barn.  Meanwhile, Flash was squealing, bucking and rearing in the front pasture.  He was goading Tex who seemed a bit confused by Flash's sudden burst of energy.  Flash was a handful for Brett when we brought them into the barn.  Tex came in like a perfect gentleman.  Last, we brought in the girls.  Lucy was a bit snorty and tried to spin once but held it together for the most part.

We went to lunch with friends at the roadhouse a mile and a half away; where our lane meets the main road.  It wasn't raining or sleeting so I walked and met Brett there.  When we left, the temperature had dropped and it started to hail.  I didn't walk home.  During evening chores, it snowed.

During the night we had more rain and snow.  It was very cold when we went out to do chores.  After giving the horses their vitamin buckets, we moved them back into the pasture for the day.  We may get more snow tonight but they can enjoy the sunshine during the day.

Tex always wants to roll when we bring him back to the pasture.  This morning, the ground was frozen solid -- all those "puddles" in the picture?  They are puddles of ice, frozen solid.  Tex circled a few times before giving up on his roll and heading to his hay.

The girls wasted no time digging into their breakfast.

I let the goats out of their pen last, and they made a beeline for the horses and the hay.  Whiskey ran, jumping over the ice, while Thistle cautiously picked his way over the frozen ground.  Litte Bear went at a dead run.