Friday, December 19, 2008

Sorry, Boss,.....I won't be in today....

I was a good employee, braving the ice and crazy drivers to make it to work the last couple of days. This morning, however, when my alarm went off at 3 am, I took one look at my Subaru and my Ford truck and said "Nah". There was no way I was going to spend the wee hours of the morning digging out. I actually sent two pics to my boss so he didn't think I was exaggerating.

(As always, click on the pic to "bigify")

The Subaru....

and my Ford truck.....


I drank a couple of nice hot cups of coffee preparing myself for my chores. I put on polar fleece pants, waterproof shell pants, a sweatshirt, wool Cowichan Sweater, snow coat, hat, wool socks, Caribou packs and gloves. Went outside, strapped my snowshoes on and away I went.

Why is it when you are going out to do chores in the snow it's not as enjoyable as when you're just out playing in the snow? It's the same beautiful, powdery stuff....

The dogs definitely know how to enjoy it.....

Finn...


This is the usual pic I get of Kylie.....I dream of the day when I have a digital camera that can take serious movement shots!


Though every now and then I can stop her in action....



Sheba, I think, believes she is in camouflage, hoping the other dogs won't pester her if they can't see her....


What's this? Harley? Are you trying out some camouflage too?:)

Nah, he's just getting into his "work"....

So, down over the hill we go to the barn.



Jasmine has been a bored donkey. She managed to bust up one of the water buckets pretty good. Easy to do when it's 16 degrees out. She plowed a few trails in the paddock which the young ewes and Uncle Carl used rather than breaking their own.






Jasmine did NOT like my snow outfit, especially those scary looking snowshoes!

I fed and gave fresh buckets of water to Duncan's group of Shetland ewes....

Then Lawrence and his girls....


Checked on the chickens, gave them more food and a pan of water. Everyone was crammed into the coop, even the guineas, turkeys and peacocks who normally roost outside.

The male peacock decided it was a bit crowded with me in the coop so he went outside. Not sure he thought that was a good decision....

I think I felt the most sorry for the emus, Fred and Ginger.:( I wish I could convince them to stay inside their shelter where it's warmer and helps them keep in their body heat.





I finally had to stop and try and defrost my toes for awhile in the hay room

After everyone was cared for and I had dug out around the gates so I could get in and out easier we headed back up the hill to the house.


Last but not least were the ducks, who managed to keep a small part of the pond defrosted.

Ice is no ones friend when it comes to losing your balance....

I thought I would end this posting with some random shots around Wrensong Farm....







Did I hear someone say that winter wasn't here yet???

25 comments:

It's me said...

Thanks for sharing - the pictures were beautiful.

The storm seemed to go around us as we only received about 6 inches of snow total in the last set of storms. :( Parents in Eastern Oregon got 17 inches total. Wooo hoooo!!!!

Christy said...

Thank you for stopping by my blog. Your farm is beautiful! I'm planning to get Shetland sheep in the spring, so I will enjoy reading more of your blog.

Tina T-P said...

Wow! You are surely up on the top of a hill - do you have a rope lift that takes you back and forth from the barn?

Thanks for stopping by and saying such nice things about my yarn - I was pretty pleased with how those four turned out - (the purple is the one I got the blue ribbon on at the fair)

Pop back by my blog to see pictures that my friend sent that her boyfriend took in his front yard on Alger Mt.! T.

Anonymous said...

That looks like the snowfall we had last year. It was so heavy! But I saw chores as an adventure... Though my land is much flatter than yours so you have good excuse! And it's sure a good thing you have snowshoes!

Great pics at the end, it sure is a winter wonderland! :)

Jennifer said...

What gorgeous pictures, I couldn't pick a favorite but I do like the one "action" picture you got of your beautiful dog jumping out of the snow. Or at least he looked like he was jumping straight out of a snow bank. I do NOT envy you having to walk back up that hill in the snow though, that doesn't look fun at all.

Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting on it. Hope you can stay warm with all that snow and Merry Christmas.

Crosswinds Farm said...

Beautiful photos! What a lovely place to live...the ducks in the water made me feel a bit chilly though!

Eve said...

Great post Tammy! I just love your beautiful ducks, but Morgan and I LOVED the guineas in the coop! Seeing them taking over the roost proves the quote I've heard before "Guineas Rule"!!!

Karen said...

Oh my gosh, stunning photos. What a treat for us! The trees and mountains in winter, well in any season, for that matter are really beautiful. Thanks for the Jasmine pix, too. And I think I want a donkey.

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

3AM alarm? Why so early? We both work away from home but fortunately don't have to get up that early.

Sometime, would you mind blogging a summary about sheep? How they are used on your farm, etc. I need sheep101, until I started blogging, I had no idea that so many folks had sheep.

All the photo's are beautiful. I see all that nice fencing and your barn, all our stuff is so slapped together.

You have such awesome long-range views too.

Grammy said...

I don't like snow but wow, You live in a wonderland of beauty. I would love to be sitting next to a warm fire looking out your window. I love the peacock, We had one once and if we get out farm next Aug. I plan to have another.I so love all your photos. You also deserve a day off of work.

Unknown said...

Wow beautiful snow! What a beautiful farm you have. What kind of ducks are those?

shadow mountain jacobs farm said...

I called in to work today also. I just couldn't see makeing that treck down Hwy 410 not knowing what the conditions might be like. Your place really looks good in snow. Seems the more snow the prettier the pictures. Are you ready for the next one, with high winds this time. Uggg.

Gone2theDawgs said...

Hi Christy, you will love the Shetland breed!

Hi Tina, on days like today I definitely WISH I had a rope tow!

Hi Eve, yes, Guineas DO rule!! :)

Karen, you should have a donkey. I have to warn you though, they are like Shetlands (and potato chips) you can't have just one! I'm looking for the perfect friend for Jasmine. :)

Hi Joanne, 3am....I start work at 5:30 in Everett (45 min away with no snow/ice) and I have to drag 5 gallon buckets around to everyone for water (5 separate areas), AND get ready for work. I'll do a post just for you on my sheep in the near future.

Hi Pam, they are call ducks...the black ones are Black East Indies.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments, and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Solstice/holiday season!!!

-From Tammy and her critters at Wrensong!

Ruth said...

Ohhh, Tammy! Thank you for taking me on that walk. Your farm is incredible. I really love the barn, that natural wood is gorgeous, especially under snow. The spruces!!! And the hill views, down into the valley - what a spot you have. The animals look happy, even though they may not be. It's quite a feat to look after them, wow. Loved the ducks on the ice.

I hope you enjoy the weekend and don't get too worn out taking care of everyone. Since Don does all the chicken care, I don't have much to do besides some shoveling and fetching firewood, and so that's fun - gets me out.

Esther Garvi said...

Tammy, that was amazing! I just love your farm! The landscape, the animals, the width...... Aw, it's just so very... life qualitish!!!

Warm greetings from West Africa (though hopefully not so warm as to melt your beautiful snow!)
Esther

PS: Sheba wonders if she can come for spring break and play with your doggies - hoping the snow is still going to be around and that her owner will provide her with a thick sheep skin to keep her warm!

BB said...

Holy cow Tammy... that was an amazing post! Could it BE any different to here? I guess we have emus too, but ours are much wilder and hotter I suspect!!

Great pics...
Thanks for the tour!
:-)
BB

Susan said...

Tammy, I don't think you need to worry about action shots, because your still photography is so stunningly beautiful! It takes my breath away, truly.

Gone2theDawgs said...

Hi Esther I'll take those warm greetings from Niger!
Sheba is more than welcome to come play with my dogs....though I'm hoping this snow isn't around till Spring!!

Hi BB, I think my emus would like to book a flight to hang out with their relatives there in the heat!

Anonymous said...

Hey Tammy, in case you are getting tired of posting about snow... I've tagged you for the "sixth photo" tag. Hopefully your sixth photo isn't of snow. :D Come on over and have a look!

Amy said...

Beautiful scenery! (Love your term "bigify") It's so scenic around your farm. I really enjoyed seeing the beautiful snow!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

GoshI so loved seeing all those photos. So many I don't which ones to comment on. My favorite was the one looking through the trees into the valley. Wow! That one is gorgeous and deserves a frame.

No, I'd have stayed home, too. Your vehicles looked more like white hills, than something driveable! lol!

I loved seeing your dogs frolicking in the snow. You caught some awesome action shots.

Another 12" and your sheep are going to have to dig tunnels to get around out there, though. Did I say 'wow' yet? lol!

I want to know how in the world you get back up the hill when it's so snowy, or even muddy? I'm thinking a rope tied to a tree...
hehe

Looks like Jasmine is a smart girl. She's snow-free one her back. When it snows or rains here, my mare prefer to stand out in it. She ends up with snow and icicles plastered on her fur.

Those fowl of yours are going to get cabin-fever if you keep getting more snow and ice, though. Your green ducks (what are they?) are just gorgeous!
But I love those emus. You took some terrific photos of them in the snow.

Stay warm, safe and dry inside. I hope you've got plenty of cocoa, marshmallows, coffee and supplies on hand.

We're supposed to get a big snow storm on Monday evening. Probably not anything what you've gotten, though. Wow! (Did I say 'wow' before?)

~Lisa
New Mexico

I need orange said...

You got a lot more than we did....

It's gorgeous, but certainly makes outdoor work a lot harder!

Especially with that steep slope to contend with.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures, especially the dogs. They sure are having fun.

Anonymous said...

Holy cow!!! Did you get more snow last night? It was 40 degrees and raining here, but Portland was hit really hard. At 9:00 last night it was 18 degrees and there was 8" of snow in downtown. The snow pictures are beautiful. Chores take on a whole new meaning when you have to strap snow shoes on :)

A Novel Woman said...

Wow, beautiful photos! Bush Babe sent me over, and I'm so glad I popped in to have a look around.

I'm in Montreal, so we have about the same amount of snow, but not as many animals around our house. The teenagers and their friends make up for it, though.