The Herd and Happy New Year

I spotted the large antelope herd on my way out of our valley yesterday morning.

I haven't seen them for awhile. 

They were crossing the road in front of me and heading into the neighbors fields.

This group turned in front of me and headed back towards the desert.

I had to roll down the car window and zoom in with my camera to get a few photos.

All of the snow that we got earlier this month is now melted and we are back to our usual winter brown.

The herd adds beauty to our valley! 

 In the top photo the herd is on the run.

In the bottom photo, some of them were brave enough to stop to see what I was doing.

Wishing everyone a Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year! 

Happy, Happy New Year! 

The Cats

These two stayed up late to wait for Santa on Christmas Eve.

 All three cats were delighted with the wrapping paper and boxes! 

 But not so happy about the bows! 

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

The day after has been relaxing and quiet. 

An Early Christmas Gift, a Covered Coop

These cute little birds, perched atop this tree were becoming a menace to our little flock of chickens.

Earlier this fall, Hayman built new feeders that really helped to keep the wild birds at bay.

But then the snow came and with it I swear every wild bird within a hundred miles showed up!

We had chickadees, starlings and dove!

They would swoop in and and clean out the feeders in a jiffy!

Those little suckers worked in groups and pairs to get the cleaning out job done!

Smart little suckers! 

So Hayman came up with a new covered coop plan.

We bought the supplies last week and spent two days working on it in very cold temps!

The coop is now covered with a more bird friendly top so they can't get hung up in the netting when they try to get in. And try they do, but they don't usually succeed!

The gate is now covered with a "net door" which has really helped a lot!

No more wilds tormenting and eating all of the chicken food!

This covered coop project was my Christmas present from Hayman.

Even though I was out there helping him, he did all of the hard work and I was just more like moral support. 

I love this man to the moon and back!

And this project is the perfect present because it will keep on giving all year long!

Frosty Fog

The extremely cold temperatures brought an icy fog to our valley last week.

We call it Pogonip, but others call it hoar frost.

Whatever name you choose to use, doesn't really matter.

The fog rolls in and covers the valley in an icy, frosty layer.

Everything was covered in Pogonip for several days in a row last week.

I took these photos last Tuesday morning on my trip to the chicken coop to do chores.

Handles on the feed barrel looked like they were sprouting icy daggers.

Good thing I had my gloves on!

Gate to one of the coops.

I liked the pattern the frost made on the chicken wire.

Pogonip covered trees! 

Pogonip spikes up close and personal! 

The wind chime was covered in the frosty stuff too.

The temps have warmed since last week and the snow that was on the ground for over two weeks has all but melted away.

We hit the mid 40's here temp wise over the weekend and it felt down right balmy! 

Frozen Sunset

I took this shot on one of my many treks to the chicken coop this week.

Even when the sun is out, nothing is thawing out!

We are still locked in a frozen, winter wonderland!

It's Coming on Christmas

I snapped this photo while standing at my kitchen window yesterday evening.

Immediately after doing so the words from a Joni Mitchell song popped into my head.

I have no idea why...but they did.

It's coming on Christmas

They're cutting down trees

They're putting up reindeer

And singing songs of joy and peace

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

But it don't snow here

It stays pretty green

I'm going to make a lot of money

Then I'm going to quit this crazy scene

Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on

I wish I had a river so long

I would teach my feet to fly

I wish I had a river I could skate away on

Maybe it was the tracks in the snow that made me think of skating,

Or just some other random thought process in my snow laden mind!

Non the less, it was a pretty scene that captured my attention and made me stop to ponder the words to a song!

There's a Chicken in My Bathroom

Yes, there is a chicken in my bathroom.

Meet J.J.or Little J as we like to call her.

J.J. is one of our original show birds that our daughter used when she was showing poultry.

J.J. is retired now and has been living a comfortable life in the chicken coop retirement home.

That is until the sub zero temps took hold this past week and plunged us into a deep freeze!

J.J. developed a cold!

Yes, a chicken with a cold!

Well it's more like an upper respiratory infection, but cold sounds better.

J.J. is almost ten years old, so she wasn't handling the sub zero temps very well.

So I moved her into the bathroom a few days ago.

Started her on a round of antibiotics yesterday.

She seemed to be sneezing less today and showed other signs of improvement.

She is eating well and seems to really like her posh surroundings. 

She is really a fan of the extra little treats she has been getting.

J.J. will mostly likely be in the house for awhile or at least until our temps warm back up some.

By the way, J.J. is a silky hen, just in case you were wondering.

The cats and dog all think she is fascinating.

She could care less about them!

She's much too busy enjoying her new digs! 

I may or may not be known as the crazy chicken lady around here! 

HA! 

Untouched

Took this photo with my iphone over the Thanksgiving weekend.

I was pleased to capture the beauty of the evening sky.

The photo is untouched. 

Just look at all that color! 

Extreme Roofing

Who puts a new metal roof on a house in sub zero temps!

 Apparently we do!

The job was started last Friday before the storm hit us.

The guys got half of the new metal roof on before the snow fell.

It snowed Friday night and early Saturday morning.

The amount of snowfall we received required snow removal from said roof!

The guys doing the job drove the thirty miles out to our place to get up on the roof and sweep it off!

Hubby has been helping as well.

Every time they go up on the roof, I cringe! 

Today they came out to finish the job!

It was -26 degrees this morning!

Talk about dedicated roofers!

Dedicated and really wanted and needed to get the job done!

I ran out to snap a few photos and then ran back inside where it was warm!

It was -18 when I took this shot and they had just started on the second half of the roof.

 Things were rather slick, so maneuvering the sheets of metal was tricky!

Everyone came in at lunch to warm up.

We have kept the fire going in the fireplace to help warm the roof and the guys gather around the pipe coming out of the roof to warm their hands.

One of the guys almost went off the roof just before lunch!

Only a few more hours and they should be done!

Who does crazy stuff like this in sub zero temps!
Apparently we do!

Job completed!
Everyone safe!
Roof looks great!

Sub Zero

Woke up to snow on Saturday morning.

Lots of snow!

Over 6 inches of snow!

We knew it was coming, just didn't know how much we would get for sure.

Snow is pretty, if you can stay home, indoors, where it's warm and enjoy it.

Not the case here!

I had to work on Saturday!

Chores first though!

Had to take the token boot shot!

 Had to shovel out the chicken coops.

Made paths inside the coops just in case the chickens wanted to come out.

 Mr. Frizzle came out to help and complain about the white stuff on the ground.

I shared in his misery!

He didn't stay out for long and none of the other chickens ventured out at all.

 A layer of white as far as the eye can see!

 Road reports were not good.

Hubby decided he had better drive Meg and I to town for work.

Good thing he did as the roads were an icy mess! 

After a day in town, we left early to head back home. 

The roads were still terrible! Icy, slick, frozen!

People were driving like idiots!

As we turned off the hwy onto the dirt road that leads into our valley, I told hubby to slow down so I could snap the photo below.

The scene looking north was beautiful and I'm glad I was able to capture just a bit of it!

It was -15 below when we woke up this morning!

Yes, I said -15 below!