Dumb clucks and more...

Cold April showers have been raining upon us, with gusto and high winds. The animals don't like it.

I open the chicken coop doors almost every morning, unless the weather is extreme, so the chickens can decide if they want to be in or out.

The big laying chickens have some sense. They go out in the rain for a while, but once they are good and wet they head back to the coop to snack and dry off.  The wee Silkie chickens are a different story. They might decide to go out in the rain, and their fluffy, soft feathers don't repel water a bit. Once out they seem to totally forget that warmth, shelter, food and water are mere steps away. Sometimes I go outside to find them huddled, shivering and sodden, just outside the coop door, looking lost and confused. I pick them up and pop them inside. I swear they look amazed at the change of scenery. It's like everything is new to them, every day. My neighbor friend would call them "dumb clucks."

The donkeys will go out in the rain, but dislike wind and would prefer if I provide room service. They took advantage of a break in the weather yesterday to really race and romp. Often two will play together at once, but this time all three were involved. Donkey play involves biting, rearing, bucking, mounting each other, running and more biting. It looks rough,but they clearly love it. It's fun to see them interacting so joyfully.

Goats detest rain. The last 24 hours have been hard for them, especially the kids, because they have energy to burn. This morning when the rain stopped for a while the kids came out and raced as fast as their little legs could carry them all over the pasture. The mama goats came out to observe, drank deeply from the water tank, and headed back to the cozy before the rain began again.

Their new door is such a treat. It took them about 3 seconds to figure it out. Now they can roam around all day, going in and out as they please. At night I lock them up for safety sake. A friend told me the best goat quote the other day. It went something like this, "Goats spend the first hour of their life trying desperately to survive, and the rest of their life trying to kill themselves."  Seems accurate to me, at least with the kids. My adult goats are not terribly reckless.

Here Spirit and Hope enjoy a sweet moment between rain bursts.

 Flirt poodle has a little bed in the grooming studio. It's the bottom portion of a small wire storage shelf. We were delighted the other day to see she was nicely sharing her space with Opal. The heater blows warm air on the bed and it is a cozy spot. Both girls looked adorable as they enjoyed their lair. Clearly Opal got the best pillow.

We will all be glad for warmer, dryer weather and hope some is headed this way soon.