Ice, snow and other white things...

 The world gets small for my animals this time of year. Old snow and ice limit their movements. I have spread some soiled bedding in front of the chicken coop on top of the snow. I toss cracked corn and sunflower seeds over it and the chickens get out of their house to scratch around a bit. It's even worse for the goats and donkeys. They have made a path from their house to the water tub, and one to the hay rack. Ideally, I would take their hay out into the pasture and scatter it in piles here and there so they would move around more naturally, but the ice makes walking dangerous for all of us. The thought of a potentially broken leg wins out over the idea of them foraging about. They have sure-footed hooves, and I have vicious ice grippers on my boots, but both the animals and I stare at the ground and carefully pick where each foot will fall as we move about. 

Yesterday I noticed that Jezebel walked to within 4 feet of her water tub, but refused to go any further. The ice around the tub was too scary. Chris kindly went out and sprinkled old bedding around the bucket, and she immediately stepped up and took a long drink. I feel sorry for all of us, conscripted to our dangerous, narrow paths. 

Though rain and snow were predicted yesterday, I left the Silky chicken's coop door open so they could at least get fresh air. Normally if the weather is bad, I keep them locked up, because they have hopelessly little sense of self-preservation. When there is snow on the ground, it is rare for them to step foot out of their safe home.  Chris and I left for a few hours to run some errands, and when we got back I noticed one Silky had not only wandered out of the coop but had climbed through the fence. She was sitting next to the hay rack, sopping wet as icy rain pelted down. She was clearly lost, though only about 10 feet from safety. I slipped and slid across the yard and into the pasture, and scooped her up. Then I noticed that the rooster had also left the coop. He is quite elderly now, and seemingly confused much of the time. I had to break a path through potentially ankle-breaking crusty snow to reach him. He appeared to have given up and was hunkered down in a depression in the frozen world surrounding him, head bowed, eyes shut, water streaming through his once-fluffy feathers. He didn't protest when I lifted him and perilously made my way back, tucking him into his home and locking the door firmly. 

Today the sun is shining and the high temperatures promise to be in the 40's. I am hoping for melting so our world will open up to more than treacherous paths. Both my sister and my cousin have told me that "winter's back is broken."  This is a term my father used to use, and I am hopeful that they are correct. It is lovely to have the days getting a bit longer with every turn of the calenders page. Still, I know that March and even April can bring storms with deep snow, so I am not getting too excited just yet. 

Meanwhile, I have had a long put-off project tackled. There is a hallway in our upstairs that I last painted over 10 years ago. The ceiling had some damage, and there were spots on the walls that needed patching, plus the paint looked dingy. Parts of the walls are difficult to reach due to the stairway being below them. Though I've painted many a space in my life, I am simply not good at it. Last week I had a professional guy come and paint not only the hall but also the master bathroom.  He was here for 2 1/2 days, and it was fun to hear his big boots thumping overhead and tools scraping and clattering as I worked downstairs. As always I chose a shade of white for the walls, and now everything looks fresh and clean and so much brighter. My painter friend jokes about how "daring" I am with my color choices... white, white and more white when it comes to paint. He says it's a little boring, and I'm sure he's right, but my choices make me happy. 

I've never once had any sort of curtain hung from this little window, which seems a shame. Yesterday Chris helped me by putting a rod up, and now a pretty little lace valance softens this spot. 

Today I'll move things back to where they belong and be glad for a project well done. It's good to get these sorts of things done now so that when winters back really is broken, I can get outdoors and enjoy a world not confined by ice.