The Frozen Tundra

Well, we had a beautiful white Christmas on Black Opal Farm.  It started to snow Christmas morning around 10 o' clock and didn't stop until midnight.
Stella's second Christmas was a white one and she LOVED it!  We built her a snowman and toured the farm with her little red wagon.
What was not so fun was tending to the animals in this weather.  The pigs were staying pretty dry.  They get under their hay like a blanket, and the trees above kept most of the snow out of their pen.  The llamas need a full hay basket because there is only a blanket of snow on the ground.  This means we need to keep Remus, the dog, out of the basket.  He likes to lay in there when the weather gets bad to stay warm.  The chickens and ducks were hiding in their covered coops in the chicken house.  We have to keep knocking the snow off the roof of the house so it doesn't cave in on them.
Yesterday was still dark, cold, and snowy.  We lost power for a few hours in the morning and had to sit by the fire.  Kept busy trying to stay warm inside and outside.  This morning the sun is shining brightly.  It is barely going to get above freezing and we are having huge wind gusts.  Stella and Grandma tried to go out and feed with me this morning, but it was just too windy.

Due to the snow, I have been unable to use my new Christmas present from James.  He bought me a golfcart with a big cargo shelf on the back!  It will make my life easier as I am pregnant again and it will get tough feeding in the morning with Stella by my side.  The cargo shelf will also be great for planting and harvesting!

COLD

Yep, it's cold out here on the farm.  No precipitation, just nights below 20 degrees.  Any temp below 20, we feed everyone twice a day.  Everyone gets their regular diets in the morning, then in the afternoon, they get another helping mixed with hog feed.  We used to mix it with cracked corn, but since we got the piggies, we've learned that hog feed has 9% more protein than normal cracked corn.  The protein is was warms the body up on the cold nights.  Keeping everyone hydrated is the other key to surviving Winter.  Dumping all the frozen buckets of ice and refilling with fresh, ice cold water...sometimes twice a day.
Other than that, nothing too exciting happening out here.  The ducks have permanently moved into the chicken house.  And as usual every winter, Remus, the Great Pyrenees, sleeps in the llamas hay basket at night.  One night he is going to fall through the damned thing.  It's just made out of rusted rabbit cages.  Some good pictures on the way!