Preparing For Winter

It's that time of year...

when the calendar says it's still fall,

but the temperature says that Ole Man Winter is not far away.

Mornings are brisk...with temperatures dipping down into the high 20's to low 30's.

We've had lots of frost, both on the ground...

and also on the roofs of all the out buildings...

With this sudden shift in season comes the necessity to winterize.

We have plenty of wood ready for the fireplace...

The barn is full of hay...we took delivery on our final 100 bales on Saturday.

We are still grazing the horses to decrease hay consumption...

saving as much as we can for those cold winter days when the grass is dry and dead.

They spend a portion of each day in the upper pastures.

This area we call the four corners...

Pasture #4, upper right, is home to the fainting goats.

as it is where our four upper pastures come together.

It's close to this area that our five horses

 and Dr. Becky's 3 horses...

graze the most, munching and gossiping over the fence.

All of the animals have electric heated water buckets.

The pigs' heat lamp is once again turned on,

and they receive a portion of hay each evening

 which they use to burrow in for sleeping.

The door to their stall is closed at night to help retain warmth.

The next day the hay is partially eaten by the pigs and the sheep

 who now have access to each other's yards during a portion of each day.

The sheep, of course, are happiest in the colder months. 

Heated water buckets are the only winter preparation needed by them.

The chickens' heat lamps are on timers until the weather turns severely cold...

at which time the heat lamps will be on 24/7.

Heat lamps can be quite dangerous in animal enclosures, so we take every precaution to assure

that they cannot get knocked down by the animals.

The heat lamps are permanently secured to the ceiling of their enclosures by not only the lamp itself, but also by the electrical cord as well.

Even the barn cats have a cozy warm bed to retire to each night.

And because she always warms my heart...
here is today's dose of Daisy!