6″ of snow!

There are five pictures in this post.

First the ice crystals came from the sky and then it snowed all night so we awoke this morning to white! This is the first real snow of the season so can’t complain. The picture above is of Duke on the road outside our house. After breakfast we headed out to feed the pigs, chickens and stallions at Mark and Pat’s. The paved roads, although plowed, were still very slippery.

We made the decision that we were only going to feed once today due to the road conditions and cold temps. Chickens hate snow so we left them shut in their coops with food and water. That way no one would have to worry about shutting them in later. The stallions both got hay and have access to water so they are OK. The pigs are not so active in this cold weather and would have spent most of the day hunkered down in their huts. In fact these little piggies didn’t even venture out when we first got there but then decided that maybe cold feet were worth it to have some breakfast.

I love the way the piggies are all different colors. Why is this so? Mark and Pat bought Olivia from us who is a Hampshire/Duroc cross. They then bought one of our pure bred Red Wattle boars, a Large Black/GOS boar and gilt and a pure bred Large Black gilt. With crossbreeding all those together, all sort of colors and combinations have come out and they are fun to watch. Richard & I love the three heritage breeds: Red Wattle, Large Black and Gloucestershire Old Spot (GOS) although our favorites were definitely the Large Blacks. We would never advise anyone to buy Hampshire or Duroc if out on pasture as they are awful rooters and destroy the pasture. Olivia broke the mold and that is why she lived. Her two sisters were awful, not only in rooting but they were also terrible chicken killers so they were enjoyed as pork! Here are the three above with the rest of the litter and their mama.

We gave the pigs 1 1/2 rations this morning and made sure they had water. If thirsty later, they would eat the snow. The weather is supposed to stay cold all week so going to be pretty miserable for all critters. Marcus also runs a lot of cows but someone else feeds them for him.

Blessings,

Liz