The chickens are definitely under-impressed with all the snow over the past couple of days. As am I, to be honest. The worst part of this deluge has been the strange nature of the precipitation – a mix of rain, snow, ice pellet, and sleet. It’s just warm enough that there’s a good foot of slush in places and plenty of running (gushing) water everywhere. It’s just cold enough that the snow is sticking and making it horrible to walk/carry hay/function outside.
It is now pouring as I write this… if the temperatures creep up over night, much of this mess will have washed away by morning. If the temperatures go the other way… oh, my – I don’t even want to think about the mess my hill will be by the time morning rounds roll around… Yuck!
Poor M. C. from Germany thought he’d come to Vancouver Island because it’s relatively warm and snow free. Hah!! Instead he wound up having to build bridges out of logs and pallets so we could safely navigate the deep mud slushy in the hog pen. So much for my ‘start seeds’ and ‘prepare garden beds’ plan…
Inside their hog hut, Pearl and Olivia build fluffy nests out of hay and then burrow in and snuggle up together. They seem to be dealing with the nasty weather remarkably well, all things considered.
darkcreekfarmdotcom 
Very impressed with your hens’ and piggies’ stoicism in such chilly weather! In Sydney, Australia our hens (which look like yours) are dealing with the opposite – hot and humid temperatures – they’re amazingly versatile creatures, apparently. 🙂
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I have been pretty impressed with the hens and the way they keep themselves busy no matter what the weather!
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That frozen stuff won’t stick around long. But, it makes a mess of everything. A few years ago, we got several inches of snow in December. It warmed up some and rained a bunch on it. Then, it got very cold for weeks. All this was before the snowplows got to the neighborhood streets. We had deep 4″ ruts all over the side streets. It was treacherous.
The hogs we had on our farm coped with the messy lots pretty well. We needed to do the usual fresh bedding and break ice from the waterer.
I hope M.C. begins to have more fun.
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That sounds awful! You would have needed ice breakers instead of snow plows! Fortunately, it looks like the temperatures are heading up, so it will be sloppy for a few days, but not too icy/dangerous.
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Wonderful photos – looks like Pearl and Olivia have the right idea. Hope it warms up for you all soon.
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I can see sunshine this morning, and lots of dripping… I think things are headed in a good direction!
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Excellent! The sun has just come out here too, after a grey morning. Fingers crossed it stays for a while.
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Wondered if MC is a WOOFER?
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He is a workawayer… Very similar except not limited to organic farming types.
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I looked up the Workawayer site – really great way to see the country/countries while helping out at the same time. It’s tempting!
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If I didn’t have a farm, I think I’d pack my bags…
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I wondered about the lack of snow in all your previous pictures. How rare an occurrence is this snow? Loving your farm animals!
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It is pretty unusual here – some years the southern tip of Vancouver Island doesn’t get any snow at all. Lots of people here don’t bother to put snow tires on their cars, which means chaos when we get even a small amount.
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That sounds pretty much like it is around here! LOL!
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