The Cold January

Paths of ice through the snow.  We had just enough melting for several days, and they refroze and about killed me. 

This one, especially. 

The badly-sited brooder house that I bought last year lays behind the old garage on the property... the original house was on this south end... and next to the barn, because it was cheapest to run the electricity from here.  It is dangerous in bad weather... everything you are looking at is a layer of ice. I spread cat litter on it to try to get some grip.  The back door (where the red bucket is sitting) froze in the worst of the storm last week, and I had to brace the door shut with a fence pole. 

We'll come back to this. 

My guardians have been coming daily. 

Yesterday and today, though, in the bitter cold, they have stayed in their aerie, which I think is down on the treeline near Tonganoxie. 

The starlings finally found my feeders on Saturday. 

They have only been here in small numbers today.  Oddly, I was kind of glad to see them so they could clean up the sunflower seed on the ground. 

It is nine degrees out there right now, and the wind has been blowing all day.  It's awful to be out. 

My girls in the barn are getting through it, thank God. 

That's Mama and Cleo.  

Teeny still sleeps in the straw filled wood stove, even though 

there are two heated cat houses in there. 

I have a heated dog bowl for water. 

This morning, for the first time, I lifted the water fount in the old henhouse, and the lid felt frozen onto it.  Last winter I had fewer birds in there, and I have a deep dog bowl to use if I have to... but... they get so full of debris. 

I have heater bases under all the metal founts. 

We have two more days of this terrible cold to get through, then back to the thirties and forties. 

I'm seeing lots of crows, too. 

I would say about 60% of the snow has melted, but... now we are below freezing for another two days at least.  At least I am not going through 16 inch drifts. 

This happy little dog, Mr. Floofy Ears, aka Chico... has been here exactly one year today.  He was brought here last year on a snowy day with cold temps. 

He has been a blessing to me, even though we keep having to get up and go out at night here lately. 

Bob is still here but wearing on my patience lately. 

(you see the driveway has melted quite a bit) 

My dear old rooster Buddy, in the background standing in the sun here, 

put himself into the little hen house a week ago, and then stayed in there.  He normally was king of the Big Hen House.  He is having trouble walking and getting up the stairs, his feet are missing many toes. Buster, the younger rooster in the foreground, left him alone. 

This morning, he was huddled under the warming light with a couple of older hens in back in the big hen house.  I'm going to drop it down a few inches when I do evening chores. 

Wanda was so glad to get out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but she was 

glad to go back in last night.  I think it may be Wednesday, maybe Tuesday, until it's warm enough for everyone to come out again.  

They hate the snow. 

These beautiful birds in the Brooder House, Igor the rooster and the two La Fleche hens, the two Putih Ayam Cemani (white) hens, and the two Bielefelder hens have gone to live with a friend from Fort Leavenworth. 

Negotiating the frozen walkway between the garage and the hen house was increasingly hard, and I took my life in my hands every time I did it in the last two weeks.  I carried my phone religiously, but if I had fallen it might have been hours before I was missed.  I finally realized I was really taking too many chances, and I mentioned to my friend that I had some birds to rehome, and he was interested.  He came Friday to pick them up, and I gave them to him gladly, knowing they would have a good home. 

I miss them dreadfully, remember, I raised them from day old chicks... but it has been a blessing not to have to walk back there.  Igor was one of the best roosters I have ever raised. 

I have some plans for the brooder house, but for now, it sits empty, it's water empty, it's food dish removed, and the lights out... waiting for spring. 

Everyone take care in this weather that is hitting our nation on all sides.