Winter Has Arrived

This morning, compared with this afternoon.

I think winter has finally hit for real.  Even though we had snow a few days ago, it's been warm enough outside that the kids and I have still been running around in bare feet.  That all changed today.  The boys don't seem to mind it too much, but I'm sure they'll be happy for the warm barn later tonight.

It's beginning to look a lot like Winter.

Can we come out to play?

Road Trip!

Kids in The Back

Putting a goat in the back of a car is never going to stop being funny.  This afternoon the girls and I took Eiar on a trip north to Capsand Creamery, where she'll spend a couple of weeks on vacation.  With any luck, she'll come home bred, and we'll have some baby goats in the fall.

It's actually sort of surprising how well the animals ride in the cargo compartment of our Escape.  We put a tarp down, add some hay, and they stay nice and content until we arrive at our destination.  It probably helped that the girls were occasionally sneaking saltines to the goat while I wasn't looking.

First Snow!

We've had a few flurries in the air, but nothing that has stuck to the ground until this morning.  Just as the sun was coming up, everyone in the house started to realize the news:  The first snow had arrived!

Most of it had melted by afternoon, but there are still flakes in the air from time to time.  It won't be long before we're carrying water buckets through the drifts down to the barn!

The Joys of Winter Preparation

`Tis the season for preparing for the coming of snow.  It's been many, many years since I've had to put wood in for the winter.  The last few places where I've lived have all had either electric or oil heating.  My in-laws, however, have a good old-fashioned wood-fired boiler in the basement.

My father-in-law and I have slowly been moving chunks of wood from the giant wood pile by the driveway, down to the basement near the boiler.  The forecast is finally calling for a bit of snow tomorrow, so I'm chipping away at the pile a bit more today.

When One Door Closes...

A nice warm interior.

We have doors!  My wife was able to help me hang the second door this evening.  Our goats now have a nice snug barn to live in tor the winter!

I had to piece bits of the second door together, so a 3rd cross-bar was needed to cover the seams.  When I find another suitable piece of scrap, I'll add one to the first door as well, just so they match.

With the doors closed, and the windows in, the barn is noticeably warmer than the pen outside.  I'm feeling much better about winter coming now.

Open...

...Closed.

Another Door

Time to close up the opening.

The weather continues to get chillier, so I'm making more of an effort to get the barn closed up to keep the animals warm.  The winter windows were put in last week, and the first barn door was put up a few days ago.  Today I had a chance to work on the 2nd door.  The supply of barn board was running low, so I ended up piecing some bits together, but the door itself came out nice and sturdy.  I'm hoping to have it hung within the next day or so.

Lounging in the sun.

Door two is complete.