Placemats

Cotton placemats. And as you can see, it snowed.

Earthquake and Snow

Arizona doesn't experience earthquakes very often, but they do happen. On Sunday, one took place near Black Canyon City, which is about 35 miles as the crow flies from Wilhoit. A 3.2 magnitude quake occurred about 9:00 pm. The main quake, 4.1 magnitude, took place at 11:29 pm and was followed 20 minutes later by a 4.0 magnitude quake.

At about 11:30 Sunday night I was standing in my dining room. Suddenly the upper story of the house vibrated and boomed. The event was brief but startling. My dog, Logan, and I looked at each, confused. It was scary. I had no idea what caused it.

Logan and I cautiously went outside. Everything looked alright. Logan went to each side of the house, barked fiercely as if to say, "I don't know what happened, but it better not happen again," then came back inside.

I didn't know what caused the ruckus until I saw news reports online the next day.

That was Sunday. On Tuesday the temperature dropped, and it rained. Wednesday, the temperature went even lower, and it snowed. Not much snow stayed on the ground, but the huge snowflakes were lovely.

Today was sunny, fairly warm, and beautiful. It's been a strange few days.

"Snow. What Snow?" -- Sheep

It's nice to know my sheep are content in a variety of weather conditions. The first picture is of them lounging as snow began to fall. The second photo is them still lounging 20 minutes later while being coated with snow. (The lambs wisely stayed in the barn.)

Snow, Mud, Sheep, and a Hen

From Saturday night to Monday morning we received about 10" of snow. It was beautiful but quite the storm. Saturday night the wind and rain were extreme, and we lost electricity for awhile.

By Tuesday, the snow started melting fast, with temperatures in the 50s. Now we have snow and much mud. Dierdre's legs are covered with it, and she kicks it up onto her belly every time she runs. She could definitely rival Harry the Dirty Dog. It's just so lovely that she wants to sleep right next to me, considering she smells like a muddy barn.

As usual, the sheep appeared affronted by the snow. They spent a day and a half in the barn while the snow was falling. That always makes feeding them a challenge, since they have a tendency to stomp the hay into the mud that they've tracked in. Dierdre was determined to herd them even there, although they were already where they should be. Therefore, she kept circling close to the inner walls to keep them in as tight a group as possible. The sheep didn't appreciate it much.

My hen seems to be trying to set a record. She's laid 8 eggs in the last 13 days, even with a snow storm. A few weeks ago I told her I was going to buy some baby chicks. I thought it was simply polite to let her know she'd have company when they were old enough to roam. I certainly didn't mean to imply I was going to boot her out or something, but she does seem to be showing me that she's up to the task of supplying us with eggs!

No Laying on Hens

That's what I admonished Dierdre, our Briard, this morning. We had 7" of snow last night, and this morning is gorgeous: sunny, blue sky, and lots of fluffy snow. Dierdre is having so much fun!

As soon as she went out the door, she dipped her muzzle in the snow and tossed her head up, letting snow fly. Then she went into puppy mode, head down, rear end in the air, wanting to play. (She's about eight years old, by the way.) She ran ahead of me toward the barn, circling back to me every minute or so, to make sure I was aware of how great the morning was.

She wanted to play! But the sheep wouldn't cooperate. All they were interested in was food. While I threw flakes of hay onto the snow, she herded sheep, but none of them shared her snow-loving enthusiasm.

Next she tried the hens, chasing them around the barn and out into the snow. My Americauna hens are pretty good size, but seven inches of snow is just too much for them; they sank half way up their bodies and had no chance to escape Dierdre's enthusiasm. I reached her just as she caught a hen and laid on her. She actually positions her quarry under her chest and lays on the unfortunate small animal to control it. She's done this to small lambs, hens, and a very annoyed Chihuahua. She doesn't want to hurt them, just govern them. I grabbed her collar and pulled her off, and the hen, looking very ruffled and affronted, ran for cover in the barn.

As I headed for the house, Dierdre tried one more time to get the sheep to "play", with, not surprisingly, no success. I called her, and she raced to me, ears and fur blowing, snow flying from her paws. She frolicked all the way to the door. A joyful dog really makes my day; I can't help but feel happy!

A Snow-loving Dog

Our Briard, Dierdre, loves the snow; she's choosing to stay outside most of the day. The snow gives us an opportunity to discover some of her habits, though. We can track where she goes, how she gets there, and even where she places her paws as she walks. It's amazing how close together her tracks are--she places her feet within a very narrow path as she moves.

I love the center trail that winds around the tree.

Dierdre is a tending dog as well as a herding dog. Tending dogs keep their flocks in a confined space, allowing them to graze, hang out, or sleep only in that limited area. Dierdre tends her flock as they start eating each meal. She runs 'round and 'round and 'round them as they munch their hay. Tending them in the snow leaves a ring of paw prints around the sheep. If someone looked at them after Dierdre and I went back into the house, they'd wonder why I was drawing circles in the snow around my sheep!

Snow and Ice -- Cold and Gorgeous

Wow, we have had some intense weather this week. A major cold front came through Arizona. We got about 6" of snow and had lows in the teens and maybe even colder last night. It's absolutely beautiful, but it's difficult feeding the sheep in this weather, and the hens certainly don't like it.

Dierdre, our dog, doesn't care to be out when the snow is actually falling, although she bravely accompanies me to feed the sheep and to bring in firewood. Once the snow stopped, though, she's been having a blast. She keeps scooping up snow with her muzzle and tossing it in the air and then jumping around me to play. She wants to be outside in the snow, but she also wants to be with me (and I want to stay in the house where it's warm), so she's having difficulty deciding what to do. She keeps encouraging me to go out and play, and I keep prompting her to either stay in or to be satisfied being outside without me.

Wow, That's a Lot of Snow

An impressive snow storm came through Monday afternoon and evening. I haven't seen official snowfall totals, but we received at least 6".

Cotswold sheep love the cold, but they don't like rain and snow. They were quite put out. Everyone stayed crowded in the barn for two days -- what a mess. Now that the sheep are going out again, they are churning up the snow, which is melting, and the resulting mud is about 4" deep. It practically pulls off my boots when I step in it. I tried putting flakes of hay in the midst of nice, unmarked fields of snow, but the sheep don't want to wade out too far; they really sink. So, I put the hay flakes on clean snow right next to where they've already walked, so they can easily reach it while still standing in shallow snow or mud.

We had another lamb born on Friday -- a little black ewe with white tips on her ears. We've named her Lavender.