Tag: frost

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Frosty

A few days of bright cold mornings, the Ash trees have lost their leaves but the Oaks and Rowan still have theirs. The end of the paddock is fenced off to stop the animals eating the acorns, although last year was a mast year with a bumper crop so there should be fewer acorns this year. Cut beech branches from the ditch for the donkeys, gave them a piece of blackthorn as well but they preferred the beech. Sawed wood and disturbed a sleepy wasp that still had its sting. A cool, sunny, day with light winds.

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William And Toby

Dozing in warm sunshine, the first hard frost of the Autumn had already melted away but the water bucket had a thin layer of ice that needed breaking. William has grown his winter coat in the last week or two, with long tufts sticking out along his back by his tail, Toby’s coat seems much the same, just covered in mud from roll-overs. Visited Christchurch Priory to remember flute – playing Anneyce, and chatted with friends afterwards in her local pub. A sunny warm day after a cold start.

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Pond

Frozen at the end furthest from the waterfall and covered with a fine layer of snow which defrosted in the morning sunshine, no sign of the fish, they’ll be resting on the bottom. Very cold overnight, there was an inch of ice on all the water troughs, the donkeys had their bucket of warm water with their breakfast and a supplement of hay which the sheep had pulled out of their feeder and discarded. Nola in particular likes crunching the ice left on the ground next to the trough. A bright sunny day with a biting wind and a little cloud that disappeared to leave a lovely sunset.

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Ouessants

The snow lingered in places, very frosty overnight with ice outside the stable which needed salt, the concrete doesn’t get any sun at this time of year. The Ouessants munched their hay happily and poo picking yielded a lot less as it was hidden in the snow. The donkeys had a couple of hours in the square paddock which is still squelchy, the spring in the ditch has stopped running. Emptied more barrow loads of compost onto the hedge, a dry cube of grass cuttings in the centre of the heap has given way to more worm laden compost. A sunny day with light winds, gave the donkeys their mix in daylight.

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Scratching Post

Smudge always walks to this dead tree whenever he goes outside, he likes to keep his claws nice and sharp, it’s main purpose is to keep the front gate open so I’m not sure how long it’ll be before it needs replacing. Checked the ditch, spring not flowing, ferried a few more barrowloads of compost from the heap to the hedgerow. Watched the rooks swooping around as the shoot scared the wildlife in the field on the other side of the lane. A frosty start to the day, early sunshine and light winds replaced with increasing cloud and falling temperatures with a promise of snow overnight.

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Ice

The water troughs in the paddocks are used by the donkeys and the sheep, so when the night has been cold the troughs need to be cleared of ice. This pile of ice is the result of two cold days / nights; it doesn’t melt away in the foggy day with temperatures only just above zero. Occasionally there are rooks and pigeons drinking, garden birds choose the smaller bird baths in the garden. The fish are resting at the bottom of the pond and have stopped eating, the waterfall is still running so there’s enough oxygen for them. A warmer day with some sunshine.

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William and Toby

Happily grazing in their stable. Toby forages to the bottom of the feeder and then tosses straw out onto the floor with his nose for browsing later. The square paddock is looking a bit cut up with their chasing around, the frost this morning cleared by lunchtime and they were able to go out after a good scratch. Power in the workshop tripped off last night so the timer for the light string had to be reset, I wonder if the donkeys noticed they weren’t on. A frosty foggy morning with light winds.

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Frosty

Very foggy and dark this morning, the daylight hours are definitely getting longer at the end of the day but the mornings still seem to be dark until the same time which feels a bit odd. The day brightened briefly at midday before the foggy gloom settled again. The water in the troughs had half an inch of ice and all the bird baths had to be defrosted. The wren is still flying about singing and the rooks could be heard but not seen in the fog. The donkeys waited to go out in the paddock, the mix of wheat and barley straw seems to be to their liking at the moment.

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Frost

The view down the paddock to the sheep where they’re having their daily portion of hay. The water supply to the tack room has been restored, the problem was actually in the joint below the tap where one of the washers was missing, the below zero night-time temperature was enough to stress the joint and result in a leak. Checking the water meter gave reassurance that there were no other problems, apparently a slow turn of the wheel every few seconds is normal. An easy remedy for the plumber who was wearing shorts and a t-shirt when he got out of his van! He soon put a hoodie on. A sunny cloudy day with a cold wind.

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Walter

The grass is really frosty except where the sheep have rested overnight and then it’s squashed flat and bright green. Walter has a frosty back because he stayed chewing the cud in the same place for a while, and has a fleece that’s a great insulator. Emptied more bags of rubble onto the drive which is progressing OK. The Woodpecker has been sitting up in the tree waiting for the ground to soften so that he can have his daily feed from the lawn. All the water troughs and bird baths needed de-icing and the basket next to the woodburner seems to need filling all the time, some of the stores have stayed dry which is good. A warmer end to the day.

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Boxing Day

The donkeys had their edible Christmas tree and liked the carrots and pieces of apple the best, it was was soon knocked over in search of the treats hidden in the straw and then quite quickly abandoned. The sheep had a very similar tree and stayed interested a bit longer, actually eating some of the twigs and chewing at the bark. The paddocks are still very soggy, a couple of dry days will help dry the ground, there’s a rising spring in the avenue that’s still creating puddles there so that area won’t be used until water levels fall. A lovely sunny day after a hard frost.

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Smudge

Sitting in front of the woodburner keeping warm, Smudge doesn’t mind the bright frosty start to the day, there was a coral pink sunrise sky followed by bright warm sunshine. Spent a few hours sawing willow and eucalyptus branches which are now stacked and seasoning under cover, ready for burning next year. Cut several beech branches for the sheep and donkeys, William and Toby are still not eating their straw, they pick at their bedding while waiting to be let out into the paddock and trot back up to the stable for their vitamins when it’s getting dark. A cold and cloudy end to the day which may mean no frost tomorrow morning.

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Beech Branches

This is a photo from six weeks ago, some of the last branches with greenery, the sheep ate all the leaves and the bare stems were passed on to the donkeys, Toby especially likes to carry them around while munching the ends. The donkeys ate some of their straw yesterday and have no sliced apple to eat tonight so may eat even more, the straw smells fresh so apparently they’re trying it on! Cycling much colder today, frost last night and the mist persisted in the valley, sunshine later.