The Children Were Nestled All Snug in Their Bed

Ok, we don't have children, but Albert and Boris, our house pets, were just so cute this morning curled up together between the tree and the wood stove. The sun was shining, but the temps only got up to freezing. We got a couple inches of snow here on the valley floor (more than a foot just ten minutes up the hill), but it won't be melting for at least the next week. Temperatures will probably drop down close to zero again tonight. The house has been down in the mid-fifties when I get up in the morning, but starting up a fire and letting the sun shine in gets it warmed up again quickly.

I've got paths shoveled down to the dirt linking house, coop, mailbox, garage and woodpile so I can go out to do chores without getting cold feet or tracking snow back into the house. The chickens like it too - they use the paths to spread out from pen to dog run to the bird feeders up close to the house, enjoying their chance at a bit of sun. We're still getting two to four eggs a day - the new girls are going strong, and Missy's crossbreeds are looking good with their brand new fluffy feathers all grown back in. Aries even took two dozen eggs to work with him today, and could have held an auction - the guys were so anxious to get them they would have bid against each other.