The Big Chill

Winter flock bittersweet vine, llama

Saturday's storm dumped another 14 inches of fluffy white stuff on Patten Hill, making Sunday morning's commute to Webs to teach my handspinning workshop rather interesting. After getting the pickup truck with the snow plow hung up in the driveway and a heart-stopping sideways slide down a slick, unsanded town road, I finally managed to make it to interstate 91, which was slushy but otherwise okay.

Knee-deep snow for a llama is chest deep for sheep and goats, but this doesn't seem to bother them. Like little bulldozers, they plow right through to keep up with me and the hay sleigh. What they do mind is harsh wind and biting cold, which moved in this morning and will be with us right through the weekend. Temperatures hovered in the low teens today – tolerable but not fun. By evening chore time the wind kicked up. My hands went numb when I made the silly mistake of taking off my gloves for a minute to unfasten a hose coupling. While sipping latte with Melissa at the coffee shop I heard rumors of potentially record setting negative double digits for Friday morning. Good grief.

An overnight prediction of 5F with wind chill of minus 5F called for special measures. After feeding everyone, Mike and I closed all barn doors to keep sheep in and the wind out – as much as possible. To everyone's delight, a small supplement of grain accompanied the evening hay ration, a few extra calories to burn on a long, cold night. Hopefully, they'll have the good sense to huddle together for warmth. I left the water running at a trickle in the milk room sink to keep the pipes from freezing.

Flock hay sleigh

Winter feeding

On a brighter note, harmony reigns again this week in the carriage barn. After days of jostling and sparring among the boys, I detected an entirely mellow vibe when I entered the barn Monday morning. Allies once again, my rams Parsley and Teaberry have called a truce. The tension that's been in the air for days is gone, I could sense it the moment I entered the building to find them lounging in the straw, chewing their cud. 

It's easy to understand why they fought in the first place: Teaberry is upset to have been pulled from his ladies and Parsley is really ticked off that he didn't get to visit the ladies at all. But what makes them one day decide to stop smashing the #*%! out of each other? Nearly equal in size, there's no obvious victor or loser.I can't help but wonder if they lose interest or simply forget why they were fighting in the first place. It's a relief to see the aggression and hostility subside. Holly and I restored their pen to its normal size, removed the summer tires and opened the door so they could go out for a stretch. They tentatively filed out into the yard, no pushing or shoving. A peaceable kingdom once again.

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copyright 2009, Barbara Parry, Foxfire Fiber & Designs

photos by Ben Barnhart