The Little Snow before The Big Storm

This is Daisy , my pet wild turkey and she is not any more impressed with this weather than I am!

I did Hop out of bed early this morning and take off to run the last of my errands Before the Big Storm barrels into town tomorrow afternoon.

 I did get a  shovel and the kerosene for the lantern. It is suppose to be bad with high winds and lose of electricity. You would think after all these years the electric company would come up with a better plan?? I went to town and got two bales of hay for the donkey . There is big bales of hay in the back but I do not think he would be able to walk that far with his age in that amount of snow so this should keep him in the barn safe. 

After I got Yukon's hay and pellets I circled by my friend's house that had the surgery . All of the water to our animals is frozen solid so I watered All of his birds. They all appreciated the drinks. He has the neatest water source. It looks like an old timey pump sticking out of the ground but you pull up on the handle and it pulls the water from below ground -then you push down on the handle to turn it off and the water is released Down below the ground where it does not freeze and is never left in the pipe. Now I am jealous . If he comes out of his surgery successfully maybe this Summer he can help me get one too.??? We will see. 

 Then I circled by the hospital to check on him and found him looking decent for what a 72 year man has been through. He was in a lot of pain and he have him on pain meds so I left so he could catch a nap. He was very sneaky - he had sold a snow blade and had 60.00 to share with me. I Protested Strongly but he insisted strongly and I decided it would be wiser to let him win this one and graciously accepted his kind offer. Then I went and bought 50.00 worth of groceries. When I came out those first snow flurries were in the air and I headed for home.

When I  got home and went to unload the feed  and they had given me the Wrong dern feed. I was so miffed -called them and they did not have any of what Yukon can eat so I asked them IF the Tractor Supply in the other town had any would they trade it out for me and and they said yes, long as I had my receipt. So, off I flew , complaining about all this lost time and loss of gas for this unexpected trip??? I had to stop and get gas and then get to the other store The made me unload mine and then get what I wanted -my back is giving me trouble so I struggled . There was a young man there who was looking at the reduced winter clothes . He had picked up one of those hoodie things that cover your face and took it up and had the fellow scan it. He did not have the money but he had seen me unloading and offered to help me load and I said sure. 

Then he went out the door and the cash registure fellow went to the clothes and made sure he had put the hoodie back?? He thought he might have stolen it as he has a lot of that. I had to laugh because this young fellow was SWAMPED. People were hitting him up for everything . I got out doors and the young man was there. He grabbed the feed and tossed it in the car between the two bales of hay. He was very sweet and said that he had a new baby and times were hard -that he was suppose to help a friend push snow and then he would have the money for the hat. As he turned to leave I had a ten left that a friend had just given me and I stuck it in his hand. He tried to resist but I told him I had needed a "son" at that moment and he had gone out of his way to help me - to GO GET YOUR HAT -and off he scooted.  lol  I prayed for him as I drove home. I struggle with money too but God has Always provided for me and my animals and I love him for taking care of us.

FINALLY I was home and it was Late. I only had an hour to unload all the feed and get all the chores accomplished. At the end I stopped and admired all of the different runs of the little chickens . There are 6 runs in the building with the same breed of chicken, but divided into the different colors . The colors just make my heart beat to imagine how my Father in Heaven paints each 

                                                                   

More of the critters are outdoors - this is Mr. Turkey eyeballing those first snow flakes too .I sure hope I can "rise to the occasion:.

                                                                               

These are a commerical breed of chicken that are wonderful layers. I nickname them "The RED DINOSAURS" They have a horrible trait - IF you would want to add another chicken to the group - they are so agressive that they kill them. So, this Summer I plan to trade them out for a heirloom breed with a better disposition. That way I can help to preserve a noble breed for a good cause.

                                                                         

This is their loyal protector - he has raised them since I got them so they abide with him. He is one of the left over colored egg layers that I had and enjoyed tremendously. But, they would quit laying in November and then start back up at Easter was why I switched to the Red Dinosaurs.

                                                                                 

lAs I made my way into the house I filled up both of the bird feeders. The mixed seed one will last for a while but the sunflower seed one will be empty in the morning and will need to be refilled . They will be hungry little bellies to keep full during this major event they are calling for. Since losing my DH 3 years ago this will be my First Major Storm Storm by myself and i am a little nervous as you know all kind of things can catch you off guard. I am trying to think of everything and be a good "girl-scout"

The bad stuff is not suppose to start until tomorrow night so I am going to try to fix a pot of beans tomorrow and then fill the bathtub full of water to have it to flush the commode and water the critters as we are suppose to lose our electricity. IF ONLY we could keep our electricity - there is so much I could accomplish-like SEWING . It will definitely be out of my hands and I will take it one step at a time with God's help.

I forgot to mention that something snapped one of my turkeys. She had been sitting in the garden and just disappeared -leaving just a few feathers?? I pondered what could be big enough to grab a full grown turkey and run off with her without even a big struggle and lots of feathers??? I could not figure out how a coyote could get in the garden fence and then out carrying her??? Then today when I stopped at the mailbox and walked down there was a hard crust of snow from a couple of days ago. A deer's prints in the snow caught my attention -then mingled in was a BIG ROUND Paw Print - Much Too Big for any dog and much rounder. I think Mr. Bear might have made a stop at my garden spot???  The only other critter I have running free now is Daisy but she normally roosts HIGH in the walnut trees so I am hoping she is safe  and there is no reason he will stop back again. I am Hoping that he would not get brave enough to try to get into a dog kennel or two buildings????  I will just pray hard. ~smile~