It’s in the teens here today, with a chilly wind – it feels about 10 degrees out there. It is winter, so this isn’t unexpected. What’s different about today is the sunshine…it’s bright, almost glaringly so, outside. What a nice break from the cloud cover and light snow of recent past.
On days like this, we gravitate to the sunlight. You want to stretch your face up to it and let your chloroplasts begin photosynthesis – no, wait, that’s plants. Ok, maybe we produce some vitamin D, instead. The dogs and cats will find a sunny spot inside and bask in it. The rabbits’ tractors are warmed by the sun and they soak it up. The ducks, despite the cold breeze, sat in the sun, too, on the woodpile near the barn. They took a break from their foraging to gather there (just Piper, Pru, and Phoebe – Ty and Coraline were napping in the barn).
Since they were confined to their coop for a week after the last hawk attack, the chickens have been sticking close to the barn. We figure they’ll eventually wander back out to forage, probably when the weather is milder. We put out the additional owl statues to discourage any hawks, so now there are three fierce-looking owls in addition to very reflective streamers and the spinning CDs. The wind has been snarling some of the CDs in the underbrush, so we periodically have to go into the brush to disentangle or even reattach some. It’s worth it if it works, and we haven’t seen any hawks lately.
Fortunately, we know that winter’s austerity will, one day, be replaced by spring’s fecundity. Snow cover and frozen puddles will become a distant memory. Plants will burst from the ground and leaves will sprout on trees. The straw-colored grass will become lush and green, and the bugs will reappear. Winter is a part of the cycle of seasons, and without it, we wouldn’t appreciate spring’s return in the same way. Honestly, though, we’re all ready for spring!