Taking pictures in this weather is hard, but the snow stopped for about two hours today and I got this shot of my birds, braving the weather, from my dining room window. There’s almost no light outside and it took some contrast editing to get it to look decent at that. This is my wheaten rooster and my blue Ameraucana hen.
We’ve been having a warm, dry winter. It’s felt more like September than December and it’s been throwing off people’s sleep cycles. Most of my friends are fairly in tune with natural cycles and the fact that our winter has been anything but is upsetting.
Now that the snow is finally here, I am celebrating! Even the chickens seem content to tolerate it as they run across the lawn, stopping to crow or peck the ground, rather than stay in their coop. The dogs go leaping around the lawn, barking and rolling in the snow. The rabbits are just as active as ever and I am cozy and warm with a cup of chamomile tea. The snow and cold is important. Parasites die, the ground water is slowly restored, plants that rely on the spring floods will bloom and the trees will conserve their energy for the explosive growth they will need in a few months. The animals hibernate and the harsh realities of the winter weed out sick and weak animals from wild herds, allowing future generations to be stronger. The thick snow protects small grass and shallow seedlings from marauding grazers and the world falls quiet for a little while. It breathes and sloughs off it’s old skin, like a snake getting ready to shed into something bright and beautiful and new.
Sure, winter is hard, but we come out all the brighter for it once it’s done. So I’m certainly glad for the calmer, quiet, renewing days of the year and I hope they stick around long enough to make the differences that they are supposed to!
quarteracrehome 