Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A Winter Mystery


While much of the weekend looked like this, the animals and their humans hunkered down and tried to stay warm for the most part.


Bella stayed in her usual spot.  Even though she has access to three different shelters, she seldom uses them. 


The sheep usually only seek shelter in the very worst of the wind and snow.  Most winter mornings we are greeted by these big, snow and ice covered bumps in the pasture.


The crows are always nearby, hanging out, watching and waiting.  They watch for Bella and Samson to fall asleep after their long night of guarding the farm.  They wait for them to turn their back, if only for a moment, so that they can fly in and steal a nugget or two of dog food. 
And on these frigid mornings, when the whole farm seems to be a frozen, snowglobe, they also wait for their chance to swoop in and pick off big chunks of ice that have frozen on the sheep's backs.  They quickly fly away with them and head down into the hollow, so that we have never been able to observe what it is that they actually do with them.  Are they after the ice for the water, or perhaps for the hay seeds that may have frozen inside?
















joining The View From Right Here for Rurality Blog Hop

19 comments:

  1. How interesting the sheep rarely seek shelter! I didn't know that.

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  2. Lovely photos. It does look really, really cold.

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  3. Fascinating animal behavior and great photography!

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  4. That is so funny about the birds! I wonder what they do with it? Curious..

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  5. Wow! Those sheep are brave out there in the elements like that! But then again, I guess that is why they have all that wool! Cheeky birds, those crows, but I guess they have to do what they have to do to survive!

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  6. snowy sheep!! Love this!
    ~Linda

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  7. now that's unusual! kinda cool, too. sweet bella...

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  8. Brrrr. That's what mountain living brings I guess. We have 6-10 inches on the way tonight and tomorrow.

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  9. I didn't know sheep liked to hang out in the snowy cold like that. And Bella- must have several layers of fur to lay down in it...BRRR!

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  10. I love the snow covered sheep! They must be so well insulated that nothing fazes them! Crows are funny birds. They like shiny things. My Grand father had a pet crow and it was always flying off with shiny bits. He would bring them to a nest he built in a tree and my Grand father would have to climb a ladder every once in a while to retrieve the goods. He found his watch up there and several pieces of silver ware. The crow would sneak into the kitchen now and again for thieving. xx

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  11. What awesome dogs these sheep dogs are! Love you shots and it does look COLD!!!

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  12. Lovely photos.
    It look very cold over there. :)

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  13. I am thoroughly cold now but certainly mesmerized by your winter wakeup scenes! Great dog you have there.

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  14. Bella is blessed to have that amazing coat... Thank you for joining in 'Rurality Blog Hop #3' Hope to see you next Wednesday for #4...

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