Fowl Weather

We had a winter storm with high winds and heavy snow a couple weeks ago. Then the weather turned quite cold with temperatures in the single digits. My hands ached with the cold whenever I went outside. The weather is beginning to warm up again and we are expecting rain for the next few days.

Every year throughout my life, we’ve always had a thaw in January–officially called The January Thaw. When I was a child, the thaw would turn the melted snow into a small pond in our side yard. The pond would refreeze into an icy rink and we’d go “skating” on it. We didn’t have skates; we just slid around in our boots and pretended they were skates. I don’t exactly look forward to The January Thaw these days because when the melted snow refreezes, it makes our driveway as icy as a luge track. In 2018, I fell on the icy driveway while walking down to get the mail and broke my wrist. The break was bad enough that I had to get a metal plate put in. So January Thaws tend to be rather treacherous. Honestly, I would rather just have cold and snow until winter’s end. Snow is easier to deal with than ice.

The chickens don’t like the snow and cold. Perhaps it’s because chickens were originally wild jungle fowl that are believed to have originated in southeast Asia about 8,000 years ago. Of course, they have been bred into many different breeds over the centuries but, still, maybe they never lost their jungle sensitivities. My chickens have stayed in their coop since the winter storm hit and are only just now leaving it during the day.

I jokingly declare that my chickens are my fowl weather forecasters. Well, not exactly forecasters. More like indicators. I can look out the window and determine how bad the weather is by how many chickens are wandering around outside. The fewer the chickens I see, the worse the weather. The more chickens there are, the nicer the weather. I didn’t see any chickens out this morning but most of them are out this afternoon so I know the temperature is warmer. They are staying on the path of packed snow I made when going to and from the coop rather than venturing into the deeper snow.

I’ve been playing around with my trail cam, putting it in different places to try to find the best location for it. EJ, my deer expert, tells me that when the weather is bad, the deer tend to stay put. So they haven’t wandered through our property enough to get captured by the camera. A deer did come by early this morning, but I didn’t get a good photo because branches blocked the cam. So I moved the cam again. Actually, I will have to wait until after winter to try one of the locations that I would prefer. I wouldn’t mind putting it on a post in the flower garden so it captures critters that come nearer the house. However, I have to wait until the ground thaws to dig a hole. Another alternative is putting the cam near where I always see a lot of animal tracks (mostly deer) but I have to be careful that they don’t get hit by a stream of snow when our neighbor comes to snowblow our driveway. Also, while I learn how to use the camera, I’d like the camera to be close enough that I can activate it from inside the house with my phone. I have to be within about a 45-foot range to connect. It’s been too cold to stand outside while I activate the cam.

On EJ’s way to work on Sunday morning, our truck died and he had to get it towed home. Since we currently only have one vehicle, this was a bit of a problem. Hopefully, repairs won’t cost TOO MUCH or be serious enough that we need a new (used) vehicle since we have meager savings–but God says He will supply all our needs and He has taken care of us many times in the past. EJ wasn’t able to make it to work on Sunday, but a co-worker provided transportation to and from work on Monday. A friend is lending us one of his vehicles until we get the truck fixed. EJ has today and tomorrow off (his regular days off) so his friend drove his car here today–a two-hour trip–and then EJ drove him back to his house. EJ is now on his way home again.