Well today is another let down. The weather was supposed to be rain then maybe flurries overnight with no real accumulation. The Weather Church Preacher lied (the weather man on TV), so far it looks like we have about 4" on the ground. It is wet and sloppy.

Chicky and Scooter are very carefully coming out of the coop each day to check the weather. Scooter gets out on the porch of the coop and flies to the nearest perch so he does not get his feet cold and wet. The other day I found Chicky setting in the doorway of the coop just looking around at everything, just like someone setting on the front porch. That night when I went to close up the coop door she was sound asleep with her butt hanging out the coop door. Must have been a busy day for her.

The horses are even grumpy they don't seem to be their usual busy selves. The pasture is a cross between mud and ice and so they cannot run at all. Sometimes they get a little giddy and kick up their heels but they are being very careful since it is slippery in spots. Last night when I went to let them in for the night Mare waited back by the pasture fence while Gelding came trotting in the barn. Mare then ran as fast as she could go without slipping. She stayed back waiting for Gelding to get in the barn first so she could have a wide open space. Even if it was only a little run she seemed to be pretty proud of what she had accomplished. She has come a long way since that April day 3 years ago when I brought her home. She was 100 # underweight and her hair was long and scraggly. She walked around like a zombie, doing what ever I would ask but not getting too involved in anything. She was a sad site. But she is a beautiful girl now. She is developing quite a personality these days always trying to get to the top of the Herd. Which will probably never happen, but she keeps trying. Lately sometimes Mare will lay her ears back and try to keep Gelding from the Hay as I bring it out to the pasture for them. That is a dominant behavior among horses, taking the territory or food of another horse. They will assert themselves to elevate their status. If the other horse backs down then the horse that backed down loses his/her place in the herd. Gelding just looks at her with that look like "ya right, you and who's army" and proceeds to get the first bite. I doubt he will ever lose his place in the herd. He is very level and smart, not that Mare is not smart but she is somewhat flighty and Gelding is not. He can be dominant but that is not the what keeps him the first in the herd. At times I actually think I can see him just shaking his head at some of the things she does. I can definatly hear him laughing at her from time to time.