Winter chores

I have to say, the least  favorite of my winter chores is chipping the snowballs out of hooves. 

It seems that they come back just as soon as I walk away! Gussie is good about letting me pound away at them but Velvet has opinions about it and doesn't always let me get it done. 

The snow is that dry squeaky stuff that comes with the drop in temperatures to 30 below Celcius. We have very dry cold here, not like some areas near lakes that get more moisture and heavy wet snow. We can still clean the sidewalk with the leaf blower, bonus!

Snow blankets

The mares were on high alert again yesterday, sure enough they had spotted this cow moose. This photo is deceiving, as that fence is a good hundred yards from the moose, who is browsing across the river. 

Velvet is getting rounder and I am trying hard to be patient!

Velvet is good at sharing; Gussie eats faster and helps Velvet clean up 

 We get ice fog when the temperatures drop and it frosts up the horse's hair and eyelashes. I looked at the forecast for the month, and the cold is going to continue, albeit in the minus 20s instead of 30s. So much for the old wives tale of heavy precipitation 90 days after a fog, which due to the fogs in November should have given us a snowy February. I reckon we will get spring snow storms instead! Bah!