Before I started my off-the-farm job today, I stopped at the woolen mill to pick up some finished roving (we can only process small batches here and this was a big one). Then I drove to the feed mill to pick up alpaca feed.  It was snowing fairly heavy and I have a 26 mile commute to work, so having 160 pounds of feed in the back of my Jeep was welcomed.

On the way home, I noticed our Fiber Arts Shop sign out on the highway had torn loose in one corner from the winter winds.  So I drove the rest of the way home, let the dog out of the house, gathered up some tools and headed back to the highway for sign repair  ---by car headlight!  It gets dark at 5:00 p.m. at this time of year.

We got between 3-4 inches of snow today and had 3-4 inches from two days ago already on the ground, so when the winds picked up today, there were some knee deep drifts in the yard. Usually John would be home by now plowing the driveway, but he's at some training seminar in Chicago for a couple of days for his off-the-farm job.

I shoveled the sidewalk and patio between the garage and the house, unloaded the roving into the studio, and trekked the 160 pounds of alpaca feed across the yard in snow (that must count as some kind of aerobic exercise), and THEN I was ready to do the chores.

60 gallons of hauled water, 8 bales of hay, and 15 gallons of grain later, all the fiber animals were fed.  I crawled up in the hay mow and threw down hay for tomorrow night, cleaned out the pens some, and then stood in the doorway looking at the gorgeous night sky.  It was 7p.m. by now and the winds had stopped.  The night air was cold and crisp and everything was blanketed in white.  It was breath-taking to view the cedar fencing against the woods and the white snow.

I almost hated to go in the house, but I hadn't had dinner yet and I was hungry.  Besides there are 3 more furballs in the house that need attention and food. Until next time . . .