Yes, that's end of day ice on the thermometer. I think it was hovering somewhere around 15 degrees and it was windy so it was even colder when I shot this picture. It must have been around five o'clock when I went out to feed Maggie her grain. I keep wanting to feed dog and pony to keep up their body temperature. Tonight, a good friend asked, "How does your horse keep warm?" and then related how her ducks want to still swim, despite ice forming on their swimming pool.
I don't know. I really don't understand how hooved ungulates (read: deer and cows and horses and the like) (despite heavy winter coats) keep warm. I've seen beds in the woods- circles of smashed, compressed leaves- where I know deer huddle together at night. I left Maggie with extra straw to make a nice bed in her stall, and she still seemed to want to be outside. But you have to think they're sort of miserable, too. More hay, more straw, more grain, more calories.
Jules seem to be oblivious to the cold. He'll run through puddles, gleefully smashing ice and then run off with wet feet. But the last few days, even he wants to come back inside.
And meanwhile, in my studio, the wood stove burned fiercely all day long. I worked on an ongoing project, but suffered from brain freeze. I just didn't feel super smart or edgy or like I wanted to put fabulous ideas to the test. Instead, I felt drawn in and low key. I went and secured another 20 bales of hay this morning, and that was about it for heroic measures. I was more than happy to sit by the fire this afternoon, sewing a particularly laborious part of my "Fiscal Cliff" piece. It is a hunkering down time of the year.
So I'm hoping for no more than an inch of snow on Friday. We are supposed to travel to NYC to see art and have some urban entertainment but they are being hesitant about weather we're getting one inch- or one foot. Tomorrow is rumored to be as cold- or colder!- than today.
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