Frosty Day on the Farm

When The Kid and I went out to feed the horses, the cats, and get her on the school bus, we saw that the frost had settled heavy on The Farm. Especially on Cookie…well, because she’s black, it showed best on her. I figured after the sun came up, I would go out and take some pictures of the frostiness.

As it turns out, it’s a darn good thing I went outside, because with the help of bad, bad, bad little cats, the automatic waterer was frozen. Like 1/2″ thick ice over the entire opening frozen. *sigh*
Thankfully, it wasn’t a waterer malfunction, like I initially thought. Last year we had issues with it freezing up because the weather-stripping had rotted away and the wind out here is crazy some days, and it was freezing the water lines. I was positive we had fixed that, plus we stacked a couple 500lb straw bales beside it as a wind break…so I was surprised to see the ice yesterday.

Okay, I didn’t actually see the ice, until the large Blonde pulled her giant fat hoof out of the waterer. Yup, I walked in to the pasture to see idiot Girl had her hoof in the waterer. The good thing is, she wasn’t stuck.I’ve dealt with that a time or two, and it’s no fun. No fun at all. 1500lbs of “Oh, hi Mom! My foot’s stuck in the waterer again.” is just not my idea of a good time.
Count that as one of the things I am super grateful for, that our Sable is a calm and patient horse, because when she does get her foot stuck, I have to help move the hoof around, then lift her leg high enough that she can move it back from the waterer.
I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that Ritchie never thought about the possibility of a horse sticking their foot into their Eco-fount waterers! I really should get a picture of it and send it to them…

So, after some work with the hair dryer, a little peek-a-boo with Astrid, a spanking for Trouble-who was the one who pulled the plug out on the waterer as he stepped of the fence onto the plug, and some creative wood/straw stacking to keep it safe for the Bubble Wrap horse, we finally had water flowing again, and Sable was able to drink. Sort of.

Uh, Mom? There’s a cat in my water…

Yup, there is. He’s thirsty too…because his brother is a jerk. Or, maybe it was him. I don’t exactly know which cat it was. Just push him out and have a drink. 😉

Okay. I can do that…

Once the water was flowing freely again, I went back to trying to capture the frosty images I was looking for…

Hey! You taking pictures of my butt?!?

Make sure you get my good side!

All Sable’s sides are her good side. 😉 At least for photographs.

This is what started it all…Cookie’s mane.

Just the tips were frosted, and it highlighted her mohawk beautifully. Have to say, as much as I loved the long mane on her, she rocks the mohawk! It shows off her neck so nice…and when it’s this in between length, it’s perfect on her. Short enough to see that gorgeous neck, yet not so short as to make her look horribly cresty.

And then, there’s that lovely rump…

I love the way the frost highlights that tail.

Shot’s like this bring Sir Mix-A-Lot to mind…

I like big butts and I cannot lie…

😛

The Sasquatch had a layer of frost too…

And finally, one of my garden stakes…this one seems to stay outside all year long. Most of the others I manage to get brought in, but not this one. Makes for great photos. That could be why I leave it out. 🙂