Keeping warm in snowy weather

According to the radio, this is the worst winter storm of this season. Where I live, up in the hills above the Fraser Valley, we routinely get more snow than down below, or we get snow when it is raining below. So the animals and I are quite used to dealing with the white stuff.

However, even the animals sense something different today. It began at about 1:00 AM when the dogs started playing musical beds in order to find a warmer spot to sleep. I keep my house very cool at night (some of my friends and family say I keep it very cool all the time! ) but last night even I woke up chilly. Caleb, however, won the prize for creative solutions. He jumped onto the bed (which is perfectly permissible in my household), but instead of stretching out next to me as he usually does, he dove under the covers, resting his head on a pillow I had under my knees to ease a backache (no doubt caused by shoveling snow yesterday in order to get out of the driveway). And there he slept – head on pillow by my knees, butt and tail sticking out from under the comforter on “his” side of the bed!! Silly dog!

The piggies hate the cold and snow. Last night I gave them extra hay (I must get some more straw in soon!) and extra blankets to help keep them warm. This morning…well, Janice the Piggy Lady who runs the Hearts on Noses sanctuary will be proud of me…I fed them warm oatmeal!

When I first agreed to fostering the pigs and piglets, Janice had told me that in winter she feeds them hot oatmeal and I rolled my eyes and said “No way am I doing that – I don’t even cook oatmeal for myself in the morning. Piggy feed and fruits and veggies will have to do!!!”

Little had I known how sorrowful a piggy’s eyes can look when it is cold out……And so I mixed up a big bowl of oatmeal to feed the little gluttons today and to warm their bellies. They are happy piggies. I just hope they don’t expect the royal treatment every cold morning.

Derby enjoying his oatmeal:



Oatmeal on a piggy's snout:



Martin the alpaca likes a bucket full of warm water on a cold day – it is the only time he sucks back the water like he has been wandering the desert for days. A lipsmacking thankyou from him and my morning was complete.

I’ve cancelled my class today – it is a good day to cocoon with the dogs and cat, read a good book (I’m in the middle of “Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog” by Ted Kerasote), tidy the attic, and do some advance prep for my courses this term.

I’m hoping the road will be passable by mid-afternoon – Caleb goes to the vet to have his bloodwork re-checked to determine if we have made progress kicking the cancer cells into remission. Keep paws and fingers crossed for him.