After a very slow start to winter, it has finally arrived! During both of the last two snow storms, I went out to try and get some nice wintery photos, but found it was snowing so hard, it actually made it hard to get good photos. The snow in the air was so thick and moving so fast, the camera struggled to focus on what I was asking it to focus on! 

Nonetheless, I did get some fun photos. I love that both of the species I raise are so comfortable with winter. The yak, especially, are made for it. Their coats are so insulating, that they build up these huge snow blankets that they periodically have to shake off. 

In the foreground of the above photo, that crackled white stuff is snow on a yak standing in front of the one I was trying to photograph! Look at how thick that is. I imagine it is quite warm and insulating, though probably a bit heavy. When they shake, the whole thing pops off in sheets. It's something to behold!

Even the littles seem completely unfazed. As usual, when they see me, the first thing they ask is, "did you bring food?" 

The elk seem just as at home in the stuff, though the snow does not seem to build up on them in quite the same way as it does on the yak. 

I am so happy to finally be getting a bit of winter. I moved North for a reason, you know! Plus, I am not ready to move into maple season yet. I need a post-holiday lull before going full tilt again! Well, I guess it's time to bundle up and feed and enjoy this winter weather while it lasts.

I think this storm was our largest single event snow total since we've been here. It's hard to measure exactly, but we got close to two feet in a 24-hour period. It was hovering around 33F, so I knew the snow would be heavy. It started in middle of the night Monday. When I woke up on Tuesday, it was really coming down. I went out to do my first plow run and my poor half ton pick-up had to work pretty darn hard!

And, of course, I had to check on the critters. You can see the yak were taking it in stride in the video above. I love how you can see just how well their coat insulates them. The snow just builds up on them but doesn't really melt. They just shake it off occasionally. The elk, who are also made for this kind of weather, were doing just fine and looking rather regal in the snow.

We recently got solar panels installed. Overall, it was a great decision given just how freakishly high our electric rates are, but there is a downside. No one mentioned how that meant I would be doomed to spend the rest of my life shoveling off this little balcony to be sure if doesn't collapse from the weight. The fun thing about taking a before and after photo is that you know how long it takes you to do something. Nine minutes. I guess there's a reason I was huffing and puffing. 

And I may have cried a bit when I looked out only fifteen minutes later to see this. Yup. I shoveled that balcony more than once yesterday!

Later in the day, I happened to look out a window I hadn't looked out previously and saw this. Ugh! I didn't realize that we had suddenly reached critical mass, so I ran out and rescued these rose-of-sharon, along with my lilacs, rhododendron, and a few others I don't know the names for. Lots of broken branches. Boo.

Last night around 7 o'clock, I went out for one last plow. All told, I plowed three separate times yesterday and used almost half a tank of gas in my truck. I'm going to guess those three sessions probably totaled four hours of time. So, between that and my shoveling, I really did do almost nothing but snow removal yesterday! No wonder I'm tired!

This morning though, the snow finally was done and the sun was trying to peek out. I had to hay the yak, which was a bit of a challenge. For the first time, I felt the need to clear the snow before bringing the bale in, lest I get stuck. And I struggled to get this gate open. After cussing it out a bit, wondering why it didn't open out, I suddenly realized it could open out, if I wanted it to. Right! Note to self: when expecting the next big snow, rearrange this gate to open out. Your back will thank you!

The nice thing about mid-March storms is that the days get warm enough to really help clear the driveways and roads. I love winter. I love snow, and I was pretty disappointed with this winter up until about a month ago. Ummm. I'm good now. I've had my fill. I'm ready for spring now!!

I take a lot of photos of my critters. Sometimes I get some really nice shots. Other times... not so much. Part of the problem is my equipment. I just don't have that great of a zoom lens, which - especially with the skittish elk - can make things challenging. 

Today, they were pushing my zoom to the limit, but I suspect even with a good zoom lens, I may still have been a bit disappointed in the outcome. If you've followed me for any length of time, you may have heard me mention that I am always surprised at how often I get photos of the elk with their tongues sticking out. The only thing I can guess is that elk really just spend more time with their tongues hanging out - I can come up with no other explanation.

Then there was this lovely toothy grin shot with a big butt in front. At least I managed to not get a photo of Mr. Butt actually pooping, which was a valid concern. As an aside, elk are like cows and most ruminants in that they do not have front teeth on the top, so this is about as toothy as this guy can get!

And then there was a whole series of these shots, which looked pretty all right at the thumbnail level but made me laugh out loud when I enlarged them a bit. Elk have two interesting patches of light hair on their chins that make them look like they have big fangs. But if you look closely in this picture, right above those two patches, Mister Broad Tine has two little icy patches that make him look like he has the cutest little buck teeth I've ever seen. Kind of ruins what might otherwise have been a majestic shot. 

Now every time I look at this photo, all I can think of is Bugs Bunny. Oh well. There is always tomorrow. I suppose you can't expect to get a great shot every time!

It was still really cold when I got up this morning. Not quite as cold as this image of my weather station shows, as that is the low from overnight, but it was still close. It was still showing a -22F wind chill, so I decided I would really bundle up this morning.

Honestly, I overdid it a bit. I was sweating like crazy, but every time I tried to pull down the balaclava to cool off, my face hurt from the cold!

I really wanted to make sure everyone was all right, especially Big Guy. I looked and looked and looked for him to no avail. After an hour of looking, I was getting a bit concerned (and frustrated!).

I figured I'd do one last drive by of the far side of the pasture, and then I saw him.

You see him, right? It was that antler tip that caught my eye.

How about now?

His muzzle was a bit frosty, but he had clearly found the perfect place to spend the night, and he looked pretty bright-eyed despite being unwilling to get up for some breakfast. I left it there for him and figure he'll help himself when he's ready to give up him warm spot. 

I had a bit of restless sleep last night fretting about this guy, and I'm so happy to see him looking so well this morning! Yay!