Winter has arrived on Windyridge

Old man winter arrived on the farm in full force yesterday. The temperature is frigid and the snow is still flying. It’s overcast today, but we often experience beautiful sunrises and sunsets on Windyridge in the winter.

The cattle have their cowhide, and they also grow a thick coat for winter that they will shed in the spring. They are so well insulated that they do not loose their body heat, like we do. Any snow that lands on their backs just stays there until the outdoor temperature warms up and melts it. They eat hay and cattle cubes in the winter, and David has to break the ice on the ponds twice a day so that they can drink.

Anna and Reggie love the snow. They tussle and play, and send the powdery flakes flying. And when they are finished playing, they bring their wet paws and wet fur into the house and vie for the opportunity to be toweled off first.

The chickens, however, hate snow. They sit on their roost and will not come out of their coop until they can see the ground again. They have a warming light and heated water dish inside the coop with them, and David puts big round hay bales on the north side of the coop to block the winter wind. I try to get to their nesting boxes before the eggs are completely frozen… How many months until spring???

You can read more about life on a Kansas farm in Book One of the Jillian MacSweeney Mystery Series, The View from Windyridge (Coming Spring 2026)