In which we've lost Waldo, the chickens sink, and Pickles has some good fun

It's like one of those "Where's Waldo" pictures: 

Where's Haiku Farm?

Being stuck at home isn't all bad.  We didn't lose power until late afternoon, so there was plenty of time to write like crazy on the books. 

About an hour before sundown yesterday, the sky cleared up and we got realio-trulio sunshine--which makes for some awesome photos:

I am still absurdly happy to have a barn!

Sunbathing in late-afternoon January

Postcard

lower pasture

Snow on alder trees.  I had to be careful shooting this--
those branches are heavy and inclined to break and fall!

Lisa

Lisa and Will (and Luna) enjoy rolling in sn*w...

Will and Luna

...but chickens don't.  In fact, chickens sink.

Her legs are short and her body is heavy.  She sinks like a rock.

I had to stomp down a scratching area for the hens so they could eat their dinner and not get stuck in nearly a foot of white stuff.

Hen party.

Jim did a little higher-tech sn*w-stompage to clear out the driveway...

Jim and Tootles the Tractor

...but here's the view of our road:

No WAY am I driving on this!

The county plows as often as possible, but they only need to make sure that emergency vehicles can travel safely.  More than an inch of compacted snow and ice is NOT safe for civilian cars and trucks.   So, we stayed home.

Fascinated.

Fiddle was fascinated by all the goings-on.   The dogs can't get enough of playing in the white stuff.  Even Luna, who is normally quite sedentary, romps around like a puppy. 

Luna and Mimsy

but the one who enjoys it most is Pickles:

Picklefish!

Yesterday, the drifts were bigger than Pickles, and she had fun porpoising around the yard.

Pickles the Porpoise

Today, she learned to find the shallower spots near trees and vehicles, but she still enjoys playing in it for as long as I will let the dogs stay outside. 

When they come inside, they flop down beside the woodstove and sleep like a pile of dead things.

I'm not the only one who dislikes the Winter Wonderland:

"I want to go back to little grass shack/ In Kealakekua, Hawai`i;
I want to be with all the kanes and wahines/ That I used to know long ago..."

Today, the blue-sky went away, and the wind blew away a lot of the white stuff. 

Rain is forecast for tomorrow.

Where's the MOUNTAIN???

Me?  I'm ready for rain.  Now would be just fine.