



The snow didn't wait until afternoon yesterday...photos on the left were taken about ten-thirty shortly after it started, those on the right at one-thirty, and it didn't stop in between. These were the big, fat, ploppy flakes that pile up fast, and it was a slog back up from the barn. When the girls went to bed last night, I brushed off a couple of inches of snow from Poppy's back...it hadn't melted off all day! It was a day for Stumpy to stay inside, and Bess, Frank and Pearl never strayed far from the woodstove. Esther picked a bad night to get stubborn and not go into the barn. She gets a wild hair every so once in awhile and says No. I coaxed, I cussed, I chased. I explained the ramifications of her decision should she not change her mind. She wasn't having any of it. So be it. She has Louie's old room to go into, so she'd be out of the snow and weather, but it isn't the same as snuggling up to a roommate on a cold night. This morning she is in the corner of the pen, proclaiming loudly that she's sorry and she'll never do it again. Bet me! She has short-term memory loss and this won't be the last time. The dogwoods haven't bloomed yet, so this won't be the last snow, either. Nothing to do but enjoy it.