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<\/a><\/p>\nThe triplets assumed the huddle position.<\/p>\n The singletons took shelter together.<\/p>\n Blackbeard refused to leave her eggs as the temperatures dropped.\u00a0 Not even for dinner.<\/p>\n But the strongest indicator of all was that the chickens and guineas went from casually foraging in their pasture…<\/p>\n …to a frantic dash for all the milk, bread, and eggs off the grocery store shelves.<\/p>\n Some even took to looting.<\/p>\n Who needs Doppler radar?\u00a0 When the animals start preparing for the storm, it’s time to fill the bath tubs with water, get the oil lamps out of the mud room, and put two cords of wood right outside the patio door.<\/p>\n The snow started right before dinner.<\/p>\n And school was canceled by bedtime.<\/p>\n The South might rise again.\u00a0 But it sure as heck won’t be on a snow day.<\/p>\n In the morning, we discovered that…<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 A nest-building pig is a better weather predictor than a silly groundhog.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Old Man Winter will show up whenever he darn well feels like it.\u00a0 Hence, the name Old Man<\/strong><\/em> Winter.\u00a0 Nobody tells the Greatest Generation what to do.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0\u00a0 Snow is actually enjoyable when the hoses to the barn don’t freeze.<\/p>\n Snow.<\/p>\n Lovely.<\/p>\n Followed by sun.<\/p>\n Lovely.<\/p>\n But all that snow.\u00a0 And all that sun.\u00a0 Eventually made…<\/p>\n SMUD!<\/p>\n The goats holed up in the barn.\u00a0 Goats don’t do smud.<\/p>\n The dry spots went to those with the wings to get there…<\/p>\n or the claws to claim them as their own.<\/p>\n Everyone else stood in the smud looking sad.<\/p>\n And pathetic.<\/p>\n As if it was inconceivable that they should be expected to leave the 20 foot radius of smud around the barn and venture into the remaining 3.5 acres of smud-free woods, pond, and pasture.\u00a0 I mean, what if, while they weren’t looking, someone approached their food bowl or feed troughs.\u00a0 With food!\u00a0 While they were far away in the smud-free zone!\u00a0 Then what if someone else, someone who was sad and pathetic enough to stay in the smud, saw the food being put into their food bowl or feed trough.\u00a0 And ate it!\u00a0 All of it! AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!<\/p>\n I knew it was traumatic for them.\u00a0 Choosing to stay in the smud.<\/p>\n But I had my own worries.<\/p>\n Like who, who in the world, who on God’s green earth…<\/p>\n …was going in…<\/p>\n …to feed\u00a0 Papa???!!!!!!<\/p>\n Snow, sun, mud, and pig poop.\u00a0 SMUP!<\/p>\n Ugh.\u00a0 SMUP!!!!!!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n