A little warmer

The weather has moderated a bit.  By the time I made it home from work late this afternoon (about 4:15) it was 25*F.  Not too bad considering that it was 7 this morning when I left for work.  Brrr...
The poor chickens, with the snowy, windy, cold weather we've been having have been cooped up for a couple of days.  So, knowing that I needed to give them food and water, I let them out for a little when I got home.  Oh, they were hilarious!  They come boiling out of the pop door and then, BOOM, the first one hits the snow and skids to a halt.  Even though we've got a roof over 2/3 of the run, with the wind, we had a small drift blow in about two feet or so from the coop.  The poor things just couldn't bring themselves to walk through the drift (only a few inches deep at one end) to the open ground on the other side so they all clucked and scratched in the little area between the drift and the coop wall.  Oh well, at least it got them out from underfoot while I filled the waterer and feeder. Magnus hasn't been too bad recently but I don't want to turn my back on him in an enclosed area.   Well, he's been good except for the one day last week when I was wearing a hot pink shirt that evidently set him off.  If I had a jacket he didn't bother me, but if I approached the run in that shirt he would hurl himself against the fence.  I guess he's a fashion critic.
Anyway, the chickens were fed and watered.  Six eggs today.  I'm still amazed at how well they're doing through the winter- not that we've had a REAL winter until recently.  I've got tomorrow and Monday to do things around the house and relax some.  J17 is hosting another gamer party on Monday so it won't be quiet here.
Today at work was one of those days where I earned my pay.  Whew!  We had 6 discharges yesterday so we had lots of open beds when I left.  They were all full this morning and most of the admissions were people I needed to see. And horribly depressed, distressed, hopeless people they were.  I think my empathy and compassion reserves are depleted at the moment so it was really, really nice to get home to talk to my chickens and do relatively mindless chores.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions about chicken sitting.  I've got plenty of time to come up with something.  Who knows, maybe I can talk one of J17's friends to come house and animal sit for us.  We could pay them and we've got great video games, a big screen TV, high speed internet and a great library.  All for tending dog, cat, chickens and plants and bringing in the mail.  As a teenager, I would have jumped at an opportunity like that.  A chance to earn some money and exert some independence. We'll have to see who does or doesn't have a job next summer.  Another option is that a friend of ours drives past on her way to and from work so it shouldn't be to hard for her to stop and collect eggs and check the food and water supplies.  Of course, her schedule is pretty erratic sometimes so I'm not sure I want to rely solely on her.  Roger is an option but I don't know if he'll be driving.  He did get his new prosthetic leg about a week and a half ago and is learning how to walk in it so by August he should be up and nearly running!  Sadly, we live quite a ways from them now and it would be about a 10 mile round trip for him.  Not something for every day.  Don't know yet.  I'll figure out something-  I always do.

Now I'm just babbling.  I think I'm still decompressing from work.  I've got a chicken in the oven and I think I'm going to make some wild rice pilaf to go along with it.  So, I'd better get that rice going.  Have a great rest of your weekend.