Friday, February 22, 2013

We were all caught by surprise

As I went to bed Wednesday night, the weather forecast called for a 40% chance of snow, 1" to 3" accumulation possible. 

I was not expecting to wake up Thursday morning having to shovel my way to the barn 
or Wynonna's way from the barn to the porch. (Her legs are so short she gets high-centered if I don't.)



Nor was I expecting to find three donkeys and a horse covered from head to hoof in snow and ice.
Why didn't they seek shelter in the barn, or next to a tree?
All I can figure is the snow came down so fast and furiously, they were as surprised by the storm as was I.
Icicles hanging off the roof are one thing...




...but hanging off my sweet Alan's eyebrows...




...and poor George's body were almost too much for me to bear.

Burros hate getting wet, but not as much as they hate being touched while they're wet.
George and Alan go ballistic when I try to brush the snow off them. 
And when I tried to remove the icicles? Not happening.
The best I can do when they get caught in a storm is feed them lots and lots of hay...




...then let the sun work its magic.





By mid-morning, everybody had thawed out. By dinner time, much of the snow had melted.
And by the time you read this post, most of the mud will be gone. 
At least in New Mexico, snowstorms can be a pleasant surprise.

23 comments:

  1. Oh My Gosh. those photos are amazing. We hope the sun warmed you up and melted the icicles and snow. Thanks for sharing. We are having a hot 39C day tomorrow, phew.
    No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

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  2. Luckily, the icicles indicate that the kids are well insulated...plus they look kinda cute.

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  3. I was wondering ... if Tucson got snow, shouldn't New Mexico?

    Glad to hear it was short lived and the sun came out quickly. We have had sleet over night and expecting freezing rain for the morning hours before the temp rises and it goes to rain for the next 2 days (THANKFULLY!).

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  4. I love an overnight snow surprise!

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  5. Estella from Co.2/22/13, 5:20 AM

    Poor babies, they did look a tad bit cold. I'm surpised you didn't have them covered with some blankets and try to use a hair dryer (from a distance). They look all better now with the help of the sun and the side of the barn. Hugs

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  6. Oh, yes...that was the storm that hit us...The mountain area where I board my horses got 8 inches of snow. I don't remember them getting that much snow in the 6 years I've boarded them there...This was a REALLY big storm!

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  7. LOL...Alan looks a bit pissed in that first photo. :-) Glad the sun came out and they are now icicle free!

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  8. Oh my, those icicles look cold. Glad it warmed up and they melted. I'm surprised they didn't go inside too. Maybe it was their way of letting Mother Nature give them a bath...sort of.

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  9. Oooo Alan is not impressed!I was surprised to hear about this snow system, hope it doesn't head north.

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  10. this is my first ever viewing of icicles on eyes..wow.. at least it did not harm them. i would have freaked out when i saw them...

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  11. Poor sweeties! I'm guessing Hank was wise enough to let you brush him off. It must have been so hard to just let the boys melt instead of getting it all off them.

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  12. Wynonna getting high-centered - OK, I shouldn't be so rude as to picture this. And grin. Forgive me, Wynonna?

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  13. Alan certainly does not look thrilled by his weather accessories. I'm sure it was hard not to give into the helping them out thing.
    The snow was a surprise since we have been skipped over so much this winter. But we sure needed the moisture. Photos of the snow and gorgeous clear sky are so pretty.

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  14. Makes me feel right at home! :-{

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  15. During my one and only visit to NM, we were caught in a snowstorm driving the pretty road from Albuquerque to Santa Fe in mid March. More than half a foot of wet snow that was completely gone by morning. Love the NM sun.

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  16. I can see that the boys look none too pleased. We had that same storm come thru here (AZ) on Wednesday. My guys were all tucked safely away in the barn. My dogs were totally confused though. It was their first snow. So happy to hear your boys all thawed out. :)

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  17. My jaw dropped, probably just as much as yours, when I opened up your blog, and saw all that snow! Now that kind of snow storm I can live with. It is when it hangs in there for days on end that I don't like. We have yet to get any snow this year. Poor donks, all that Ice. I purchased a trail cam, and have it set up to watch Libby and the donks. From the hours of pics and videos, I do have one or two cute videos and pictures of them. Now I KNOW what the do all day in the pasture! NOTHING! HAHA

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  18. I once shoved a 250-foot path from our potbellied pig Bud's hut to his food dish. He watched me shoveling toward him. When I got there, he took the path right to his breakfast.

    I followed him back, slipped and fell in the snow.

    Bud paid no attention to me lying there. He was eating his breakfast.

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  19. Awww, your poor silly babies! Burr!

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  20. The snow is pretty but the boys don't look too happy. Glad they had a quick thaw. I love surprise snows.

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  21. awww...they were probably enjoying it...I mean my horses go nuts rolling and playing after every big snowfall.

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  22. Oh my! That's worse than a cold shower! Poor (dumb) critters. On the other hand...maybe they weren't so dumb after all. You said you gave them extra hay, didn't you? Uh huh. Clever, very clever.

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  23. Ohhhhhhh...the sight of icicles hanging from George and Alan make my bottom lip stick out!
    But of course you knew just what to do to make them feel better about it. Nothing's better than extra hay to soothe a chilled beast...except for maybe an equine hottub. :-)
    (You *are* having one installed, right?)

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