Snow!

First snowfall of the year last night - knocked the power out for about 8 hours.  I anticipated this might happen though, and filled extra water buckets last night in case our pump wasn't working (which it wasn't.)

I managed to coax the donkeys out of the barn for two tours around the property so at least they stretched their little legs a bit.  And I decided to feed just 1/2 lb. of hay per donkey at one time but offer extra feedings so they would eat smaller amounts more frequently and still get their full ration eventually.
They have had their big slow feeder bag of straw all day too.

With only eight hours of light per day, nightfall seems to come awfully early!  Winter solstice in just 3 days though and then we'll slowly inch our way back into the light!  Once we've reached the winter solstice, I always breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Even though the winter solstice is really the first day of winter, here on the coast it seems like Spring will be right around the corner.  I expect to see daffodil and garlic shoots by the end of January and tree buds swelling. I'll be ordering seeds and pruning raspberries soon.  I would never of felt this way when I lived in Ontario - in spite of the rain, the southern part of BC sure has it's advantages!