Tired of Being Cooped Up

It has been a long winter for our chickens with lots of bitterly cold days where they haven't even come out of the coop into the run, with more snow than you can shake a foot at, and now... more rain than anyone knows what to do with.

I opened the coop door late one afternoon, and the hens just about stampeded by me out the door.

I had left the door open before, and the hens would just stand there and shake their feet at the snow, and hurry back inside the coop.  But not today!

Enough was enough!  They were glad to get out in the snow and peck around.

After these long months of being cooped up in the coop, they decided walking in the cold snow would be better than hanging out in the coop any longer.

 Mr. Pepper announced his great approval at this new turn of events.

The chickens mostly stayed on my path that I had taken all winter to feed them and seemed to have no desire to walk in the deep snow at all.

Back inside... these two were taking a little break after a fun romp.

Riley is growing soo fast!  She is already twice the size she was when our son brought her home!

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets abound!

Shades of purples and pink graced the horizon as the glorious sunset gently closed the door to the day.

A trip out to the little mountain lake nearby revealed it completely frozen over with a lonely ice fisherman set up for the day.

As we walked out on the frozen ice, the ice fisherman heard us and he opened the zipper on his tent and we talked for a little while.  He hadn't had much luck for the day, only a perch so far, and we wished him the best of luck.

I had no desire to walk any farther out on the ice, as clearly there was quite a bit of melting going on!  We asked the ice fisherman how much ice he had, and he said he had 8" deep.  He was braver than I was.  We were standing on the melting ice close to shore, and decided not to linger!

I hope our ice fisherman friend caught more than just a perch for all his efforts and time! It was a beautiful day, with brilliant skies and sunshine and we enjoyed our time of "walking on water" {smiles}.

My husband brought home this lovely pot full of spring flowers that can be replanted in my garden... hyacinths, tulips and primroses... just beautiful to see these lovely flowers and to enjoy their beauty also with the hope that they will continue to be enjoyed in my garden when planting time arrives.

 Even though a lot of our snow has melted, we still have a lot of it left to melt!  These lovely flowers serve up a great reminder that spring will have its way, soon.

Just a few shots below of the pretty blooms... surely you don't mind my indulgence in these bright and lovely colors... :)

Such a warmly colored peach tulip

Brilliant primroses...

... and the happy pink hyacinths. Looking at these flowers brings happy springtime thoughts to my heart... while the reality outside is a bit different...

Have you ever seen skating chickens?

Well, now you have, lol!  The girls have become so eager to get out of the coop that they are attempting their ability to skate on our driveway, which is far more fun than staying in the coop any longer... and I can't blame them a bit! Even though it is a bit funny to see them try to make or skate their way across the ice!

Keeping up with all the excitement around here just makes one plumb tired.  Don't you wish you could sleep as soundly and as cutely... as this sweet little one, lol!

We are supposed to get a mixture of snow and rain for the next couple of days. Winter and spring are playing their tug-o-war, but the longer days let me know that spring is on the upside... and the beautiful blooms, sights and smells of spring are not that far away, and the days of being cooped up will be but a memory in a month or two when the snow melts, and ground warms up.  :)