First Frost

Yesterday the wind and rain finally stopped and the day was glorious. The temperature dropped considerably and the sun shone weakly in the sky. Every ones spirits were lifted, people and livestock alike. The hens even managed to find an area in which to dust bathe and the expression on their faces said it all.
The consequence of such a beautiful day with clear skies meant we woke this morning to quite a hard frost. December 1st had arrived in style. Although still dark when I let the laying flock out I felt the grass crunch beneath my feet, a pleasant change from the squelching noise that had become too familiar over the past few weeks, a sure sign that once light, the fields would be glistening with frost. It also meant the drinking water was frozen, the car was iced up and the water in the swimming pools for the geese had frozen over.
Surprisingly the surface of the newly dug wildlife pond had also frozen. Thankfully when we dug the pond we made sure a large percentage of it was dug deep enough to prevent all the water below the surface from freezing should we experience a hard winter, so protecting any wildlife in the pond.
This mornings frost was the first many of the young poultry had experienced and it was lovely to watch their reactions as they stepped out of their house in the half light to be confronted with white hard ground rather than their normal green grass.

The forecast for the next few days.... rain !!