Yesterday was officially freezing. Real freezing cold. Not that fake cold when your dressing gown is in the dryer and you have to run to the toilet in your nightie and the toilet seat is cold and you shiver and say God that is cold. No, this was real cold. Razer cold that shaves at your face and leaves it stinging for an hour after you come inside. Cold that keeps your mouth closed because there is no word for it. Cold that brings pain. When you come in you take the boots off your numb feet and then with your jacket still on you walk to the fire and stand there, trying to get your gloves off, waiting for the pain to lift so you can move again. Real cold.
I took this image at dawn yesterday. I did not know at the time that the sun on the left was a Sun dog. Having never seen one before. But annoyed that I could not fit both in the frame. 
And thought very little about the shot for the rest of the day. We proceeded through the day. It was way too cold and way too windy to get the tractor out and move snow.. 
and the roads were not plowed anyway so we were snowed in, engaging in the usual low grade bickering about who makes the best coleslaw that comes from being locked up with too many dogs in the house for two days, yet hauling about getting things done. But being snowed in also gives one permission to do nothing at all so lots of that was done too, letting the wind go about its business of making snow drifts then unmaking them. 
When I was out and about doing chores I noticed the dogs lifting alternate feet and running on three, then running on another three, like chickens raising one leg to warm it but at full speed. Doves had come into the chook house to sit as close to the warm lights as they could. A starling was seen sitting next to a chicken sitting next to a pig. Peahens perched on precarious beams directly above heat lamps. Sheila the pig was allowed a warm beer with dinner. Daisy and Queenie ate twice their normal amount of hay. Mama The senior ewe clouted Tilly around the head and told her if she did not stop the whining she would be put out into the snow.
When I came in I had to be careful not to put a wet hand on the door handles of the outside doors inside the house, for fear of freezing to them. Doors were frozen shut and put off limits, windows covered in ice. Eggs froze solid in the nests. Water froze in the buckets. Table scraps turned to ice before they were eaten.
Then after a harrowing day fighting the elements the wind slowly died down towards the evening, the temperatures also rising to -10 by nightfall. A certain peace fell over the farmy. The laying down of arms.
Then in the evening as the sun was setting I saw this.
Another Sun Dog. Isn’t that just amazing. It is caused by ice crystals hanging low in the sky when it is very cold, creating reflections. I am sure the phenomena itself is much more complicated but that is a simple explanation. Does this bode well to see two in a day?
The animals went very still yesterday evening. The pigs slept deep in their straw surrounded in dozing chickens nestled into the same straw. The sheep went into a pause watching the wind go past their immovable door and not come back. The cows stood and chewed their cud, their tears frozen into chandelier drops on their cheeks. The dogs lay at the door, watching their sticks and waiting to go home.
After all the wind and its stinging cargo of snow, fighting, screaming, scrambling, nipping wind trying to stop me getting to the barn, or getting back home, it was like being in an alternate universe, where peace was a given and breath was everything. 
Today it will still be very cold but no wind. No wind is a blessing. Clean up day.
We will all have a better day today I hope.
Your friend on the farmy
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
77 responses to “Sundogs – like bookends for a frozen day.”
OK I have had enough of winter now – can Spring please hurry up? Love the pictures but much prefer the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ LOL
Chickens unhappy I wont let them out, dogs too. And if one more person says to me “So Much for Global Warming” I will scream!! Keep telling them to watch the film “Day After Tomorrow” because to me we are living that film right now!!
Lovely pictures especially of the sun dog. Lovely capture. Stay warm. It is just so awful out there. I will be glad when this streak is over.
Oh goodness, I hope things warm up for you! Out here on the west coast, we’re having a mild winter. We never get much snow to start with, but we’re not getting a lot of rain this year either, will probably have a drought this summer. Ah, well, there’s nothing you can do about it. In the meantime, those sun dogs are amazing!
Your pictures today show us the beauty you saw through the pain & worry. Thank you for your eyes & your heart, Celi.
Warmer here in Minnesota today, but not by much. Schools are closed for the second day in a row.
Once again, your words and images take me back decades to winters of laboring on my childhood farm on the southwestern Minnesota prairie. I remember that cold. Be careful not to get frostbite, or have you already?
Yes, lets make those beautiful sundogs lucky. Seen a lot of Chicago in our news today – don’t stand still too long in one place – we would hate for you to be frozen to the spot in that lot 🙂 Really hope you start getting much warmer really quickly. Sending you a South African sunbeam to help. Laura
Stay safe!
You make things beautiful. Thanks for that.
I’ve only seen a sundog once in the winter 2009/10 where we got a taste of what you are experiencing this year – that once in a lifetime winter. Here they call that sort of winter a “wolf winter” as even the wolves drift into town looking for shelter and food. I agree that it is a magical and eerie experience to see a sundog (I can imagine that there are a lot of old legends associated with them as with many weather phenomena in these far north climate zones).
Keep safe and warm!
I am feeling very “soft” as I read about how cold the farm is and how you go about what you must do with such determination and good temper. I have to confess I had never given much thought to how hard it is for farmers in these conditions and how big their responsibilities are. You educate me, Celi, and make my world bigger. The photos are amazing; I’d never heard of a “sun dog.” The frozen landscape is a work of art itself. Such wonders in the midst of what I know must be great hardship for you. Take care!
I have never heard of “sundogs” before – just magical. I love that the animals huddle together to keep warm. I dread to think of the animals that couldn’t find any protection from the cold. I had to wear a t-shirt tonight as the temps have come down to something like normal. Still dry as a bone – the garden is gasping. Joy and the goldens in northern NSW, Aust.
I think the sundogs are a good omen, that this will pass and you’ll make it through. It looks as cold in these pictures as you describe and I’m glad you are being careful about it. We actually have ice on the inside of our north facing windows this morning and it has only warmed to 6 degrees at 10 a.m. in Atlanta. It’s been 20 years since it was this cold here. I hope it will continue to warm for you today and no wind. Take good care.
Two sundogs in one day!!! That must mean all sorts of good things will be happening on the farmy!!! The pics are amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen one. Now I’ll at least know what it is if I do see one! Sending warm thoughts your way! xo
I’ve never heard of sundogs. How beautiful. The cold you guys are experiencing is mind boggling. It’s frigid here but positively balmy compared to there. Our dogs get the feet problem and we call them flat tyres. We have to brush them off and rub them. A bit tricky when they get two at the same time. Fingers crossed this polar vortex eases for you.
I didn’t know what a sun dog was until now. And two in one day! Just beautiful ! It’s warming up a bit here in Chicago and is supposed to go into the thirties for the weekend.
Oh C. I am heading back to the midwest today but after seeing your photos and reading the description of that razor cold, I am already dreading it….the sundogs are beautiful and two in one day must surely mean good luck for you in the rest of this bitter weather…I would share some of those warm beers with Sheila, if I were you!
Warm hugs to you!