The animal world does not promote uncertainty or hesitation. When I raised a question about whether animals know when storms are coming – timely today and tomorrow for much of the country – people on social media were quick to tell me they know for an absolute fact that they did. I always feel odd in the face of such iron conviction, as I am certain about nothing and realize every day how little I know, not how much.  People tell me all the time that they know what their dogs are thinking, they know that they grieve, that they miss their humans when they go to work.  I find dog’s minds a mystery, deep and beyond me mostly.

Some things are clear and even obvious – animals can feel barometric pressure, and some animals – border collies, other breeds of dogs – are sensitive to atmospheric pressure and natural phenomena like thunder and lighting. They surely can hear rain coming long before it hits the roof.

People are quick to state opinions and “facts,” but slower to cite specific examples.  I’m sure animals are aware of weather, but do  they know when a big  storm like this Northeaster is coming? Do they know to move to shelter or high ground? Do they have a sense of danger? Do they feel some urgency about food, water, shelter? Do they become more protective of one another? I have been watching the animals closely today – and for nearly a decade on a farm through many storms – and will continue to watch tomorrow. I see no behavioral changes whatsoever in the dogs. They ate as usual, went outside as usual, went on their walks as usual. And as I write this, they are draped around me snoring comfortably. I suspect they are aware of pressure dropping, wind rising, I’m sure a dog would need to sense a storm approaching. But I can’t see any outward manifestations of it. A dog trembling from thunder is not necessarily a dog who knows a dangerous storm is coming. It may be that he just doesn’t like strange rumblings.

I do see some behavioral changes in the other animals. The chickens huddled together more closely together in the woodshed – a huddle, it seemed, close than usual, quieter than usual. They seemed to be pulling together, gathering themselves. The donkeys seem a bit agitated, staying close to the pole barn. The sheep also appear nervous to me, moving back and forth, more restless, more vigilant, less likely to like down and chew. The sheep and the donkeys drank much more water than usual today – half of the bucket, nearly twice as much as normal. That might be a sign they are nourishing themselves. They seemed to eat more intensely, more quickly. Lulu in particular – the most vigilant of all our animals was scanning the horizon all day. If any animal seemed to me to be preparing for the storm, I would say it was her.

But I am always conscious of the fact that animals do not have our language or consciousness. They feel and react, they don’t think and reason, at least not in my mind. So they can’t anticipate a storm the way we would. I’ll watch again closely and report back on the blog, assuming the storm doesn’t knock out the power. I take storms like this seriously, but perhaps not as seriously as the hyper-hysterical weather channel would like me to. I will pass up the chance to call this storm Nemo, as the weather channel does. I will be trawling around looking for photos that capture it, if I can.

We have a lot of preparations in the morning. Cats in the basement, extra buckets of water, hay in the Pole Barn, chickens in the coop, shovels at the ready.