The worst thing for animals like sheep and donkeys in the winter is not the cold or snow, it’s the inability to graze. Donkeys and sheep are grazing animals, they spent much of the day and night nibbling at grass and at roots and leaves on low-lying bushes and trees. In high winds and rain, they need shelter, but the hardest thing for them about this winter has been the fact that they haven’t been able to see the ground since January. That makes them anxious and uncomfortable.

Maria and I have been spreading hay – old and new – over some of the snow, and the animals are out  here immediately grazing, opening up paths and grazing. Before this week, the snow was too  high. Today, arctic weather returned, high winds and bitter cold. The donkeys and the sheep barely seem to notice this, they are out grazing on the hay in the snow. Perhaps we can fool them a bit.