I spent a lot of time just watching our animals and trying to learn what I could about them and how they think and react to people and things like storms. Lately, we’ve been getting at least one storm per day. Animals are creatures of habit, they are great fun to study.

This afternoon, the sky turned jet black, and the rumble of thunder was relentless and loud I went out to see how the animals here reacted to this; I am sure they know what dark skies and thunder mean (and rain, too, even as I got outside).

Here’s what I found:

-Minnie, our 16-year-old formerly feral cat, always goes to this old milk box and curls inside it. She pays no mind to the heavy rains or wind unless they blow the downpour directly onto her, and then she rushes around to the front porch and lies on a wicker chair far enough back from the storm to be dry. She might run into the woodshed and climb up a box with a pillow ( Maria put it there.) She might dash to the barn and curl up on top of one of the hay bales, a place of warmth and protection.

Minnie doesn’t seem to know when a storm is coming, she usually moves after it comes.

-The Imperious hens never go into the roost unless it’s getting dark. They go under a lilac bush, or lately, they sit underneath my garden beds until the storm passes. They also go under the beds when the heat gets awful. They stay calm even through a deluge. They do get undercover for five or ten minutes before the storm comes.

The pigeons gather on top of the roof to watch a storm approach. Minutes before it arrives, they disappear into the barn and find shelter.

It’s like watching a soccer game at a stadium.  Their ranks grow and shrink; they are all out of sight when the action starts.

The dogs. Zinnia, Fate, and Bud all line up at the back door if they are outside. Bud will bark to come in; he hates being outside in a thunderstorm. Zinnia and Fate are impervious to rain; they don’t like high winds or hail. We let them inside and give each one a bone or a treat. This is partially because I spoil them and get them to associate storms with safety and pleasure or bone.

My dogs always know when a storm is coming and wait at the door long before it arrives.

This has always worked for me. Bud is the first dog I’ve had who was terrified by the storm, although border collies, high-strung and sensitive, are prone to storm nerves.

Nothing ever really upsets Zinnia, the Queen of Chill. She is crunching on a bone right behind me as I write this. When it storms, she always comes in and seeks to come into my study; there is always a bone in it for her during a storm.

The donkeys always have their way of doing things. When the clouds are dark, and the lightning or thunder is close, the donkeys come out and state by the gate under the protection of our big apple tree. They stroll toward the Pole Barn when it gets wet. They walk to the rear and stand together, and I notice they oversee the storm through the gates and fence. In the morning, they are always dry; the sheep are often wet.

I believe the donkeys can sense a storm many miles away, their ears are very sensitive to thunder, and they go up and down when they hear it. It’s a good warning sign when their ears move a certain way. They very often speak with their ears.

Sheep and donkeys are desert animals; they don’t rattle easily unless they sense a predator or other danger. The sheep are protected from rain by their wool coats; they find it cooling and cleansing in the summer.

If a storm heats up, they might come to the gate looking to us for comfort, as Robin does, or more likely, they bunch up together in the Pole Barn and chew their cuds. If sheep know a storm is coming, they don’t say.

By and large, our animals remain calm in storms and always follow the same protocol when one arrives.