Zip surprises me again and again. He loves to be out in the rain, snow, and ice. He seems to do some of his best hunting when all the rodents are running around looking for food.

As he did this morning, he hopped up on the back porch table and sat on the towel Maria left for him when he got rained on. Then he dries himself off with his tongue. Then he goes to sleep on his throne, the wicker chair.

Cats are a lot cleaner than dogs, who tromp into the house covered in mud. Zip is always clean, even after rolling through the mud.

The donkeys don’t care about the rain, Bud, the donkeys, or the birds. I sometimes wonder if they all get together and go over their own rules. They do hog the hay, chasing the sheep away from their feeder. Donkeys share, not with anybody else.

It makes sense that birds pay no attention to the rain; they live in it,  up on trees and their nests.

We can’t let Bud run wild anymore. He needs to be more trustworthy around the hens or even Zip. When I move through the yard doing barn chores, he looks at me in a quiet but sad way, as if to say he wants to come out and chase something.

Sheep don’t like ice, but rain doesn’t bother them. It cleans off the wool, and the wool keeps them warm and dry.