I really feel sorry...

I really feel sorry for the neighbor's donkeys.

The poor things have no shelter in this bitter cold weather.  Weather that has already seen two snowfalls since Oct 15 and temps down in the single digits.  Those poor donkeys, their personal pets, are stuck in the backyard in these horrible conditions, conditions that neither man nor beast should have to suffer.

Several years back, Bernalillo County mandated that livestock MUST have shelter if kept in small areas, in other words, if they are not out on the open range but are kept in paddocks, etc.  At the time, I spoke against increasing animal rights encroachments upon the property rights of animal owners.  I still do not agree with the greatest part of the animal ordinance, but I can see the value of this portion, especially after seeing their animals suffer from being out in the elements.

In the past, the neighbors were cited for not having any shelters for the adoption donkeys.  After being cited, they built some run-in sheds for that group of animals.  However, those donkeys are easily seen by anyone traveling up and down County Line Road, whereas, their personal donkeys are kept in the backyard, which is hidden from the general public's view.  So, their pets go without and their pets have been going without for several years now.

The poor things...  They are out there in the rain, in the snow, in ice storms, etc. Their only shelter is provided by the lee of the house and that only protects from the north and west.  If we get a sou'wester, the animals will be even more exposed to the elements.

Donkeys Out in the Rain, Summer 2013

This past summer, during a bad storm, they were standing in the rain as it poured down in buckets. There was no escape and little protection from the rain provided by the remaining trees in the yard.  I'm quickly becoming of the opinion that the neighbors should not have any animals, let alone donkeys.

Now it's cold and conditions are not dry. There is nothing worse than being cold & wet. I've seen the donkeys with icicles hanging off of them!  Surely, that cannot be good for them.  It is very sad.

Poor things....

Misty Morning...

Fog?

Fog in the desert?

Even more bizarre...  a heavy fog combined with a south wind, not a zephyr of breeze, but wind...  enough wind that it would move a sailboat.

Way too bizarre, even for New Mexico.

Snow?

Oh good grief!   It's too early!  It's not even Halloween...

This morning, we awoke to SNOW???

Yes, snow.

Still, I shouldn't complain. We have between 1/2" - 1" while the more northern town of Cimarron has 3" and that's at 6:45 a.m.  Not sure how much more we're gonna get.

Snow on Dog House - 16 Oct 2013

Last night, this snow started out as rain.  Rob & I were watching TV when we heard thunder.  Both of us where like, "What?  Thunder?  Nah...." and then we heard the distinctive sound of hail hitting the windows.  Hmmm...  sure enough....  must have been thunder.  Upon closer examination, the hail revealed itself to be little, round snowballs, which is called "grauple".

At 7:02 a.m., the temperature is 32.5 deg F.

EXTENDED FORECAST
	Today Mostly cloudy with rain and snow showers likely in the morning...then partly cloudy with a chance of rain showers in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the west 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.
	Tonight Clear. Lows in the lower to mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 20 mph in the evening.

Snow....  Just way too early in the season.  I think it's going to be a long, cold, hard one.

Elaine

More on the Weather...

Today is something like the 5th day in a row where it's raining.  I've not seen rain like this since leaving Maryland in 1993. Locals say it hasn't rained like this in New Mexico since the 1970's, maybe the 1960's.

Last night, early this morning, we had a rip snorter of a storm roll through. It was probably the most violent storm we've had in the 20 years that we've been living in this house. We were seeing lightning every couple of seconds and there was one that was so strong, it shook the house.  Excepting for Nampa, the dogs were shaking in their paws.

Javelin (L) & Jib (R) in Front Yard

We've had several inches of rain and it is commonly said that 1" of rain = 12" of snow.  If this weather holds, we're going to get a normal winter here, which is something we've not had since before the Maxies lived in the house next door. That was in 2004, I think.

Look at the photo of Jib & Javelin running in the snow in the front yard. In places, the snow was deeper than they were tall.

Javelin was returned to us as a yearling in 2003 after her "owner" bugged out, abandoning her and the other greyhounds in his possession.  Thankfully, Laurie Soutar took them in.  She kept Javelin for the coursing season and then returned her to us after Jan 1, 2004.  In 2006, we had a good snowstorm at Christmas, when we got about 24" or so.  But, we really haven't had a normal winter or snowfall since.

Nick in the Front Yard

I don't know what the neighbors with their donkeys are going to do if we have a normal winter & normal snowfall.  They won't be able to get out of the neighborhood in their small, yellow car to buy feed for the donkeys.

In a normal winter, there are times lasting several days, sometimes a week, when we cannot get out with the 4WD Toyotas. Sometimes the snow has been so deep that State government has been known to send around front end loaders to DIG OUT people! One year during Bill Richardson's term of office, the State was dropping livestock feed to herds of cattle which were stranded without feed.  I seem to think that happened the year we had 11 feet of snow in our front yard.  It can get bad out here.  The neighbors with the donkeys have no experience with a normal, East Mountain winter and our normal snowfalls.

Well... I'm kind of curious as to how the shelters for the donkeys, which appear rather ramshackle, will hold up with a foot or more of snow on them.  I'm also wondering how their fences will hold up. It may be an interesting winter.