Out of the frying pan into the deep freeze

 From an unusually warm first half of November

 (on Nov. 7 our thermometer registered 61 degrees)

  we moved into an unusually cold and snowy end of autumn.

 A wet and sticky snow fell throughout the night of Nov. 29

 which was followed by a cold snap 

 that froze the snow in place.

 For days it was like living in a giant snow-globe.

Now both the hay meadows

and Spring Lake are well concealed.

We missed the “Snowmaggedon” that paralyzed the Twin Cities and collapsed the Metrodome roof 

but we got the arctic air blast that followed; sunny days are the coldest.

The goat barn has been staying a balmy -4 even on mornings that approach -20.

Frost collects on the rims of the heated water buckets.

Dream is sensible enough to keep her winter coat on; the other girls manage to wriggle out of theirs.

A visiting kitty kept scavaging in our compost pile

and leaving blue jay carcases in our garage

so we started feeding her.  Don't know if he/she is feral or belongs to a neighbor, but the kitty runs every time we appear.  (She's staring at the camera through the kitchen window.)

We asked Bubba if he wanted to share his cushy, pampered life with the poor visitor.  He called us "Obama socialists," pinned on his "Palin-Bachman 2012" button,

and retreated to one of his favorite winter spots: under the quilts in the south bedroom.

Nature's repertoire of fabulous sunsets

again includes a cold-weather phenomenon:

a pillar of light caused by ice crystals.

Mr. T out looking for action.

He enjoyed an extended visit from Jellybean

and Sugar

but on their daily visits to Mr. T's boudoir

the visitors seemed more interested in butting heads

with the local girls.

No matter how snowy or cold it gets

T keeps an eye on the ladies' dormitory.

Ada returned in December to accompany

Desi's daughter Gerta

who sports the cutest pair of wattles.

At first Gerta wasn't wild about visiting T

but the suave operator finally won her over.

Kona came down with bloat, which can occur in very cold weather when goats reduce their activity.  Barb's quick intervention (massages, exercise, doses of vegetable oil and medicines) saved the day.

Santa's busiest elf has been making lots of goats' milk soap

which cures on racks in the bathroom

and accumulates in boxes throughout the house

awaiting delivery to Barb's many customers.  It's a popular Christmas gift item.

As usual, she's been experimenting with new varieties

Mr. T joins the other goats, Bubba and the Farmers in wishing to all visitors of the blog the happiest of holidays and a wonderful 2011.  (Mr. T's hat courtesy of Dale Connelly.)