SNOW DAY!!!!

Normally, snow in El Paso and the surrounding desert region is a *dusting*. Pretty to look at, but nothing to get excited about as it vanishes within a few hours.

The picture above was the last snow storm we had. It stayed on the mountains for almost a day and a half before all traces vanished. As you can see, it had already retreated from the desert valley.

Yesterday evening, real snow started. Fat wet flakes that looked determined to set up housekeeping and stay for a much longer time! It snowed for most of the late evening and night as we got hit with the same storm system that is roaring across the rest of the US right now.

So last night, it looked a bit different outside...

And then this morning....

I know, I know...doesn't look like much to you folks in the Midwest or back East....especially the North East, but this is a HUGE snowfall for El Paso!
Schools are closed. Gov't offices---closed. A lot of businesses---closed.

My goats are horribly confused by all this white stuff sticking around, as are the chickens. I added extra straw to the goat pens and the chicken coop last night so all the critters could snuggle down and stay warm.
I gave all the animals an extra ration of feed this morning and added some fat to it...gotta fuel the internal furnace!
I did all the common sense moves last night...left faucets on a trickle so the pipes wouldn't freeze....but I bottled up extra water---just in case. Got extra blankets out in case the power went out on us. Positioned a picnic cooler near the back door. If the power abandons us, I can fill it halfway with snow, put in refrigerated items and keep them from going bad.

Since the schools are closed, Boy and Girl are home today. They greeted the news of the school closed with the expected squeals and shouts of joy, then promptly went back to bed, lol!
I am sure I can find things for them to do to keep them busy once the get up.
Hope the rest of you are making it through this storm okay!