February has been a hard month.  Frozen and bitter cold.  We are all coping as we can here in Missouri, coming up with creative ways to keep animals and chickens warm.  Recently, Boone Countian Diana Moxon posted a picture on Facebook of one of her elderly hens roosting on a nest in her bathroom.  The image made me smile and reminded me of a drama that involved my favorite goose Ella from our days at Breakfast Creek. What follows is that wintry tale retold.

by Cathy Salter

Early one frigid morning, I came upon a great blue heron lost in dreams of soft water.  We had both come to a spot along the western edge of the pond that was the last place to freeze in the night.  The heron had seen two geese and a small paddling of ducks, circled around what looked like an opening in the ice. But sometime in the night, the mischievous old moon had reached out its icy fingers and pulled the pond’s zipper tight, leaving them to deal with the frozen elements on the coldest night they have known this winter.

~ Read the rest in today’s Journal ~