It's february

One nice thing about this area is that we have a marine climate; it usually doesn't get too cold, or too hot.  Perfect for growing grass nearly year-round.  But it does get cold for a few weeks a year, and this is that time.

 Most of the year I use automatic waterers for the animals;  they're relatively cheap, $10 to $20, give the animal as much water as it wants, and keeps the water they drink clean.  Troughs or bowls aren't my favorite, but at this time of year, that's what we switch to.

A hose or bucket, and a pitchfork.  The routine is the same every morning.  Break the ice on the trough, use the pitchfork to pull the big pieces out, refill, and repeat.  Every day.  Until the cold snap ends.

On this new farm I've got the luxury of electricity, and I've thought about getting a heated water system, but haven't found one that looks good to me.   I think i'll need one system for the cows, and another for the sheep/pigs.

the dogs are finding the ice to be a new experience; they're tentative about going out on it, but the've been doing so to get closer to the ducks that are in the open water at the center.  The ducks don't approve; and sometimes will fly away, sometimes they'll just watch the dogs.  Maybe they're hoping they do jump in.