February already...

I can't believe it is February already, my how time flies.  Continuing along the lost and found theme, Falcon has learned how to jump our 6' fence.  Only in one section by the back fence, but it is frustrating.  Until we get it fixed, he is always on a leash when outside.  I will say the dogs are enjoying the snow a lot, much more that Joel is enjoying shoveling it.  Hawk loves to jump and eat snowballs, take a quick snack break of snow, or bark and chase the snow shovel.  I think he likes the shovel because it's sole purpose in life is to push snow in his direction!  A few weeks ago, after the first deep snow of the season, we decided to take some of the hardier animals outside to enjoy the experience.  Officially it is called enrichment, but we just think it is fun.  We started with the ferrets.  Not all 11 at the same time, but in 2 shifts.  They acted just like ferrets should and after running around the yard, began to tunnel.  Ferrets are really good at pushing their bodies through the snow to make a tunnel.  We only misplaced a couple of them under the fence or under the woodpile in the back.  After the ferrets, we took out the skunks.  Stoat and Grizzly had a ball running around and playing in the snow.  They are much easier to follow and keep track of, although Stoat found a way into the tortoise house and we had trouble convincing her to come back out.  Last, but not least, we let the chinchillas have their turn.  Chinchillas are native of the Mountains in South America and should be comfortable in cold and snowy climates.  We put them in the bird enclosure in the back so they couldn't escape.  They were less sure of the experience than the others, but that could be because they are nocturnal and this was in the middle of the day!