We have been enjoying strong rainfall since Tuesday morning. The various outdoor animals have had predictable reactions to the wet.

Hercules is avoiding the rain on anything but his head right now. Hercules was sheared last week, and so is wearing a little, fuzzy, sponge-type jacket rather than his long, fluffy, rain-sheading coat. Unsurprisingly, he is now not so happy about playing out in the rain at 45 degrees. When I went out this morning for chores, Herc was crammed into the barn with the goats, standing over the smaller ones to ensure that he was not in the rain. The girl goats (especially Summer, who likes to beat up on him) seemed rather surprised by his refusal to either give 'way or go away.

Sancho is my cat-in-goat-form, who will avoid rain even at the cost of breakfast. Sancho is short haired, as compared to all of the fully-fleeced Angoras that I have. So he doesn't have any insulation against either rain or cold. When I brought breakfast out to the boys this morning, Richie was there at the gate to greet me, followed by Loki. Ari and Cookie stayed back a few feet, but were definitely in the reception committee. Sancho came galloping out of the barn, yelled at me in good Russell-cat fashion, and ran back into the barn. I did take pity on him enough to give him his breakfast in the barn (and Cookie promptly challenged him).

The chickens don't really seem to care about the rain. I read in my Guide to Raising Chickens that they evolved from the jungle. I'm assuming that is where the water-shedding/ignoring qualities come from. Or maybe they are just "goldfish of the farm" and don't know any better. It's worth noting, in case anyone cares, that their food dish has a waterproof overhang, and their coop is plenty large enough for three (they sleep inside of it every night) when they want to huddle down and stay dry.

The dog either does or does not like rain, depending on whether she has a person-escort or is sent out on her own. When I just throw her out the door to do her business, she stands on under the porch overhang and pouts. When I actually go out with her and walk down the front path in the rain, she acts like it's just another sunny day in the poopin' business, with occasional full-body-shake-n-sprays. She also likes to drink out of puddles and sometimes deliberately trot through them.