O’Neill: A big breakfast on a snowy morning (column)

Casey O’Neill is a farmer and owner of Happy Day Farms in Laytonville, Calif. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of The Mendocino Voice. If you’d like to write your own column for The Mendocino Voice, send your idea to info@mendovoice.com.

I awoke Thursday morning to a few inches of snow and a hankering to make some fried rice after morning chores. I poured stock and dry rice into a small pot and brought it to a boil while I built a fire, made tea and heated broth for drinking. Leaving the pot to simmer on the woodstove, I fed the dog, cats and rabbits and then headed for the ranch to feed the livestock. Despite snow on their backs, the pigs and sheep seemed unbothered, munching with gusto on the pre-soaked alfalfa pellets and apples I brought them, along with some flakes of hay that I put into the shelters so they could continue to eat in a dry space