Dog scare and Winterwonderland

We had a big fright yesterday morning, After snow clearing and duck feeding and ~letting out I'd only just got dressed after my shower [in a long skirt as it was Sunday - I normally live in trousers!] when I spotted a husky-type dog inspecting duck food and shed and then running down to the big pond - sending flocks of pheasants into the air on the way - where all our ducks were.  I could see from the window the pandemonium down there with the dog chasing and ducks flying in and out of the pond, raced downstairs, stepped into wellies and, hitching up my long skirt, ran as fast as I could to the pond.  No casualties, what a relief, all ducks in the pond, but my arrival scared them even more and they scrambled over the pond half that was frozen and rushed off towards the house and their huts, all of them except Candy who had the sense to stay in the water - OH HELP, if the dog had followed they could not have saved themselves.  I pursued the dog into the enclosed bit of field behind the hut and the dog got caught in the netting trying to push through.  That proved to be a blessing as it could not chase the ducks any more and, after John had shut our flock into the shed and some into the old chicken enclosure for safety he was able to put a lead on the dog and take it into our sun lounge.  

It was a Siberian Husky bitch, it turned out, she had a phone number on her collar tag and the owners lived just up the road from us and were mightily relieved we'd found their dog.  Their little toddler son had opened the door and let her out.  The whole little family came a few minutes later to collect their runaway and to give us a nice bottle of Chardonnay as a thank-you.

Our ducks and drakes haven't got over the shock yet, they're still skittish and vanish back into the shed as soon as we get close.

They've not gone down to the big pond, either, where Captain, Anke and Candy are fending for themselves:

Much more snow than expected fell yesterday and overnight, all our path clearing for the ducks and for us was covered over again.  Before going out and tackling Monday morning I took pictures of the white wonderland from inside the house, and after sorting the ducks went around the garden to take some more:

 

 

It's lunchtime now on Monday 21st.  I thought I'd seen a thrush earlier this morning at our bird-feeding birch, and just now I saw it again, HURRAH, we see them but rarely:

And John tells me the 23 from up here have just gone down to the big pond - the three down there will have company now!