Big Snow On The Farm

Well, dear reader, if you are like us, you are digging out from the weekend's snowstorm. As I sit looking out over the farm through the front window of my farmhouse, the beauty does not escape me, but the apprehension of going out into this to take care of our farm family is more predominant. *Sigh* Any amount of snowfall makes barn chores more difficult, but snowfall of this magnitude makes them downright unpleasant.

The girls don't even stick their little noses outside in this kind of weather. My bib overall-wearing buddy breaks the ice in the water troughs, but the girls prefer the water buckets inside, where they don't have to go out in the snow. He now carries water to the girls a few times a day. The girls are fussy about their feet. They don't like getting their feet wet, muddy, or walking in the snow. I can't say I blame them. I feel the same. Much like the goats, the bib wonder carries glasses of water to me as I relax on the couch, cuddled up in my favorite quilt. I also don't like to stick my nose out the door and fuss loudly if I have to do it. Eric says I am very goat-like. He does not mean that as a compliment. *Sigh*

Carrying water to my lovely chickens is my least favorite chore thus far. I carry a five-gallon bucket of warm water to my lovely feathered flock of fuzzy-bottomed babies, and it is a challenge when the snow is up to my knees. I felt like Ralphie's brother in The Christmas Story, when he was all bundled up and couldn't put his arms down. *Sigh* Buster, my big red BFF, won't allow me out of his sight, but he refuses to make his own path in the snow. Instead, he waits for me to walk ahead of him, break up the snow, then he follows too closely at my heels and makes me trip. He also waits until I am in the chicken coop and clandestinely poops in the path that I made from the garage to the chicken coop. Luckily, his little presents are easy to spot. *Sigh*

Walking down the driveway to the pasture to care for the boys and visiting girls is absolutely treacherous. Just because there is a foot or more of snow on the driveway does not mean it isn't slippery. There is a solid layer of ice underneath all that snow, and when one has a husband with a plow on the tractor, that ice is uncovered. Carrying a bucket of grain and alfalfa pellets in one hand and trying to remain upright takes all my effort and concentration. Everything, and I do mean everything, takes ten times longer than it should in this weather. The Bibbed Wonder and I grumble as we pass each other in the barn. By the time milking the six girls in the morning is over, the sprayer for the teat cleaner is frozen on the nozzle. *Sigh* It is not desirable to be the last girl on the milkstand.

Once everyone has had a warm breakfast, yes, my chickens get warm rice and mealworms with sunflower seeds and cayenne pepper to help warm them, and the goats get high-protein grain to help them produce enough energy to stay warm. We get to go inside and try to unfreeze our faces, fingers, and toes. We vie for the shower and race through our morning routine to be the first one in. I don't usually win. *Sigh*

Monday is my favorite day because it is writing day for me. So, today, I won the workload lottery. I get to sit in my dad's leather recliner with my feet up, wrapped in my favorite quilt, and write all day. It doesn't get much better than that, dear reader. Later, I will go back out to the chicken coop and refresh the chicken's frozen water, but for now, I sit cozy in my office with my feet propped up, writing to you. The wind is blowing the snow in dancing swirls, the sky looks like it wants to drop another foot of snow, but I am doing my favorite thing in my favorite place.

On this frigid Monday, stay safe, be smart, no, seriously, stay safe, limit your time outdoors, wear appropriate clothing, make sure someone knows when you go outside and come back in, don't underestimate how dangerous this cold can be, and keep washing your hands.