Prepping For the Cold...

Cold weather doesn't have to be terrible.

Wind doesn't have to be terrible.

But put them together, and they're a mess!

We think we're prepared for the cold and wind combination that is to arrive later today.  It's only to last for a few days, thankfully, but water pipes freeze quickly, and animals need water!

A couple of years ago, we had a longer stretch of cold weather like this.  Jim came up with a clever way to help insulate the west side of the barn.  You can read about it here.  He saved all of those pre-cut pieces of insulation, and we put them up again this morning...

In anticipation of the cold weather, along with the cows leaving this week, Jim has been thinking ahead about more ways to keep the water pipes in the soon-to-be-almost-empty barn from freezing.  If it gets too cold we can turn the water off to the barn completely, from the house.  We would like to keep running water in the milk house though, so we wrapped the water pipe where it comes into the barn with heating tape and insulation.  There's a valve at the end of this section that we can turn off to the rest of the barn, but we'll still have water in the heated milk house...

The heifers that we are keeping can then be watered with a hose run from the milk house into a large water tub.

Life is changing quickly here, and we are filled with mixed emotions.  It was our choice to make changes, but it's still hard.  I'm heading off to a new job next week, and I'm looking forward to it! I'll be staying connected to the ag industry, and I hope I can learn quickly!  I will have to do more planning ahead for meals and laundry, but lots of people do it!  Jim will be busy for a while with hauling manure and some projects around the farm, but will also be pursuing other ventures.

In the mean time, here are a few pictures of the snow we had last night.  It didn't amount to more than an inch or so, but it's pretty!

Stay warm, wherever you are!

First Snowfall of 2018...

It had to happen eventually...

Obviously by that comment,you can tell that I am not a fan of cold weather. I will admit though, that the first snowfall of the season is beautiful!

These first few pictures were taken mid morning...

...and this was mid afternoon...

Most of our trees seem to be late in dropping their leaves this year, so the snow is now scattered with beautiful yellow leaves!

We ended up with about six inches of snow by milking time...just enough that Jim cleared the driveway with the skid loader, as the milk truck is expected in the morning. The temperature is hovering just above freezing right now, so any precipitation is in the form of light rain at the moment. The snow may melt away, or the roads might be an icy mess in the morning.  We'll see what happens over night!

Wait! I Thought It Was Spring!

Just when we were starting to feel a hint of spring in the chilly air, and when the earliest daffodils decided to bloom...

We have been reminded again that we are not in control!

We have around 6" so far, but thankfully it's not very cold...

My rooster is a little snow-laden...

The daily work must go on.  It doesn't feel quite right to desecrate the beauty of the snow like this, but the gutters need to be cleaned out and the manure has to be hauled out regardless...

Somebody loves the snow!  While the older dogs stay holed up in the warm barn, Phoebe goes exploring. The chickens hate walking in the snow, and when I checked for eggs, she was confused about why they weren't outside...

Now my morning chores are finished and I'm hoping to get the last of the prep work finished on the hallway before it's time to prime...maybe later today or tomorrow!! 

The warm radiators can do their part in drying the coveralls, hats and gloves...

...and we'll wait for the snow to stop...and melt.  Quickly.  The forecast is for temps in the 40's this weekend!

Spring is just around the corner!

Winter? Or Spring?

A month.  That's how long it's been since I've posted.  I'm in a blogging slump right now, but stick around!

We've been keeping busy with regular stuff...you know, milking, feeding, cooking, cleaning, repeat.  The weather, however, has been very confused!

Two weeks ago we were running around in shorts and T-shirts...at least Jim was!...and last week we had a "blizzard".  Stella, the nor'easter paid us a visit on Monday evening and 'til she was gone, we had somewhere around a foot of snow.  We didn't know what to think!  It was pretty cold, but seemed frigid, considering the unusually warm weather we had all winter.

Here are a few pictures from the storm...

On Tuesday morning, just after I got up, and the snow wasn't too deep yet, I snapped this picture of the daffodils along the south side of the house...

The biggest concern for us was when the milk truck would come, and whether or not we would be ready for him.  He showed up just as we finished milking, and just as Jim was ready to hop on the skid loader to open the driveway.  It was pretty good timing, actually, because the snow was only about 6" deep at the time, so between the chains on his truck and Jim on the skid loader, he came and went with little trouble...

That's always a relief.

When I fed the calves in the morning, I glanced in the chicken pen, and was surprised to see these hens all huddled together outside...

I have no idea what they were thinking, but there were no tracks around them, so I'm assuming that they huddled together outside all night, with the snow coming down around them.  I carried them inside the shed, where they happily joined their friends for the duration of the storm.  They're fine...and laying eggs quite happily now that the snow is gone!

I got a new phone, and was having fun taking pictures in the snow.  This is one of the hens that was outside all night...she was intrigued by her first selfie...

Now, a week later, most of the snow is gone, except for a few big piles.  It had better be...because SPRING is officially here, and I'm happy about that! While I don't like losing an hour of sleep over the change to daylight savings time, the longer daylight hours energize me.  I feel so much more motivated to get things done when there is daylight and sunshine!

One thing I've been working on the past few weeks is something called 40 Bags in 40 Days.  You may have seen postings on face book about this, or read about it online somewhere.  I'm not following it to a "T", but I'm working on cleaning out and simplifying.  It coincides with lent, and is so satisfying to me.  I've cleaned out closets, cupboards and book shelves. (why was I keeping things in my kitchen cupboards that I never use?) When I'm done cleaning out, I'm planning to scrape wall paper in the upstairs hallway.

Enough rambling...

I hope you're seeing signs of spring wherever you are!

Roller Coaster Weather...

This has been one of the craziest winters I remember in a long time...

On Wednesday we had a record high temperature of 62 degrees F and were wearing short sleeves...yesterday we had snow and wind, with temperatures hovering around 32 degrees F.

Even the daffodils are confused...

...and they'll be confused again over the weekend, when temps are expected to rise back up above 50 degrees!

Friday's Hunt #6...

Once again it's time for another Friday's Hunt post.  Thanks Teresa, for hosting again!

This week's prompts are...

Starts with F...

We've had two fresh cows this week, and are expecting two or three more at any time!  For those of you unfamiliar with farmer lingo, a fresh cow is a cow that has just had a calf.  This cow just had her third calf, but we have a slew of two year old heifers that will soon be freshening and joining the milking herd...

*the correct answer to yesterday's post about this cow and her unusual birth is...the calf was born backwards...or breech.  The fact that both the cow and calf were facing the same direction indicates that the calf was born back feet first.  Normally the calf presents it's two front feet first, with the nose on top of the feet...as if were taking a dive headfirst off a diving board.  You can quickly determine that the calf is breech if the bottom of the hooves are pointing upwards.  (think about how the bottoms of your feet are face up as you enter the water from a dive) It's usually a little more difficult calving, and the cow often needs a bit of assistance when this happens. Jim peeked in on her, noticed right away what was going on, and was able to help her without complications.  The calf was big, but she is an experienced mother, and that was definitely to her benefit!

The second prompt is "week's favorite"...

Yesterday was my Mom's 83rd birthday, and tonight my Dad invited us down to their house for a birthday party.  Definitely a favorite from this week!

The last one is "negative space"...

I'm a novice photographer, but when I looked up what it meant, and looked at some of the other photos, I came up with this one.  It's from a snow storm about five or six years ago, but I was able to find it!  The focus is on the milk truck of course, but  I thought the blowing blinding snow gives the proper effect.  And yes, it really did look like that on that very cold winter day.  I remember it clearly...

To see more entries for Friday's Hunt with Teresa at Eden Hills, click here.

Friday's Hunt #5...

I enjoy having a set of guidelines for blogging on Fridays, so here we go again!

This week's prompts are...

Starts with "E"...

I could have chosen and easy E word and gone with eggs...I have plenty of those right now, but instead I chose the word EAT.  We all do it...and it's oh so much more fun if we have a good recipe to try!  Here's a photo of what we were eating last week...

Avocado Mango Salad

Last week, Jim and I were going to a meal with an Indian theme, and I was to take a salad.  I googled Indian Salads, and this recipe popped up.  It was absolutely delicious!  Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it...I don't think you'll be disappointed!

AVOCADO MANGO SALAD

Combine the following ingredients in a bowl:

Lettuce, washed and torn
1 peeled and sliced ripe mango
1 peeled and sliced avocado
1 sliced red pepper

Dressing:
1 crushed garlic clove
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

Combine dressing ingredients, pour over salad and toss until well coated.

Chill and enjoy!

The second prompt is "Week's Favorite"...

I could have chosen just about any picture from the snow storm and called it my favorite, but this one wins...

It was Sunday morning, and folks were beginning to shovel out from the big storm.  Jim had just come inside from opening up for the milk truck and to warm up and have some breakfast, when out of the corner of my eye I saw one of our Amish neighbors walking up the road, kids in tow.  The two older girls (maybe 1st and 2nd grade ?) were carrying small shovels, and the two littler ones were riding on a plastic sled, pulled by their Dad. They had walked about a half mile to check on a couple who lives in the house you see in the picture. They discovered that Jake and Lydia were fine, and started their walk home when they noticed that the neighbor who lives to the right had just opened his garage door to begin what must have seemed like an overwhelming task.  No problem.  Melvin and his four little ones pitched in to help him, and in what seemed like no time at all, the driveway was clear! That's what you call being neighborly, and it's one of my favorite things about our community!

The last prompt is "Sky"...

I used this picture in my post about digging out, but I think this sky is so gorgeous I'll use it again here.  Not a cloud in sight the morning after the blizzard, and I just love the brilliant blue...

Here's another one, for good measure.  The sunrise this morning was beautiful...but only for a few minutes until the sun disappeared behind the clouds...

I just wish the tower and telephone pole didn't have to always be in the picture, but oh well, it's pretty anyway!

I hope your weekend is a good one!  Click here for more links to Friday's Hunt, with Teresa.

Digging Out...

It's good to be on this side of the "Blizzard of 2016"...

Anticipation can be the worst, I think.  Wondering how much snow we will get?  How cold will it be?  How long will it last?  Will we lose power?  Will the milk truck get here?

...and so on...

Now that it's over, we can deal with the facts.

It was an almost record setting storm for the east coast, with snowfall totals in our area ranging from 26" - 30".  It was hard to measure accurately, for the strong winds that came along with the storm.  On one side of our house you could still see tufts of grass peeking through the snow, while in other areas there were big drifts.

The first snow flurries started right on time, Friday evening around 6 pm. This is the first picture I took on Saturday morning, 6 am, looking out the porch door towards the barn, while my coffee brewed...

Jim had already headed out to start milking, and Daniel was coming on his four wheeler.  He lives about 1 1/2 miles away, and we figured that was the best bet to get him here.  Getting him home late morning was another story! The roads weren't plowed, and even a four wheel drive pickup couldn't get through.  A snow mobiler came the rescue, and that was probably more fun than a truck ride anyway!

It was a long day.  The snow just kept falling, and falling, and the wind blew everything shut as quickly as it could.  We were expecting the milk truck, so Jim and Daniel worked together to open the driveway as much as they could. Daniel ran the skid loader to move the snow off the driveway...

...and Jim used the D-17 to scrape...

I had taken extra feed to the chickens on Friday, but they still needed fresh water to drink.  The trek across the chicken pen...after fighting to get the gate open...was slow going, with snow above my knees by late morning...

This is looking back towards the barn from the calf hutches.  The hutches are on the south side of the house, in a protected area, so the calves were cozy, but the path getting there was hard walking through deep snow.  Our tracks were almost blown shut in the ten minutes we were down there...

The milk truck never made it yesterady, but we were fine.  We can hold extra milkings in our bulk tank, and so those who were full, got picked up first. The roads were horrible.  Those truck drivers have to have nerves of steel to navigate in weather like this!  Next time you drink some milk, thank a trucker!

The snow stopped last evening around bed time, and things look and feel totally different this morning!

Murphy and Snickers ventured outside, after being cooped up in the barn all day yesterday.  The path that Jim shoveled to the hutches last evening stayed open...

This view is much cheerier than the same view yesterday, isn't it?

The roads are passable again...

After milking this morning Jim began widening the driveway for the milk truck, who we expect this afternoon. The driver just called to see if we are ready for him.

In fact...here he is!

We were waiting to dig out our cars, because the snow around them will get thrown on to the driveway.  Now that the milk truck is in, I guess we'd better get to work!

Snow makes everything look so clean and bright...

I still had a hard walk to the chicken pen with water, but I got eleven eggs, even though they were closed in their shed for a day and a half!  Good girls!

We are so fortunate.  We never lost power, which would have thrown a whole other wrench into things.  Yes, we have a generator, but it's one more thing to fool around with when we're already cold and tired, so we're glad to not have to use it.

Looking back, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and for that we are thankful!

Here It Comes...

Ready or not, here comes the first snowfall of the season...

...and it's gonna be a be a DOOZY!

That's my "Starts with D" for Friday's Hunt #4, with Teresa at Eden Hills. I guess you'll have to take a description of doozy, rather than a photo! We spent a lot of time getting ready today.  The forecast is for 18"-22", with strong winds and some white out conditions.  The milk truck is due tomorrow morning, and that could be an adventure.  Those truck drivers have to go out in all kinds of conditions, just like the farmers do.

Jim put as many round bales up in the barn as he could fit...backed in a full wagon load of corn fodder for bedding...(the barn hill gets slippery and hard to navigate in this kind of weather!)...we got a load of sawdust earlier this week...the calves are cozy...the chickens have extra feed...and he's getting the generator ready, just in case.

This is my "beautiful" selection.  This morning's sunrise...the calm before the storm...

And for my "week's favorite" I chose a picture of the beautiful flowers on my windowsill.  They're what's left of the bouquet we gave Jenna after her District Orchestra concert over the weekend.  Gerbera daisies are some of my favorites, and seeing them smiling at us while anticipating a snow storm makes me happy!

It's 7 pm, and it's been snowing lightly for about an hour.  The cows are milked, the milk is cold, the pipeline is washing, the coveralls are in the washer.  Now we wait.

I hope you're warm and safe this weekend, wherever you are!