While The Sun Shines

I think we have all heard the expression, "make hay while the sun shines."  Well, I'm gonna add to that.  Haul hay while the sun shines!  Yesterday was a gorgeous day for February in Montana.  Somewhere around 30 degrees and not a breath of wind.  But that has changed.  It's 3 degrees now and snowing.  There's a storm heading our way that is supposed to bring more snow, high winds and temperatures back down to -20 or so.  The wind chills will even be worse than that!

I never used to pay any attention to the weather.  Not much any way.  Boy, has that changed!  Now I have learned that watching the weather reports can mean being prepared for nasty storms or being caught out in a blizzard.  Kind of a big deal out here on the prairie.

So in preparation for this storm, I decided to haul hay all around to the different parts of the farm where I feed each bunch of critters.  I normally load a few bales each day, off of the stack and deliver them around the farm.  Now I have bales stacked up near each bunch of critters.  Some near the goat/lamb pen, some near the horses and calves pasture gate and some up in the alpaca barn. Now I won't be hauling hay when it's -20 below and the wind is trying to blow me off of the haystack!  Instead I was hauling hay in the sunshine, in shirtsleeves no less! 

Shirt sleeves and overalls. In February!

 

The alpacas were out frolicking and hoping all that hay was for them!  They love their groceries!!

"No really, you can just leave all that here." ~ Cricket

I also got some things cleaned up around the farm, fueled up the tractor and trimmed the pony's hooves.  The snow kept balling up under his feet, making it very hard for him to walk.  I'm hoping a hoof trim helps a bit.  A good brushing made him a happy boy too.

All of us seemed to be soaking up the sunshine while we could.... I'll let you know what tomorrow brings.

 "Paris" the barn cat.

Bye for now,
PB

A Winter Walk

This morning a little storm blew in.  It started snowing hard.  But the wind had kindly stopped blowing and the temperature stayed right around freezing.  Not any of that below zero stuff we often get at the end of January. 

I decided it was actually quite a nice day, in spite of the little blizzard going on.  So in effort to get a little exercise, I chose to walk around the farm to get my chores done.  Normally I have to drive something that can haul hay this time of year.  But there is a little extra stacked up in the barn so I didn't have to haul any today. Perfect day for a winter walk....

Today's snow is very heavy and wet.  It feels much like a Spring storm.  The girls almost seem to enjoy this weather.

Mudflap is not amused.... but he is never amused.

The calves were happy to see me put out their bales of lunch so they could stop rooting around in the snow covered grass.

The ponies are loafing in their shed....

The chores are done, the gate is closed and it's time for a cup of tea.....

Bye for now,
PB

Today I joined the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop! Check it out for more fun!
http://www.deborahjeansdandelionhouse.blogspot.com/2014/01/farmgirl-friday-blog-hop-143.html

Montana Hurricanes

So this morning I lazily rolled out of bed at the insistence of my rugrats, who scamper into my room before daylight each day.  I pulled on my pink velour jogging suit, (that I never jog in) and stumbled to the kitchen in anticipation of a lovely cup of coffee.  My trusty Keurig was doing it's thing so I happened to gaze out the kitchen window while I waited for my cup to fill.  And then the day got interesting....

All night last night the wind blew hard enough to literally shake the house.  It sounded as though something of substance was repeatedly beating on the house, not just gusts of air.  It was so loud I couldn't sleep very well at all and I was amazed the kids had slept okay.  But we've had wicked winds before so I wasn't exactly worried or anything.

My view out the kitchen window showed me the door to the sheep shed had blown open and let my little prairie maggots escape their corral. I had that door wired shut with two strands of baling wire around the door handle! So I called Prairie Granny to come over and watch the rugrats so I could go chase sheep.  I tore down to the corral in my pickup, jumped out and the wind caught my door so hard it now needs some repairs.  The force of the wind seemed to be sucking more air from my lungs than I could put back in!  Just to walk around, I was leaning into the wind like you'd see in an old cartoon. The sheep were running back and forth and around, in between the horses and such.  My big ol' dog wasn't much help either. She was having a little too much fun and not listening to me what-so-ever!  Thankfully, Miss Ivy the birthday goat saved the day.  She came running up to me like, "Mom! Save me!"  So I caught her up and tied her inside the sheep corral.  Sort of hoping they would "follow the leader".  Know what I mean?

I threw some hay in the feeder and went to investigate the broken shed door.  Sure enough those wires had snapped in the wind and the wood holding the latch had splintered and broken off.  I had to "Jerry rig" that door like MacGyver to keep it shut as the wind kept slamming me against the wall of the shed. Finally it looked like it would hold so I went after the sheep.  I'm so thankful they were hungry!  I tip-toed out around them and they tip-toed right into the corral. Thank the Lord!

As looked around the farm yard I found things blown all to kingdom come.  The metal round bale feeder blew over, buckets and tumbleweeds lined the fence lines, the portable net fencing for my chickens was no longer standing.  It had pulled right out of the soggy ground at the base of each post. Bales of hay had been blown off the top of the stack. I couldn't even make that one up! How did that happen?  I had to feed the calves inside the corral next to the barn so the hay wouldn't blow away before they could eat it! Then of course I came home wearing plenty of hay in my underwear....

I decided a Montana hurricane is when the wind is strong enough to blow down part of your hay stack. I looked up the meaning of "gale force winds" and gale force tops out at 64 miles per hour. That would just be a stiff breeze compared to what we had this morning.... I'm glad to report that for now the winds have calmed down to about 15 miles per hour.  I'm looking forward to picking up the pieces in the morning.

Bye for now,
PB

How Was Your New Year's?

Another year has passed.  Last night was the annual fundraiser and dance for the Geraldine swimming pool.  It is always such a fun time and last night was no exception.  Cowboys in costumes, good food, a silent auction that was at times quite a wrestling match, dancing and a good ol' gab fest.  The snow was falling in large, fluffy flakes that begged to land on eyelashes and the tip of your nose as we walked into the old auditorium. Perfection.

My companion and I decided to enjoy the dance until nearly midnight, then hit a long standing tradition of a house party out in the hills west of town.  We drove the road over the mountains as midnight rolled around and the snow swirled.  Friends and laughter were found in a lovely, warm farmhouse.  Stories were told and plans were hatched until yawns outnumbered the laughter.

We headed out the snow buried driveway and down the gravel road until we were just to the pavement. The truck didn't sound right.... an unidentifiable noise.  We went a bit further....  Then the "low tire pressure" light was flashing and it became obvious we were going to have to fix a flat in the middle of the night, in the middle of a snow storm, in the middle of nowhere.  We were then disappointed to discover that the necessary parts for changing said tire were not to be found.  Both cell phones were mocking us with their "no signal" status.  So there we were.  Not a house in sight, no phones, no changing the tire. We decided to lay back on the heated seats and take a snooze until morning.  At least we had plenty of fuel and wouldn't freeze.  In daylight maybe we could flag someone down for a ride to town.

Morning came finally and the snowstorm had moved on.  In the distance near some ancient grain elevators there stood a little old shack of a house and I saw a light come on!  "Hey! Does someone live down there?" I asked my partner in crime. Turns out yes, an old codger named Kenny lived there.  Surely we could use his phone to call for some best friend back up.  "Does he like you?" I asked.  "Think so...." was the answer.  We decided to creep the truck slowly towards the shack, hoping to not destroy the wheel.  My traveling partner disappeared to the house and came back with Kenny and the key to an old pickup truck.  I guess he did like us okay.  "Kenny, you are a scholar and a gentleman...." and off we went with the old man's truck.  Quite an eventful first day of 2014, I'd say. Now, I'm ready for a long night's sleep.... Happy New Year everyone.

Bye for now,
PB

That One "Special" Calf

I'd like you to meet "Superman".  He is a very distinctly marked calf, with most of his body being white.  So it's very easy to pick him out of a crowd....

I'm not all sure why this happens....  But it seems that without fail, in every herd of cattle, there is one special calf.  It doesn't matter if your herd has one hundred calves or ten, like mine.  There is one calf that stands out right away.  He's the one who will push through the feed room door and just about knock you over, just to see what's in there.  The one who tells his buddies to squeeze through that hole in the fence to check out "greener pastures."  He doesn't care if he's been munching all morning, he'll stand there and bawl real loud, just to see if you'll dish out more groceries.  Or maybe he'll just absolutely refuse to move to the next pasture.... even when the water is frozen solid, there's a blizzard going on, it's -20 degrees below zero and his life literally depends on moving through that gate.  Nope.... forget it.... ain't gonna happen.

That's what Superman was up to on Friday.  I had to move the calves to another pasture due to their automatic waterer refusing to operate properly at -25 below.  The wind was blowing pretty good, so it was kicking up a little ground blizzard.  I was dressed in my super duper winter gear and was still getting chilled to the bone.  The exposed skin around my eyes was burning and I knew I was at risk of frostbite.

I called to my "babies" and they followed me and the bucket of feed I was shaking, right across the road and through the gate.  All but two anyway.... One of them was "Peter".  He's always been a slowpoke at most things. But eventually, he did decided to amble over and through the gate.  Superman was bringing up the rear.  It looked as though we was going to cooperate for once.  He followed Peter through the gate.... But as soon as he got past the gate post, he screeched to a halt and took off the other direction at a run.  He trotted all the way back where he came from.  So I trudged through the snow drifts and fought the bitter wind again.  Got some more feed in my bucket and called, begged and pleaded for him to follow me.  He just stood there.... I tried chasing him.  But with my bum leg from a badly pulled muscle and the snowdrifts, I wasn't making a very good "cow horse".  So I gave up.  I threw a bale of hay over the fence and slammed that gate shut.  Then I had to rig some water up for him for the night.  By the time I got back inside I thought I'd never thaw out!

The next morning, my "special" calf was at the gate, bawling to please go over across the road with his buddies!  I happily opened the gate....

He quickly found his friends up in the corral with the horses and alpacas all sharing a hearty breakfast.  Then he had the nerve to not even say thank-you!

So I leave you with a moo....

Bye for now,
PB

Oh December

December is here.... the proof is in the white stuff that is falling from the sky. I spent the morning chasing, catching and leading my sheep from their summer pen into what used to be the pig pen.  It has a nice shed and power for the water tank de-icer. There's a big storm setting in today and the ungrateful buggers will be much more cozy in their new pen. 

The first five were pretty easy to catch and move.  Some even got to ride with my big boy in the back of my SUV.  The last two were the hold outs.... They refused to go into the catch pen no matter what!  If they did go in, they ran right back out as quickly as possible!  They didn't want any part of a new, cozy shed and ice free water! So Hired Man Jim and I headed out this morning with a plan.  We set up a temporary fence that was in the shape of a funnel that went to the catch pen.  Sort of like they used to build to trap wild horses.  Once that was set up, we were able to run them in there and shut that gate.  Then it was my job to put a rope on them to lead them to their new home across the farm.  I found it was easiest to catch them after they jumped into their water trough in the corner of the pen.  Then I had nice, muddy, soggy, ticked off sheep on a rope.....

I'll bet you all are wondering why I didn't just herd them across the farm to the new pen.... Well let me try to explain.  I have seven lambs left.  They are all young and not very bright.  The minute a person tries to herd them anywhere, they scatter like ping pong balls on a concrete floor.  Like my Grandpa says, "It's like trying to drive a pig on ice."  Ain't gonna happen.  So they either got to ride in the car, or they got a little lesson on how to walk on a leash.  The hand walking was more like a lamb rodeo than a stroll.  Jumping, running, laying down refusing to cooperate really at all.  So we sort of lead....drive.... drag them along until we reach our destination.  Quite a work out for us and the sheep!

At least we were successful. The sheep are tucked in nice and cozy.  The alpacas and horses have a nice warm barn and Prairie Granny gave them all hay.  The calves are munching their hay under their lean to.  The chickens have their heat lamps, heated waterers and plenty of layer mash to keep them happy.  We are ready for this first, December storm..... Now it's time to drink my coffee and eat some pumpkin pie.

Bye for now,
PB

A Weather Report

One of the things we deal with living in this part of the country is some rapid changes in the weather.  We get sudden storms.  We get "Chinook winds", that are quite a phenomenon. This is the Wikipedia explanation.

 " The reference to a wind or weather system, simply "a Chinook", originally meant a warming wind from the ocean into the interior regions of the Pacific Northwest of the USA. A strong Chinook can make snow one foot deep almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below -4°F to as high as 50-68°F for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels. The greatest recorded temperature change in 24 hours was caused by Chinook winds on January 15, 1972, in Loma, Montana; the temperature rose from  -54 to 48°F.^"  

Then there's the cold, fronts that blast us from the North.  Like yesterday.  We the kids and I went out to do chores it was 38 degrees.  But there a thick bank of fog forming to the North and the air was thick with moisture.  A couple of minutes later the wind shifted and came rolling in from the North and it was cold!  We hurried to feed the calves and by the time the hay was in the bunk it was 21 degrees.  We had taken my car down to do chores so the little ones could stay warm.  It also has a very handy temperature gauge.

By the time we got to the barn, about 4 minutes later, it was down to 18 degrees.  A twenty degree drop in less than ten minutes. 

 

I love how that camo coat is doing it's job in this picture.... Where's my boy?

 

The fog thickened and the temperature dropped some more.... After supper we were at 11 degrees.  Almost a 30 degree drop in about an hour. 

 

This morning we have a lovely 8 degrees and snowing steady in the form of teeny, tiny little snowflakes.  The horses were kicking up their heels to stay warm.  Well, Fancy Pants was....

 

I think I'll be staying inside today....after the chores are done of course.

Bye for now,
PB

Holy Hail Storm!

This evening as we were getting ready to head out to do chores, my girls were calling me, "Hey Barb come take pictures of these clouds! They're so cool!"  There was a storm on the horizon. 

We headed out to the barn and quickly realized we had just enough time to get the calves into the barn before racing back to the house.  I did not want to be caught in the barn when I had a nice safe basement waiting for me!

We got back to the house just in time.  I'm thankful that a tornado didn't appear in the clouds.  But boy, did it hail!

This was some of the biggest hail I'd ever seen.  And there was a lot of it!

 

 

Now for the damage report:  Do you remember those beautiful tomatoes in the first picture?

Here they are now....

 

 

Fresh cole slaw anyone?  It's so fresh it still has roots!

 



 

 I lost everything in the garden.  Yes, I'm totally pouting!  Mom and I started many of the plants early this spring and have babied them for so long.  Now they are trashed.

 

 



The barn took a beating too.  All of the sky lights are completely broken out.  Prairie Granny is going to have to get up on that roof and replace them soon.  Because this girl does not do heights!

 

 

Here's a fun fact!  This tree used to have leaves on it!  Now.... not so much.

 

After it was all said and done, I did realize how much I have to be grateful for.  No one was hurt, the animals are all fine, the house seems to have avoided damage.  The good Lord even gave us a beautiful reminder....

 

Pony is at the end of the rainbow!  No wonder I call him "Black Gold"!





I leave you with just one more fun photo.... I don't think I have ever included so many photos in one post!

 

 

We were lucky enough to have both ends of the rainbow on our farm! 

 

Blessings,

B

I Used to Hate the Rain

Some of you know I spent a total of about 8 years living in the Seattle suburbs.  There were a few things I liked about the place, the coffee, great restaurants, lots of entertainment, Puget Sound and the ocean.  But I always hated the rain.  The almost constant drizzle.  Gray skies.  Mud everywhere.  Back then the rain meant if I wanted to go ride my horse, I had to deal with the rain or not ride.

Fast forward 15 years....

Rain now makes me smile!  We live in an area that's pretty dang dry for the most part.  Not a desert, but close maybe.  We get enough moisture that we have a nice grass prairie all around us.  Not sagebrush!  But it's also dry enough that every drop of moisture counts.  It's never a bad day for rain.  Rain means the prairie will turn green.  Rain means less chance of wildfires.  Rain means the hay fields will feed the animals next winter. Rain means the people here that make their living growing crops will actually make a living.  There is no irrigated ground around here.  Pretty much everything is dry land farmed.  Without the good Lord sending the rain and lot of people would struggle.  Rain is GOOD!

On Monday it rained!  Really, really, rained!  A gully washer!  Water was running all over the place.  Gutters were overflowing.  It was the most rain I have seen since we moved here.  At least all in one day....

The silly horses have a barn, but chose to get a shower instead!

The rugrats and I were in awe.  We stood at the windows for a very long time and watched the rain.  I know my fields will grow.  I know the garden drank it up.  It was such a blessing....

An hour or so later, the skies cleared....  So we will wait for the next rainy day and be glad when it comes!

 

 

 

Bye for now,

 

B

Short and Sweet

There's a snow storm expected.  I am truly grateful for the moisture. But I admit I am over the snow.  Kinda wishing for rain instead.  This time of year I start to get the itch to garden.  I have some cabbage plants growing in my garage that would really like to get outside.  I also have some chickens growing in my garage that would really like to get outside!  Just don't tell the mayor!!! 


With the snow storms continuing to roll through the seedlings and the chicks have to stay put.  And I have to stay put in the house more than I'd like to.  But today, my big boy went over to feed the chickens at Grammy and Papa's house and came back with a little present for his momma.  A perfect and wonderful sign that spring really is here.  The classic, free expression of love from little ones to their momma's for generations....

 

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!

 

It really is here, the dandelion's told me so!

 

 

Bye For Now,

 

B

Gandolf

Today at 2:00 pm.  The town of Geraldine is just beyond the sign.

On January 12th, 1888 on front rolled through Montana and brought one of the deadliest blizzards in our history.  They called it The School Children's blizzard because so many children died on their way home from school.  The storm hit quickly and many were unprepared.  The day prior had been unseasonably warm and they weren't dressed for it.  Teachers didn't know how bad the storm was before they sent them out. 

Wednesday was spring like.  Warm, sunny, no wind.  I thought how strange it was for January.  That night we learned of the pending storm.  Now we know far ahead that we need to prepare.  We know how bad it will be and how long it will last.  We can plan ahead and have the pantry stocked. I often think of the people that settled this place.  I'm always amazed that anybody even survived here before the days of decent insulation and central heating.  They had to keep themselves alive and their animals too.  Ice was chopped with an axe to water the stock.  Hay was so much harder to put up and store, but somehow they managed.  Kids walked miles across the prairie in all kinds of weather to get to school and sometimes it cost them their lives.  We have so very much to be grateful for.  Yes, in some ways our world is worse off than in 1888.  But in many ways it's better.

Pony looked so miserable that I put him in the barn for the night.



Payson walking home from school.  The whole
20 yard trek.

Now we have the National Weather Service that tracks and now also names our winter storms.  This one is named Gandolf.  Gandolf has made his way East to North Dakota tonight.  A bit of snow is still falling but it's lightened.  Tomorrow will be warmer and sunny once again.  The snow drifts will be the highlight of my big boy's weekend.  The rugrats and puppies will enjoy it as well.  I will make hot cocoa and smile at their rosy cheeks and be thankful for the storm....


'Til next time,
B