Narrative

Thursday
Storm coming.  Wind from Southeast, then switching to North West.   A foot or more snow.  Hauled five straw bales to a line along extreme SE corner of the calves' pen to provide a windbreak.

Truck came home from the Twin Cities run.  Made it ahead of weather late in the evening.

Friday
Wind is blowing at six in the morning.  Snow starts mid morning.  Wind picks up.  Maybe 30mph  Temperature rising toward mid twenties.  By after noon the driveway is drifted across.  Andy says he is going to leave the frozen drinker in the one sow pen, as it is covered by snow.  Drifts across the yard at about one foot.  Driveway deeper than that.  Tore calves' hay bale apart to give them all access to the last of it and perhaps a little bedding dry enough for them to lay on.  Spread a bale of hay for the cows.  Checked hens for eggs to keep them from freezing.  Heard that the wind was to switch to North West at about midnight and then stay down for a bit before picking up. 

Market cattle came up from their hay to shelter from the wind behind the sow's hoop.

Plugged tractor in and turned the switch on timer to send current through all day and night.  Checked the gas level for heat in the hog houses.  Don't know how we would get a supply truck on the yard if we needed to.  Thankfully, we have plenty.

Made it until nine before the warm house air put me to sleep.

Saturday
Up at four.  My ears tell me I am too late.  The wind is already up.  Grabbed some coffee and went to start the tractor.  Used it to haul a fresh bale to the calves.  Was able to dodge the drifts alright, but switched to the snow bucket and spent until five thirty pounding a hole in the drift west of the hoops so the cattle could get to the lane south of the yard out of the wind and be out of the way as I got bedding and a second bale to the calves.  Was able to get them to move after I trained the tractor lights on the hole through the snow where they would have to go.  Wind began to howl.  In for breakfast.

Hauled a hay bale to the market animals in the lane and pushed it to unroll it.  They look a lot like yaks standing on the north pole out there.  Hauled a bale of stalks to the cows for feed and bedding and needed to tear it apart mostly by hand.  It was made wet-we had little choice about that-and pretty much frozen in a lump.  In to warm up.

Back out.  Andy has found another frozen drinker in one of the finishing hoops and I get a pail of hot water to get it thawed before noon.  I am beginning to learn to minimize house time because it puts me immediately to sleep.

Drifts on the driveway are now nearly four feet deep.  I estimate it will take about five hours steady work with the tractor to clear it and then it won't stay clear.  Spring will be necessary there.  Made a mental note to get a snow fence/row of bales south of the solar panels to keep this from happening again.  Wind notches up speed once again.  40-50 mph?  It is starting to drive the snow through the grove. 

Now we go to the sow hoops as it is feeding day.  We will see what extra attention is needed there and are certain it will use up the afternoon.  The buried drinker will need to be dug out and thawed.  I will get back to this writing in a day or two.