Got a night's sleep last night. Leisurely breakfast and then fed the calves. I needed to chase up a half dozen reluctant ones but I don't think it is sickness. I am thinking they just didn't want to give up the warm bedding they were lying on.
High of zero today I guess. Wind is down some. Checked the waterers and both the cattle drinkers are all right. Saw one hog drinker skimmed over with ice. Have to recheck later.
Market herd found its way back to the feeding site on the pasture so I won't have to use a tractor to break trail for them.
Picked eggs and watered chickens.
Skyped with Carye and Kris for an hour.
After the noon meal, started and warmed up the tractor, then switched to the material bucket and went to work on the drive way. Took about three hours to break through and then clean up some of the leftovers. Banks are four to five feet high on both sides of driveway now. The least breeze will drift it shut again. We will get a lot of use out of the snow pushing equipment around here between now and spring. We were nearly three days not getting down the driveway. Fortunately we are always well stocked with food and the heat stayed on!
It was a mistake to line the solar panels up along the south of the driveway and while we lucked out the first two years, this year we pay for it. After this we will need a line of bales or something about 25 feet into the pasture to catch some of the snow before it gets to the panels. Live and learn (and live with it)
We have not started on the yard and livestock areas other than to break through a trial to walk on. But the garbage truck is due to show up, we might have customers and hogs need to be loaded and hauled Wednesday. Tomorrow we will hit it with tractor and skidloader both. Might get it acceptable in a day. Otherwise we will finish on Tuesday.
Thursday morning we leave for the Grassworks conference. Really looking forward to it!
Need to feed the cows yet before dark. Below zero again tonight and only zero again tomorrow.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Saturday, January 18, 2020
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.
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.
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