Filed under: November 2019 | Tags: Mother Nature, Small Farming, snow storm
November 13, 2019
I snapped this photo about noon yesterday. The snow fell at a rate of over two inches and hour. The storm total for us was 15 inches. That is a pretty good smack of snow, especially this early in the season!
I am actually fairly pleased with myself. Most of the stuff that needed to be done to prepare for winter had been completed. I knew we would get snow soon, I just didn’t expect this much! I had to rush to get feed to the grazing cattle and sheep, because the grass is buried deep under the now melting snow.
The weather is supposed to be cool but very nice for the next ten days. I hope to continue getting our autumn work completed. The corn harvest is still not complete. That job will take much of my focus in the coming days.
After the storm passed, just before sunset, the sun came out and reflected off the snow covered tree branches and the landscape as well. It was a beautiful sight. Winter is bearing down on us. We are almost ready, but in the meantime I will enjoy the beauty that comes with the snow. It is much better to work with Mother Nature and not get upset with her…you can’t change anything anyway.
Filed under: January 2016, Uncategorized | Tags: ambition, maple season, Rest, snow storm
January 22, 2016
It’s cold and snowy outside. I have my chores done. I have been a bit cooped up these last few days. Yes, there is plenty to do, but I am enjoying being forced inside a little bit. I caught up on some reading. I got ahead on a few writing projects. I am keeping up with our family’s butchering projects and I am catching up on some rest.
I am about to start a shelf building project in the sugarhouse. I need them for a little more organization, since changing out the old storage tanks. The new tank has a spot of its own, but I lost a little bit of room for supplies. The new shelves should help with that problem. Cardboard boxes filled with new syrup containers take up a lot of room. I also like them in a clean, steam free, place. So, I hope my idea works out as well as I think it will.
I am gathering a list of supplies for the upcoming maple season. I need to run errands, but want to be sure that I remember everything. Filters, pre-filters, different sized containers, new spiles, sap bags and extra lids are items to start the list. A little ambition would help too, but right now I am enjoying the rest that comes with a big snow… What’s a guy to do? 🙂
Filed under: November 2014 | Tags: calves, cordwood, old man, Small Farming, snow storm
T-Bone and his mother checking me out
November 12, 2014
I went down to the pasture to check on the cattle and the new babies. When I got there, they checked me out. Well, maybe it was the dogs who were being watched, but the little one was not missing a beat.
Have you heard, the first snow of winter is supposed to hit us in the next few hours. It feels as every creature here knows that it is coming. The cats were curled up much of the day in the straw. The piglets pushed their bedding into a big pile and were stacked like cordwood underneath it. The horses have big appetites and the young sows, like the piglets, have fluffed their bed for the night.
I had trouble trying to pick corn with the picker. It is simply too muddy in one field. In the other field, I managed to slip a chain off a gear in the worst part of the machine possible. I will repair it, but believe I will start picking the corn by hand. The little bit I did gather in looks very lonely in the crib. The rest stands in the field, braced for the storm, hopefully it will stand up to the wind and weight.
I worked on firewood for much of the last two days. I just don’t get as much done as I did when I was younger. I don’t get it. I’m just as tired at the end of the day as when I was young, but when I look at my progress, there is much less. This afternoon, I even took a nap! I know that I have laid a lot of ground work, so when the wood starts coming out there will be plenty. I guess I will celebrate then. For now, I will wait and watch for the snow storm, make repairs and keep my chainsaw ready….it will work out…it always does!
RicelandMeadows 