Not Through With Winter Yet!

 Golly, it's been cold today. Several times I had the urge to go outside because the sun was so bright - then there would be a gust of wind and the snow was flying by the windows in great white clouds and I reminded myself of how cold it was this morning when I was taking snow measurements. We had a couple inches of snow overnight, but I think most of what we got is down in Danville or Peacham by now. The wind was out of the north and during the day the temperature slipped from the low 20s to single digits above zero. Tonight I'm seeing wind chill numbers of -10F at times. I haven't looked outside - it's better to just leave the insulated blinds down and enjoy the warmth of the house.

Tomorrow is supposed to get a bit warmer, then we will continue to warm up to be back in the 50s on Sunday! That is good news, but it apparently won't be all sunshine and warm spring breezes, because the forecast is for snow/sleet mix along with freezing rain that could last most of the week, with temperatures "seasonal" - in the 30s. At least there's nothing indicating below zero weather again. Hopefully we're finished with that deep cold (maybe) for this season.

It will be time to set our clocks ahead very soon! That's always something to look forward to! Actually, I'd be happy to leave the clocks set on either one time or the other. Switching them ahead and back seems like unnecessary micromanaging.

I'm thinking about those cows over in the pasture tonight. By now they probably have grown a thick coat of hair to protect them, but still - it's awfully cold for any animal to be exposed to the weather. They do have plenty of woods to break the wind and I expect they are cozy enough among the big spruce trees. They do tend to bunch together in cold weather, so they kind of keep each other warm. I took these pictures earlier this week when I was out that way. It was a cold day, but they were out and about, feeding and getting water from a little brook nearby. They look perfectly healthy. The exposure in this pasture is good. They get the sun until the very late afternoon and there are plenty of trees on all but the south, or road side of their pasture, but no sharp gullies or hillsides where the snow can drift, possibly burying them during a severe storm. 

When I was growing up, we wouldn't dream of leaving cattle outside in the winter. The barn was always warm and the stable was kept dry with fresh bedding of sawdust each day. They were fed a varied diet of meal, hay and silage, and they also got brushed with a curry comb regularly. Because our barn was equipped with stanchions, the cows were cleaner than we sometimes see cows that are in an open barn, free to roam or lie down where they please. The cows quickly learned where their stanchion was, which was impressive, I think, because there were usually 40 or more  tied up there for milking. Young stock and calves were separate from the milking herd. On especially warm days, my grandfather liked to turn them out into the fenced-in yard, and they would sometimes run and kick up their heels like gleeful children at recess. The young stock were especially happy to be outside, and it took a good crew to keep them in line on their way to their summer pasture each spring. That pasture was the property directly across from where my house is now. It was called the Fisher Lot. I suppose it was purchased from a Fisher family by my grandfather and his father at some point. The young stock spent the summer there. There was more open grassland then than there is now, and of course they had the pond for drinking water, besides several springs on the hillside. I remember there was also a salt lick, and my grandfather was careful to monitor them regularly. His call, "Come boss, come boss," brought them running to him from all directions. Even the young stock recognized him, and often just his whistle would get their attention and they'd gather around him. He was a great whistler.

Some people hum; my grandfather whistled. I learned to whistle when I was very young. I hadn't thought about it for years until recently, and when I tried, I found it was hard to do! It used to be just something I did naturally - probably because my grandfather and my father both were inclined to whistle when they were working. Then there are the professionals like I saw on CBS Sunday Morning a while back. I will have to work on my whistling - a lot!!

Stay warm and safe. Think SPRING.