Walking in the Winter Wonderland

It's official. This is Minnesota's snowiest December on record... and it's the December I'm doing chores by myself while Melissa heals from neck surgery. WHINE ALERT! (Melissa's doing great, except for a serious case of cabin fever.)  We had the Dec. 11 blizzard, then at least two more snowfalls of at least six inches.


Here's how far I must walk from the house to the barn:

For days I slogged through snow over my knees. I'd just get a path broken, and the wind would blow it shut and I'd have to start all over again. The sheep needed help making a path to their water trough, so I made them one with my own two little feet.


Neighbors came with their snowblower and blew paths to the wood pile, and up to my first red gate. Another neighbor uses our tractor to plow our driveway. A third neighbor scoots down with his four-wheeler and plows when wind blows waves of snow across the driveway. I plan to bribe all these neighbors with peanut brittle until winter ends.


For a good ten days, winter kicked my butt. I'm not proud to admit it. I was wiped out every day with shoveling and slogging. I might have even shed a few tears of self-pity.

Then I realized I didn't have to climb through the snow drifts every day to feed the animals. I needed snowshoes! But I had no time (or energy) to drive 30 miles to shop for some. We shopped online, and Melissa ordered expedited delivery. They came Dec, 23, and on Dec. 24 we had another 6 inches.


Talk about a Merry Christmas! Using extreme ZOOM lens, Melissa caught me up at the barn trying to shoosh the overly friendly ram, Inigo Montoya, away from me. When a ewe's in heat, he pays no attention to me. When none of the ewes distract him, then he wants me. Not interested.

But now, with my handy snowshoes, I can bypass the sheep trail. Inigo can't reach me. I'm invincible! And instead of sinking into snow over my knees, I only sink a few inches. And after a few days, there's a great trail. Here I am in my oversized, baggy insulated overalls.

I LOVE THESE SNOWSHOES! I'm even strapping them on and hiking around the pasture for some extra exercise every day. I've started making a maze in the west pasture. (I must be insane.)


But at least winter's no longer conquering me....With these snowshoes, I might actually conquer it.

So there are two good reasons to live in MN during the winter. Snowshoes are one. And the morning sunrise is another....

Wishing everyone a safe and sane New Year's....

Sheep Lost in Blizzard!

We're having a good, old-fashioned blizzard today. I have no idea how many inches have fallen (12? 22?) because it's been blowing and blowing. Winds of over 30 mph. All sorts of winter nastiness. 


This morning I screwed up my courage and did the chores, which put me outside in the blizzard for an hour. (I'm grateful I did that, because this afternoon the blizzard is twice as bad.) The hardest part was slogging through the snow.


The hens and ducks and cats, all in the little barn, were fine. And I knew the llamas and the ram and the steers would be fine, for they had access to the big barn. It was the sheep, and their guard llama, Tucker, that concerned me. 

As I approach the sheep, I start counting heads. Oh, oh, I'm one short. That can't be right. As I get closer to the hay bales, which are providing the sheep with a windbreak, I count again. Still one short.


Okay, don't panic. She must be behind the hay bale. I circle the bale and look. No sheep.


Holy crap. I do panic now, and start scanning the pasture. The wind has sculpted the snow into drifts that are four-feet high in places. Could there be a sheep buried under one of those?

No, the missing sheep must be here, with the others. I look closer. There she is. She was always there, but was so covered in snow that I didn't see her the first time.

Look closely. She looks like a sheep-shaped snow sculpture:

I fluffed up their hay so it will be easier for them to eat:

Sheep are amazingly hardy. Their wool is coated with snow, but when I stuck my hand deep into one ewe's fleece, she was toasty warm. Blizzards are an inconvenience for our sheep, nothing more.

Up at the barn, the steers eat their corn, grateful I didn't abandon them in the storm.

Chachi would like me to shut off the snow, or at least the wind.

And by the time I return home, the path I broke has blown entirely shut. But Melissa and the dogs are waiting for me at the door, so that gives me the extra energy I need to break another path through the heavy drifting.

And now? A book and a glass of wine by the woodstove....I earned it.  Wishing you an equally pleasant afternoon....

Laughing with Goats

Two weeks ago Melissa had three vertebrae in her neck fused. She was in great pain the first week, but did much better the second week. (Yea, Percoset! Yea, Valium!) And this week she's taking fewer of the pain meds. She has at least six weeks of not lifting more than 20 pounds.

So I'm Head Farmer! Haven't killed anything yet, so it's going well. :-)  But winter dumped a foot of snow on us last weekend, so that makes everything harder. After two hours of outside work every day (chores, shoveling snow, bringing in firewood, etc.) I'm beat.


But my newest antidote for exhaustion is watching baby goats (someone else's!) We have friends in CO who are professional videographers. They spent hours filming the baby cashmere goats on the farm across the road. The result is two DVDs: Giggle with the Goats, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. 


I don't care how old our friends and family are---everyone we know is getting one of these for Christmas.


Here's a little taste. (The grey goat with the white ears is named Paloma.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4_EdJ-XkUA 

And here's the link where you can buy the DVDs ($12.95 each): www.gigglewiththegoats.com 

So here's hoping that if you're recovering from surgery or slogging through the snow every day to feed cattle and sheep, you still can find something to laugh at!