2004-01-08 - 10:36 a.m.
Boy has it been cold the last few days. Last week we had highs at 70 degrees and today it'll have to try hard to get above freezing. I can almost hear folks from farther North laughing but we're just not set up for hard cold. The water tubs all freeze and you have to chop ice each morning so the animals can drink. The dogs and rabbits have individual water bowls or bottles and these all freeze so fast you have to take out warm water to fill them with so the animals have time to drink before they freeze then you bring them in and refill them with warm water again later in the day.
One of the worst things is when the ground freezes and thaws. It would be better if the ground just stayed froze but then you would have to endure lower temperatures. Here the ground will freeze hard at night and when the sun warms it up it thaws to some of the slickest mud you ever saw. If we need to drive anywhere there's not a gravel road we have to do it early while the grond is froze. If you wait too long you will tear up the ground something fierce and have the possibility of getting stuck. The cows have eaten up the last of the grass and have been totally on hay for a couple of weeks now. They just hang around up near my brother in laws house till he feeds them in the evening. By the end of winter that area where they hang around is a sea of mud. The ground freezes and when it thaws the cows turn it to slop walking around on it. If I were a cow I'd go stand somewhere else but they don't seem to mind and towards evening they all gather at the gate so they won't miss any hay.
