I am REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY glad this week is over and hopefully the cold spell along with it. This photo Marie took in Kim's yard does not do the miserable conditions justice at all. It looks so peaceful and quiet (because it is too darn cold for anything to be moving) and you can see the frost on the tree tops from the dampness in the below temperature air, looks about the same on your face when you are out in it a while. We dealt with the blizzard OK, as far as the snow went, except for some hairy moments trying to get the feed truck down the one lane roads without meeting another vehicle, that makes you sweat a little no matter how cold it is. If it hadn't been for Randy plowing the roads all the way to the highway we might still be waiting for the county to haul feed. Sometimes I think those county highway boys believe that everybody who lives on a county road just stays in the house when it snows and don't need to get out, I think we should send them a bill for plowing snow and see how that flies. Well, dealing with the snow was the easy part, there were a few days the some of the employees didn't make it to work so that put things behind about a day at least but then we added to that the high humidity and extreme cold and fans and feed systems started to freeze and break. The high wind and snow will blow against the fans and in extreme situations, like last week, will slow the fan down enough to allow the snow to accumulate around the blades eventually stopping the fan and burning out the motor. In the case of the feed systems moisture collects in the bottom of the boot and freezes to the flex auger making it impossible to run. Most of the time you can heat them up with a propane torch, clean out the bottom, and she is good to go, but sometimes, like last week, the motor kicks on and twists the flex auger into. We had as many as 6 down at a time, everybody ran there butts off last week, we all need a hug!!!! And to make matters worse worse (that's two worses) Steve gave Ronda, Lori, and myself what resembles bronchitis. Eric is getting the symptoms but so far just that, symptoms. It can't get anything but better!!!!!
Thanks to the most wonderful and unique healing powers of my environment I BELIEVE I have recovered most excellently from my brush with yuk so I am quite thankful for that!! Marie and I are on the verge of our Family Farm Fun Fest which hopefully will commence in about two weeks baring any unseen problems which I don't foresee or at least can't foresee at this time. I need to apologise to threecollie at North View Diary for not posting a comment on her site or at least responding to her comments, that was rather rood of me but I just haven't been spending as much time on this thing in the past few months as usual. I do visit your site and think it is great, you seem to have a great dairy, and I really like reading about it and I appreciate your comments on mine.
I need to take my leave now and progress to something else preferably something that doesn't require any effort physically or mentally (no, I'm not running for President) but I think I have snow to shovel again, you know, the best laid plans....
Well, Randy is out moving snow again, 4 inches last night again, but everyone else including the little piggies is cozy and warm and tucked in for the day and all is well on the farm once again...:)
