Cabin Fever Anyone?

[Mac]

Down here in the Ozarks, we’ve been struggling with quite a bit of snow. Its keeping me in and I don’t like it one bit! And just for the record, I have polished every piece of brass that I own(did you know that you can rub a hole in a hame ball?), and oiled every piece of harness and tack I have, some of which hasn’t been used in 20 years. I’m getting tired of snow, and busting ice at 5 every morning. We went for a short ride Saturday, but because of the cold it wasn’t that much fun. Anybody else in the same boat?
Mac

[jac]

Hey Mac… “boat” is the right word for over here… horizontal rain for the last week and last night and today the 1st dry day in ages.. fields are totally saturated and i have to walk past my new plow every day to get to the stables:(. so yes, im in the same boat.. only 3500 miles away… and no snow:D.. joking aside, hope you guys stay safe and warm…
John

[Marshall]

Yeah, same boat here in Michigan. Show waist deep and more to come. Took two days to dig out from the last storm a week ago. This is the most snow we have had in 25 years. Last year I did not have to clean the driveway at all. This year it is a never ending battle.

[J-L]

There are days when I wish I was in the house. I have to feed and chop water holes every day, no matter what, for 270 cows, 50 yearling heifers, 16 bulls, 12 horses and mules.
Every day I hook to a bobsled or wagon and go until I get done regardless of weather. Last cold snap we had minus 64 windchills. Those kind of days are not fun. The average winter day for me is wearing about 30 lb of clothes so it makes the work a little more challenging.
In spite of it all, I am very happy doing what I do. There are many days like today. 5 above zero when I left. Sun shine. Good team and good sledding. Moose, deer, bald eagles. I work enough to break a good sweat, which is healthy. Then back to the barn to unharness and eat lunch by a warm fire and work on some afternoon projects.
The real bad days are the only ones that bother me. Some of the windy, nasty winters have made me crave spring pretty bad. Winter lasts a long time here at 7000′ and I will feed cows until 15-20 May.

[sickle hocks]

With the wind chill it was 45 below a few days ago. Last night minus 30C and still. Twelve by twelve A-frame cabin. Don’t get up at night to stoke the stove, but getting sick of chipping out frozen peanut butter for breakfast and having to thaw out the coffee press. Boots frozen to the floor some mornings which is really annoying.

Almost have my sixty foot round pen shoveled out so I can start putting a handle on a new team. Next year they’ll really be broke and hopefully I’ll have a snow scoop for them.

Now that i’m done grousing, I have to say that there is some warmth to the sun again and it feels like we are through the worst of it.

[Does’ Leap]

J-L, sounds like a great set-up you have there. I have to break the trend and say I love winter. We are only milking 15 odd goats (as opposed to 55) and things slow down considerably. I am outside all day, most every day – chores, logging, plowing snow, skiing, sledding with the kids, etc. I dress warmly and don’t stop moving and tend to stay warm except on the coldest days.

George

[J-L]

Yes, it’s a good life most all winter George. The fun will kind of end here in a month or so when my heifers start calving and about the 1st of April the cows let go. Then the 4 or 5 hours of work turns into much more (and no sleep on top of it). Then spring work hits along with it. That’s life on the ranch though.
Fall and winter have become my favorite. Spring wears me out as can haying season.

[J-L]

A few pictures of what I do, and one of my chore buddies that greets me on the way to the barn some times.

[mitchmaine]

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A picture of our sugarhouse in the snow and the paper wasps smart enough to build their nest high. I should have known.
We started sugaring as a way to make it through and give us something to do during mud season. But sugaring has a mind of its own and becomes an addiction and soon takes over the spring of your life.
One benefit of sugaring, is that right around now when you might start going crazy from the weather, you get thinking about sap running. Looking for sapsickles. And you might start getting your buckets ready. Or boiling up some spiles or just cleaning up the sugarhouse. Then slowly but surely you get going and then it lets loose and your running around like a headless chicken and when you finally stop for a breath and the seasons over, you look down and the ground is bare and the crocuses are bloomin and its over. And you never noticed.

[J-L]

Neat pictures Mitchmaine. Piles of snow. You folks and the sugaring sure sounds fun. I have only got to have real maple sugar a few times and some maple sugar candy that was sure good. It has always interested me.

[Does’ Leap]

Mitch, I like the facia detail on your sugar house. Forget mitering! – simple and attractive. I think I will copy it for the barn I am building this winter.

Here’s a picture of what’s in store for us this (and every spring). We are expecting over 100 goat kids in a 10 day period starting in about a week. Feeding three time/day and then we have oodles of milk to process into cheese from all the fresh goats. Winter vacation is almost over………..:eek:

George

[Mac]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Hope everone is staying warm and dry! We got another 8 inches here today, grand total of a foot, not counting drifts. Kiddos are home from school today and tomorrow. Got the team out and put them into my lovely homemade snowplow (which is also a land drag during plowing season. To convert to snowplow, I just nail a 4×4 diagonally to the bottom). Plowed about a quarter mile of gravel road, to town and back. Then salted what I plowed. By the time I was finished, my hands were nearly frozen to the lines. Told the boss today I guess I’m getting old… she said, just figuring that out are you! But on the bright side… it’s supposed to be 60 here for the weekend.
Mac

[J-L]

We had another blast here too Mac. Got down to -20 to -25 last night (depending on who’s thermometer you looked at). Good luck to you and hope your cabin fever abates with the warm weather you’re headed for.

[Mac]

J-L, its bound to. I intend to get the disk out if its not too muddy. I don’t envy you and your cold up there. I’m much too old for that!
Mac

[Jim Garvin]

This helps us to stay warm while waiting for the snow to melt:D…..

[Author]

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