Winter Came and Left Again

 We finally got some winter.  It started with heavy wet snow before the ground was frozen.  Then it got cold and snowed some more.  Then it got really cold for a week, with sub zero temps at night.  I was thankful that I didn't have to take care of hogs.  In the past I would have been out early each day starting tractors, moving snow so I could get to the buildings to do chores, unload feed, and move or ship hogs.  I was able to clear the snow in the driveway so we could get out, then clear the barnyard and other drives at my convenience.  Because the snow came before the ground froze, I moved a lot of gravel and sod while cleaning the drives.  That will have to be redistributed after the snow melts.

 Winter meetings are in full swing.  I enjoy learning new information, seeing new technology, visiting with other farmers, and eating good food.  One morning when I pulled out of the drive heading for a meeting, the road was covered with a frost.  I assumed it would be slick.  After I turned onto the highway, the surface was ice where vehicles had driven on the frost.  There were several cars in the ditch before I reached the sections where salt had been spread, and where the sun was heating the road.

  I did cattle chores for my brother while he was in Florida.  He only had three left, so it wasn't a big deal  and chore timing wasn't critical. The first four mornings the water was frozen.  Fortunately, a bucket of hot water from the shop thawed it out and the cattle kept it free the rest of the day.

Micah P. bought my SBM and DDGS bins.  On one of the coldest mornings, he and Josh brought trailers and the Fehr brothers brought a truck mounted derrick to move the bins.  I was a little worried about the safety of the removal, especially when Jake asked me if I had 911 on speed dial!  But they knew what they were doing, and despite the cold, the bins came down efficiently and safely.  In an hour or so the bins were on the way to their new home.

I still like to play in the snow, so I did some snow shoeing a couple of times on the deepest snow.  I also dug a snow cave for the grandkids, but it was too cold for them to play outside much.  Towards the end of the cold spell, we spent a Sunday afternoon at D#2's lake house.  The kids were sledding down the backyard hill and out onto the frozen lake.  We cleared snow from a large patch of lake and made an ice rink.  Some of the grandkids tried skating for the first time. The following week it warmed up and that was the end of sledding and skating.

The following weekend, Fritzes said there was still ice on their lake.  I was skeptical!  It had rained during the week as it warmed up, and the runoff water melted the edges of the lake.  But the middle was still 6 inches thick. They were still ice fishing.  The next week I headed down for one last shot at fishing.  There was still thick ice, but it was rotting.  You had to enter the lake by walking to the end of the dock, as there was open water around the edges.  You could kick your heel through the ice and into the water; it was that rotten.  But it still supported our weight, and we were able to fish. The group of Fritz family, Virg, and myself caught a half dozen or so bluegills and one bass.

The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.                                         Job 38:30