What A Difference A Week Makes

Monday at noon in the shade the temp was 33*F. The forecast is for more of the same this week.

Not much goes on here when the temps are as cold as they have been. Mostly we worry about the everyday things: keeping the water flowing and the fire going.

My office is 100 feet from the house and they are on the same water line. We drip water in the house and office but sometimes the line freezes somewhere between the two. So Fritz has to get the welder hooked up and thaw the pipes. The water is dripped into 5 gallon buckets and hauled to the stock tanks. Pretty labor intensive but at least we have running water.

The wood box on the porch was filled and refilled by wheelbarrow several times during the last week. Yesterday Briar and a friend spent several hours splitting more wood. It's almost impossible to split the amount of wood we need before winter is here. So we have a good stash in the wood shed but more is always needed.

The critters all survived this cold snap. The horses are so fuzzy and fat. I never did blanket them, even at -20*F but the dent in the hay barn is substantial. The little goats will come in the barn next time but the buck and doe will stay where they are. The sheep all have really nice wool coats on and the cold doesn't bother them.

The poor dogs though are real "house" dogs. The puppies crates are by the wood stove so they don't get a real good winter coat. Momma dog sleeps on the waterbed or the couch. They don't go out for very long.

If the weather holds and the wind stops blowing I am going to ride. Now I just need to find someone to ride with me. Any takers?