WARNING: this is going to rip your stitches

You gotta check this out:
http://billboardsandroadsigns.blogspot.com/2010/12/coca-cola-demo.html

Before and After

~Yesterday~

 Snow on the windows!

  Fluffy white trees and snow blowing everywhere...

.

 You can see the bumpy drifts all over the hill!!

 Terrible weather for the cows
because their feed gets covered with snow and then they don't eat. 

Milk production was down, but thank goodness we 

didn't get any DA's (Displaced Abomasum).

 Our poor old barn lost a lot of it's shingles.

  Janelle and our dog Jess came in from playing outside 

(only little children enjoy playing in weather like this)!

~Today at Sunrise~

Don't let the sunshine deceive you.... it was not warm. 

Gusty, driving North winds created a wind chill of -4 degrees.

 Look at all the drifts!!

 It took my dad probably 2 1/2 hours to remove the snow
from the driveway and from the lane where the cows walk. 

(luckily he has a skid-steer that he can use to plow the snow with)

Although I had everything set up to milk,
I wasn't able to start milking until 9:20!!!!! (the usual starting time is 8a.m.)

 "Waves upon troubled shores..."

The FREEWAY, I-94, was closed from Hudson, WI to Tomah, WI.
Minnesota was just as bad. 

There weren't any emergency vehicles
of any kind out on the roads. 

So it was the wrong night to have something serious go wrong.

 

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas...
may your yards be white... 

from  now on the snow will be piled high..." 

Merry Christmas!

Blizzard (and not the tasty kind)!

24 inches in less than 24 hours, and it hasn't stopped yet! The drifts are at least 3 feet high. The wind is blowing at 21 mph with 32 mph gusts! ...it stings your eyes!!! 

We can't see past the creek.... which is only a quarter of a mile from our house. 

white.

white.

white.

 Then....... once it's done snowing and all of the clouds go away, the temperature is going to drop below zero, by 20 degrees. I milked this morning (and as you know I usually only milk once a day) but I'm going to milk tonight with my brother Isaac since the conditions are so terrible. In fact my mom was even telling us what to do in case the electricity goes out and  we're in the parlor. In essance..... we'll be stuck there because if we leave the parlor and can't see the house we could, die! ..... kind of funny, but not really. 

If you look at a weather map in motion for our area you'll see a huge swath of blue......... that is sitting over us, barely moving. 

Right about now I could use some snow shoes, skiing goggles, more gloves, hot chocolate to keep me warm.... the list goes on. But I won't be able to send a list to Santa Claus because the mail man will never be able to get down the roads!!!! 

Anyhoooooo.... I hope you are warm on this White Christmasy night. ;)

Working in the Winter

There is finally a decent layer of snow on the ground. Everyone here has adjusted to winter routine for the most part. Starting your car up 5 minutes before you leave to go somewhere..... and leaving to go somewhere with a little cushion time just in case the roads are bad. Loading the wood stove frequently so that it doesn't get too cold inside. Wearing enough layers to keep warm.

Winter also means extra precautions at work. Before milking we always check the temperature. Is it above 32? Below 20? Zero? A negative temperature........?????  Each degree makes a big difference, believe it or not.

In cold weather it's very important to make sure you switch all the gates... and close doors, or open the right ones. We've had huge nasty problems in the winter time from little mistakes that cost a fortune. Cows can get frostbite which sometimes ruins their teats (which = no milk) or lowers milk production. Doors, when left open even a crack, can cause pipes to freeze. Heaters have to running at all times. You can't use regular teat dip below a certain temperature...10 degrees F. I believe (They make a special teat dip for cold temperatures). Once the temperature drops below zero everything seems to freeze up and brake down. The work load increases. Shoveling, scraping, thawing, fixing, ... taking extra care at everything you do is imperative.

The cattle are indoors all night  usually so the freestall's have to be cleaned every day. 

Right now we are milking about 103 cows. It takes about 2 hours to milk cows when I'm moving along at a clipping pace. Quite often it takes me 2 hours and 30 minutes though.

We're supposed to get up to 130 pretty soon which will be great as far as making money goes.

 More cows = more milk = more money = less stress. 

 Right now I'm milking cows once a day, 6 days a week. I've been seriously considering milking  9 times a week. That would relieve my older brother Jed of the 3 mornings that he milks on. That way he can do other farm work. There's always more work on the farm. Trying to get on top of it all is a never ending battle.

A lot like trying to run a household.

My brother, Isaac, will probably be getting a license soon. Once he can drive himself around he'll probably get a job. Once he gets a job he my want to milk less... and that's probably when I will start milking more.

That's a lot of probably's, I know... but that's just how it works on the farm. ;)

Snowflake Ballet

snowflakes falling from the sky

bring about a blanket, white

that glitters a-million-diamonds bright

when shined upon by pale moonlight

as brilliant as the stars up high

they sparkle and dance to your delight

this is the wondrous ballet of night

Three Things I Love

My family insisted I had to see this video on  YouTube of a choir. Despite being busy trying to get work done I set aside my irritation and the task I was at work on and took a look and a listen.

There are three things that always give me goose bumps.
A good song,
A good story,
and bringing the best out of something you never thought would "rise above it"
(the video below doesn't give you the whole of the story... but look into it more!! It's quite inspiring!!).

This little clip brings together all of the above:



Gotta' love it!!! =)