Life on a working farm in winter is a quiet and more relaxed pace. Crops are sold. Fruit and vegetables are canned. equiptment is stored away awaiting spring.
On our dairy farm, the cows had to be milked twice a day but the amount of milk decreased in anticipation of freshing of the new heifers.
Time to repair and replace worn items. Even the animals relaxed in the longer nights. Turkeys were free to roam and find their own spot to nest for the evening. Often, they awoke sitting in a snow pile. Rising, the melted snow refroze to pull breast feathers from the chest and bottom of each bird. By the end of winter, they were quite plucked.
Geese did the same, but their feathers were thicker and coated with oil. They could nest on the snow and not suffer being plucked.
Our chickens had a communal nesting box that was covered in the hen house. To collect the eggs, we removed the top of the nest. The chickens would run outside for safety . The nesting box was three by three feet wide. The body heat, kept the chickens comfortable and the eggs from freezing. Egg collection was quickly done. Occasionally, a hen would refuse to leave her eggs. A quick push to the side or a hand under the hen was needed to retrieve the eggs.
Barn cats kept the mice out of the barn. They lined up for a squirt of warm milk straight from the cow’s udder. In the winter, John would find each cat had selected a cow’s back for warmth. They would both be sleeping when the lights were turned on.
On sunny days, the cows and goats would enjoy the bright sunshine, they would gather in the sun to feel the heat. The young steers would be fed and kept outdoors. In cold, windy weather, they would gather together in the woods for warmth and protection.
Finally, the deer would ventured out to the large hay bales to help themselves to food when food was scarce. The outside of the bale was not eaten by farm animals but it kept the interior of the bale edible til spring.
Our dog Junior loved the snow. He would tear across a field of fresh snow as fast as possible. Suddenly he stopped and flung his body on the snow. Investigation found that Junior’s feet gathered snow between his toes in larger and larger balls. He had to to bite the snow balls from the long hair on his feet.
Storms would blow across the fields from the west or north. Snow piled up and country roads closed. John would take out his snow shoes to feed the livestock and take short trips to the grocery store. On one occasion, John and his Mother were returning from church. The snow was fluffy deep and blowing. To navigate the last hill, John had to lay across the hood of the car while Helen drove. Another, time John took his snowmobile to play in the fields. There was a shallow depression in the field. The snowmobile broke the surface and sank . John was in water up to his thighs. Revving the motor, He started the machine and sped towards the farm house. Stripping out of his wet snowsuit, he jumped into the hot shower to warm his freezing cold extremities.
That evening, he still had to go and feed, milk and muck out the stalls. All in a winter’s day.
Winter Chores
Rise early
lantern in hand
open barn door, snores from within
cows moo softly, fed, each to milk parlor
before dawn
Carolaspot@aol.com January 7, 2024
traveling up and down the blind highway 