Snow D(el)ays

Listening to the radio Wednesday-Friday was less music and more a litany of closures.  We ended up getting about 18", which is fabulous.  Weather service says we got just over 1" of moisture.  And since the ground wasn't frozen pre-fall, it's soaking in nicely.

Although waking up Friday morning to 4' was a bit of a shock.

Friday a.m. : 4'F and sparkly

We didn't bother trying to get anything cleared until Friday.  It didn't stop snowing and blowing until late Thursday night, and the county didn't get the road plowed until sometime Friday afternoon anyway.  Thursday afternoon the snow was knee deep for a 1/4 mile in both directions.  Although once you got to the top of the hill in the wind, it was probably only 8 or 9". 

I know this because T called the cow neighbors and the horse neighbors Wednesday night to let them know that a) we'd water the cows, and b) if the road was impassible, we'd walk up and check on the horses and make sure they had water.  The cows were no big deal, but the horses required a 3/4 mile slog up the hill.

Knee-deep, but oh so pretty

Snowshoes would have been helpful.  But we made it and got the ice busted in the tank.  They have a round bale, so other than that they were good.  The gray mare was uninterested in visiting, but the sorrel gelding would have happily had us stay and scritch indefinitely.

They could hardly contain their excitement - lol!

By the time we got back the wind had switched and the flakes were getting bigger.  The horses were bouncing around, kicking up big puffs of it.

Snow ponies

Cat 1 attempted to venture out of the granary for his evening visit while I hayed the horses, took one leap, and sunk up to his ears.

See the ears? Not a happy cat.

He was very quick to return to shallower ground inside, and spent the next 15 minutes complaining at me from there.

Clearing the driveway Friday morning was entertaining from a spectator's standpoint.  Not so much - or at least less frequently - from T's.  I shoveled the front while T did battle with the driveway drifts in the bobcat.  The temps and the consistency of the snow made it really slick.  That blue cast to things is probably not entirely from the snow... I sweated more, but he did more cussing.  Never a good sign when I can hear him although way up the hill over the engine! 

At one point I thought he was going to take out either the fence or clip a power pole, but he's handier than I am, and all and sundry made it through unscathed.  Midway through, the cow neighbors appeared with their bobcat/blade and between them they got things cleaned up double time. 

Saturday warmed up considerably.  I did outside stuff to the tune of dripping and snow sliding and thumping off of tin roofs.

Snow calving off the granary roof

And I took my turn in the bobcat, cleaning out the turnaround at the mailbox.  At 32', the snow was getting heavy and wet, and the tires had a lot more traction.   I was very pleased not to be dealing with the slide factor!

They're predicting we might get another 8-12" over the next two days.  Woo-hoo!   

I don't think he wanted his picture taken...

And then it SNOWED!

The smart horse is in the barn

Not sure whether Mother Nature decided to take pity on us or finally got tired of all the whining about how dry it is here but whichever, we're getting some precip.  It's hard to tell for sure because of all the drifting, but I'm guessing about 9" of snow so far. 


We didn't get quite as much overnight as they'd predicted, but it picked up with a vengeance about 9 AM, the flakes got fatter and fluffier, and for the last couple of hours the trees down by the creek have been invisible.  T called up the hill yesterday and let the cow folks know we'd water for them, and they reported they'd fed extra heavy yesterday so that if they couldn't get here today, the cows would be fine.  Good thing, too, as the plows haven't been out our way yet.

T declared us snowed in and called in to work.  We'll get the driveway bladed once it slows down some.  For now we're tucked in with plenty of hay, or hot chocolate, books and lap cats, depending on our respective locations.  Not a bad way to see out the storm.

Post-storm peaceful

Mabel,
"the snow is much better
when seen from inside" cat,
surveys the backyard.

I love 4-wheel drive! The roads out to the farm were still blown in on Saturday - plows out doing the higher priority routes, I guess. The wind was awful until late afternoon, but the sun was out, the sky was at least mostly blue, and the temps climbed into the 20's, so all in all, not too bad.

J called Saturday a.m. to say that the horses were all fine and G was in the process of pushing the round bale up closer so they'd have ready access, but that the plow hadn't been by and he wasn't going to blade their driveway clear until the wind stopped so not to come out, since I'd more than likely just get stuck.

So after I dug the truck out and shoveled the walks, I went back inside to the couch and the cats (starting to feel very lazy!) and worked on more school stuff.

Sunday was much nicer - less wind!

The four-foots were glad to see me, but not terribly needy. They weathered the storm in fine style - all signs of snow-overcoats completely vanished. I disrupted their afternoon naps, but although they were pleased enough to see hay going into their feeders, they weren't too concerned with pushing each other away, so hunger obviously wasn't a factor.

l>r, Solitaire, Sunny, Thunder & Amyra
share a feeder - Star's off to the left at the big feeder.

South of the tree grove where the horses are the snow was pretty shallow, although I was thigh-deep in drifts wading up to the gate to snap the shot below. The cows shelter in against the tree grove you can see in the background when it's nasty, but were up on the hill munching away. Snow didn't get much chance to settle up there!

When I got home this little guy zipped out from under the porch by the dryer vent. There's a bunny trail worn across the yard to the steps and on around the corner of the house. Our only out-doors venturing cat refuses to stick her nose out once the ground's white, so there's only the neighbor's cat to watch out for, and she seems to get more squirrels than rabbits.

One more winter storm weathered - hope you're all enjoying the new year and some peace between the storms, as well!

Snow for the New Year

The cats and I are doing the couch thing again today. I hemmed and hawed this morning before daylight, debating risking the roads to fill the hay feeders again since the forecast is inching up toward 12" - history says the plows won't hit the gravel roads Sunday or Monday.

We had a brief window of clear before the blizzard kicked in again, and I was tempted, but it's really hard to judge how badly things have drifted in - town weather is rarely the same as conditions outside the city limits. Often it's better, sometimes it's a lot worse.

If nothing else, I figured calling to check and let them know I was on my way wouldn't hurt. I'm glad I did, as J said she'd feed for me this afternoon and tomorrow if necessary. Which makes me feel a lot better. If I was going to go, it would have had to have been then - at this point, the wind is holding at about 25mph at the moment, but I can barely see across the street it's snowing so hard, so I think the window has closed.

Tortilla soup is bubbling away in the crock pot, bread's baking, and I have pears that need to be made into... muffins, maybe? Or possibly pie - haven't decided yet. Something to make the house smell good, though.

Angels with snowy faces...

Or abominable snow beasties, perhaps? It's hard to tell the difference sometimes!

From mid-30's Tuesday and Wednesday - I took advantage of the nice weather to get the five of them wormed.

It's just plain nasty.
I was supposed to give blood at the 4-H drive this afternoon, but when the called to say the drive was ending early due to inclement weather, I stopped in there before chores. Lighter by a pint, but newly outside of two chocolate chip cookies, I headed out to feed. (T says forking hay isn't heavy lifting, although I suspect the blood-drive personnel might disagree.)

Thankful for 4-wheel drive doesn't begin to cover it. We had freezing rain before the snow started, but the plows either hadn't run yet or the wind was just covering up all traces too fast to tell.

I left the truck running while I distributed enough hay that they should be fine through Saturday if I can't make it out tomorrow. They should still be able to reach the bale once they've cleaned out the feeders.

They seemed to be warm and snug behind the tree grove, despite their snowy overcoats. They were all enjoying an afternoon snooze when I arrived.


I'm crossing my fingers it stops before we get the 8" they're predicting for tomorrow. Until then, the cats and I are enjoying the couch!

Snow Pony

"Hey, mom - can you unstick the hay from my eyelashes, please?"

5" of new snow and still coming down.
Fluffy stuff.
Hope the wind stays down.
It's 3', but kind of pretty out.

How do you groom?

It's shedding season, early as it seems.

With only a few days until March, the horses are about to look as bad as they ever do: muddy, tufty, dull-coated (old winter coat, no matter how clean & shiny it's brushed, just has that sun-faded look, doesn't it?) & motheaten. The barbering jobs several of them have courtesy of the sheep they share their waterer with won't help.

Today's snow had melted & frozen on them here & there in miniature icicles dangling from their sides. Then there was the hay adhered in odd places after I got through toting pitchfork loads to the feeders - they will insist on standing in the way, and end up freckled with fallen bits which I usually brush off. Tonight's chaff just stuck to the ice. None of them were cold, though, so I fluffed them out as best I could and left it at that.

My weapon of choice against hay debris & dried mud is usually something really similar to one of these handy little Rubbermaid numbers (a whopping $2.50 - I get the generic kind about half that). They have nice stiff bristles, a handle, and they work pretty well for removing crusted on dirt, hay & dust.

Also good: they are mane & tail safe, as long as I'm careful. Twigs & random hay bits come right out.

They aren't so great, however, when the horses start shedding. Oh, the hair comes off, but it tends to get stuck well up into the bristles, and I have to clean the brush out every 30 seconds or so.

So when shedding season starts I turn to my old pal, the rubber curry. When I was a kid, I used one of these on my pony. It was huge for my (then) small hand, had a woven canvas handle, and was quite stiff.

Today's models are much more flexible, and seem to be somewhat smaller in size. (At least, I don't think it's just 'cause I'm bigger!) The one on the right from Country Supply at Horse.com is even available in two sizes, full & junior.

Now I know that some people like shedding blades & metal curry combs. But I'd never been a fan of the way they strip the hair off. So not mane & tail friendly.

If they get damp, a lot of them rust, and they're also prone to getting bent. You can't really use them on anything much below the knees, as there simply isn't enough meat in those areas to make it feel pleasant for the horse. Not to mention the fact that if I use one without gloves on, I always seem to end up bleeding, and how horse-friendly can that possibly be? Not.

My other pick for spring grooming? Well, Arabians, at least most of them, have lots of mane. And in spite of my best efforts they quite often manage to acquire a 5 AM, bedhead-worthy collection of dreadlocks, wind tangles, elf-locks and what have yous. So a nice, sturdy, wide-toothed plastic comb is also a must. I usually pick up several at a time, as I'm apt to either break the teeth out accidentally prying at something, and/or they just disappear - much like those socks the dryer is always eating.

Expensive isn't necessary - those Oster ones made special for horses? They don't last much better than the cheap people kind you can buy at Wal-mart. But I do avoid the hand-size, fit in your pocket ones you can get for $.19: they tend to have sharp edges, and just aren't comfortable to hold onto for any length of time.

Probably the most helpful thing for spring shedding season, though, is getting them out on grass. Spring greens gloss them up in no time. But edible pasture won't happen for a while yet, at this rate. It's snowing again. Yuck.

So, anyone have any favorite shedding-season tools? Does anyone use a vacuum? When I was out east they used a vacuum routinely on some of the lesson horses, and they never seemed to mind. Crazy!

A nice little drive....

After feeding last night (no scares, thank goodness!) and picking H up from basketball practice, we decided to take a quick trip up north of town and do a drive-by check-out of an acreage that's been listed. I'd been by it, but T and H hadn't, and the truck needed to be run enough at speed to blow some of the crud out of the engine - too much idling's not good for diesels, so....

The drive up was great - clear roads, all pavement. Pluses: 9 acres of good pasture, rural water, on blacktop, the house is big enough, new roof, newer furnace, large pole barn & separate *heated* floor shop with half bathroom of its own. Minuses: tree belt is newly planted & only about a foot high, no perimeter fencing, no windbreak, and it's 20+ miles from work & school for all of us. Still, it's a possibility.

The adventure began when we decided to cut across to the highway coming back. The gravel was perfectly clear for the first two miles of the four we had to travel. Mile three was a bit blown in in spots, but nothing the truck wasn't handling.

The four inches of snow they say we collected from this weekend's storm didn't fall neatly in 4" blankets, not with the wind we've had. It's packed into sculpted drifts around treebelts and buildings, sifted through chinks into drifts under barn doors, and cemented into ditches anywhere it had a chance to settle. Wind-born snow creepers extend out of the ditches across roads - even where the plows have bulled their way through. And especially where they haven't.

But the stretch we were on seemed good - someone else's tracks led off in front of us through the fingerling snow creepers, and most of the road was bare to the gravel. If the creepers were gradually increasing in size as we headed east, they weren't huge, and the truck was handlig them neatly.... 100 yards from the street sign indicating the next north/south intersection we smacked into a four foot drift and came to an abrupt stop. Yup. Stuck.

By this point is was black, -13', and the closest lights were a mile south as a crow flies across what looked like pasture & a creek bed. Good thing we had a shovel - never leave home without one in the winter!

Half an hour later, H wanted to call for pizza - she was hungry. But some digging, rocking, and a bit of swearing and we were backed clear of the big drift. T's thought - we should just push for the intersection - I nixed after walking (on top of the packed in, three foot deep & rising, drifts) to the road sign where the road was, yes, clear - but I was standing on top of a hip-high bank of cement hard snow by that time. Nope, not gonna do THAT much digging, thanks very much.

I wish I'd thought to stick
the camera in my pocket, though.
It sure was pretty!

Since turning around was out as we couldn't tell how deep the ditches were, I walked behind the truck with the flashlight as a guide while T backed down the road a 1/4 mile or so until we found a field entrance where we could turn around. We decided the plowed blacktop might be a safer bet than any more gravel adventures, though. Gotta love those country roads!

Still, I'd rather be stuck in a snowbank (and at least we were dressed for it, fresh from chores), than stressing over a sick or injured critter!

Goal 1) Ride more...

It's easy to say "I love riding" -- it's true, after all. But somehow I have a mental block when it comes to actually saddling up and getting on. It's so much simpler to just wander out with a brush and spend some quality time communing with the hairy beasts -- especially in the spring. There's all that winter coat to be cleaned off, mud to remove, feet to be trimmed... and since these guys aren't show ponies in the normal run of things, they don't spend their days blanketed under lights.

So, "ride more" is likely to be easier to do once spring has really sprung. It's sure trying, but April in South Dakota has recently dumped yet another 13" of snow on us. We went from 70'+ on Wednesday to 20's and blizzard on Friday. Okay, so it's melting -- into more mud! I think goal one may have to wait a few more days, folks!