Cold Weather

It is ironic, but one of the biggest challenges on our farm has been water. We receive 41 inches of rainfall annually, yet water is one of the biggest limiting factors to our productivity, because most of that rain falls between September and May and correspond to cloudy weather, while the periods of greatest sunshine are also the driest months of the year.

But there is another, lesser known dry spell that occasionally occurs. This is the January cold snap. Typically our Januarys hover in the 40’s and 30’s with nearly constant drizzle and rain but occasionally we get a deep cold spell that lasts a few days. It isn’t even really a major problem. We have frost free hydrants (when they aren’t broken) and it isn’t too far to run the water to the animals.

The ducks are second class citizens. This is why we need two water troughs in the garden right now, because the geese always hog their favorite one, and don’t let the ducks near it. So the ducks have to wait until the geese are busy grazing and then run up and get their drinks surreptitiously, and if the geese see them they come charging in hissing and honking and drive them away.

We think the geese are getting ready to nest because they have become increasingly territorial in the last few weeks. We will need to get them out of the garden before they start sitting.

See who else doesn’t give a fig for the cold. These boys are not fazed by it whatsoever, as long as they can get water. Unfortunately, the very clever automatic watering system we devised a few months ago doesn’t work when it is not raining, and the location of the trough is too far for a hose or buckets in the time we have for chores.

Not to worry. Seppi has a plan.

The steers now have access to west side of the barnyard, which, as a bonus, has been growing some tasty grass since we had them on it last.

Just until the cold snap is over, we don’t foresee putting the ducks in the duckmobile because getting water to them and keeping unfrozen is a task we just don’t have time for. It would be different if we lived at the farm and could just run out and knock out watering mid morning. As it is, getting all the kids in the car, not to mention the interruption of the school day, makes it very impractical to add another chore period. So here we are.