Monday, March 04, 2013

Take Shelter

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After my last post on how the winter has been too warm, it was pretty much inevitable that the weather would turn. And I'm sure some of you are sitting there in front of your computer saying, "Yep, she asked for it." 

It turned out to be a blizzard packing sixty mile an hour wind gusts. If you've never seen one, the video below is a prime example of a white out. Only fifty yards beyond those pickups there is a big red barn. Somewhere. I did manage to find my way up there, and it was better inside, assuming you don't mind listening to the wind try to dismantle the roof. 

The storm died off around eleven last night and we woke up to a foot of snow and, if you listen closely there at the end, birds singing. Welcome to what passes for spring up here on the northern Rocky Mountain front.


As soon as it got daylight we headed out to check the cows in the pasture. With storm warnings all over the news, the guys bedded down the shelters with straw yesterday morning and fed the cows hay right next to them, in hopes of keeping them from moving with the wind. We found them all right where they left them, a little snow-caked but none the worse for wear.


Nope, that shelter doesn't look like much, but stroll around the front and peek inside....


Yep, everybody's warm and reasonably dry! The boards make it so only the young 'uns can get under the roof and nobody gets trampled in the storm. Add some fresh, dry straw this morning, and the kids were doing just fine, thanks. 


So all in all, yeah, this storm was just what we asked for, because what you're looking at in this picture? That's summer hay and grass in the crystalline form. 


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