It's begining to look a lot like winter

Well the snow has finally arrived. Here at the farm we have been waiting and wishing temperatures would drop. Yes that's what I said.Fall and spring for that matter are busy times, I guess every season is busy. However fall is particularly troublesome. All the wet weather is not comfortable for us or the animals. So we spend a lot of time getting the tractor stuck trying to get hay out to animals, or trying to sneak across a field with the tractor and hay waggon on, in an effort to not leave deep tire ruts. The tire ruts are very difficult to repair, but are even more difficult on hay equipment the following year. We have had to plow up entire fields because someone left deep tire ruts that would stop a tractor dead while baling hay. Lynn is busy making makeshift shelters for the pigs, who enjoy being outside all year round as long as they have a warm place to sleep. Lynn is not a carpenter and gets frustrated easily while building. Especially since the pigs seem to love disassembling her building project. You might be wondering why I am not doing the building. It is because I am spending most of my days hauling whats left of our hay home. We cut hay in fields all over the area and a considerable amount of time is spent hauling it home. A tractor is not a fast machine. To add to this there are some mighty big hills in our area. It is a sobering experience going up a steep long hill with 20000lbs of hay on a waggon, when you look down and notice the tires are spinning much faster then the tractor is moving. Cross your fingers and hold on. As you reach the top of the hill you realise that the battle is only half over. Now the decent begins. Every muscle in your body tightens every time the wheels can be felt slipping instead of rolling down the hill. Once at the bottom of the hill you realise how much you were sweating over the ordeal, because the cold wintry wind cools that sweat quickly. 15km/hr does not seem fast, but the windchill at that speed is significant. One of these years I will get all the hay home before snow flies, or I will get a cab for the tractor.

The cattle are all penned up, with the exception of a couple small calves that can sneak under the fence to wreak havoc on my nicely piled hay. They have access to a small spruce forest for shelter. However the highland cattle are built for cold weather. They stand out in the worst winter has to offer, chewing their cuds as if it was  a nice summers day. The angus on the other hand huddle in between the highlands. Not as winter hardy, they will return to the refuge of the forest when the weather is bad enough. For the most part cold does not bother the older cattle. They no not however like the falls wet and cold weather. Can't say I blame them.