Deep Winter

Winter in the north country can drag on and on. Besides starting early, way into fall, leaving us without an Indian Summer, just cold, it can also go way into what would be considered Spring. But nothing a fella can do about it except ride it out, live day to day and try and stay out of trouble. This morning started really nice, about 5 above zero, no wind, clear as a bell outside, could hear coyotes yipping out back near the tamaracks. But as the morning went on as I fed cows it gradually clouded up a bit, then around noon we had us some snow and wind and a general ground blizzard.

Now one thing that gets me in a deep winter situation is the snow buildup on the old hogbarn. Nowadays there ain't hogs in there, in fact none since "98. Nowadays we use it as a workshop and various other things. Its got quite a rafter span and I always get nervous when the snow starts getting deep up there. I ain't as young as I used to be and have a way of try to avoid some of these jobs the last few years but this has been bothering me and I just don't want the roof to collapse, got enough problems the way it is, don't need more.

Now as I was saying, the wind was howling, the temps although slightly above zero still had a nip to them with the wind. I put on full battle gear, and found a ladder and climbed up there. First thing was to get on the tin roof with all them clothes on plus a foot of snow at the edge of the roof. And once up there I had to work smart, keep my face out of the wind as much as possible so I could get something accomplished before I froze down. And last but not least, make sure I didn't slip off the tin roof and get busted up, or early retirement.

All is well now, and I even managed to get on the ladder for the trip down, wasn't easy but there was no choice. Just another job that has to be done. This old cattle business ain't all glory, not by a long shot. And winters don't help, especially these old fashioned winters. I always think about the oldtimers, how they made er through the long, long winters. No electricity, no running water just a woodstove, no chainsaws, none of the stuff folks take for granted nowadays. But they survived and thrived. So I had better not complain. Just smile as I'm warming up in the house tonight.