Seasons changing

It's steel head season. Especially now that I've filled the freezer with a deer. I'm still waterfowl hunting as often as possible too though. In fact, it won't be long until the geese and mallards will be flying over my hay field. At that point in the season I just hunt in the back of the house. It's not quite as exciting as going up to the lakes, but it's a whole lot easier.

We are having a huge blizzard right now. The highway is closed and I am snowed in. I managed to get out to town to go to the hardware store this afternoon and the roads were pretty bad. I'm not surprised that they closed it.

I nailed up some plywood over the old windows in the barn to keep the worst of the wind out from where the goats are. They seem to be keeping warm enough by curling up together. In fact, the barn cats were sleeping with the goats when I went out to check on them last night. I'm just feeding them lots and keeping them out of the wind. I've been going out every couple of hours to break up the ice in the water trough. There is no power out at the barn to hook up a heating element for the trough. If anybody knows of a solar powered heating element for a watering trough let me know.

I'm going to have to haul hot water in 7.5 gallon jugs out to the barn in the morning in the tractor. The water trough will be frozen solid by then. That will not be a fun chore in -20 windchill weather. The chickens usually do OK, although I haven't checked them since this afternoon. I may put a heat lamp in their coop tomorrow when the temperature really dips.

I have been blessed to meet a wonderful woman. She is such a gift in my life. She, and all my other great friends, are such a blessing in my life. Stay warm everybody. Winter is here.