And then Winter Came...

We were enjoying such a great fall.  Temperatures were above normal, precipitation was below normal, and field work was coming along nicely.  And then....WINTER CAME!  So, if you know and love a dairy farmer then you know that dairy farmers almost always wait until the last minute for everything.  Dairy farmers also try to cram as much work into a day as possible.  Sticking to those two traits, we have been trying to do SO MANY different projects at the farm and in the field.  Last night those projects came to a screeching halt.  Jon and I worked so hard yesterday hauling manure before and after evening chores, all the way until we had so much snow on the ground that the skid loader was unable to move.  So at 12:30 we headed home from the farm, snow was falling but it wasn't serious. 

When we woke up this morning, it was SERIOUS!  We had about 4 inches of snow on the ground, covering everything!  We drove the truck to the farm to be safe, and for good reason, there were a number of cars and trucks in the ditches already, early in the day.  The wet, slushy snow pulled the truck all over the road.  Once we made it to the farm, we went about our usual schedule.  I loaded the cows into the parlor and Jon got ready to milk.  We fired up the milk pump, put on the first 12 milking units and then the power went out!  Then it came back on!!  Then it went out!  Then is came back on!!! And then back out!!! So after getting annoyed with putting on milking units and watching them fall so many times, we decided it would be best to get the generator and milk with that instead.  So, after a 30 minute delay, we finally got milking cows, but at least we had a constant power source!  Turns out wet and heavy snow doesn't mix well with power lines.

We continued on with the rest of our chores, in the sloppy, wet, muddy, and cold conditions. It was mostly miserable not because of the moisture but because all of the wind blowing the snow. The warm soil was able to melt most of the snow. We only have about 2-3 inches of snow left, thank goodness! I am hoping that melting continues, and we can continue our quest to finish our fall season work. So to help you understand the difference, please check out some pictures of the BEFORE and AFTER of our first snow storm of the winter....

Last little glimpse of summer....

I still had snapdragons all the way through yesterday, I will miss them, until spring!

Snow in the heifer yard, covered everything!

An icy coating on all of my plants and flowers in front of the milking parlor.