A Wintery Saturday on the Farm

Friday night is the best for me.  A long week is finished and I have the whole weekend to look forward to.   There is no Saturday farmer's market for me now as I opted out of the indoor winter opportunities.  I have a long commute in bad weather to school and didn't want to worry about driving on the weekend pulling a trailer....not to mention loading up on a Friday night, sliding around on the ice.  No thanks.  I spend the winter months taking care of my animals, spinning wool, knitting, sorting and dyeing fleeces and catching a bit of TV.  Winter chores are always more challenging, with icy hoses, moving bales and forking out hay.   We heat primarily with wood which takes a massive amount of time and energy splitting, toting, stacking and stoking the Beast who is never satisfied.   Luckily Loren was available today to help unload the 100 pound sacks of cracked corn and egg layer.  He's helping me get wood out from under the drifts and bringing it inside to stack under the bunny cages in the barn.  Loren helped me roll a round bale out from the row so I can fork hay down the hole to the new water tank/feeder.  As expected, the little goatlings are jumping in the tank and pooping in the hay.  They can't help themselves. If they are inside the tank the big sheep can't push them away from the food.  Smart little goaties!  I will have to to tip the tank once in a while to get the muck out.  Don't get me wrong, this is a good life.  It keeps you moving and outside in the fresh air.  There is only so much time to sit on your sofa.  I feel much better than I did when I was younger, despite fractures, sprains and pulls.   I never feel caught up and I'm frankly overwhelmed at times with hooves, shots, shearing and fleece sorting, but the animals are so darling and my barn is so beautiful.  I still gasp when I drive over the hill from the village and behold the magnificence of it, nestled under the long piney ridge at the bottom of the sloping hillside.  I drove 15 or 20 miles to the feed mill, through Brookfield and the state forest, to the feed mill in Waterville this morning.  What a beautiful winter wonderland - rolling white fields and towering pines with boughs heavy with snow.  I only passed one car coming the other way going, and no cars at all coming back.   That's life in Upstate New York.