Wordless Wednesday

Well, maybe one  Pfspphth!

7:00 am

7:30 am

10:30 am

11:00 am

It's Amazing What One Day Brings!

 Blue skies, sunshine , but cold! I am starting to understand why so many ancient cultures worshiped the sun. Six hours later, all the drive ways and paths were plowed out with the quad, or where the quad wouldn't push it, the snow blower did.

The wind kept the snow away from the fence pretty well. So far (knock on wood) I haven't had to plow it away from the fence. The horses have thawed out and dried off in the sun.

 I pushed a riding trail down to the end of the field. I think this will be the last time doing that, because I was hard pressed to get back up the hill even with the blade up and chains on. If it doesn't snow for a while, I have a riding trail ready to go!

 To top the day off, I also had to fill the horse trough.That task normally goes well, but today I had a frozen hose. I guess that I rushed the draining to fast and left a little water in it. It's always fun taking a hose apart, rolling it up, and hauling it into the hallway to unthaw. The fun part is working bare handed with hose couplings and water.

 Normally, if I walk the hose over my shoulder, the grade gets it all out. Not today!

Boots kind of laid back and watched me and the horses.

Spring is only a couple of weeks away, which means the snow should be gone by the end of April or mid May.

Bring it on! I'm more than ready!

Once Again We Get the Dump!

Last night it appeared on the weather forecast that we would be on the edge of another storm. It started snowing yesterday and is supposed to continue until late Tuesday.

The wizards on TV are saying another 10 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) is due. I can't quite figure this as all around us is expecting 20 to 30cm (8 to 12 inches). I guess weather forecasting is still an art, trying to be a science.

 The horses take it in stride and aren't as miserable as they look

Biz is probably the exception. Fortunately, I had one horse treat in my pocket. That seemed to revive her a bit.

 Alpine was totally ignoring me, until she saw Biz get a treat.

Boots had the right idea. Take a nap in the hay shelter.

The area roads are a mess, but , I don't have to go anywhere until Wednesday. It may take that long to shovel out!

Stay warm.

Been Walk-about

I plowed out the trail to the lower pasture yesterday so decided to go for a walk. We were just starting out and Brooklyn was starting to lag behind, even on a plowed trail.

Tucker on the other hand was keen to come along. Unfortunately, the lower gates were open so she had to stay home.

The trail has been used by 6 to 8 deer and one moose overnight. I did not get any moose pictures, but Elaine watched him/her eat a bunch of twigs on the next property over.

Tucker was watching for our return, or most likely sleeping where we left her.

The day was not all play because the driveway was getting very narrow and the snow had to be moved to make room for the next snowfall. Yes, we will get more! This year's snow fall is less than half what we had last year. The quad could not push it over the edge, and the snow blower was out of gas, so the snow was pushed with the snow scoop. Next year I am going to have to figure out a way to extend the blade on the quad.

When we returned, I had a very tired dog. The snow in the bush was half way up her sides. She is a little too wide to make a good snowplow.

It Seems Spring Riding may Be Delayed a Bit.

 Just when I was getting ready to ride, down it came and is still coming. It took two hours of plowing with the quad and snow blowing to clean up the worst of it.Alpine needs some exercise. She is carrying 100 pounds more than when we first got her, but was overly thin then. Somewhere half way is probably the right weight Currently she weighs in at 1100 pounds.

 Tucker is sitting at 1150 pounds and is a little bulgy also.

 I figure we got about 8 inches of snow (20 cm) and like I said, it's still coming down.

I think I will wait a few days before digging out my truck. I probably won't need it until Wednesday. By then maybe the white stuff will melt. Ha, not going to happen. Then again, why do today what you can put off 'till tomorrow ( or the day after).

Digging Out and Freezing

Winter hit with a bang on Saturday with a 6 inch snowfall (15 cm) and a dive in temperature. Our unseasonable period seems to be over. For the next two weeks highs are expected to be -26C and lows  in the -31C range. With the winds that we can expect we will likely see wind chill factors in the -40 to -45C range(-40 to -48F).

The offer made last year to trade Acreages in February with someone in the deep south is still open. Any takers?

I include a couple of shots of the place. The pictures are nice, but don't show the cold. One good thing is the horses aren't slipping on the ice anymore, and are a lot happier, and mobile. They are also eating an extra 10 pounds of hay each, just to keep warm.

Tomorrow, I will likely give them a pint of rolled oats each for added calories.


I took the pictures at -26C. That's all the shots I got before the camera froze up

Have fun and think warm!

Finally!

We are coming out of the abnormal temperatures, and the sun was actually shining today! Yesterday was spent taking the super load of snow off the roofs of the outbuildings. It was about 4 feet deep in places.












The chicken coop and hay shelter weathered the storm OK. I guess my building style was OK after all.











The fields are now belly deep on the horses and they aren't moving around much. The next 5 days are forecast to be around 0C (32F) so I intend to give a couple of them a good work out.


Boots' dog house is pretty cosy now with wall to wall insulation on the outside. I haven't shovelled him out, but with his build, he is kind of like a snow plow.








Speaking of Boots, here he is catching some rays. Whatever happened to horse herder on duty?


Right now, the shovelling is mostly done , other than a few trails to where I need to go. Apparently, La Nina is forecast again for next year and probably the year after, so, we have a new, heavy duty snowblower coming next week. The driveway is beyond anything that a quad can handle, and I am running out of places to push the snow with the snow float. For the first time in 8 years up here , I put the red flag out at the start of the driveway signalling the County to plow and wing back my driveway. It may be a few days before they get to it as they still don't have our County road, or subdivision plowed.

Thank God for 4 wheel drive trucks. I had to go to Mayerthorp today to get chicken feed and had a little fun getting back up the driveway. Yesterday the RCMP put out a no-tow advisory. If you hit the ditch or got stuck, the car stayed where it was. They would get you out, but not the car. Driving was brutal!

Hopefully, the snow blower will make life easier on the Acreage. We normally get most of our snow fall in March. I suppose now that we have one, we will have a snow free spring.

Still digging out on the Acreage!

All Dug Out

Finally after three days of shoveling, all the paths are clear, the driveway is clear and the decks are clear!

Guess what?

It's snowing again and they are forecasting another big dump by the weekend!

Not much this time only 15 cm (6 inches) compared to the official 30 cm ( 12 inches) that we just received.

Now a total of 18 inches of snow is not so bad, if the wind would just let it lie. The 3 foot drifts make the shoveling tough going!

Smile, it could get worse, so I did, and it did!

Where is spring?

Digging Out

We got dumped on over the last 36 hours!

Not quite a blizzard 'cause it wasn't cold enough at -18C (0 F) to qualify. It was windy enough and it snowed hard enough to close most of the highways in the area, or at least restrict driving. Visibility was close to zero, and it drifted up pretty good.

The hay shelter was in the wind path, but most of the snow blew past.






The trees next to the house were loaded up, as was the driveway and walks. It took about 4 hours to get them cleared out.

On the good side, it was nice and warm in the chicken coop. There appears to be  room at the inn, so I don't see the need to double bunk. Oh, well, chickens!

The horses weathered the storm in the shelter, but still got coated up pretty good.

I am still waiting for you southerners to take me up on an acreage exchange, say early in the new year. Sign up now and avoid the last minute rush!