A dress rehearsal…

…for the Winter to come?  They say this was the earliest snowfall since the Civil War or, as folks around here call it (joking, sorta) “The War of Northern Aggression”.

The cows don’t mind eating through the snow; we’ve seen them nose down almost a foot.  And they’re always amused to see what Wooz is wearing to stay warm and dry.

We have mixed feelings about winter.  We like snow for the moisture it packs into the soil just before the ground freezes.   And if it melts, as this surely will, the runoff is much slower than in a rain, so we retain more water.

On the other hand, ice is treacherous for man and beast, particularly on our hills.  And unlike snow, cows cannot dig down through ice to reach the grass. We did lose a cow once who ran to us as we were unloading hay.  She lost her footing and broke her neck.  Since then, we have been very careful where we unload hay.

Cold temperatures are no fun but cows and water need to be checked twice a day no matter what the conditions are.  Cows, however, don’t mind the cold we get around here.  In fact, thanks to their leather skin and fur coats, they’re most comfortable at about 40 degrees.