Last week we sold some hay and everything went well.  No issues or problems which is good.  This week the weather is going back to normal - cold and blowing snow.  I wanted to leave first thing this morning to work on my truck before I haul my tractor down to O'Brien county for an overhaul.  But when I looked down the lane all I see is snow about 2 1/2' deep across the lane.  I'll have to get the tractor fired up and blow the snow out.  I have a twinge of doubt about taking the tractor in for an overhaul.  Once the tractor is in the shop I'll have to clear the lane with the skidloader, and that's not a good thought, but the tractor has to go in.  At the rate that I'm burning through the oil I'll need to buy oil every time I fill up with fuel. 

Hauling Hay

The weather has warmed up this past week and has given us a little time to do other things besides move snow.  Today I took some hay to the sale barn and this let me open up the hoop building a little more and will allow us to move through the hoop building to load small square bales from the west end to the east end of the hoop building and to leave the hay rack inside the east side of the hoop building until it's sold.  I checked on my hay inventory after delivering the hay and I've got quite a few more straw bales left than I thought but don't have as many alfalfa bales as I thought.  To take the hay to the sale barn today I used my brother's big hay rack.  His rack has huge timbers that run the length of the hay rack and sawn railroad ties for cross boards.  I loaded 10 bales that weighed a minimum of 1100 pounds each for a total minimum weight of 11,000 pounds.  The only problem I had taking the hay to town was that the hay rack sways when I drive over 25mph with a load on it, so it takes a while to get it down the road going 25mph down a 65mph highway.  They hay market has been down this year but it's nice alfalfa hay so I hope it brings good money.  You never know though...

Cold

Okay, it's cold.  Really, really cold.  And today the wind is blowing the snow we got yesterday into whiteout conditions.  When I was out filling the cattle tank this morning the cows were crowded into a corner of the paddock with their backsides to the wind.  One of the horses was even packed in with the cows.  This year's weather has been a culling year on local wildlife.  We left a 10ac field fallow for the animals but for the last month or more it is only providing minimal cover since it's filled with snow.  Only the plants that are above 3' are showing which isn't providing any cover.  There are a few holes in the tall grasses and forbes but there are very few.  The big bluestem that we time our grazing to optimize is totally snowed under too.  Acres of animal cover is of little use when we have this kind of snow.  I'm always amazed that anything survives this kind of winter, that doesn't migrate or hibernate, but in the spring there will be survivors.  fewer survivors and only the strongest will be around in the spring after this winter. 

Yesterday morning we had an official -34 degrees in the town just south of us and our outdoor thermometer said the same when we got up.  Now that is cold!  Sharon went to take the boys to hockey practice yesterday morning and the diesel truck gelled up half way down the lane.  The truck had 50/50 fuel which is 50% #1 diesel, and 50% #2 diesel.  #1 has a "cloud" point of -40 and #2 is much higher, so you end up with -20's or so, but not -30's...  So I fired up the skid loader which runs #1 only to pull the truck down the lane.  That then gelled and would only idle back to its storage location.  That left the truck stuck in the lane and a hay customer on the way.  Luckily my brother was over and we used his truck to pull my truck back down the lane.  Then Sharon and I used our 4x4 "farm" truck  to run to town to purchased a torpedo heater to put on equipment that has frozen.   The hay customer was able to get down the lane and back out in 4x4.  Now today that it's only -2 we can work on getting the skid loader running, the lane cleared, and the truck running.  Looks like we'll miss church today...