Time to Burn Already?

A small burn pile turned into a big one.

Hubby trying to  light it.  It was windy out and we shouldn't have burned!

I see smoke, so maybe there will be fire.

The open fields,

and geese were still flying,

Muddy Horses

Did Savannah know that it was her turn for a ride yesterday?  There is a pretty palomino under that brown camouflauge.

Yes, I see you watching me. Oh, you think you are safe from being ridden?
Wait until it rains tomorrow and all that mud gets washed off!

yes, you can back to sleep?  Today you can. 

So I rode Shaggy, as he was a little bit cleaner.

Until I saw his other side of his face and neck!

These horses are shedding.  And they must be itchy.  So they roll, not in the high spots that are dry or in some of the places were the round bales were and there is no mud.  They must pick the sloppiest places!

We will not be Snowed In!

We will not be snow in again like 2 years ago!  We were actually stuck for 3 days then.

Hubby found an 8' snow blower. Bigger than the back end of our truck. 

We had to lift it off the truck with our tractor.

Look how big it is compared to Hubby!

Do you think this snowblower will move snow?

Hubby moved the snowblower with the tractor.

 Will it fit in the shed?

Now hubby tells me it needs  a little work.  It better work!

It better move snow. It's big enough to!

But we would be happy to not see any more snow this winter!

Beautiful Snow Pictures the Morning After

Friday night, the snow started. By Saturday morning, we had 9-12" on the railing.  We had a light misting snow in the morning and some wind.  By evening, some of the roads were drifting.  Our electric went out about 6 pm for 4 hours.  Luckily we had the heat back on before we went to bed.  This morning, the sun was shining bright.  The snow glistened on the tree branches.

The snow hung heavily on the pine trees.

I love how the tree line looked, as the morning sun rose.

I'm amazed that we only had about a half dozen large branches down.

But it sure was a beautiful winter morning.

Winter is Here

Our 6 weeks of winter has started!  We have 9" of snow on the railing. I think we got more, but the snow is wet and heavy. 

I have never seen snow this deep on small tree branches before.

I like this shot. It is not out of focus. 

Either it was misting a light snow or snow was being blown from the trees. 

I'm surprised we don't have more limbs down than we do.

I love snow in the pine trees!

Winter Wonderland this weekend!

We lost electric at 6 tonight.  3 hours later, I am seeing the electric trucks drive by, shining lights up at the lines, trying to see where the problem is.  I have seem them drive by 3 times in the last 15 minutes.  I hope that doesn't mean they don't know where the problem is.

Punxsutawney Phil and 6 More Weeks of Winter

From the Washington Post, on Feb. 2nd, at 7:25 a.m. this morning, amidst mostly cloudy skies, and temperatures in the low 30s, Groundhog Phil saw his shadow in the little town of Punxsutawney, Pa.

At 7:25 a.m. this morning, amidst mostly cloudy skies, and temperatures in the low 30s, Groundhog Phil saw his shadow in the little town of Punxsutawney, Pa.

According to folklore, Phil’s sighting of his own shadow means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Had Phil not seen his shadow, it would have meant “there will be an early spring.”

If Phil’s forecast is right, it signals a dramatic reversal from the mild weather pattern affecting much of the country. Many parts of the central and eastern U.S. have seen temperatures 20 to 30 degrees above normal in recent days. On February 1, just 19% of the Lower 48 had snow cover compared to 52% at this time last year.

Historic odds heavily favor a forecast for winter to last deep into March. Since the Groundhog’s first prediction in 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 99 times and failed to spot it just 16 times. There are 9 missing years in the record, but Phil has issued a forecast without exception.

But just how accurate is the prognosticator of prognosticators?
It depends on the source.

The official Web site of Punxsutawney Phil, perhaps not impartial, claims the Groundhog has issued a correct forecast 100% of the time.

AccuWeather's grade for the groundhog’s accuracy is slightly lower, but still quite respectable.

Well, it happened.
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. And now we’ve got six more weeks of winter on our hands.
But what does he know?

Oh, just look at the next post.  Winter did hit Nebraska just a day or 2 later!

Robins on the Last Day of January

I have never seen as many robins as I did on the very last day of January!  They were everywhere.  Most of the birds were trying to drink water as the ice melted.

Can you find this camoflauged robin?

I love the colors of this speckled bird.

This robin better take advantage of the warmer day and sun.

Winter is coming back.

So cold that...

I bundled up and rode today! I thought the wind wasn't bad, until I walked
outside. I put on layers, 2 socks, 2 gloves, 2 headbands, 1 hoody over my head,
winter boots, fleece lined pants, 5 sweatshirts and jackets. I was almost too
warm. I had a fleece lined head band over my head and down over my neck. I
rode 6 miles in an hour. We didn't stand still, but walked in so Shaggy wasn't
sweaty. It actually wasn't too bad.

I'm not sure how many days I'll ride if it gets below 20 though!

So Windy I Tasted Dirt

Horses have their backs to the wind.

            Today was a complete opposite from yesterday.  Sunny, no wind, 60’s, versus a windy, then more wind, 30’s that drop to low 20’s degree day.  When I did chores, I could taste the dirt in my mouth.  Not just a dusty taste, but actually dirt.  The fields around here are being disked.  Even though most farmers practice the no-till farming practice, this year, they seem to be disking up the soybean fields.  So there seems to be more loose dirt that can blow around.  I guess it would be different if there was snow on the ground.

            Tonight’s weather showed Omaha, less than 45 minutes away, with icy roads and snow/white out conditions, with less than 2” of snow.  We had none of that, just the wind.  It was strange to see cars in the ditch, on the news, knowing that we had just wind here.
I'm glad we didn't have this weather,

only 45 minutes north of us, the wind was blowing, with light snow, that gave white out conditons.

            Needless to say, I didn’t ride.  With the wind, the horses would have been either alert or just tired out from the wind.  Horses need a day out from riding, to rest their legs, and their bodies.  We can’t ride long and hard without conditioning.  We need long, slow rides, then add speed and distance, but not at the same time.

            I had a long, slow day on Shaggy yesterday.  I had a short, slow day on Duke as that is all he can handle right now.  Tomorrow, even though the temps will be low, I hope to have a good ride on Shag.  Long or short, it will be good. I hope there is no wind!

First Snow

Our first snow of the year came yesterday, all day yesterday. First, the precipitation came in the form of 40 degrees and rain. Then temps started dropping and the rain got thicker. For a while, what came down melted. Then it started sticking to the car, then to the roads, and by evening, I think we got at least 5”.

I came home from town and the roads were slushy. With temps just at 32 degrees, the roads were just getting slick. I drove slower, and there sure are a lot of poor drivers out there. They just need to pass, then are only slightly in front of you!

Anyways, I get home and hubby and I head out to do chores.  We only had about an hour before dusk.  We wanted to open up the stud’s area to make it larger and to get him into a lean-to. That meant we had to move his water tank to an area closer to an electrical outlet for the water heater.  Luckily, the water in the tank was low enough to dump.

After it was scrubbed out, we moved it closer to the gate, put the heater into it, and now he has a tank of fresh water.

We left the dogs outside during this time, to play in the snow.  We fork hay back into the round bale feeders, and by doing so it’s amazing how much hay is saved. When hubby went to fork the large lot, he came back to say they needed another round bale. Great, now we are fighting dark.

We switched the bucket on the tractor to the spear, hubby gets a round bale and I opened the gates. I should have known the horses were a little hungry by the way they were running around. But their feeder still had some hay, so I think the cooler air and snow was making all of them feel “like young kids” again.

We actually put out 2 round bales, and we’ve learned to put them end to end. Then we put 2 empty round bale feeders on each of the other ends so that the horses don’t pull out too much hay and stomped it into the snow, mud, whatever. So actually, there are 4 round bale feeders in a row, with the middle 2 feeders with the new round bales in and the end 2 feeders are empty. Then we fork the loose hay into the end feeders. Horses are happier that they are spread out to eat hay and we are happier when there isn’t so much waste.  Even though it’s a little bit of work once or twice a day, our round bales last a little longer.

Luckily, the bigger tractor also has bigger lights, and we finished in the dark.  I’m loving the tractor we got earlier this spring. It made that trip worth it.  What a trip that was, well actually, 2 trips.

I’m sure tomorrow, hubby will see just how easy our snow removal will be. Our driveway can be filled with snow now, but we won’t have to shovel by hand!

Early Spring

(Geese March 2010)

Is it spring already?
50 degree temps,
Snow is melting,
Ice is melting,
And there is plenty of mud.

I saw geese flying north today,
Not just one flock,
But three flocks
during evening chore time,
And I was outside without a coat on.

Is it spring already,
I don’t think so,
Even though the temps are warm this week,
Next week is to be back to the 30’s
And I’ll be back to wearing a winter coat!

Will it snow again?
Will it freeze again?
Will there be more ice?
I think so,
But I hope there isn’t!