Frosty Doors & Cow Pies

Thursday WAS the coldest day of the year, until Friday morning (yesterday) came calling with temperatures of 30 degrees below zero AND below, causing Coldest-Ever records to be set in several places in Iowa.

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From the house door, looking to the barn, this is what you see shortly after the sun has risen. No, the barn is not on fire--Heaven forbid. Its the colorful early morning sunlight interacting with steam from the milker pump motor exhaust pipe.

Fancy frost adorned the door leading from the milking barn to the cowyard.

This guy---my husband---was definitely not in "happy camper" mode yesterday morning. Can you tell he's very tired of this weather, and is impatiently enduring a head cold. Sometimes I think my main purpose in life is to be there to say to him at strategic moments, "Things could always be worse, dear." Because they always could, dear readers. Husband had just returned from crawling into this dark, creepy opening and climbing way up the silo, carrying hot water in bottles, in order to thaw out the silo unloader motor so it would start running to throw silage down for the cows to eat. He was like Hansel and Gretel climbing into the wicked old witch's oven. Come to think of it......these dangerously cold temperatures ARE wicked.
For your viewing pleasure.......here's a fancy, flowery frosted cow pie......or cow patty, as Pat from Arkansas would say. Enjoy......
Ah, yes.......school was cancelled again yesterday, although the basketball game in the evening was held as scheduled. We did not attend. In this next scene, Betsy the Australian Shepherd Queen of the Farm regally keeps watch as my son loosens hay from a round bale to feed to older calves. There is no school Monday either due to Martin Luther King Day and teacher in-service meetings, meaning a four-day weekend for the schoolkids. Like they need that right now.
Poor Husband.......he's carrying more hot water........to thaw out cattle water fountains. A crust of ice forms on top of each one during the nights when its so cold.

Here's how the barn looked after the cows were turned out. Nice and steamy. Time now to do the scraping, liming, and bedding to provide comfortable digs for the cows to return to in a few minutes. They can't stay out very long in the extreme cold......their teats might freeze. Painful thought.

Oh, my......the barn windows provide strange sights to behold.

And, here's a herd of frosted icicles:

Buster doesn't seem to mind living in an icebox, that's for sure. I should have taken a video of him happily rolling and frolicking in the snow. Instead he's caught here in an odd still shot pose:

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The mercury in the thermometers is moving upwards, thankfully. High today of 2o degrees ABOVE zero. Hooray! Maybe we soon can stop gritting our chattering teeth and bundling up in as many clothing layers as possible. When I wake up in the morning, that's what I dread the most.......pullling on all those clothes and thick, heavy coats, boots, scarves, gloves, until I feel bulky and awkward like the Michelin Man. It takes about fifteen minutes---and several gulps of coffee---to get into the mood to do that.

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I know its been unseasonably cold in many areas.......perhaps yours, too. Just do it......bundle up and stay warm!

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