February snow had fallen steady and soft overnight and into the morning creating the winter wonderland we had been dreaming of since December. Schools and businesses closed giving kids and parents alike a welcomed reprieve from the daily grind.
I had doubled up on feeding at the farm the day before in anticipation of the snow event, not knowing if road conditions would allow me to make the drive out on the county roads. But late in the afternoon I decided the roads were good enough and that my four wheel drive truck was made for this, so I swept off the snow, piled on sacks of cattle feed and headed out.
The nighttime temperatures were going to plunge well below freezing and I knew the cattle would need the calories to help them stay warm. They would also need more hay, as several inches of snow had covered what little standing forage remained in the pastures. Our hogs self-feed from a bulk feeder which I had filled ahead of time, but family members are good to keep us stocked with kitchen scraps, so I was happy to bring along a special treat for the pigs as well.
The paved roads were wet but clear and the county roads were a muddy mess, but passable. By the time I arrived at the gate, snow had again begun to fall. There were several times along the way I had reached for my phone to snap a picture of a pretty country snow scene, but keeping my big truck moving forward on the boggy road took precedence.
The cows can hear that diesel engine for miles and they were calling and making their way as I pulled into view. I emptied the sacks into snow-filled troughs and turned the restless cattle in to devour every last morsel. My attention turned to getting the tractor started and setting out more hay. Again, I grabbed my phone and tucked it in to my coveralls, thinking I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity for a good snow covered farm scene photo.
Maneuvering the tractor on snow was different than on bare ground and I wasn’t able to get enough traction to use the rear spike for a second bale of hay as I usually do. I resigned myself to making two trips instead of one and headed north with the first bale. The cows had already finished off the cubes and were again restless. The sound of the tractor and the smell of hay captured their attention and they surrounded me as I cut the frozen snow-crusted net wrap off of the bale. As I went back to the hay lot for a second bale it was if the cows realized where I was going and remembered that a massive smorgasbord of hay awaited them if they could get there while it was still open. I set off the second bale, removed the net wrap and high tailed it back to the lot to chase the cows out.
Layers of clothing and coveralls do not make for good cow chasing attire. I awkwardly bumbled towards the cows and calves who were helping themselves to the stacked hay. Waving my arms and hollering, I convinced them to exit the fenced area and shocked myself more than once as I re-positioned the electric fence wires with my wet gloves.
The scattered cows meandered back to where I had set out their allotment of hay. A few were helping themselves to the pigs’ hay which resulted in more arm-waving and hollering to move them along. The pigs excited to get their kitchen scraps, quickly gobbled them up. One piglet from a recent litter needed tucked back in to the hay next to its mother where it quickly snuggled in with its litter mates. Nearby, another not-so-fortunate piglet, having wandered away from the warmth, had become a casualty of nature.
By this point, no one was feeling or looking photogenic. The realities of winter on the farm are often more harsh than idyllic. All the work that could be done was done; that was good. The animals were fed and tended to. Brown slush caked the hem of my coveralls and the sides of my truck.
But for the occasional bawl of a calf or the snort of a pig, all was quiet as the snow continued to fall.