Thursday, January 27, 2011

January Thaw

So much to catch up on!  (As usual.)

Starting with the Christmas parade, our weather has been remarkably cold for the Sandhills, which gave the holidays a sparkle but delayed my barn construction considerably.  Wet concrete block doesn't stick well to mortar, so the masons couldn't work when it rained.  They couldn't work when the water in the hose was frozen, either.  Not to mention the fact that it's misery to stand outside for 8 hours at 35 degrees.


Despite all these setbacks, the barn walls are finished and ready to be filled with concrete.  I have no fear of tornadoes and hurricanes taking down this shelter!  Once that's done, the carpenters can FINALLY start working on the ceiling and the roof.

The whiskers sticking up from the barn are water lines and electrical conduits.

In the meantime, Christmas was a good time for us, at home with our nuclear family and a future son-in-law.  My long-time Christmas wish was granted--we got snow for Boxing Day.  Lovely, six-inch deep snow.


Unlike the northeast, snow around here tends to vanish quickly, so the roads were clear a day later and the white stuff on the grass melted soon thereafter.  But I did enjoy it while it lasted.


The next snow was pretty, too...until freezing rain turned the soft white blanket into ice.  A solid crystaline shell encased the entire world for almost a week--dangerous to walk on and messy to deal with.  Water troughs froze.  Ice balled up on the bottoms of the horses' hooves, needing to be chipped out with a hammer for safety's sake.  Fortunately, I have seven good horses who put up with being pestered while they munch their hay.

Sheets of ice sliding off the shed roof.

Today, though, the sun is shining and the temperature is supposed to reach 50 degrees.  TBone and I will go for a drive.  I may be able to start dealing with the autumn leaves still lying in piles around the house.  The birds were up early, flitting around the feeders.  Maybe I can get them refilled, too.

Good luck to all those in the rest of the country dealing with another storm, another six...ten...twenty or more inches of snow.  I understand better now what a hassle the white stuff can be. 

Hoping you get your own thaw soon,

Cheryl