Day 24 – Frost!

I try to keep this quote in mind when my fingers are not functioning properly and the garden beds are crispy, solid, and completely unworkable.

I try to keep this quote in mind when my fingers are not functioning properly and the garden beds are crispy, solid, and completely unworkable.

The one good thing about frost or a light dusting of snow is that everything looks so darned sparkly! The whole world is clean!

The turkey field looks quite different when it's frozen solid.

The turkey field looks quite different when it’s frozen solid. Fortunately, the birds don’t seem to mind.

Frozen water is a pain in the backside to deal with.

Frozen water is a pain in the backside to deal with.

All that glittery frost might look magical, but man, when frozen water pipes mean you have to haul buckets and Jerry cans of water from the house to distant water containers all over the neighbourhood, the thrill of a glorious morning wears off pretty quickly. A couple of chickens wouldn’t be so terribly difficult to deal with, but horses? Lactating sows? A whole herd of thirsty turkeys? I was more than a little pleased when the temperature began to rise again and the water started to flow. That gurgle of water splashing into an old bathtub in the horse paddock is a special kind of music!

LOVE that sun after a few gloomy rain days... Though, it always astonishes me just how low it stays all day long through these shortest days of winter.

LOVE that sun after a few gloomy rain days… Though, it always astonishes me just how low above the horizon it stays through these shortest days of winter.

Interested in learning who else is participating in the 30 days agriculture blog-a-thon or the five things Holly Spangler will be talking about this month? Head over to Prairie Farmer to find out!

7 responses to “Day 24 – Frost!

  1. In the North Pacific, the days become shorter more quickly in Autumn. In the Winter time, our days are considerably shorter than Denver, New York and San Francisco. Among our rewards, are the long rays of the sun. As if the entire day is bathed in the light of sunrises and sunsets. it seems colder. Our Summer days are longer, too. We here are amazed at all your hard work along the Dark Creek land.

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  2. It was 12 degrees with the wind chill this morning–very unusual for TN in November. I was busting ice in everybody’s water. Hoses were froze but luckily nobody needed water so no bucket hauling–that’s a lot of work!

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    • Yikes! That is chilly! I know we are pretty wimpy here in the PNW. Our occasional chilly days are nothing compared to what people in other places have to deal with. Maybe because we are NOT used to frostiness we are a bit more delicate… Glad to hear you didn’t have to haul buckets of water. I think that is my all-time least favourite job…

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  3. Love that shot through the fence. I’m really glad that we only have chickens to water, because I find that tough enough when everything is frozen!

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  4. As long as I’ve got enough layers on, and gloves, I’ve been enjoying the frosty mornings. The dog and I are out before it’s light; sometimes the moon is still up, almost as bright as day (brighter than some rainy days, I do believe). The grass is white with frost, crunchy underfoot, and apparently the smells are better in such conditions – that’s what the dog tells me, anyway. I’m definitely enjoying the change from mud and drizzle, that’s for sure.

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