It's -16 right now and -27 with the wind chill, so really not at all pleasant outside. The wind is blowing in off the Bay of Fundy and causing very fine snow to blow in sideways, like the lake effect snow we get in other parts of the country. Combined with the cold temperatures it's not pleasant at all outside and is just strengthening my resolve to get a North Country Cheviot ram for breeding in the fall to produce nice hardy lambs with lots of 'get up and go' vigour. Another thing I'll do is breed them later in the year so we'll be lambing once the grass has started to grow in March/April and the weather is better. But for now it's still important for us to keep a close eye on the sheep every 4-6 hours. Even though the roads are glare ice and horrid. Heck they even had to close the highway because of poor conditions and blowing snow, they just don't do a great job keeping up with the weather and scraping the roads clean sometimes. It's often the day after a storm that things get cleared and not during. Just different to other places I guess and lots of people just stay home in bad weather. That's one of the good things about farming...not much of a commute :) Still, we can't complain because the roads are usually ok and the cold weather doesn't last too long here, not like Edmonton or Winnipeg. We're really only cold after Christmas and through February.
Anyways, I'm off into the great white yonder to check on sheep again and make sure they've all got ice free waterers. Just trying to get Dave our roommate up so I can have another adult with me in case of accident. If not I'll have to wait a couple of hours for one of the boys to come back.
The girls are going to have a fun afternoon doing their homework and bringing more firewood in from the garage. At least working will keep them warm and the garage is covered so they will be out of the worst of the wind. I think 20 pieces each should do them in nicely.
Stay warm my friends!
The extension for the mobile and the barn in the background. It's cold, but pretty though. Not a lot of snow is sticking due to the cold temperatures and the 30-50km/h winds. The problem is that the snow is drifting and the roads are so icy.
Hard to see through frozen glasses all covered in ice and snow, yes, it's cold today.
Looking towards the road.
The sheep are all snug. I put a piece of wood over their door to block the wind and because their actual ramp/door is frozen to the ground....bad planning on my part.But they have plenty of straw, lots of hay and fresh water.
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