Icy!

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

^{(“Cold Moon” @ “Waning Gibbous”; New Moon @ 3/1, “Worm Moon” fullest @ 3/18.)}

Cold yesterday! My big hen turkeys were shivering, same as me. I was trying to string a wind barrier against their exposed area. My fingers were freezing, my hands painfully numb and nearly useless. An early temperature in the high teens was cold aplenty, but with winds from the west blowing strongly, outside was sheer misery.

I have turkeys, chickens, a couple of goats, and three equines demanding care. Equines need periodic dribbles of feed, which forces me outside to provide for them. I checked their watering troughs in that early evening and found them solidly frozen. Fortunately, I was able with a hammer to break up that ice. (In the past, I’ve faced thickly-iced trough water, with my best hammering not causing a single crack.)

Out in the cold and on my knees, I bent and peered at the GFCI, finding it off. But why? In darkness and awful cold I closed my eyes and hit the “on” button. The controller clicked in, and I double-checked. It seemed working again. I looked closely at both troughs and saw their heaters creating steam.

Right then, my best choice was to leave good enough alone, return to the house, and hope the GFCI wouldn’t click off. Regardless, the horses should be okay through the night’s remaining hours.

Maybe in this cold morning, I’ll be on my knees replacing that controller.

Dear Friends: Winter harshness tests a rancher’s intelligence, strength, patience. Diana