Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 20:22
Winter Has Returned. . .
After high temperatures in the 30s for the past however many days, and a landscape that was beginning to look like March-- 2 inches of snow fell Monday night, and the temperature today is in the 20s, with a stiff wind out of the north/northwest that makes it feel much colder.
In fact, the wind is so cold that when I came back from taking the dogs for a walk this morning after I had fed the horses and carried warm water out for them, I could not really feel my legs. I assumed they were still there yet because my head and shoulders were still at the proper distance from the ground. But I could not feel my legs. When I arrived back at the house, I turned the furnace up, but it was thirty minutes before I was reasonably well-assured that my legs were where they were supposed to be.
It's funny to think how quickly spoiled we can become by the weather. I mean, really. In past winters, a day in January with a high temperature in the 20s was considered a heat-wave. But now, because the winter has been so warm this year, a high in the 20s feels downright chilly. In a way, warmer winter temperatures makes the winter goes faster, but in a way it does not because it always seems like it is *almost* spring, but it isn't.
One good thing about the warmer winter (so far, anyway, because it could turn nasty at any time and be below zero for days on end) is that it has been easier on our liquid propane supply. We always pre-pay at the local farmer's union cooperative in the fall, and the money we do not use one year is held over for the next year.
Anyway, I am counting my blessings today because the "cold snap" is on the positive side of the thermometer -- and not below zero!
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, January 16, 2006, 20:53
A Cowbell?
I bought a cowbell the other day.
I have never owned a cowbell in my life.
It is quite a large cowbell -- taller than the length of my hand. And it makes a lovely ring-a-ling, ting-a-ling sound.
I bought it to use as a conversation piece when I take my books to craft sales, although I'm not sure what I am going to say about the cowbell. None of our cows ever wore a cowbell when I was growing up.We were generally able to find the cows (not enough thick brush for them to hide in for very long) and didn't need a cowbell to tell us where they were, especially since our cows knew when it was feeding time, and at the first "come boss" -- often came on the run, if they weren't already up in the barnyard waiting. Then, once the barn door was open, they would have a "pushing match" to see who could get into the barn first.
I also bought a calendar with Holstein pictures in it. I am going to take the calendar apart and put the pictures into a collage. The Holsteins will also be a conversation piece when I go to craft sales.
I am going to one craft sale in February -- the Farm Toy and Craft Show sponsored by the FFA Alumni in my hometown. In researching the Farm Toy and Craft Sale, I discovered that there are many such events around the state that are sponsored by various FFA Alumni groups.
As a rule, I have not gone to spring craft sales. But this year, I decided to go to a couple, just to see what they are like.
I have until the end of February to get my collage of Holsteins together. And to figure out exactly what I am going to do with my brand new cowbell. I told Randy we could always put the cowbell on Isabelle, but he didn't think a horse needed a cowbell. I'm not so sure. A while back we watched a documentary about the Romans and how they prepared their horses for going into battle. From the moment the horses were born, they wore bells so that they became used to the sound clashing in their ears all the time. When they were ready to go into battle, the horses were already used to loud sounds in their ears, and the theory was also that they would be comforted by a "familiar sound" with all of the other sounds going on around them.
Then again, one time when I lived in the southern part of the state and boarded my horses at a stable, I thought it was a fine idea to buy one of those straps with jingle bells on it. I hung the jingle bells from my horse's stall door to decorate it for the Christmas season. All of the horses that came into that barn morning and evening for their grain were terrified of the jingle bells, and even the hint of a jingle when they were going outside after eating their grain sent them running for their lives.
At any rate, do you know how difficult it is to take a picture of something around here? Especially something I have set on the floor. Several kitties, as well as my Shetland Sheepdog, Pixie, wondered what in the world I was doing and couldn't help coming to investigate. I had to keep fending off the dog and the cats while at the same time, trying to get a shot of the cowbell and the calendar.
Well, as my mother always said, "nobody ever said life would be easy!"
LeAnn R. Ralph
