This is one winter that makes me
appreciative of every bit of sun there is.
Even this far south in the Ozarks the snow and ice seem relentless. We're not used to this.
When the clipper came through the other day, the north wind made the
snow drifts look like long white tubes and the cattle with their heads down ran
before the onslaught towards the timber.
I took down the gates behind the barn and garage so that the calves
could take shelter against the deadly wind and extreme temperatures, but their
mothers had already forced their way into the wind break behind the garage. Cows are protective of their young, but I was
surprised by their intelligence and instinct in order to preserve their
young.
I know it sounds funny, but the
water froze in my hot water tank a couple of days ago. I couldn’t figure it out, but I did detect
the mushy sound of water and ice coming from the tank. Outside, the pump house is well insulated and
is built over the old rock well which brings to the top warm air from the
bottom forming a kind of natural heater.
The indoor pipes seemed intact, but to find any break, the pipes would
have to thaw and that could have taken several days. Fortunately, I noticed an unused vent with a
flapper the width of a baseball dangling from it. It must have been installed to anticipate
upgrades to the HVAC system. I was
greatly relieved the next morning to see the rushing water coming from the
faucet. I still have vivid memories of
how in 1996 in Kansas City when it reached -20 degrees, the old galvanized pipe
in my mom’s old house burst on two different occasions in the bathroom above
the kitchen causing thousands of dollars in damage and flooding the basement.
In the country the safety net begins
at the blacktop (road). Serious farmers
have the big high horse power 4-wheel-drive tractors that look like tanks
moving through the snow at night to feed the cattle or pull out someone’s pick-up
that got stuck. Macho men enjoy these
tests of power and endurance. They can’t
wait to test their monster equipment in adverse conditions. For me, I use common sense and do not tempt
fate because there are times when events are just too big to deal with.
