Winter is a beast to be dealt with

Do you remember a few days back when the sleet and snow covered your roads and pastures? Did you enjoy the time inside with the family, kids home from school and a pot of stew or beans on the stove? Did you play checkers with your family and take naps wrapped up in blankets? Congratulations, you must not be a cattleman!

Did I think it was pretty and enjoy the big flakes as they floated to the encrusted ground? Not on your life! I can honestly say this was one of the most miserable snows I have ever endured. I guess that first inch or two of sleet on the ground is what made it so hard to get around the place. I tried to get the hay truck to move and ended up hauling it all with tractors. The hydraulic pumps were so sluggish that we had to heat one with a torch to get it to work. I am sure the Grands had fun, but the rest of us did not!

I wish sometimes I could feed like the dairy folks do up north. The big free stall barns are dandy and I'd like to keep the animals inside. But, there is a down side to that too. Someone has to clean that barn daily and it is not the cows!

I complain about the cold and hate the problems it deposits on us, but we are proud we didn't have any frozen pipes. Old Jim came sliding in and wanted to borrow our little tractor with a bucket on it to dig up a frozen line. He said he was sure it wouldn't take him over 24 hours to dig four feet and thaw out the pipe!

Our Grands did show up and my close relative kept them full of cocoa and cookies. They made snow ice cream, wrapped Christmas presents, took pictures for the Christmas cards and messed up the living room! There were blankets all over the place, snowshoes and boots at the back door piled up and melting into puddles and giggles galore! I missed most of the fun, but I did enjoy the time I was in the midst!

I count us blessed to have not lost any calves or found any rampant sickness. A few snotty noses and coughing -- can't tell if it is the cold weather or illness and I'd lay odds it's just the cold. We rolled out bales for the calves and they were right proud to use it! The sun came out and the temps climbed enough to start the thaw, so we are back to dirt and rocks!

It is my opinion, and everyone has one, winter is a beast to be dealt with and you can never tame it! It has fangs that rip into water lines, freeze up wells and make cattle miserable. It can kill a man without protection pretty quick and make businesses shut down for days at a time. The only way to handle winter is to dress in layers, wear gloves and hit it! You can't get ahead and you dare not get behind it! So, before the next front howls in, I am going to the feed store and gas station, but first on the list is the grocery store!

Bill is a pen name used by the Gravette author of this weekly column.

Editorial on 12/18/2013