Monday, January 11, 2016
When the alarm clock went off this morning, the radio guy announced that it was 8ºF! (-13C) That really gets your attention. At least the wind is fairly calm, making the cold less dramatic.
Yesterday, we received our first snowfall, and it blankets the ground today. Saturday was a very rainy day, and as the temperatures fell, the rain turned to slush and then snow–overnight into Sunday morning. Therefore, our snow has a crusty, icy base underneath. The roads were very slippery yesterday, and the low temperatures hampered the effects of the sand and salt that were being applied. They predicted bright sunshine today, but so far, the gray clouds are hiding it. I was surprised that local schools were not closed today, but on a 2-hour delay. Brandon worked with the backhoe loader yesterday to clear away the drifts in the lane, making it much easier to drive in and out of Carnahan & Sons. Even so, we drive on packed-down snow and ice in the lane.
There is snow at Carnahan & Sons today!
The old silo stands sentinel as a reminder of those cold mornings long ago when we had to fork down silage to feed the calves. In the distance, you can see the steam from the power plant at Petersburg, Indiana. The white blanket brings a ‘hush’ to the countryside, especially in the evening.
It is nice to see the snowy covering on the trees and across the fields. We had been missing that, especially during Christmastime. But it has arrived now, and may stay a few days. The weather folks say that our temps will get above freezing again on Thursday. We kinda like having snow, but when it melts, that makes for a messy farm lot and driveways. I guess you can’t have one without the other.
Ross sold some corn, and Brandon has scheduled the deliveries for the last week of the month. We have another project for the shop this week, and that is to do a tire “rotation” on the JD 9330 tractor. The back tires will be swapped to the front, and vice versa. The front ones show some stubble damage, and this swap will extend the life of those expensive Michelin tires! In springtime, for the first pass over the last year’s corn fields, (usually the soybean drill) the corn stubble can be pretty harsh on the front tires! We want those 8 big tires to last as long as possible.
Have a great week!
