Our first snow day on the farm came at the beginning of 2018. Just because we have a day full of snow, doesn’t mean there is a snow day for chores and all those mouths that need to be fed. Life on the farm might move a bit slower on snow days like today, but it certainly doesn’t stop. Priorities just change and planning becomes even more critical.
When I had an off farm job as well as helping the farmer (who still has an off farm job) a snow day was a hassle. It meant getting up early, working in the dark, getting cold, wet and dirty before getting ready and going to my real job. Believe me…not a fun way to start the day. But what is your option? Oh, right! There isn’t one. You can’t just decide to skip it, do it later (9 hours later, when you get home) or do it partially. Every animal needs to be fed. EVERYDAY. Every animal needs water. EVERYDAY. So you just do what you need to do and move on!
Now that I work solely on the farm (be on the lookout for a future blog on our experience going from 2 incomes to 1) a snow day takes on a different attitude. Depending on what the day looks like, it can still be a brutal, painful day or it can be a peaceful, wonderful, slow paced kind of day. I prefer the latter!
If I wake up and it is snowing, the winds are strong and it is really cold out, I can pace myself. I can drink a cup of coffee and build up the fortitude to go outside and face the chores. I will and I do get it done. Sometimes that means, do a little…come inside for a minute. Go back out…do something else. Come back inside. Go back out. It is really OK. There is no rush.
If I wake up and it has snowed and the sun is out, no wind, just lot’s of shoveling a chores. Love! The sun feels so good when there is a fresh layer of snow. Sure, the work is hard and time consuming; but if you can just pace yourself and enjoy the beauty of the day, you will find a snow day to be wonderful!
As I key this post, we are in a January thaw, just the week after two weeks of the most brutal winds and temps we have seen. Cyclone Bomb they say. I say, thank you Lord! Now that we are all toughened up a bit, these 24 degree days feel warm! Winter is far from over. But as for today…I will watch the fog as the snow melts, listen the the rain dance on our metal roof, and be thankful that today is not another snow day. -Staci