[AT] Winter storm and cold

[Herb Metz]

Yes, I can remember feeding the cattle (daily) when we had a lot of cold, 
windy, Midwest weather and snow. Start 49 Chev pickup, keep it running, 
worry about breaking floor shift lever when shifting into low (some farmers 
changed to lighter weight trans oil during winter, Dad didn't do that), 
watch where you are driving because having chains on only reduced your 
chances of getting stuck in deeper snow, drive along silo, climb up silo 
steps (inside the chute), wind was blowing straight up that chute, stick 
silage fork into frozen silage, break it loose, no problem after first 
couple forks full, because silage was not frozen that thoroughly, throw 
silage down the chute and turn around immediately because wind would blow 
some of the silage back up the chute and through the open door and into your 
face. Keep repeating. Then drive out to feed bunks and unload and enjoy 
watching the cattle eat.
Then go over to the cattle (water) tank and use axe to brake/cut ice in tank 
and pitchfork to remove larger ice chunks. Water tank heaters were 
relatively new and expensive and not always trouble-free.
Only then could you appreciate what you were doing. We tend to forget that 
confined domesticated animals are certainly at our mercy.
Herb(GA)


>Forecast of -50 wind chill for tomorrow. Depends what you are doing how
>bad a person feels it. I was working (pretty hard) with cattle this late
>afternoon and was sweating. Came in this evening to see thermometer
>showed -22F.
>
>
>Ralph in Sask.