[AT] was oil dry now Congratulations to Chuck and cold weather ramble

[Indiana Robinson]

>
>
> From: Cecil R Bearden <crbearden at copper.net>
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>
> Congratulations Chuck
> This is our 35th Anniv. this year.  Welcome back to the sunny South.  I
> don't remember where in TX you are, but it is pretty much cold anywhere
> around here in OK.  We got 4 inches of snow on Monday afternoon.  It was
> nearly gone yesterday afternoon. The afternoon it gets up to 50deg, then
> after 9pm, the bottom falls out of the thermometer.   Now we have to get
> ready for the next wave of cold.  This one has some freezing rain in the
> prediction for Sunday night.. <Snip>
> ______________________________
>



It is supposed to be 52 years this June for Diana and I. My parents didn't
approve... Especially my mother. Ironically in her advanced years as
Alzheimer's slowly drained her life almost all of what little joy was in
her life came from Diana's constant visits and the care she gave her to the
end.
We intend to be together for a while yet even though my cardiologist and I
were recently joking about the potential waste from buying green bananas
ahead.  :-)

It's a nice toasty 20 degrees here at TMCOTKU this morning and to warm up
to a heat wave of 30 degrees later. Lately we just can't break this
abnormal pattern (for Feb.) of -2 to -10 at night and highs in the teens
and 20's. Getting really old... Looks like it is breaking out about Sunday
at 40 degrees with nights staying much warmer than recent temps.

The horses are running on about 75 acres of grass and corn stalks and
soybean stubble. Most of the time we don't  even feed them anything but
minerals and supplements and they tend to get fat over the winter. They are
looking real well now but when we have extra cold temps and / or we get a
lasting snow cover (now about 6" to 8") we start feeding them alfalfa cubes
each night. We do give them cubes along as snacks to keep them used to them
(and just because we like to). When it is about zero or the wind is bitter
(they have shelter but usually opt for just a windbreak) we give them about
3 pounds each (varied a little based on horse size) of the cubes and that
along with the roughage they sort through all day does them very well.
There is a low growing weed that starts growing in the stubble fields along
about now (being technically oriented we call it "that little green weed")
that they just love and get fat on in the spring. Sometimes we have to
start limiting them on fields and just give them grass to keep them from
blubbering up to much. Their ribs shouldn't be sticking way out but you
should be able to see a little rib profile. I haven't seen or felt a rib
since last summer. If I could teach Rosie Belle the Belgian draft to lay
down on command we could use her back as a picnic table...




-- 
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Francis Robinson
aka "farmer"
Central Indiana USA
robinson46176 at gmail.com