Darn, now I feel I can't complain about going to a hockey game in sub zero weather ( unseated but indoor arena.). Your. Day certainly topped that.

sounds like a crappy start of the day. I sure hope, it turns around for you.

Makes me grateful I don't have to feed outdoor critters.... even though, it isn't that cold out, but it is wet.

Moni

Wow! You are amazing.

I could barely manage to read that. I have an idea though, where you could put that foot when you hear the giggle!

Sue

Oh wow that made me really cold and realize how lucky I am to be warm in my living room and only have one tiny dog to feed. I need to remember this when I am complaining about having to cook her chicken, she has tummy issues and eats boneless skinless chicken breasts that I cook in my steamer. None of that forces me to endure blizzard conditions or being kicked!
I do remember doing all my farm chores when I was younger though, luckily in Louisiana, no ice but lots of heat and humidity.

Take a rest you earned it!

LOL, Sue,

Last year we did not have a water heater in the trough. I chopped ice all winter, and it was below 20 or worse for months. I finally told DH we were putting a heater in it cause I was about done chopping. His answer was to just wait, a chinook was bound to come.

Finally, about the end of February, I told him no chinook was coming. He decided to drive out to the corrals to check the ice situation out himself as I was opening up the holes. He said, You are getting a work out, aren't you. I told him yeah, and I have not hit water yet. After a few moments he asked me if I could chop the hole open enough we could drop a heater in it.

I looked him straight in the eye and said no, but I could chop it open enough to drop you in it!!! Water heater went in the next day! LOL

And now I know why I live on the Wet Coast, I'd rather put up an umbrella than shovel snow.

What a wicked start to your day but I hope you and your animals stay warm and safe.

Oh my...I feel sorry for you having to be out in that terrible weather! We are having rain with temps just hovering above freezing. If I had to do this, I know some animals that would go to market! I too well remember our "back on the farm" days....hated them then and would sure hate them now! Sending you hugs!

I've heard stories here about farmers getting lost in blizzards while they were just navigating from the house to the barn and back, ending up freezing to death in a drift. Doesn't seem possible, but it has happened. Be careful out there!

We're expecting another 10" late tomorrow into Monday.

DH lost three aunts, (long before he was born) walking home from school in a blizzard. I also have heard my dad talking about having a guide line (rope) tied from the barn to the house when he was a kid for exactly that purpose; having something to follow so you didn't get lost during a blizzard.

The storm is now over, and other than some drifting, it didn't amount to a lot of snow accumulation, other than helping to make my morning miserable.

DH and BIL went out to see what was wrong with the breaker, looks like it is fried. Will have to call an electrician to replace it. Until then, I guess I will have some holes to chop open for the next few days.

Oh Prairie, what a horrible start to the day! I can't imagine anything else that could go wrong for you.

I hope hubby gave took pity on you and gave you a break by making dinner! Or at least doing the cleanup.

Remember last weekend when the temps were so glorious that you washed your windows? Hard to believe now.

Three girls lost in a blizzard coming home from school--how awful. Their poor family.

Yes, I've heard of the rope too, and thought of it more than once when we had horses.

Prairie Rose, I admire you. I always have great admiration for the people that will go out in the horrible weather to care for the animals. They rely on us so.

I was out to the farm where I board my horse today and it was cold and somewhat windy. But I could never compare that to your work. I was going for fun and I don't have the responsibility you do. I did feel the cold, but there wasn't any snow, no storms.

So if coming here and getting it out of your system helps you, that is an easy fix. Sounds like you enjoy your life more days than not.

Just today I was thinking how much easier it is to do chores when I don't have to put on the insulated coveralls.......And how much nicer it will be when I don't need the boots, big coat and hood, and thick gloves. Soon. Very soon. But I can do almost everything inside buildings and no mud lots. No damn gates to swing the wrong way when I grab and miss.

I've had an automatic waterer with heat for 30 years. It was one of the first "luxuries" I bought. They only freeze up when it's -30 with a wind chill so I bought a heated bucket and I've used that for a couple of days until it's more suitable to take the waterer apart and fix it.

I could touch fence all the way from the house to all the barns. When the weather is going to be bad I double up on feed in case I would want to wait a couple of hours to go outside. So far it has never been so impossible that I waited. Like I said, I have fence to keep me from wandering off.

I remember too easily days like the one you had. I appreciate all the conveniences I have now.

I am concerned about that breaker that would not reset. I know of 3 possibilities.

1. The breaker has failed. Replacement is needed.

2. The breaker was doing its job and kept tripping out when a reset was tried because it was being closed on a short circuit. Its a no-no to kept trying to close a breaker on a short. When this happens, most breaker manufacturers say replace the breaker. (I worked for a company that makes breakers.)

3. Since this was an outside circuit, there should have been ground fault protection in the circuit. The most common way to do this is to install GFI (ground fault interrupter) breakers. GFI for house and farm circuits are set to trip if there is a leakage current to ground of more than 5 milliamp (.005 amp). The breaker on reset will trip if a leakage current exists. In this case, the circuit or load may be dangerous and needs service.

The "safe" limit for current on a human has been defined at 5 milliamp. However, cows can be killed at this level. A typical current path for a cow is from its nose or head, down the neck, and through the forelegs. This path can upset a cow's heart. Electric fence manufacturers need to apply high voltage for effectiveness, but they employ high resistance to limit the current.