Yet Another Weather Report

I am sure my few readers get weary of me describing the weather in our part of the world but..... quite frankly, the weather is a big part of my life. It determines my daily schedule, forces me to plan ahead for trips to town, makes me think ahead for the welfare of my livestock, and in the end--- determines a big part of our paycheck.

I have been keeping an ear out to the weather reports for tonight---- since last Friday. I realized that it is going to rain--- beautiful, wonderful, blessed rain that makes the grass and wheat grow, fills the water barrels, ponds and the stock tanks. That same rain that also makes the ground in short growth pastures slick as snot and muddy enough to bog down in if I don't get myself in gear and put out the large round bales before it gets here. On the flip side, I can't put it out until the bovines have cleaned up what is already out there. We are going to have enough hay tolast until green up--- just barely. I still can't let them waste it.

My main muscle man, Seth, has been working THREE off farm jobs this week so the bulk of the chores has fallen to me. I got both cows and Zelda milked, goats fed, bottle goats and calf fed, and the growing heifers grained by 9:00 am. Then I fired up Ruby and put out the hay for the cows. While I was out in the cow pasture, I tracked down the new heifer calf born yesterday.  Just in the nick of time! I made it back to the house just before lunch while it was raining.

I did the evening chores early tonight to try to avoid the rain. The goats are snug in their barn with hay in the rack. The chickens are high and dry in their coop. The cows are all bedded down behind the tree wind breaks. Horses are standing IN FRONT of their stalls with their butts to the wind. I have no clue why they will not go inside unless there is a raging blizzard or severe hail.

Now that it is dark, the wind is howling fiercely. The weather alarm went off for the first time this year about an hour ago. Strong line of thunderstorms heading our way and we are under a tornado watch until 1:00am.

Adam has rounded up the flashlights just in case. After the big tornado in Joplin last year, he is easily unsettled by stormy weather. That thing formed over top of our part of the county and we watched it head east....... knowing there was a big one up in those clouds.

Thunder and lightening are getting closer so I need to close and shut down the computers and unplug it. Ihave lost countless mother boards to Kansas lightening despite various surge protectors. I just heard the plastic chairs leave the back deck in a big hurry.......