Icy creek

So ... it was super cold, it snowed, it iced.  Then today it warmed up to 59 degrees and everything melted. 

 

The creek looked super swollen and so the boys and I went for a walk to look at it.  The ice chunks were all jammed up at the culverts under the road.  We watched the ice floes come down and crash into each other.  There was a lot of noise.

 

 

 

 

And ... do you see?  A little spot of color in the middle.

 

 

A beach ball.  A beach ball in our little creek, going for a ride.

I asked where they wanted to walk, and my son Cole said, "Let's go to the young barn."  We laughed and he said, "I meant the new barn.  I couldn't think of its name!"  (So there's another barn name option!)

It's so muddy.  The ground is frozen and it can't soak up the water fast enough.  Everything is a mess. 

 

 

 

 

We made our way over to the old barn because they wanted to see how it looked with all the hutches taken out.  It was getting dark, so I'd turned on the lights.  When I was leaving I went to flip off the switch, my finger touched the metal switch plate - and I screamed!  It gave me a really big electric shock!  And it is a shock when you get shocked.  This one really sizzled!

 

I asked Kris about it later and he said that it's always that way ... especially when you're standing in water, like I was.  I mentioned it to my dad and he said, "It's always been that way.  Try it when you're holding onto the metal pipe there AND accidentally touch it.  THAT'S a shock!"

 

At home Kris asked me if I'd gotten a haircut.  I hadn't.  I think it just was standing straight out from my head, cartoon-like.

Clear, cold, and cozy

The creek looks even more beautiful in the winter.  I love seeing it in the summer, too, but often there's an irrigation pump in it, and it's not as calendar-picture pretty.  Much more useful, but it doesn't make me run for my camera!

The scene of the new barn is different too.  The curtains are all the way up, and they're all the way down.  The garage doors are shut. 

You can see the silhouette of a warm calf through the curtains:

Since today started at 15 degrees and warmed all the way up to 22 degrees, it's nice to have a modifiable barn.

But more changes are afoot. Tomorrow we're moving some of the older calves to the barn closer to our house. It's still protected and warm, but they also get a taste of what it's like to be outside.

And tomorrow it's supposed to be 40 degrees! After today, that'll seem almost like spring.