Admit It

I think we just have to admit it now: winter is here. We’ve started our regular rotation in the badlands opening water for the cows. They have seemed happy out there, but I don’t imagine this extra snow helped their attitudes. When these pictures were taken, things were pretty good. There wasn’t a lot of ice on the reservoirs or the tanks and the cows were scattered out grazing happily.

Yesterday, things changed quite a bit. I woke up to a lot of snow and it kept piling up most of the day. I’m sure that many of you experienced the same thing. In total I think we received about a foot of snow. Megan measured 11 inches at one point on our deck. It settled to around 10 inches or so. It’s light, fluffy snow that cows can easily reach down through to find grass. It definitely takes more effort to find the grass when you can’t see it!

The cows that are in the badlands didn’t get as much snow as those that are here around the houses. And, hopefully, the sunny weather we are supposed to get this weeks helps to open the grass back up some more. The happier we can keep the cows, the better. They are just a little tougher to keep happy than Jekyll. It’s good to have a water opening partner that doesn’t mind to cold or the snow though. He’s just happy to go along.

I have that and so much more to be thankful for today and every day. I hope you all had a warm, safe Thanksgiving.

by Brandon Greet