Busy rush before snow

Wednesday (tomorrow) snow will arrive.  And not just a dusting - here today and gone tomorrow - but perhaps snow that will last until Spring.  4 to 8 inches, and maybe more snow, depending on where the cold front and the moist air front collide, and for how long.   Right now snow is predicted every day till Saturday.  Then more colder air with high temperatures struggling to reach freezing.

So the past few days I have been in a rush to get things done as this snow looks to shut work down for the year.  For those of you hogging all the global warming, you need to share.  We want warmer weather too.

I got most of the loafing shed rebuilt.  More on that in another post later.

Last night I won the bidding on several items at a local auction.  I got...

4 three inch irrigation pipes

7 more three inch irrigation pipes

16 foot gate

A standalone temporary corral panel gate

Today I needed to pick up my items. In the morning, when I tried to pull my irrigation trailer with my pickup I discovered the trailer's wheels were frozen and would not move.  Oh no!   I can't get my new pipes without my trailer.  And I have a very busy day planned and didn't have time for problems.

Moving forward and backward over and over did not free the wheels.  I asked my neighbor Curtis and he said the trailer's differential was the problem.   I would have to take the differential apart - a major job.   Or perhaps water somehow got into the differential case and was now frozen as the temperature was still well below freezing.

I have a weed burning propane tank and after heating the differential case for ten minutes the wheels started moving.   Hurray!!

I was able to bring home the pipes on the trailer and the corral panel gate in my pickup.  Then I had to immediately hook up my stock trailer and load Buster to take him to the Majestic Valley Arena to meet Evan.  Evan was collecting cattle from the area to haul down to the Missoula Livestock Auction for the Thursday auction.  Then I didn't have haul Buster all the way to Missoula myself, which wouldn't be worth it.

Back home I let the bull out into the hayfield to be with the cows.  He immediately walked up to one cow and sniffed her.  Then I opened the gate to the north pasture and called the cows.  They came running all excited to be in a new pasture.  Even cow #20 moved right along.  Once in the north pasture the bull and cow #60 briefly sparred before everyone got down to eating the taller grass.  Even though the hayfield and other pastures had been eaten down, my cows were all still fat.

Then I moved the remaining heifers to the south corral where the bull had been.  I needed the north corral open so the cows would have access to the water trough.  The heifers are much too young to be exposed to the bull.

After lunch at Mudman's restaurant I came home to wash out the stock trailer.  I had kept Buster in the back half of the trailer when I hauled him to meet Evan, but even in the short time Buster was in the trailer he made a mess.

Thne back uptown to get gasoline, groceries and pick up my 16 foot gate.

Back home I unloaded the new irrigation pipes from the trailer and put the trailer away.  I moved the salt blocks from the middle pasture to the north pasture for the cows.  I rolled the mineral lick to the south corral so the heifers can continue to lick it as desired.  I gave the heifers more hay.

I picked up and put away all my tools I used to work on the loafing shed rebuild and placed a few heavy items on the roof on the parts of the roofing I hadn't nailed down yet and I have a few more fixes left to do.  I picked up odds and ends of small pieces of wood around the backyard I didn't want to be buried under snow.

I also rode 18 miles on my bicycle to reach my mileage goal of 670 miles for the month.

If the weather is bad in the morning I am going to sleep in.