Chores

The past few weeks have flown by.  The weather has been cold for long stretches at a time.  It was cold enough, in fact, that the pond froze over!  We've been here nearly three years now and this is only the second time the ice has been thick enough to walk on.  DH and the children spent the morning pushing snow off the ice and we had an impromptu skating party that afternoon.  About 18 children enjoyed skating, if they had them, or just sliding around in their boots.  The other moms and I had a nice chat inside the warm house while DH played on the pond with all the kids - it was perfect!

The cold weather has made chores more difficult.  Frozen water buckets are a constant and all the animals are eating a little more because they're burning more calories just to stay warm.  Lily, the milk cow, is inside almost all the time when the weather is bad and, boy, can she muck up a stall in no time! 

During the week, DH and I are up before sunrise.  DH stirs up the wood stove and puts on a pot of coffee while I'm still dressing in (many!) layers in preparation for the cold.  Then we gather up all the stuff we need to take out to the barn:  the milking equipment, pitchers and jars, a bucket of hot, soapy water and Stew's bottle.

 

We bundle up and head outside.

 

 

When we get to the barn, DH concentrates on cleaning Lily's area and prepares for milking.  I throw Lily a flake of her alfalfa hay; feed the goats their hay and grain; check the chicken's food and refill their water (if it's frozen); feed Calico his hay and grain; clean his stall; feed the ponies their hay; give Stew his first bottle; feed Stew and Molly their calf starter and some hay; break up the ice in the large stock tank and the small stock tank; check the cat's food; open the chicken's door so they can go outside and scoop Lily's grain.  By the time I'm done with all of that, DH is usually about done cleaning up Lily's area and we're ready to milk.  We throw down some fresh straw and hook up the milker machine.  Thank the good Lord for the milker machine!

 

 

It does in about 5 - 7 minutes what takes us 45 minutes to do by hand.  That forty minutes is a luxury we don't have most mornings!

 

 

When the cats hear the milker machine going, they come over and hop up on the wall and wait.  DH and I call them our milking crew.  Too bad they don't have opposable thumbs so they could actually help!  They do enjoy the fresh, warm milk, though.

 

When milking is done, I run the milk up to the house while DH cleans the machine and fluffs Lily's bed.  (No, this cow's not spoiled or anything . . .  Much.)  I come back out to the barn to give Stew his second bottle and to let Molly in with her momma for the day.  I also open up the door to the goat's area so they can come and go from the barn during the day.  (It's just easier to keep them penned up during chores otherwise they try to escape and/or come into Lily's area while we're milking, etc.  It's the first rule of chores, "Lock up the goats!")

 

As DH and I come in from the barn, the sun is just beginning to rise.  We get to see some pretty spectacular sunrises! 

 

Then, it's off to the office for DH and sometimes for me.  Usually, though, I have the amazing, wonderful option to work from our kitchen table.  Can't beat that commute and, I have to say, the view from our dining room windows is much prettier!  I am very thankful.

 

Evening chores are a repeat of morning chores except we don't milk Lily, we collect eggs and the children help out or sometimes even just do chores themselves. 

 

It used to be that we'd all go out and do evening chores together but then we'd run into the ugly reality when we came inside, tired, hungry and cold, that we were all coming into a cold, dark kitchen with no prospects for dinner.  I've found it works much, much better if one of us stays inside and makes dinner while the others go out and care for the animals.  As a bonus, the children are learning to put together a meal for the family - an important life skill. 

 

So that's our day, bookended, as it were, with chores on both sides.  It's kind of nice to have the routine.