Category Archives: Weather

The runaway

November 6, 2019Chickens, pets, Weathersusanmanzke

It snowed today. Not more than two inches, but that made a spot in our yard slippery. As I threw a bit of garbage in the outside bin, my foot slipped. I was heading head over heels, knocking the bin over, but somehow saved myself from a complete fall. Thank goodness. Too many friends have had falls lately that left them bruised and hurting. I’m happy to have saved myself today.

After bringing in the mail, I went to check on my seven hens and give them some table scraps.

Since the hens have been docile, I left the outside door open. That was a mistake. One white hen raced passed me when I opened the coop door. She stopped suddenly when her feet hit the snow.

I figured this was my chance to recapture her, but she had other ideas.

Not liking the two inches of snow, the hen flapped into the air and flew about twenty feet away to an open space under a nearby pine tree.

Grumpily, I followed after her, hoping she wouldn’t go farther afield.

The hen did think about escaping under her favorite bush, but the snow made her rethink that exit.

Little by little I turned her toward the coop, my arms outstretched giving her directions.

She went left. She went right and then back again. The cold snow stopped her again.

“You’ll have to fly home,” I told her and to my surprise that’s what she did, flapping right to the open door.

At least she was home. I returned to the house, carefully stepping over the slippery ground.

This episode gives me more reason to rid myself of my little flock, but the question still remains. Where?

Out the window

October 31, 2019Bob, Farming, Weather, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

The family that rented our farm started harvesting here last night.

Bob came out of his chair to see the lights moving through the dark field. Today his view was better.

Bob sat at our kitchen table and watched. He may not be farming, but farming is still a big part of the man he is.

Dump carts are used because they are lighter than big trucks. Big equipment gets stuck too easily. It’s not a usual farming year here in Wisconsin.

Bob watches as trucks of chopped corn go to farms in need of livestock feed.

A two-tone car

October 15, 2019Bob, Farming, Weathersusanmanzke

Come ride down farm roads these days and you may end up with a two-tone car. I did.

Farm machinery is going in and out of wet fields, leaving trails of mud. It gets scraped off the roads as soon as the farmer can, but some recent mud is inevitable.

Take this as a warning. Harvesting this year is a bugger for farmers. They would rather not have the mud, but wet weather has made mudpies of many fields.

Lucky for me, my husband is fast with a power washer. Bob said he’d take care of the addition of mud to my car exterior.

It didn’t take much spraying to bring back the silver.

Thanks, Bob.

Quick change

September 3, 2019Farming, Weather, Wisconsinsusanmanzke

Yesterday was a perfect September day. It was not too hot and not too cold and not too windy.

One of our rented fields was being chopped to prepare it for cattle feed. It needs a couple of days to dry before it can be harvested completely.

Last night the weather changed.

Two and a half inches of rain overnight will make finishing that field tricky, though a breezy wind may help.

Temperatures will go up and down for us in September, or so goes the forecast. We’ll just have to wait and see what comes next.

Bombs away!

August 28, 2019Bob, gardening, Weather, wildlifesusanmanzke

The apples on our trees are coming down. A wicked wind in hurrying them off the trees.

Bob wants to mow the grass under the trees, but he can’t. The apples are in his way.

What to do? Pick them up.

Bob can not pick up off the ground, so he uses his grabber. I just lean over and pick up as many as I can.

We both had to watch for falling apples. A healthy wind was bombing us with the fruit. Good thing the apples are rather small this year. These don’t hurt so much when they drop on our heads.

Hopefully, we’ll get some good apples off the trees before they all blow down.

Wonder what we do with the apples that have fallen? We take them down the lane and toss them in an unplanted area where we just happen to have our critter cam set up. It isn’t our fault that deer and other critters come and eat some of the discarded fruit.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person