Category Archives: Weather

Advice taken

January 22, 2020creativity, Weathersusanmanzke

Bob used to take food and water out to the barn for the cats that live here. He’d carry everything in one 5-gallon bucket. After a few big snowstorms, we trained the cats to come to the house for food and water.

After the change, Bob continued to carry the large bucket around. One place he took it was to the mailbox. When he had it with he could drop all the mail in the bucket and not lose anything to the wind.

Mail’s here! See the delivery flag has popped.

Bob carried the bucket all winter long. He said he did this in case he fell. Because of his bad hip, if he ended up on the ground, he needed something to push up on to get up.

I started carrying a bucket with me when I go to the mailbox. Wicked winds have caught newspapers in the past. Now they are dropped safely in the bucket.

Mail is in the bucket, safe from the wind and dropping in the snow.

Bob always had great ideas…and a soft heart when it came to barn cats.

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.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person