Surviving the Snow
Despite its consequences I still find snow magical. There’s nothing like drawing open the curtains in the morning to discover a world of pristine white. It crunches and creaks under foot as if you’re moving across some alien land. And when the flakes make their way down from the heavens above, I can’t help but become excited. However, I could have done without such a great extent of snow for my first winter of farming.
HELP OUR FEATHERY FRIENDS WITH WILDBIRD FOOD
Perhaps the greatest difficulty has been accessing the farm. Due to our current planning restrictions we cannot live on site. I had forgotten just how treacherous roads can be in the snow and ice, made even worse by the 40mph winds that accompanied the onslaught of frozen rain. Great drifts were created. Roads either became impassable or single-shoot ice runs; no breaks allowed. And with only a fiesta to get from A to B, it was pretty daunting. Luckily this only lasted for two days, and without fail our local Suffolk community came out in tractors, 4x4s and Manitous to clear the roads and drag people to safety. Though there remain great drifts and areas of single lanes, the journey has become less dangerous.
THE BEST ANTI COLD-CRACKED HAND CREAM I KNOW
The second difficulty is feeding the animals. Much livestock, including the sheep, goats and poultry I keep, are quite adept at surviving the cold; far more than I. Montague thinks nothing of the icicles on his fleece as he races to see me. Liara has grabbed all the hay she can find and just built her newborn kitts a larger nest. And the chickens, all of whom are in lockdown due to the avian flu restrictions, wonder what all the fuss is about. But for this all but hairless human being, the cold creeps in!
Getting up the driveway was impossible for most of the week. And so, laden with food bags, buckets and hale bales wrapped in baling twine strategically slung over my shoulder, I would trudge up the lane to the fields. Here, grass hidden beneath a winter coat, I’ve been ploughing my way across the fields, noting fox tracks and rabbit scrapes as I go. The sheep have needed hay without the pasture. The rabbits have required more food. And trying to find liquid water has been difficult. So, although feeding and watering the farm animals has been achievable it’s taken longer and been more expensive - having to buy in additional hay and not able to access my normal feed store I’ve had to buy some rather expensive bags of haylage!
I RECOMMEND - FOLD-BACK FINGER TIP GLOVES
Of course, the worst part of snow is the aftermath; the absolute sodden torrent left behind as it thaws and rushes away. I hope much of it will attempt to soak into the land and hydrate the soil ready for spring. And signs of warmth are coming as it reached a balmy 2 degree centigrade today.
It will take more than that, though. So for now I will continue my walk across beautiful fields of magical mystery, feeding the birds, catching glimpses of blue sky and enjoying the scenery before it melts away to a memory.