Breaking Ice

A storm rolled in from the north yesterday. It snowed maybe four inches and the temperature dropped. It was still dropping this morning. When we got up it was ten degrees. Now it's dropped to just below 0. The horses and cattle are watering out of springs and we have to break the ice  on top of the water so they can drink.

This is the tank the horses drink from.

We drove up to it first.

Tom broke a hole on one side of it.

And scooped the ice out with his hands.

Yes his hands are bare. I didn't get very good pictures because he wasn't pausing to let me.

I kept taking pictures while Tom tossed hay out for the horses.

 The textures, shapes and colors were awesome.

We called and waited, but the horses didn't come. Finally we went looking for them.

They were just coming over this ridge when we got to the top so Tom hurriedly turned around and tried to get far enough ahead of them so we could stop and I could take pictures.

They paused above the spring, checking for wolves, no doubt,

then circled around.

And stopped again, still checking out the situation.

Finally Xena Rose spotted the hay.

 

Of course they got rubbed on.

 

I worry a little about them getting enough to drink this time of year, so I liked seeing this.

Some people might think, oh this poor horse, but I like seeing them with snow on their backs. It means they have enough fat to stay warm. It's just like a house. If you look at a roof and the snow is melted off, it's not well-insulated. If the snow doesn't melt, there's adequate insulation. Our horses do fine outside all winter.

By now my hands were freezing and the battery in my camera quit, so we headed back down to the house. I put in a charged battery

and we trudged up to the spring above the house to break ice for the cattle to drink.

Tom broke ice and scooped it out with a fork this time.

 

If you break the ice they will come

 

and drink.

 

Our cattle are well-insulated too. Notice Tom rubbing on Eva, the milk cow, in the background.

Do you think these two like one another?

 It was so beautiful, I took more pictures.

 

Then we went back down to the house for breakfast.

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