bluehorizonfarm.com Blog

Even though I’ve totally had it with winter and can’t wait until spring hits, I have to admit that some of the snow and ice we’ve had here has been truly gorgeous to look at.

One of the neatest things we’ve had going on ice-wise this winter have been the ice spikes that have formed in various locations around the farm.  I have read that it’s rare for them to form from water that isn’t pure distilled water, and even then they usually have to be coaxed and fussed over in order to grow.  I guess we just lucked out:  at our place, they formed from rain water, without any help from us.  When I asked Dave how he thought it happened, he said “I don’t know.  We just get some really cool ice stuff here.”  So, there’s the best answer that I’m ever likely to get.

It is not even officially winter yet, and we’ve already gotten two snow/ice storms here in Pittsboro.  I have seriously been wishing that we lived in Florida because apparently North Carolina isn’t quite as warm a place as I would like it to be!

And it’s not only the icy precipitation that’s getting to me.  Nope, that’s just the start of the nastiness.  Just as bad have been the days with high temperatures in the upper twenties with lows in the low double digits.  Double yuck!

We are all trying to grin and bear it, but we are all fed up with the weather!  The horses are begging to be let out on fresh pasture, but I can’t let them out because they would immediately tear all the grass up by galloping around on it when it is in a soggy and fragile state.  And our horse riding opportunities are limited because even our riding ring has been frozen and/or sloshy many days over the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, the dog is going stir crazy and spending hours standing at the back door spinning in circles and whining at the chickens in the yard, and I have spent hour upon hour hauling hot drinking water to the animals and doing many loads of filthy manure/mud soaked laundry.

I can’t wait until the “average” winter NC weather returns.  According to the data, it should be sunny and 52 degrees every day!