What does cold look like on the farm?

The outside thermometer read -10F this morning as the sun was rising. The wind was gusty last night and I was eager to check on the animals this morning. I stoked the wood stove in our living room and poured myself some nettle/mint tea and admired the sun's glow on the mountain tops to the west.

Orange and red colors hinted at the idea of "warming the mountain tops" and I was grateful to have a warm house to wake up to.

Lovett pattered down the stairs hoping to come see the animals with me on this cold morning. So we suited up in our warmest gear and headed out into the crunching cold.

I prepared the plate of cat food from our fridge, a healthy serving of ground chicken frames, and a few chopped pieces of pork liver...breakfast of champions. Lovett carried the plate as we walked down to the barn, admiring the ice crystals that formed on the tips of the meat.

Our first task was to feed the sows, I like to do this first because if I catch them sleeping in the morning, I can get the first bucket of feed spread out before their enthusiasm and strong bodies start to push me around.

Lovett set the cat food plate down and we quietly scooped feed into buckets for the pigs and tried to "sneak" to a feeding spot close to the barn to make this cold day as comfortable as we can for the pigs. I made it most of the way before they spotted me and came running out to greet me, or at least to look for breakfast.

With some extra feed to help keep everyone warm during this cold stretch we went to check the water.

We have a really cool winter water setup, that works for both pigs and cattle. It does not rely on any electricity to run, instead using the heat from the earth below the frost.

Lovett was my camera lady so we could show our friends how we break the ice with a hammer. Above you can see the waterer with an old tractor tire around it so the pigs can reach it easily and not root around the base of it. After the cold night, without any pigs drinking there was less than one inch of ice on top.

I used the hammer to break the ice around the edges and around the float ball. With a small bucket I scoop the ice and cold water out to let new, ground temperature water, flow into the trough. Even on a cold day like today, with sunshine and pigs drinking throughout the day, they will have fresh water until the sun sets.

Papa, how do the pigs stay warm when it's so cold?  Asked Lovett?

We give them a thick, warm hay blanket and bed. I responded.

Using a pitch fork we made sure there was plenty of loose hay in the barn for them to nest in. Pigs will make incredible nests, piling on top of one another and scooping hay on top to keep warm. I have laid down in the pile and it is incredible how warm it is.

We fed the cats the now completely frozen plate of food and watched as they licked the liver chunks as they warmed up in the shop. Heading home the colors on the mountains and sky stopped us to wonder: who knew the sky had such winter rainbows?

-Nathan