1/1 Friday New Year's Day -6f this morning, bright sun, but it feels bitterly cold and worse is predicted. Thank God we now have some snow cover although not enough. Helen gave less than a gallon this morning, shy by about 1 cup. I suppose because of extra trips up and down the ladder to deal with the hose, I forgot to throw down the hay. I don't believe I've ever forgotten that before in my life. They did have some left, rather stemmy. After breakfast when I remembered their hay I also set up the layer hens with a bird bath waterer. In this weather, even indoors, they have water only about 15 minutes at most before it becomes ice. The bantams and cats can reach the cattle water. In this weather it seems everything I do is related to dealing with cold, then I feel like going to sleep. 1/1 pm It's still bitterly cold. The tenant called and had lost her water. I sure hope I don't lose mine, especially in the barn. For some parts of Maine -30f is predicted with a wind-chill bringing it down to -80; the "parts" they are referring to are usually this part. I believe all the animals are comfortable except some of the bantams but there isn't a thing I can do for them way high in the rafters. I put out old sweaters and things for the cats to nestle in. So far the thermometer registers only -6 but the wind must be about 35mph and the cold hits me in the face very hard. Total milk today about 1.6 gal.

1/3 am Sunday Down to -10f this morning. A major storm is said to be on the way so I delayed going to the barn until I had started wash, showered, and filled the teakettles before going out. While still in the barn, our tenant arrived cold and hatless. She had locked her self out of the house when she went out to fill her bird feeder. After finding her a second key, I tried to water the cattle but found the tap frozen. It behaved as though the thread was stripped. But thank God I was able to get it to function after ten minutes or so of pouring hot water over it. A little over a gallon of milk this morning. 1/3 pm Right about noon with snow falling heavily, all three of the cattle, Helen, Henry and Herbie, marched purposefully up to the north end of the field and disappeared from view. I don't know if perhaps Stewart feeds them apples there. I haven't noticed them do this before. It made me nervous because a cow we once had, Hope, used occasionally in winter to break out and head up to a neighbor's pasture about a half mile away, a place to which she had occasionally made illicit summertime visits. I always surmised that she was checking to see if perhaps it was still summer up there. This time ours reappeared after five minutes and marched home. At 6 pm it's still snowing hard. 1.75 gal tonight. 5 eggs.

1/4 am Monday 25f this morning and feels warm! We got close to a foot of snow. It took me 20 minutes to shovel out the mailbox. When I let Helen in for milking, Henry followed close on her heels instead of heading for his own grain as usual. I rounded him up and chased him back out with a few words. As I ran him down the ally to the beefer pen where he is supposed to be I narrowly missed being run over be Helen. Due, I suppose, to the ruckus, instead of heading for her own grain she turned and followed me and her son. Something made me look back over my shoulder in time to see her pounding down the ally about two feet behind me. She put on the breaks when I waved my arms at her. I got less than a gallon of milk. 1/4 pm Helen and the boys seemed agitated today. Henry kept running around and kicking up his heels trying to get Herbie to play. Herbie always acts depressed. My new rooster that is so beautiful acts like he is dying. I can see that his amazing rose comb got frost bitten. Poor thing is huddled in a corner and one of the bantam hens that came with him was tucked under his wing. I took him some warm milk but he wouldn't drink much. I won't be surprised if he is dead in the morning. Two eggs today. 1.75 gal milk.

1/5 am Tuesday -9f this morning. All the animals are coping except for the lovely new rooster. All that ornamental comb chilled him severely. I brought him into the kitchen this morning but could not save him. He had painful frostbite I could tell. Poor old thing. The phoenix which slept in the spruce next to the house wisely moved to the barn when the nights got severe and sustained no damage except to the very tips of his comb. He will lose those tips. It is staying cold. There is a crust on the snow that was brilliant last night under moonlight and is blinding now under sun. 1/5 pm Helen and the calves looked very contented when I said goodnight. They were standing in a pool of light munching hay. I closed their outer door against the weather. But today I got only 1.5 gal. Three eggs.

1/6 am Wednesday It was -15 when I got up and had dropped to -18 by the time I left the house. The bantams were huddled miserably on the hay and weren't even sure they wanted to move to get their cracked corn. Plenty of them wanted their warm water though. For the first time I was unable to get the water running in the barn. I went back to the house for a fresh kettle of boiling water but that has not helped either. 1/6 pm No water. I wrapped the faucet in a heating pad and left it all day to no avail. It's frozen farther down. I carried 10 gal. of water in a clean plastic trash can with a snap-down lid. It leaked when it tipped over. I had to make my way through a foot of crusty snow and then the thing was too heavy and slippery to pour properly. Now I feel pretty stiff. 1.76 gal today. 5 eggs, two were frozen and split.

1/7 am Thursday -8f this morning and the water remains frozen. Helen was mooing. Thirsty no doubt. It came to me that I had a collection of 1 gal jugs. These were spring water empties left behind by some people who stayed here last winter while I was gone. There were a dozen of them and they had their lids. If they had been used for milk or were without lids they would have done me no good because milk jugs stink too much and I have to pull things to the barn on a wobbly plastic toboggan. As I filled them all with spring water Handel's Royal Water Music came on the radio which I considered a strong endorsement. I dragged them to the barn and poured them into Helen's tub. This only provided about 4" of water but she seemed satisfied. All this has taken most of the morning. 1/7 pm I went for feed, then came home and began filling jugs again. This system works but is so time consuming. Son Martin called from Eau Claire WI. He will be here Sunday, weather permitting, and hopes to develop an alternative water system for me. Not to the barn, that's too far away, just to the run-in behind the house. Helen will have to walk over here to drink. I didn't get much milk tonight, just half a gallon. Helen didn't get enough water. Got three eggs, one was frozen.

1/8 am Friday -12f this morning. Milking plus waterworks took and hour and a half. I hope the winter boots I ordered arrive soon. My toes don't like the weather. Right now it's fine and sunny but a big snowstorm is predicted for this evening. Henry is a terrible pest. He is pushy and I can't turn my back on him lest he jump me. He knocks over the water jugs. He wants his bad little face in the middle of everything. 1 gal. milk this morning and Helen was touchy and almost kicked. 1/8 pm It warmed up to about 20 today and the sun shone but a major snowstorm is on the way. Although it is a lot of work the water in jugs is working out OK from Helen's standpoint. Production was back up today to close to what it's been: 1.7 gal for the day.

1/9 Another day of water carrying. More snow has fallen followed by sleet. Nonetheless, Martin thinks he may come tomorrow to work on the water system. A special thrill today: I received a galley proof of Keeping A Family Cow that son Bret has printed. Soon people will be able to buy it. I'm pretty tired. 1.75 gal milk today. 4 eggs.

1/10 Sunday. I carried water again today but sons Mark and Martin arrived around noon and have worked all day on plumbing in a new system and also adding in some electrical service so that me and the cows can see. The weather was cold but clear. 1.75 gal today and two eggs.

1/11 am Thermometer said -8f this morning but it felt colder. The new cow water in the run-in under the garage was clear and unfrozen with the submersible heater in. The boys had banked sand around it which may be what made the difference. Or is may just be warmer under there. Ordinarily the heater only keeps the water open in the middle. The cattle had not drunk any. I shall go out with some apples and lead them over to it. My kitchen hot water line is frozen this morning. 1/11 pm It's painful to state, the new water system froze along towards evening. Probably tomorrow I can thaw it but tonight I carried water down to the tub in a five gallon bucket. It seemed I didn't get a whole lot done today. Got 1.75 gal milk today and 3 eggs.

1/12 am Tuesday Of course everything is still frozen. I don't have time to work on defrosting today so am just carrying water to the tub in a 5 gal. bucket. It is much easier than filling 12 jugs and sledding them to the barn because it is much closer. The cows visit the water often. The sun is out and the day started at -0-f. 1/12 pm One of the red roosters was cold and discouraged this morning. I was able to pick him right up. I set him down next to the food and after awhile he ate a bit. Then I set him next to the water and after awhile he drank. About 20 minutes later he appeared well recovered but the tips of his formerly elegant comb will fall off. 1.75 gal today and two eggs. It's turning colder.

1/13 Wednesday Today seemed to go on forever. It was cold and blizzardy and I spent a great deal of time working on my frozen stock water system. Cousin Marcia gave me a hair dryer for pipe defrosting. I climbed up under the buttery where the pipe lies. It's dusty dry sand under there. Helen and the steers hung around watching almost all the while I was at it. Henry kept crowding in and was his usual great nuisance. I gave him a whiff with the hair dryer every so often and he would back off for a moment. Helen of course was hoping for water. The sandy slope has clearly been used as a litter box by the cats forever, fortunately all frozen. What a horrible job! But after well over an hour I was finally rewarded by the sight of small cylindrical ice bits emerging from the pipe soon followed by water. I guess the thought of the alternative, carrying 5 gal buckets of water, kept me at it. The weather report warns of -45f in some parts of Maine tonight. Let's hope they didn't mean here. 1.75 gal milk today and 4 eggs.

1/14 am It was -26f at 5:30am and had dropped to -28f by 7am when I went to the barn. Now at 9am it has risen to -20. I wore my full length down coat to the barn and Helen didn't recognize me. Instead of walking in to be milked she circled around as though inclined to flee. But my voice finally reassured her. She was shaking with cold and hadn't stopped by the time I turned her back out. I got less than a gallon. I could have worked for a little more but she was so miserable and even kicked a little bit that I quit. My toes were cold even in my good new boots. I was able to fill their water tub with no trouble, then blew through the line from inside the cellar. So far that is working. The cattle had not been over to drink this morning. It's probably 150 yards for them to walk. I expected to find frozen bantams but all seemed OK. I put out hot water and cracked corn. Corn is a very heat producing feed. 1/14 pm It finally got up to 8f today and the sun shone for awhile. Helen and the steers stood in the sun to chew their cuds after finishing their hay and got all warmed up. I went out to the barn about every two hours to take more warm water to the chickens and make sure the cows had water. In between times I worked on final editing of Keeping A Family Cow and am making good progress. I gave all the animals extra grain to help keep them warm. I cannot close the cows in the barn now because they need to be able to walk over for their water. Another storm is on the way. Total milk for today, 1.75 gal. Three eggs but one was frozen.

1/15 am Friday Another big storm has started. Snow is falling very fast. It's warming up and the snow is almost like sleet so we may lose power. Helen was in much better shape this morning and gave slightly over a gallon. Henry and Herbie continue to molest the power plug to the new water system. They had knocked out the plug in the night which means the submersible heater is unplugged so their water was frozen this morning. Later today I hope to have time to invent a barrier that stops them but not me. 1/15 pm For a while today the stock water was frozen but this time I got it going with the hair dryer after about 15 minutes. The sleet continues to fall making it a nasty trip for water for Helen. I rigged up a barrier to stop Henry and Herbie knocking loose the lighter and water heater plug. So far it has stopped them. Today I began top dressing Helen's feed with wheat germ oil blend for added vitamin E in her diet. I probably should have started two weeks ago. The snow now has a thick crust. I stumbled over it going into the barn and the bucket lid skidded away quite a distance. 1.75 gal today and two eggs.

1/16 am Saturday Very brilliant sun today on crust so thick I could walk on much of it without breaking through even while carrying buckets. All the critters seem satisfied. Got a bit over 1 gal of milk. When going down the steep part to check their water I used a ski pole and had to jab hard. 1/6 pm I had to use the hair dryer twice today to start the cow's water. I think the valve may seep slightly. A drip always freezes. But in this case Henry and Howie keep horsing around the tub and bending the pipe so any drip is going to puddle in the line and freeze. My barrier doesn't stop him at all. I left the bulb unscrewed tonight. It seems to be the light bulb that they want to lick and nudge. I wish it would burn their noses but it just seems to attract them. 1.75 gal again today and five eggs. One was frozen but I fried it anyway.

1/17 am Sunday Once again brilliantly sunny on a glittering crust now thicker than ever. This time when I slipped going into the barn the lid of my pail slid even farther down a slope. I had to crawl back up on my hands and knees. One place I stomped through the crust for a foothold my whole leg went down into the drift. It's much warmer, 38f in the sun, and the eaves are dripping. Some folks that came for a cat couldn't get back out of the driveway until I created a trail of ashes for traction. But now Stewart has plowed and made it a lot better. 1/17 pm It got over 40f today and there was considerable melting off the barn roof. The barn floor is a mess thanks to the bantams congregating in there. I'm plotting ways to thin out their ranks. I can advertise to give them away but must first find a way to pen them. Then I can send people in among them with a butterfly net. Just over 1.5 gal today and three eggs. I made 1.5 lb. of butter and have enough cream to make it again tomorrow if I can get around to it.

1/18 Monday I have a new milk customer, old friend Nancy. She bought a half gallon of milk and a pound of butter. I rarely even mention selling butter because I am not willing to part with it for less than $4/lb. But Nancy said that was fair enough so I sold her a pound. Temp was over 30f all day. Yesterday's plowing was a help but it didn't reach to the garage and the warm temp created ice and heavy crust there as everywhere. It took me 45 minutes with the axe and shovel and ash bucket to get my car out of the garage. The ice crust on the snow is a good inch thick. I broke it up with the axe. Helen didn't give much over 1.5 gal today. I got 5 eggs. After dark I caught Blackie's midsummer daughter who should be about ready to lay and put her in with the layers. Herbie and Henry are getting harder to manage. Herbie kicked me tonight after I served out their grain. I swung the bucket at him, not that he noticed.

1/19m a mm tu[esdayum im gu[essm im ĉu[stm canmhj'tm ritem onnm this nmrhj'ing. (no you're not going nuts, roof leaks on keyboard here...) The driveway is a sheet of ice. I didn't write the diary this morning because last night just as I was about to go to bed and I came in to turn out the light next to my computer water was pouring down on my head. I guess it was ice back up in the roof . it was swamping my computer but especially the keyboard. I had on my bathrobe and whipped it off and put it over the computer. there was so much water I had to towel dry my hair. I didn't even dare go for a towel. I tried putting my raincoat over it all but it wasn't big enough to divert all the water. I went and got the shower curtain. off and on all day I've been working on the keyboard with the hair dryer. a first I held it up and water simply poured out. it typed nothing but garbage. it has improved as the hours go by. but one letter does not work at all (it is 'w' - I'm going through and adding them so you don't have to read 'it asn't orking at all'!!! -ed.) I guess you can guess hich one. also the caps don't work. 1.75 gal 4 eggs very warm. driveway a sheet of ice.

1/20 am Wednesday the driveway is worse than ever. on the way in with the milk I did slip but managed to save the milk albeit at some cost to my elbow. the lid of course fell off the bucket and the milk rose straight up in the air. most of it came right back down into the bucket so I lost very little. there is no good way to detour around the ice because the parts not plowed have crust so thick it is as hazardous as the ice. It would hold me up walking on it but is not flat like the driveway so is worse. I can stamp through it but then I sink in to the top of my leg. Helen didn't ant to leave her stanchion after milking. She wanted to finish her special hay. 1 gal milk this morning, less whatever I lost.

1/20 pm I plugged the stock water heater back in tonight. the weather report is for temps in the single numbers tonight. I also found someone to shovel off the roof. Helen seems very hungry for her good hay that she gets in her stanchion. I need to think of some way to feed her separately once in awhile I think I got 1.75 gal today. 2 eggs.

1/21 am Thursday Stewart was out there first thing this morning putting sand on my driveway so I don't slip again going to the barn. this really helped. in the barn, Blackie had already laid her egg and was waiting to go back inside. I managed to get the layer's outer door opened so the can have more light and air. it had been frozen shut for a week. I worked things out so Helen could have a longer time this morning to eat her hay but wouldn't you know, she wasn't that interested and strolled right back out to join the boys. 1 gallon exactly this morning. 1/21 pm it stayed warm all day contrary to the forecast so no trouble with the water. my elbow that took the fall yesterday shows considerable black and blue but isn't bothering me. total milk today 1.75 gal. 2 eggs

1/22 am Friday I was nearly 45 minutes later than usual getting to the barn this morning but Helen was as relaxed as ever. it is sunny today and above freezing but another storm is on the way. the steers had knocked away the plug of the water heater again. the water in the tub was not frozen but the copper pipe as. I soon had it going using the hair dryer but it sure is irritating. 1 gal. plus 1 cup this morning. 1/22 pm another warm day in the 30's. the chickens don't go out at all. they just hang out in the barn messing up the place. henry and Herbie are getting very pushy. I suspect their combined weight now exceeds Helen. I'm on the lookout for the day she defers to one of them at the hay feeder. 1.74 gal today and four eggs

1/23 am Saturday it's another warm day. The weatherman is starting to refer to this as 'atypical weather'. We got an inch or so of snow in the night causing treacherous footing on the ice. Helen gave a skimpy gallon this morning. The steers have discovered where I throw the carrot peelings and other vegetable trimmings out the back window of the buttery. I see them checking it now every day. Their most recent find was a couple of stalks of Brussels sprouts that had frozen and thawed once too often. 1/23 pm Son Martin came and worked for hours on further improvements to the stock watering system. He also put up barbed wire to stop the steers going around behind the waterworks and pushing things over. He also installed an industrial strength weather and stockproof light which has a cast metal grill around it. Let them try and bust that! Also today the vet came and we got one cat spayed. That was Crumpet. Helen gave 1.75 gal again today.

1/24 Sunday It has rained all day, a slushy rain that no one could love. It is still warm, 36f. 1.75 gal again today and 4 eggs.

1/25 am Monday Now we have bright sun, but colder. Yesterday's rain has extended the ice area. Once again I have to go down the steps on my bottom when going around back to check the cattle water system. Last night it did not freeze the pipe even though it was 24f this morning and the heat tape is not plugged in. Martin replaced the foam lagging on the pipe. That must be what is saving it. 1 gallon of milk this morning. All three lying down cudding comfortably at 11:30 when I put out more hay. 1/25 pm 1/75 gal of milk today and one egg; it was Blackie's. She is very faithful. But so pecky to the other birds, never cuts them any slack.

1/26 am Tuesday A fine sunny day, 10f. The new water pipe was frozen but it required only about three minutes of heat tape to start the water. Everywhere is still very icy. I take little fairy steps coming in with the milk. 1 gallon plus 1 cup this morning. 1/26 pm Hurrah! I have a properly functioning keyboard and mouse again following a week of struggle. Writing this diary has been a severe trial for me and for my editor who had to deal with text with no W . And the mouse would barely function. After milking and straining the milk I went straight down to check the water. We expect cold temperatures tonight so I plugged in the submersible water heater, as usual testing for stray voltage by putting a finger in the water. Not good enough. Helen walked up behind me and put her head down for a drink and jumped back like a jack rabbit. I immediately unplugged the heater and sozzled my hand around in the water to show her it was safe while talking gently and promising never to plug the darned thing in again. She came back and in very gingerly fashion touched the water with one edge of her lip. Then she took her drink. Thank God I saw this happen. 1.75 gallons of milk today and 4 eggs.

1/27 am I got up exceptionally early today, about 4am. That was before daylight. I filled the water tub last thing last night and it was nearly all drunk during the night. So Helen comes during the night to drink. I have a light on in there although with moonlight on the snow it is scarcely needed I think. 1 gal. this morning. 1/27 pm It warmed up to about 36f today. The ice melted off part of the barnyard where Stewart plowed away nearly all the snow. It created a puddle. Five roosters from the bantam flock came out to drink and wade. They played around for at least an hour. No hens came out. I don't understand this. Helen seems happy but I only got a little over 1.5 gal today. There were 5 eggs including one from one of the hens that was given me before Christmas; I think she is a Lace Wyandotte. She is certainly very pretty. I believe this is the first time she has laid for me. The egg was small, pointy and light brown.

1/28 am Thursday 10f this morning and the stock water flowed. However the tub itself was frozen over now the heater is gone. I gave it a kick and broke up the ice. A couple of bantam hens followed me in with the layers this morning. A rooster came too but I shooed him out. There is already one big red in there, one of Blackie's all male clutch from last May, and I don't want any fights going on. 1/28 pm Helen, Henry and Herbie have managed to push their hay feeder way out of line again with the hayloft hay drop hole. They rub their sides on it and away it goes. Then I have to do acrobatic moves to pitch the hay into it. I didn't foresee this when grandson Rafe built it. I thought it was so heavy it wouldn't shift. Too heavy for me, but not for them. 1.5 gal. milk today and three eggs.

1/29 am Friday This morning the stock water was frozen over lightly. Nobody had been there to drink since last evening at milking time. No wonder I had to fight for my one gallon this morning. She was thirsty. I carried a kettle of hot water down to take the chill off it. 1/29 pm The cattle have pushed the feeder so far out of line now that all I can do is throw the hay down, then go down and move it. Also, the steers (I never blame Helen for these things) pushed the water pipe out of line so the water was running on the ground. They are as bad as horses when it comes to worrying things. All three of them are doing something I have not noted in previous winters. They are stripping bark off of trees and even posts and beams. They have completely debarked the stand of sumac near their water tub. Fortunately it isn't poison sumac. 1.5 gal today and four eggs.

1/30 am Saturday Another cold day (-10f) and once again Helen didn't touch her water until after milking and after I had broken up the ice for her. It was thin ice. The tub is in a run-in area under the garage, a former carriage house, and does not get as cold as the true outdoors. I have often seen her break ice like this with her nose so I don't know why she isn't drinking at night. 1 gallon 1/30 pm Around noon I just happened to be in the layer room when one of the new bantams from the group given me before Christmas jumped off a nest cackling. This was a nest I have not looked in for a long time because in the past it was at an unusable pitch with a crack in the side that any egg would roll through. Furthermore it is way up above my line of vision. I climbed right up and found more than a dozen eggs in various stages of frozenness. Many had burst and stuck together so I couldn't even pry them loose. I removed what I could and covered the rest with hay and we'll see if they continue to use it. Sure makes me cross to have all those eggs wasted. The stanchion didn't seem to want to close right when I was locking Helen in for milking. I fiddled and fiddled with it and thought I had it. But Helen knew it wasn't. She was through eating before I was through milking. She just picked up her feet real high so as to avoid me and the bucket and tiptoed away. I still got more than her usual half gallon tonight. Son Martin arrived with plans for further improvements to cow and barn related structures.

1/31 am I discovered what was wrong with Helen's stanchion. The upright that is supposed to hold her in has lost a bolt at the bottom. It's very cold this morning, -10f, and I didn't feel like handling cold bolts so I just used her old collar clip. Production was very poor, not much over 3 quarts. Also there were some little clots on the filter. Maybe her teats are getting too cold. But she and the boys always have a warm place to lie down. They spill so much hay it's a regular cow nest. 1/31 pm Martin arose late but then spent most of the day fixing things. He installed a type of breaker plug near the cow water which prevents stray voltage. The submersible heater kicked it right off every time it was plugged in so clearly it cannot be used anymore. In the meantime I continue to go down and break up the ice and pour a kettle of boiling water in several times a day. Martin anchored the hay feeder in position so I doubt a rhinoceros could move it. No more acrobatic hay pitching required. And he repaired the stanchion. We tried out his new Toyota 4X4 with a drive to Weld and a walk on the frozen lake. Then I sent him home with lots of dairy products for himself and his brother. Helen made up for this morning; almost 1.75 gal for the day. Got five eggs. Blackie has now decided to lay in with the other birds

2/1 Monday am It's not so cold today, about 20f, and the sun is shining. There is one red rooster who did nearly die of the cold about three weeks ago and he has been limping around afraid to get in with the others and eat. I often set him next to the water and he takes a drink. I also let him eat with the cats and he drinks milk. Today he has gone outside to sit in the sun. Stewart picked up a new submersible water heater this morning for me at the Farmer's Union. It cost $40. It better work. I pitched out all the old stemmy stuff from the cow's hay feeder so Helen and the boys can have a fresh start in their newly stabilized feeder. Helen gave less than a gallon this morning.

2/1 pm The new water heater also is generating stray voltage. The instructions with it require more grounding than we have. I stuck one finger in damp earth and one in the water and I got a definite buzz. 1.5 gal today. Three eggs.

2/2 Tuesday am Helen gave closer to a gallon this morning. But she is not drinking during the night. The water this morning was just as I left it last night, full. But now iced over. 2/2 pm This was a quiet day. In late afternoon it began snowing hard. Prediction is for it to turn to rain and ice. I'm a little low on dairy feed and layer mash and very low on cat food. But I'll manage somehow in case driving tomorrow is too treacherous. Helen gave a little over 1.5 gal. today. I got seven eggs but a couple of them were bantam eggs back in a corner and may be left over from yesterday. I put more hay in the layer room on the floor and in nests. That should cheer them up.

2/3 am Wednesday It snowed several inches in the night, than changed to slush. I'll have to see if I can get out though. I'm out of cat food. All those reproachful pairs of cat eyes ... not sure I could stand it. My smallest bantam in with the layers is starting to get her courage up. She comes right out of her corner for food and gets her share. She is buff colored with a puff of feathers on each cheek and fluffy legs. Helen gave one gallon this morning. The stock water did not freeze last night. 2/3 pm Son Bret, on the phone from Fairbanks, described how to ground my water heater. I ran out of time before I could find the copper wire. But I don't expect it to get very cold tonight. In the hay mow I found a bantam nest with four eggs. Two were cracked and leaking from having frozen. I left one egg in the nest. Five eggs today. More than 1.5 gallons

2/4 am Thursday It's another mild day, but overcast. The driveway and lawn all the way to the barn is a vast ice sheet making walking hazardous. So far no more spills. Helen gave a bit over a gallon this morning. 2/4 pm Total milk for today 1.75 gallons. Helen seems to be regaining the production she lost recently for no obvious reason. Only one egg today and I think it was Blackie's.

2/5 am Friday It's up around 40f again today and the ice floe on the driveway is slicker than ever. The hens all seem a lot more cheerful in this weather. When it's really cold the roosters don't even pursue the hens. Warm weather has gotten the tom cats to fighting. I heard some awful yowls this morning. Helen gave a bit under a gallon this morning. 2/5 pm Eight eggs today! including two bantam eggs from the loft. I took both and left an alabaster egg. It's turning cold and a real egg would freeze. I devised a way to ground the stock water. I jammed one end of some copper tubing into the ground and bent it over so the other end is in the tank. It's goes right to the bottom. 1.5 gal. milk today.

2/6 am Saturday It was down to 9f this morning but by 10am was up to 20f. It feels like winter is losing its grip. I had 6 eggs by 10am which is encouraging. I've been worrying that perhaps I was giving the layers too much cracked corn. They do love it so but too much will stop them laying. The cattle seem to be drinking their water OK. Looks like I've been successful with my grounding method. 1 gal. milk this morning. There continue to be occasional clotty traces on the filter. Their is no other evidence of any problem.

2/6 pm It snowed for awhile today, just enough to dust the ice. It's treacherous. The red rooster that had frostbite is improving. He walks to the food and even hopped off his perch tonight when I filled their water basin. He now manages to perch on a sawhorse. He was huddling under a bag last week. Helen gave about 1.75 gal. today. No more eggs, just the six.

2/7 am Sunday A fine sunny day in the 20's. I observed clearly this morning what I have been suspecting. Herbie, the Holstein steer, is beginning to shove Henry, the Jersey, out of the way. He even shoved Helen two or three times but each time she came back and finally stood her ground. He has always been bigger than Henry but had such a timid temperament that there was no problem. He has never been dehorned and they are starting to grow. I'll have to call the vet. 1 gallon milk plus 1 cup this morning. 2/7 pm It was brilliantly sunny all day but at sunset a slicing north wind started up and the temperature is dropping rapidly. I doubt Helen and the boys will make many trips across to the water. I filled it three times during the day so they won't be too thirsty. Stewart and Melody, owners of the steers, agree to getting Herbie dehorned. Seven eggs today, all from the layers. 1.75 gal. milk

2/8 am Monday It's a bright clear day, temp 0f. No problems at all. Perhaps because of the cold, I found no eggs before 8 o'clock and Helen gave slightly under a gallon. 2/8 pm Three eggs today. 1.75 gal milk Everybody happy.

2/9 am Tuesday 8 Below this morning but it is warming up fast. The vet comes this morning to dehorn Herbie but I didn't the cattle in. I figure I can get them in anytime with fresh hay, or grain if necessary. I want them to be able to walk to their water. The barn is such a mess with all those bantams loose in there. I hope I can remedy this soon. One gal. milk this morning. And at last I can report two days in a row when I find no clotty bits on the filter. Stewart was over early to get bales of hay and borrow my heatlamp. He has new piglets. 2/9 pm Dr. Cooper came and removed Herbie's horns. I didn't hear him drive in. He'd been to the barn where I had all three shut inside, chased them around the room a few times with the hypodermic at the ready until he cornered Herbie, and administered the jab. Then he came to the house. By the time I got on my boots and coat he was back to the barn, had Herbie's nose in a clamp and his feet roped and had one horn off. I held a light while he found and pinched the veins and did the other horn. He dusted the holes with blue powder, gave Herb an antibiotic shot and set a perky wad of cotton on each horn site. Then we went back to the house and had some lunch. By supper time Herbie was awake enough to get to his feet and stagger to his grain pan where he shouldered Henry out of the way as though nothing had happened. Five eggs today and not much over 1.5 gal. milk.

2/10 am Wednesday Up to 34f this morning but it's windy and bleak. Herbie is fine. Helen gave 1 gal. 2/10 pm A cold wind came up today which made it feel pretty cold. I bought more cat food which is getting tiresome. But I can't withstand those wistful cat eyes. Despite all these cats, there was a mouse in the kitchen last night. I saw his little footprints in some flour I left out. Helen only gave 1.5 gal today. A lot of people would dry off a cow that didn't give any more than that. But it's enough for me. I hate it when there's no fresh milk. I made a couple more pounds of butter today. Five eggs today.

2/11 am Thursday About midnight my dog Muffin began barking like crazy. I ran downstairs and there was Melody, my neighbor, at the door. There was a bad fire. Stewart and Melody's place burned to the ground with a total loss of everything. The saddest part was that their lovely dog and one cat also perished. Stewart is also much grieved about the loss of all his guns and tools but of course the dog is worst. It was a lovely Samoyed. Sows and piglets were in the attached buildings. At first it was thought that the sows burned up but they were later found in the woods. Onlookers found the piglets around in snowbanks and caught all six. They are somewhat singed, some of them. They are only about 2lb each and are now in a box next to the Aga. Melody is handling things better than Stewart. He seems totally dazed but now, with help from their friends, is building a place to put the pigs. The the smell of the fire is everywhere. Maybe that's why Helen was very reluctant to be locked into her stanchion this morning. She gave less than a gallon. 2/11/pm Stewart constructed a pen for his sow and piglets but could not get her to enter it until he took the box of piglets over. I have not had a further update. We did call the vet for one of the sows who was badly burned. Dr. Cooper was at professional meetings so was unavailable today. He nonetheless called in the evening and would have come but I was unable to give him a report on the sow's condition. I think Stewart and Melody finally collapsed in sleep in their borrowed camp. Dr. Cooper will await my call in the morning when I have solid information. Helen gave a bit over 1.5 gal. today. Five eggs.

2/12 am Friday It's warming up. Some predictions are for 50f. The ice is even worse. I slipped with the buckets on my way to the barn and sent hot water flying. I have strewn hay on the cowpath from the barn to the water. Even on packed snow imbedded with dung it's very slippery. There is a nearly invisible skim of ice on everything. One gallon of milk. 2/12 pm The vet was over to look at Stewart's scorched sow which is pregnant. It's walking around but is clearly going to lose a lot of skin. There wasn't anything he could do for it but prescribe some antibiotic to put in her food to help with inevitable infection. It is hoped she will be able to deliver her piglets. My knee that I struck this morning when I slipped is stiffening up. A bit over 1.5 gal today and five eggs. That's from 14 hens. Some are pretty old. I don't believe I've lost a single hen this winter, only the beautiful rooster. I used to lose hens regularly until I discovered they are very susceptible to food poisoning and can't be fed questionable scraps.

2/13 am Saturday All quiet on the farm. We're still having a thaw. The barn roof dripped so much during the night I was able to water the chickens with water collected in pans set under the eves. Walking is still treacherous, ice everywhere. A scant gallon from Helen this morning. 2/13 pm I didn't see anything of my neighbors today but Stewart was to the barn. He has left a new supply of feed for his stock stored with me, and I see where he has taken some hay for his pigs. It's blowing up cold now and it looks like snow to the southwest. About 1.6 gal. today and one egg only.

2/14 am Sunday Bright, clear, about 20f. All the animals are in fine shape. Helen gave 1 gal. I went over to have a look at Stewart's burned property. It's a shocking mess and enough to send anybody back home to check their smoke alarms. He showed me his burned sow. She's walking around helping suckle the other sow's piglets. They are all in there together. Her skin is kind of hard to look at but if she is suffering she didn't say. She is due to pig quite soon herself. 2/14 pm Something over 1.5 gallons today and five eggs. It's blowing up cold. Today was nothing like the weather prediction which was for cloudy and warmer.

2/15 am Monday Down to -0- this morning. There is a beautiful rime on all the branches lit up by the sun. The cold- impaired rooster was back to huddling in a corner this morning. Yesterday he was walking around quite perky. I set him by the water in the sun. Helen gave one gallon. Muffin found and ate the pigskin and cracklings I had given the chickens. They made her throw up. 2/15 pm 1.75 gal today and five eggs. I think I felt Helen's calf kick today but t I'm not sure. I let one free living bantam in with the layers today. She has been trying to get up her nerve for weeks. At one point today she was between me and the door so I shooed her in. She can easily escape tomorrow if she wants to.

2/16 am Tuesday The little tan hen flew back to her friends. I guess the layers weren't nice to her. This morning I saw that the cow water had not been touched, always a clue to stray voltage. Sure enough, one of them, a naughty steer no doubt, had pulled out the loop of copper tubing I've been using as a ground. I found it half way across the room so I suppose whoever did it got a buzz. I replaced it, then called Helen and told her to come along, the water is fixed. I guess she believed me because a half hour later when I looked, they had drunk it down. Helen gave 1 gal. this morning. It was 10f this morning but now at 8:30 the eaves are once again dripping. 2.16 pm 1.6 gal milk today

2/17 am Wednesday All the barn critters are fine. It's not very cold, about 20f. The bantams are even venturing outside to a bit of bare ground. Helen gave one gallon. Back in the house, I accidentally slammed the bathroom door on Gingerbread, my young yellow tom cat just as he was darting in. I have to slam that door because otherwise it doesn't latch. I caught him amidships and he gave an awful squawk and vanished. I had no luck finding him and was afraid he was mortally wounded. But about 11:00 he emerged from hiding, looking very subdued, and asked to go out. Thank goodness. Later I made doughnuts and will take some to my good neighbors who lost their home. 2/17 pm I found out why the frostbitten rooster who lost his comb limps so badly. His leg is falling off. It looks shocking. The leg below the hock is dangling by a bit of skin. But actually be is acting fairly healthy. He makes his way to the feed pan now and gets right in there and pecks. 1.75 gal today and 4 eggs.

2/18 am Thursday It snowed during the night and still continues. I'm glad I'm stocked up on grain and cat food. There is no wind so this promises to be a beautiful storm. Most storms this winter have been accompanied by wind or followed by rain. Helen gave 1 gallon this morning. 2/18 pm Contrary to prediction, it snowed all day. It looks like about 6" accumulation. For some reason Helen didn't drink much today. Every time I peered through my peek hole the tub was still full. I went down twice to inspect it and I tested it for stray voltage by putting one finger on the damp sand and one in the water. No buzz that I could detect. But I unplugged the submersible water heater just in case. Finally this evening I see she has drunk. I don't believe it will drop below 25f tonight so shouldn't freeze up. 1.75 gallons today. Five eggs.

2/19 am Friday Bright and sunny today on the new snow, right around freezing, and the air suggests spring. The hens laid six eggs before 8am. Helen had not touched her water during the night. Very puzzling. She gave her usual 1 gal. 2/19 pm Water consumption during the day today seemed normal. We're about to get our cold weather back and I'll have to plug the water heater back in. I'll soon know if it's causing a problem. 1.5 gal today and no further eggs. Helen was nervous during milking. She switched her tail around and even mooed.

2/20 am Saturday About 20f today and looks like snow. Air feels raw. Helen was very silly this morning. When I turned her out she stopped in the narrow passageway to her loafing area which I call the Beefer Pen because she saw the chicken feed pan which I had placed on a shelf which I thought was inaccessible to her. Not so. She got her face into that pan and would not be moved. I had to climb along her back to reach the pan and more or less ride her. She totally ignored me until she had licked up every chicken pellet. The lame rooster is still dragging his dead foot. He hops in among the cats and shares their food and milk. I guess they consider him harmless because they tolerate him. 1 gallon milk this morning. 2/20 pm Ten eggs today! But not much over 1.5 gal. I can easily sell extra eggs. Much easier than selling milk. The US has become so terrified of cream. The only way I can sell milk, apart from a couple of loyal and enlightened customers, is if I undersell the supermarket.

2/21 am Sunday I guess the hens over exerted yesterday. The only egg waiting for me this morning was in the bantam nest with the ivory billiard ball as encouragement. It was down to 10f this morning but the sun is brilliant. 2/21 pm The free living bantams are very hungry lately. I filled their pan four times today. There are about 20 pullets but despite frequent searches I have found only the one nest. Somewhere there is probably a giant nest. The layers did lay six eggs today. Helen gave 1.5 gallon plus a pint.

2/22 am It's back down to zero this morning. It doesn't bother the cattle the least bit but I did plug their water heater back in. The poultry hate the cold. No eggs at all before 8am but around 8:30 I began to hear cackling and found three. When it's cold if I don't pick up the eggs regularly they freeze. Then the yolks become stiff like soft boiled. Or if they freeze solid the shells will crack open. Old Miserable, the struggling rooster, can barely function at this temperature. He huddles down so flat that another rooster jumped him thinking he was a hen. He turned his head around and gave the guy an indignant look. It walked away looking unapologetic. I set Old Mis by the cat's warm milk. He likes that. I don't give the cats warm fresh milk. I warm skim by bringing it to the barn in a jar set in Helen's hot wash water. Helen gave one gallon. 2/22 pm It's getting colder by the minute and a nasty wind. The prediction is for -30f. I stuffed a box with insulation and put Old Mis in it. He made no attempt to get out so I guess he approved. I got four hen eggs today and two bantam eggs. 1.75 gal milk.

2/23 am Tuesday Seems like a tough morning. -2f this morning, well that's not so bad as I feared. But poor Old Mis didn't make it. He got out of his box, a wrong move on his part and froze solid. The grey water outfall line at the house was blocked with ice. I worked on the pipe from inside the cellar with my hair dryer until that died. I also worked on it from outside with kettles of boiling water. About 8" of the pipe sticks out, then the water is led away by gutter pipe. After about the tenth kettleful I slipped on my granite back step. A bit of water had slopped on it and frozen invisibly. Now I have a stiff bruised knee again. Back indoors I noticed blood on everything. I hadn't even felt where I had cut my hand. I sat down and cried and cursed for a few minutes before bandaging myself up and carrying out more hot water. Now the pipe is flowing again. 2/23 pm It's still cold and we are to expect another day of it. Helen gave 1.75 gallons of milk. They are drinking their water just fine. 4 eggs.

2/24 am Wednesday -4f this morning. The cattle are fine but the hens are huddled up. The same pipe was frozen again this morning setting me back only an hour this time. It's a cold messy job that tracks up the kitchen and I'm tired of winter. However I did not slip on the ice. Lacking a hair dryer, I draped a towel over the indoor section of pipe and poured boiling water over it. 2/24 pm Helen gave a trifle under 1.75 gal. today. It could be that my milking is impaired by my scraped and bandaged finger. I poured sawdust all around the foundation where the guilty pipe comes out and tucked a feed bag over it. It's supposed to be cold again tonight. 6 eggs

2/25 am Thursday 8f above this morning. Seems much milder. I lost one hen during the night. She's been acting discouraged for a week or so, a Barred Rock. I think she was pretty old. This is the first hen I've lost all winter (the others were roosters) which is a better record than most winters. 1 gal this morning. I was very late getting up today and didn't get to the barn until 7:45

2/25 pm One fluffy headed bantam that lives among the layers was missing this evening. She is always picked on by Blackie. I can't imagine where she can have gone. Not quite 1.75 gal today. Seven eggs. I sold 2 doz today.

2/26 am Friday It's much warmer today. We got another couple of inches of snow in the night but it's already up to 34f and the eaves are dripping fast. I made another search for the missing buff bantam this morning and finally found her wedged up under a low shelf. She seems to have lost her nerve among the big hens. Twice this morning I have pushed her back down. She runs out and grabs a peck of food, then returns to her safe haven. Once the snow melts and the hens can go back out in their yard she'll be OK. In the mean time I'll have to find more feed pans to spot around. That usually helps the timid soul. Helen gave 1 gallon this morning. 2/26 pm Just over 1.5 gal milk today. Helen was a bit nervous tonight because son Bret was in the barn and she doesn't know him. Eight eggs today (1 bantam)

2/27 am Saturday We have a bright sunny day in the 30's, lovely on the new snow. All the animals seem comfortable and happy except the one timid buff bantam. Sons Bret and Martin are here splitting wood. I was down to my last stick. 2/27 pm Now I have a nice pile of wood. We even went to the lake and fetched home some wood from daughter Marcia's place, according to her offer. The boys have put up chicken wire on one of the run-ins to create a a place to confine the free bantams. I hope to give them away, also clean up the barn. Helen was very interested to watch the boys fencing. After milking she ran right back out there to see what she had missed. 1.75 gal. today and 8 eggs.

2/28 Bret was at my computer all day getting me better organized so I have no entry except 1.75 gal and 8 eggs.

3/1 am Monday It's been raining all night and the world is covered with icy lakes and thick mist. The bantams were all outside drinking from puddles. 1 gal 3/1 pm 1.75 gal, 9 eggs including 3 from a new bantam nest inconveniently (for me) located under a big roll of fencing wire.

3/2 Tuesday This is the third day the temp had not fallen below 34f even at night. The brooks are overflowing and the river is high. The driveway is very treacherous. This morning when I was nearly finished milking a rooster flew down on Helen frightening her so that she quit letting down. This evening it is striking to see how little cream has risen on that milk. Only about a half inch when there should be 3". Most of the cream is in the hind milk. 1.5 gal today and 8 eggs (3 bantam)

3/3 am Wednesday Son Bret returned to Alaska today leaving many things repaired. He even did some important barn clean-up of the area below where the bantams have been perching. That should provide some good dressing for the roses later on. It's warm today, almost 40f. I can see the river is right up to its banks. Helen gave a bit less than a gallon this morning. 3/3 pm Helen didn't want to come in for milking this evening. It might be spring fever. Or it might be that she hasn't gotten used to the way Bret changed the stanchion. The bar that swings open to admit her head is now mounted on her near side which is more convenient for me. But cows hate any change and it makes her feel a bit trapped, or will until she figures out the best way to twist her head. 1.5 gal today and 8 eggs.

3/4 am Thursday It rained all night on snow and ice so walking to the barn this morning was tricky. It's warm, 44f and still raining. Helen again was hesitant to come in. I closed the outer door making full retreat to outdoors impossible. Then she walked right in. Henry, the Jersey steer, started to follow her but responded to my verbal command of "Back!" I've been training them both to "back" when I carry in their grain so that I don't get mobbed. But that is the first time I've tried it in a non-food context. 1 gallon this morning. 3/4 pm What a mess it is around the barn! Four inch deep puddles on ice. 1.75 gallons today and 8 eggs counting one bantam eggs which the pullet obviously laid while sitting on her ladder perch. It was broken.

3/5 am It's turned cold again and "Lake Coburn" (my driveway and barnyard) is once again a sheet of ice. Helen walked right in this morning. She is adapting to her revised stanchion I believe. A scant gallon this morning. 3/5 pm My milk customer Nancy told me there was a white cat lying beside the road near my driveway. I thought it must be Celeste, a timid barn cat which I have been trying to befriend. But it was not one of mine after all. It was a full grown healthy cat which had bad luck. Unfortunately there are some people who will hit them deliberately I find. People who hit them by mistake almost always stop and tell me. My cats are very rarely struck. They have developed a strong cat society and teach each other how to cross the road safely. They hunt across the road on the riverbank where there are many voles. Helen gave close to a gallon tonight making about 1.9 gallon today. Eight eggs.

3/6 am Saturday The sky is a heavy gray. Lots of snow is predicted for later today. Temp about 10f this morning. Helen gave 1 gallon. 3/6 pm Snow began falling about 11am and has not stopped. There is only about 2" accumulation. I cancelled plans to drive to Portland today because of storm warnings but it isn't that bad. The animals don't mind it a bit. Because I had planned to be away I put out masses of hay and the cattle are stuffed. 10 eggs today (3 bantam). The usual eight bantams that perch on the ladder are down to seven this evening. I hope one hen hasn't gone off to brood. It's pretty early in the year for that.

3/7 am Sunday It's still snowing and has accumulated about a foot. This is a beautiful storm but now the wind is starting so the decorations on the trees will soon be gone. The bluejays and chickadees are feeding. It's not stopping them. All the animals were perfectly snug this morning. Helen gave over a gallon. My little buffy bantam now comes out of her hideout to eat once in awhile, poor little thing. 3/7 pm It has stopped snowing but you can't tell by looking out the window. A strong wind has come up and is rearranging the snow all over the map. It feels very cold. The hens all look miserable but the cows are unaffected. I've been doing some baking to fight back against the cold. I made cream scones and started whole wheat bread. I ground the grain for the flour. One of the things Bret did while here was mount a hand cranked grain mill that was in a barn attic. It had been there for 25 years since we bought this place and I never paid any attention to it among some dusty iron stuff under the eves. I finally pulled it out last fall thinking it looked like some sort of grinder. I've been wanting to have a way to grind grain and I thought it looked like some sort of grinder that could perhaps be adapted. What did it say on the side but "Family Grist Mill"! It must be 100 years old and the grinding plates are very hard. I'll have to build up better muscles before I can say it's easy, but it does a great job. The flour does not require sifting. It has a 20" wheel with a hand grip on it. I am using a San Francisco sour dough starter for this bread.

3/8 am Monday Down to 8f this morning but feels much colder because of a strong wind. I can't even make out what direction the wind is coming from it is swirling the snow around so much. I had to gather my resolve before stepping out into it this morning. I guess the cows don't much like the wind either. They have not been over to drink since last night. However the sun is out and I don't see a cloud. Helen gave 1 gallon this morning and I picked up 5 eggs by 8am. 3/8 pm The cold wind, a north wind, has kept up all day but the sky remains clear. It's disagreeable weather. I got 10 eggs two of which were laid by foolish bantam pullets in the middle of the floor. They were frozen and cracked. Helen was touchy tonight on her off front quarter, the one that had the severe laceration last Fall. 1.75 gallons today.