So this morning it was 3 C (0 is freezing for non-metric Americans- don't worry more than twenty years and I'm still thinking in F) according to the thermometer Garry hung up inside the middle of the barn last night. It was 10 below zero outside and didn't change much all day, it got up to -7 and the puddles stayed firmly frozen- you can see them in the picture of the tractor by the barn.
The waterbowls were frozen at the ends of the barn this morning- but were thawed out by pouring in some hot water with no problems, since Garry turned off the water last night. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (does that saying have a metric version now, I wonder?) Garry went to work moving bales around to block air coming into the stable from the haymow- either the cracks in the floor, mostly the large spaces between the outside of the building and the ceiling of the stable/floor of the haymow as you can see in the photo looking up at the ceiling in the barn. Garry had moved some bales around to make a path when he was supposed to get the other straw bales,(which she may be willing to sell in the spring) so he had to put them back to cover the floor. Tonight he was wondering why his wrists were sore- they were scratched up from the straw, of course.
Maxim went to Zaporosia with the milker ladies this morning- since it's December first it was payday for Yana and Luba. He got back at 12:30, just as we were sitting down to dinner. After dinner they went back to work outside, I washed out the kitchen door mat and hung it outside- you can see the icicles hanging off it a couple hours later when I went outside to take pictures around 4 pm.
Victor had arrived by then with the steel for the feed bin. He and Garry were working in the haymow, they got one side piece on- you can see Garry (and his reflection) screwing in on in the photo. I climbed up the ladder and over the bales to get a picture of it- it's a simple design, basically a big box upstairs, then there will be chute to open downstairs to get the ground grain out. Garry hopes to finish it Thursday.
Maxim was working on the bale insulation wall downstairs by the cows (he's tying them into a string framework so they don't fall)- apparently the ducks think its safer on the other side of the barn now, as they were next to the ladder when I climbed up. When we climbed down around 4:30 the temperature was -4 in the barn, Garry climbed into the tractor to get the corn silage inside to feed the cows.
The good news is that the cold prevention measures must be working- Garry went out at 9 to check on things and he said it was 7 in the barn. It was -7 outside and the wind is blowing again. It would help if he is able to refill the far side with more loose hay- it's about a third gone now. Garry wanted to refill it before we left with that lower quality first-cut hay to feed the cows while we are gone to Canada, but the man he bought the hay from has not decided whether to sell us more now. It's a little cool in our bedroom tonight, better find some caulk for the window before we leave (heading to Kiev in one week for the flight to our Christmas holidays with the family!)
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