Wild Weekend (no not that kind)

The Tower

What a weekend we had here at Northview! Saturday started out pleasantly warm and calm with a few sunny breaks in general cloudiness.
Outdoors was the place to be.
I dug out the door of Nick's run so he soon can get some exercise without endangering the old sheep and channeled some running water away from the back porch.

Probably not what you expect to see in Upstate NY,
but Liz says ice floes are building up against the bridge in town...

Then just after the sun went down a BIG thunderstorm hit. Alan and I were on the bridge when lightning flashed bright pink all around us. He hit the dirt, as he is terrified of it (with good reason) and I almost tossed my umbrella.

It was pouring.

Remember the three feet of ice on the bridge and in the barnyard? It was deep enough to channel the entire flow of water off the barnyard and probably some off the hill right in through the barn doors. Water was running across the floor into the gutters several inches deep and flowing out onto the platform and into the milkhouse. The girls started milking while Alan and I went out to shovel, scrape, scoop and dam (and damn) with assorted tools, up to and including the skid steer.

Eventually we got the flood diverted and the water indoors receded to where it didn't quite reach the cow beds.

Outside the big windows, looking in

When we went back inside Crunch was loose and running up and down the manger bawling and fighting all the cows who were still locked up.

Chaos.

Insanity.

She is a big cow and she was enjoying herself immensely so it took us a few minutes to get her locked back up.
Then the boss showed up innocently wondering why we were so far behind. We wasted no time in informing him about all that had gone on in his absence.
We did not get out of the barn until really late Saturday night.

Then Sunday morning the vacuum pump malfunctioned so I missed my morning off. I should probably be disgruntled, but I am so grateful to be warm! The sun is shining and it is nice enough to go out and chop up the crispy carcass of the Christmas tree and burn it up in the outdoor stove....great fun....and to take photos of how different everything looks with the snow melting fast.

Still more ice. I took these from the lawn and the river is quite a ways away so...