Friday POSBANG Weekend Warmup Edition

Submitted by UM Griff on
The weather forecast shows a warming trend, the days are now getting longer, and we made it to Friday! Best news of all this week, we have Chase Winovich for another year!!! Happy Friday, MgoBloggers!!!!

rob f

January 5th, 2018 at 4:44 AM ^

Weekend Meltdown Edition here: two feet of snow on the ground (already had a foot before the current lake-effect winter storm) with another 6-10" on the way before it ends midday Saturday.

chatster

January 5th, 2018 at 5:02 AM ^

With wind chills dropping temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit in much of the northern United States today and tomorrow (LINK), brrrrring on that HEAT WAVE!

xtramelanin

January 5th, 2018 at 5:19 AM ^

we have had to shuttle water from inside the house down to the barn for the livestock for weeks since the barn pump is frozen.  5 gallon buckets, the kids use sleds to take them down.  

 

1VaBlue1

January 5th, 2018 at 7:30 AM ^

I was going to neg you per request, but then upvote you for the effort.  Alas, the Blog won't let me do that, so take your upvote like a man!

I end up changing out two heated water buckets when I get home each day - one for the ducks and one for a group of chickens.  The ducks make a right mess of them...  

xtramelanin

January 5th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^

our 'secret' (hardly) is that we run hot water for the buckets.  keeps them unfrozen for significantly longer, and for instance the chickens will drink it up right away.  it keeps them warm and helps with egg production.  we do have a heat lamp or two in the hen house and we'll put the water under the lamps.  concerned about fire issues with the smaller heated buckets.  don't want the barn to burn.   

and yeah, the birds are a mess but thats just the way it is.  we are down to about 100 layers now, so its not that bad.  

Everyone Murders

January 5th, 2018 at 7:53 AM ^

You don't get a neg, because unwittingly you are raising star members of future Michigan offensive lines.  (If memory serves, Jake Long used to train by pulling a pickup bed down local roads in the lower Thumb area.  At his father's behest.)  It's like "wax-on/wax-off" and will yield unexpected positive results.* 

You're raising future No. 1 draft picks, and thus get zero sympathy from me.

*At the very least, they can regale their kids with stories about how their mean dad used to make them sled water to the livestock in subzero temps, while their kids are ignoring them and looking at their holographic virtual phone units.

xtramelanin

January 5th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^

are skinny.  oldest son still growing at 6' 3", but his niickname on the football/basketball team is 'skeletor'.  all are high drive, reasonably good athletes, but not football bodies which is a heartbreak for them since football is king in our house.  they do pretty well at hoops.  i have told them that their body types, while seemingly a curse in teen years, will turn out to be a blessing for decades to come.  

cell phones not available to the kids unless they are on the road.  all are 'dumb' phones. way, way too much trouble with any type of smart phone.  like, way too much. i suspect my kids will hold the line on that with their own children, but we shall see. 

xtramelanin

January 5th, 2018 at 5:21 PM ^

but short of that, i'll just say i'm a guy like most of us here.  and other than attempted humor on my part from time to time, i'm not sure how much else i contribute - indeed, just ask a few of the other mgobloggers.  but thank you for saying that. 

rob f

January 6th, 2018 at 1:03 AM ^

enjoy reading your posts about parenting, "farm-style". Much of what you describe reminds me not only of my youth learning the lessons of farm life by helping on the various farms of relatives, but also of listening as my dad would describe growing up on a farm.

My back yard AND primary playground was my maternal grandparents' fruit farm, located immediately right behind the home I grew up in. This being the case, I understand very well where completion of chores fits on the daily list of priorities.

Your contributions here are more valuable than you know, XM.

xtramelanin

January 6th, 2018 at 6:07 AM ^

we can get you right into the swing of things by doing chores.  i'm sure the kids will welcome the help.  right now its the slow time on the farm, so easier overall.  weather conditions making it a bit challenging (-20 outside right now), but we've got a system down.  oh, we also have 'barn boots' for you so you don't have to get muck on your good shoes.  you're going to love it!

xtramelanin

January 7th, 2018 at 7:12 PM ^

otherwise kids sizes only.  we have lots of shovels so you won't have to sit around, wishing you were part of the action.  right now everything is frozen solid so there's no mucking going on.  will have to wait for a thaw.