Thawing...

The great thaw has commenced!  The temperatures are rising above zero and even up into the 50s one day this week!  Wow, what a change -- a 75 degree swing in just a few short days.  We've had fog, frost, melting snow and icicles, and last night a pouring rain.  A big melt down of snow has run off into puddles, gullies, creeks and rivers.  The reservoirs are filled to overflowing and some are spilling out of culverts or over their banks.  Low areas of hay fields and pastures are covered in water.  There are even places where the ground has heaved due to the constant thawing and freezing we've had over the past few months.  The next couple of days the weatherman promises even warmer days that will really have the water running down creeks and low lying areas. 

Our first calves were born this week.  So far, three babies are on the ground and there's a pasture full of heifers who will soon have their very first calves.  The ewes are all done lambing and have been turned out to pastures with sheds so they can be gathered up and sheltered if the weather should change to cold, snow,  or rain.  It's a busy and exciting season.