Winter is officially here.

Ah winter....snow, wind, cold. Hoses drained and rolled up for the season, we, unfortunately, do not have water piped to our "barn" (yet) so winter water is always somewhat of a challenge. Options include but not limited to: unrolling hoses and filling tanks every other day, then draining hoses and putting away....time consuming and not fun....putting 35 gallon water tank on back of 4wheeler, filling at faucet (if its not frozen solid) and then delivering to water tanks and draining, (do two times). Another option (desperate) is to haul 5 gallon pails from basement, out through the garage across the (icy snowy, etc) driveway and dump into water tubs (probably about 200 feet more or less). tough on the arms and usually end up wearing some of the water down the legs or in the boots....

One of the things I love about the Hereford breed is their resourcefulness and their memory, they will go look for water, and generally seem to remember where it is, even if its completely buried under the snow and or ice. So, seeing how I really don't care to haul water by any means or play around with a hundred feet of hose in freezing temperatures, I opt to walk down to the water and break the ice twice a day instead. A spring fed pond drains through our property and provides clean running water in all but the driest summer months. I would rather take a walk and hack at the ice than fool with hauling water any day. But it is interesting to see just how little water they will find in the snow, and, how they will stand and suck that moisture up until they have their fill.

It is no surprise to me this breed was often the only ones left "standing" so to speak come spring after a hard winter out on the plains and prairies. You have to love their tenacity, intelligence, and will to survive.