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   With the forecast calling for between one and eighty-four inches of snow to start falling later in the day, my wife and I decided to take a ride around the farm to check things out while we had the opportunity. If we did get a foot or more of snow, it would be a few days before we could get back out there. We bundled up against the cold wind, hopped in the side-by-side, and headed out. 

   We stopped by the beehive to see if there was any activity. Since the temperature was below freezing, we did not expect bees to be flying around, but I was hoping to see some sign that they were doing alright. There was no activity at all so we could only assume they were bundled up tight around their stored-up honey, riding out the cold winter months. Opening the top of the hive at this time of year would most likely kill them so we wait, and hope all is well.

   We drove across the dam and up the hill into the timber. When we got into the woods and out of the wind, the weather seemed almost pleasant. It was still cold, but the biting wind was not stinging our faces. We stopped at the first trail camera and checked the pictures taken over the past week. There were a lot of pictures of does, a few bucks, a raccoon and a couple of turkeys. The deer seem to be back to their normal routines of coming and going after the disruption of deer season.

   Crossing twin sluices, we broke through the ice in the crossing. It was good to see a few inches of water running into the lake after the long dry summer. We drove up the hill to Zane’s raccoon bait station. I have a camera on it also so we can see what is eating there. Zane is trying to keep raccoons in the area to train his coon hound. Pictures showed a few raccoons, an opossum, and two dogs eating from the scrap food. From the date and time stamp on the pictures, we could tell, the day my wife and I put out some failed molasses cookies, our terrier, Jag, and Damon’s terrier, Claire, stopped by for cookies. Apparently, the cookies were not too bad because they were all gone. 

   We drove across the long hayfield toward the South place. When I stopped to open the gate, I could hear chain saws running in the distance. We found Damon and Zane had just finished cutting up a hickory tree. Zane started splitting wood with his maul while I helped Damon load. Zane has strange ideas about entertainment. He likes to split wood by hand. There is a hydraulic log splitter just around the corner in the pasture that I think would make the job much easier, but I guess that is just my opinion. 

   We followed the log trailer to Damon’s house and helped them unload the wood. We decided we had enough fresh air and exercise for the day. Going back across the farm, we saw a pair of eagles circling overhead, looking for any tasty leftovers and wishing it was still deer season when their hunting is easy as they dined on what we leave after field dressing deer. Coming back down the hill toward the lake, we saw six trumpeter swans on a patch of open water. They watched us as we drove across the dam but did not become overly concerned about our being close to them. 

   The warmth of the garage felt great on our faces that had been chilled by the wind on the trip to the house. We shed a couple of layers of close and  cuddled up under a blanket with a hot cup of coffee now ready to let it snow.

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