This kind of beautiful clear day …
… always has to be paid for.
(Do you see the shape of the Coupe’s roofline developing in the framing here?)
There was a lot of sun for warmth gathering yesterday. 
And I know why now. 
It is 5.30 am and 5 degrees F outside. Yes, that is MINUS 15 in celcius.
I am dressing in as many layers as I can before I go out to milk.
Good morning. At least it is not blowing. We can survive most temperatures as long as there is no wind and the early mornings are often calm. I will wear tights, track pants, two pairs of socks, a singlet, two long sleeved T shirts, a long sleeved thermal and a big heavy teenage boys hoodie and then my clown suit, my big work jacket and thermal boots. Then two pairs of gloves and my scarf and hattie. I will waddle as I walk. But I wish I was a sheep this morning with their heavy wool cladding.
I think I am going to invest in some long underwear this year but I have no idea what would be good.
The worst part is when I have to take off my gloves to wash Daisy’s udder and put the cups on. Then my hands are wet, and they freeze very quickly – this is bad. She is still milking out unevenly so it is not a fast process either.
But she is still giving way too much milk to even think about drying her up even if I wanted to which I don’t. So we will design protocols to deal with the cold. They did it in the old days on these little farms. I can do it now. I just have to work out how. Though I can see why in Europe they built the cow shed onto the house!
Good morning. Have a lovely day. When the sun comes out it will be lovely here too.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
106 responses to “Onwards and Upwards at 5F (-15C)”
I love the photo of the kittens – beautiful and wintry sunshine is my favourite kind of weather, but -15C? Brrr!
Brr alright, but we survived, after a while you can’t feel anything!.. c
Silk long undies! They’re thin but really warm although we tend to use snow pants here when it’s really cold. The kitties are really growing. Figured out if you have boys or girls yet? So what interesting things are you doing with your milk? I’m thinking about some yogurt. Have a great day Celi!
yoghurt for sure and maybe some fresh cheese tomorrow.. and where do i find the silk underwear?, these sound like just the thing for me!! I will google them! what a great tip.. thank you.. c
When I was a city carrier I wore long underwear called Cuddle Duds..they worked great..not real bulky..can be bought at Bergner’s…or maybe check into under armor..football players wear this under their uniforms. Stay warm! Did you find a pair of half gloves?
I tried the half gloves and the other half of my fingers about fell off, I have ordered some glover liners too, we will just have to deal with the wet/cold/covered in ice thing. I just have to remember to not touch the metal gates with my bare hands, this is a lesson i am being very slow at learning! morning connie.. c
You can click and go to my blog now. Finally figured it out but still haven’t posted for almost a month. Bad blogger.
Busy blogger!! c
Oh, my dear C. I should have warned you that the cold was moving south. It’s been frigid here in Minnesota.
the daytime temperatures are not as bad, and there is sun today, so a little cold in the morning is ok. It is when the cold settles on your head under cloud and stays there that I will start to dry icy tears! morning audrey! c
You need waterproof gloves! Have a look for the ones sailors use. You can’t catch a rope with frozen hands. I use neoprene ones, the same material that they make wetsuits out of. They are very insulating and yet you can still feel things through them.
Beautiful photos 🙂
Oh very good point, I shall look for some, thank you Barbara! c
Marine chandlers are the best place, but very expensive. Definitely try online first!
hi celi! silk underwear is the way to go. it is very thin, not bulky and keeps you really warm. i am sure you can find some through ll bean, ebay or amazon! joyce
sounds perfect, i will look on amazon..! c
We woke up to -8 yesterday……without windchill. It is cold cold cold in Iowa and I am not a fan. I do not have to go out and do chores, though, so I have the soft life here for sure!!! Love the kitty picture!
minus EIGHT is pretty cold! Hope you got some sun! c
That is the only saving grace–the sun! I can take the cold if the sun is out and it usually is here in Iowa!!!
Brrrr! It’s cold here too. I see someone already mentioned it so I’ll just second the silk long undies. I have to wear a lot of layers when I go out, too, and it’s nice to have one layer that isn’t big and bulky. The silk long undies fit that bill nicely. Love that photo of the kitties warming themselves in the sun. I know just how they feel. 🙂
Yup, the cats have the right idea, i am going to join them later today to get the sun on my face too! c
I’m looking out the window at just such a European house. In fact it’s the house we bought when we first came to France. The attached cowshed is now a very big, warm kitchen! I bought two old ruined cottages across the lane from the house, converted them and that’s where we live now. If I had cows, I’d have them in a building attached to the house for sure. But -15C – c’est inhumane!
I am very tempted … Very tempted, to create a milking shed next to the house, but getting the cow across here may be the problem! c
Hi Celi! It’s cold down here in the Ozarks too, 19 degrees F, which is much warmer than your 5 degrees….but still cold! I’m thinking of you and your poor hands in the milking chamber. Very cold! Our friends who we got our goats from, and who milk about 20 or so goats daily have a wood stove in their milking shed. I’m wondering if there is any way at all to get some heat into your milking chamber??? I know that a fire in a barn with hay does not go together….but there must be some way to add some warmth. After all, we still do have a couple of months of winter in the forecast. xo
No the barn is open and the milking parlour is kind of an open pen in the barn. But it is OK, the milking does not take that long really, with the machine, by the time I have lost feeling in my hands we are about done. John helps in the winter so my time out there is halved. I am back inside within the hour.. A wood stove does sound mighty tempting, i bet the animals would love it. They used to have them in the old days to keep the water from freezing and burnt their barns down with monotonous regularity.. c
I´m with the others on the silk underwear – fine, gentle on the skin and oh so warm! And you could always do like the folk from days back and sleep with the animals in the kitchen…well, maybe not!
although it is possible daisy may step on me in the night, i think she would be very warm to sleep with.. morning tanya! c
I agree with the silk underwear. Used it all the time back in the day when we’d go skiing. Keeps you nice and warm, and whisks away moisture. Wishing you a happy day on the farmy!
The sun is out now so we are much revived. I have gone online this morning and immediately ordered a pair of long silk drawers for each of us. I am sure John will be very excited about his new silk !! .. he he he .. c
This is where I always bought mine when I lived in the US. http://www.rei.com/search?query=silk+underwear
-15 C here today with bitter winds. I, however, do not have a cow to milk and today that feels like a bit of a blessing. Silk long johns, neoprene gloves, stay warm. Frostbite is a terrible thing.
We only do what is absolutely necessary before dawn, feeding out and milking, when the sun is up and it is a bit warmer i will go out to do actual chores.. frostbite would be terrible and why do they call it frost bite, wouldn’t it be more accurate to call it cold bite, or ice bite or snow bite or something! morning joss.. c
Silk is good and warm, but I’ve abandoned it for microfiber from the sporting-goods store, because it holds-up to repeated washings better. My kids to the north had 8F this morning, and we’re a balmy 16…no wind, thank God. Tonight will be colder.
As for getting to the barn, some of the old farms around here actually had tunnels, so no one had to go out in the blowing snow before dawn! Just a thought 😉
told john .. he, very meanly I thought, said he was not going to dig me a tunnel.. (laughter!).. c
silk are going for 25.00 atop and the same for bottoms
excellent, they are on their way.. soon!.. thank you..c
your welcome C just a hillbilly helpen out.