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)”
-10* here this morning with -18* for tonight. Use thick, industrial rubber gloves…Your own body heat will keep them warm enough. Once the udder is washed, put your others back on. Keep the thick, but pliable gloves in the house with us and wear out first thing. That is what I used to do, anyway.
Search Duluth Trading Company for ideas of nasty weather clothes.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
very good thinking.. usually once the cups are on her I put my wooly gloves back on so that would work well.. -10 is outrageous, how could you have milked in that? I hope we do not get that cold this winter.. c
Oh C, I will never complain about my cold weather!! I’d say I would stay inside in front of the fire all day but you’ve got lots of loved ones to care for! It does look like a beautiful and hopefully by now you are warm inside!
yes i am back in.. well in and out actually, but more in than out..take care.. c
brrr minus 15 deg c. I hope you got some NZ thermals while you were over here. What about wearing plastic gloves underneath your mittens then the plastic gloves can help protect you while you clean down the udders.
Love Leanne NZ
That is something i am going to try, i shall get some on shopping day.. see what happens! morning leanne, I hope your summer is being good to you. c
I’m amazed it’s daylight at 5:30am Celia…..
It isn’t – I milk twice a day in the dark.. 6 and 6.. crazy! c
You have received a ton of excellent advice to keep warm. I notice the silk underwear keeps turning up. I down hill skied in Banff and the temperature was minus 36 F. I wore silk underwear, silk soaks, and silk gloves – and then tons of layers. Still never enough to keep warm – just exist for one run. You meet your challenges head on Celi, but there just isn’t any negotiating with the weather. Sending warm warm wishes. V.
all these warm wishes feel like silk!! hope you are warm too virginia~~.. c
My Dad was a Treefeller, worked outdoors all his life, in the winter he used to carry a small charcoal hand warmer, said it warmed his fingers enough to be able to roll a smoke. From memory it was a little tin usually carried in a small soft material pouch, inside the tin were slow burning charcoal sticks, stopped his fingers going numb, probably important when wielding a chainsaw!. He also had a wee propane gas heater that he kept on the passenger seat of his truck, he would go out and fire it up then come in and have a last cuppa before hitting the road in a warm car.
how extraordinary, he was a clever fellow, fancy having a gas heater to heat up his car and those hand warmers.. that is brilliant.. i could do that you know, put a little coal from the fire in a tin and wrap it in a cloth, I like that idea! well done.. c
I have never been in temperatures so cold. And I can’t imagine having to wear so many layers. But you are right – people survived these conditions many years ago and so did their animals. I hope you get some sunshine xx
yes they must have used all kind of ingenious things to stay warm, also they really did wear a lot of clothes in those days! morning charlie louie
Wow, that so much cold!! Luckily you are a strong woman with a lot of undergarments 😉
I soon will be once my long johns come.. c
Check REI.com, Sunandski.com, or other snowshoe / ski outlets for warm underwear. (stuff starting to going on sale now! – check snow sports or ski equipment stores and websites). Lots of people like silk but some of the synthetic new fibers are equally good…many say better than wool. Ski shops/sites might provide comparisons of types. Either way, that layer does make a big difference.
Can so identify with the waddling from all the layers.
Glad the sun is out some anyway.
the sun is bright, especially with all this reflection around.. ! I shall check the ski outlets, what an excellent idea! morning mouse.. c
That is serious cold! (and thanks for the translation to Celsius – wow!) But everything does look crisp and beautiful and clean. Can you wear those thin vinyl (like surgical) gloves under your thick ones, and leave the vinyl gloves on when washing Daisy? That might give you some protection and still allow you to use your fingers.
Did you ever check out the NZ range of ‘icebreaker’ clothing for serious cold (like Antarctica)? There are some excellent blends of mohair etc which still breathe effectively.
When I come home again i am going to track down the mohair.. we will make sure of it!! c
Thank you for the reminder to get long underwear. A good investment and great luxury indeed.
I am certainly looking forward to mine coming!! c
Well, since we are not allowed to use sprinklers in our community have just been handwatering [my equivalent of Daisy 🙂 !] the large garden wearing a swimsuit for over two hours: yes, but the flower show is quite a sight 🙂 ! Full week of 32 + C ahead, so no choice . . . Now have read each and every comment here and reached for a coverup: chilly all of a sudden 😀 ! Thinking back on my skiing days etc, agree with Vivinfrance: I love Damart Grade 4 and still keep Grade 2 for our very mild winters [we bitterly complain when it hits -2 C in the morning!!] Am blowing some of our warmth NE!!!!!
Damart grade 4 sounds like the one for me and fancy you.. out in your togs watering.. that sounds quite lovely! blow hard darling! I will know when your little bit of warmth gets here! c
I totally understand – we reached a HIGH of -15 celsius today here in Canada. Tonight it’s going down to -30C! Layers, layers, layers……
Oh no.. that is way too cold!! I could not farm in that kind of cold at all.. stay inside! c
In the most recent issue of Hobby Farms magazine there is a whole article on transitioning to once a day milking. They claim it isn’t a problem for the cow at all and there’s only a small decrease in volume.
Try ramblersway.com. They have wool underwear in many styles. It is very soft, cozy, and USA grown and made. I bought the Henley shirt a couple of months ago and have barely taken it off since. I want to get leggings next.