Winter Activities!

We were welcomed into the new year of 2021 in a glorious Iowa fashion, with a huge winter storm covering the ground in a brilliant fresh winter white color that also graced us with multiple layers of ice leaving us with slippery roads and slick sidewalks. The year 2021 welcomed me with a big grand hello. On New Year's Day while walking to the truck to do night chores, I slipped on the ice and fell face first on the cement. Happy New Year to me!

While I wanted to spend my first day of 2021 playing in the snow and doing fun winter activities, it started with work first. I quickly realized that the older you get, the snow days do not just mean a full day off to play in the snow. It begins now with scooping bunks in the feedlot yards for Dad before he feeds the hungry cattle. This especially was not fun this time when most of it was ice chunks stuck to the bunks. However, once you finish shoveling, scraping sidewalks, and pushing snow in the driveway and around the yard, that is when the real fun starts.

Sledding used to be my favorite thing to do as a kid when it snowed. Now since we are all older we like to tie the sled to the back of the gator taking turns sledding around the whole farm. With three brothers I usually get bucked off pretty regularly. Also around our yard and even all around the county you can find snowmobile tracks.

I have learned that once you get older you advance into a different version of sledding. You start getting pulled in a sled by a parent as a toddler to sledding with your own plastic sled on a small hill until you realize you don’t have to walk back up that hill if you attach the sled to a motor. Then as you grow even older you realize the best version of sledding there is, a snowmobile. My older brothers finally got rid of their older junk sleds and recently bought bigger snowmobiles. It was simply amazing how fast they could scoop bunks and feed their cows last week! They couldn’t wait to play on their new toys. All in all, even though it’s cold, snowy, and icy, you can still find the joy in it. Even if you happen to do a face plant on the hard ground by slipping on ice, it is still possible to enjoy a good old fashioned fun snow day with your family!

~ Kesley Holdgrafer