In my last post on Montana Farm Life, I spoke about how winter was holding off for the time being and we were still mountain biking in the valley. That is no longer the case. Winter has arrived and it has come with vengeance. Our local ski mountain, Bridger Bowl has received 50” of snow in the last 5 days. This snow as desperately needed both on the ski mountain and on the farm. The Gallatin Valley has never recorded a drought, and I was getting worried that this year might be a drought for us. The snow fall is so important for the health of the rivers, creeks, and land in the mountains and in the valley. We need the snow fall for our hay crop that we harvest every year. Without the snowfall, we lack the moisture needed to produce a fertile crop of hay. Not only does our livestock depend on this hay all winter long, but we sell a large portion of the hay to local ranches to support their livestock. I am so thankful that we are starting to get significant snowfall.

One thing I am not thankful for is the extreme low temperatures that we are experiencing. Much like most of the midwest and northern plains, we are getting very low temperatures. This is due to the polar vortex dipping down into North America. This polar vortex usually stays up in the arctic, but due to low winds the polar vortex is creeping down into lower regions this year. It is amazing how quickly the weather can change in Montana. It feels like one day you are driving with your windows down, and the next day you are wearing all of the clothes that you own!

It has been fun going through this cold weather and getting all of this snow. Temperatures are likely to dip below -20 degrees Fahrenheit we are planning on bringing our four chickens indoors. They might be able to withstand this cold, but we do not want to take the risk of losing them.

I will keep you posted on how things turn out after this weather passes. I’m having fun with it thus far, but am looking forward to when temperatures return back to normal.