WINTER HARDSHIPS

I sat at my window watching the first snowflakes of the year drift slowly to the ground in the glow of the streetlights. How peaceful and serene the world looked. Memories of other winters crept into my mind. Winters that weren’t so easy – winters that caused many hardships.

As a child, I lived in a rural community in southern Ontario. Our house sat on a lot of land in the corner of Grandpa’s farm. Living next door to Grandma and Grandpa was a blessing for me and even today I am thankful for having the experiences that can only be found on a farm.

I can remember one exceptionally cold winter. The sub-zero temperatures had lasted for days. Mom bundled me up in my winter garb and let me go to Grandma’s. When I entered the house, my uncle was there, pulling on his boots and heavy overalls.

“Want to come along?” he asked.

“Where?” I replied, wondering what adventure I would take part in today. Uncle Willie always had something interesting to do.

“I have to take the cows to the creek to water them. We will be quite a while. Are you dressed warm enough?”

After assuring him I was snug in my warm snowsuit, hat and gloves, we set off to the creek to open the ice, an axe slung over Uncle Willie’s shoulder.

The steep hill in the lane was covered with ice. The cows would have to go down this hill, so Uncle Willie stopped and began to cut through the ice with the axe to clear a path.

We continued on our way to the creek, where Uncle Willie cleared a path for the cows to descend the bank. If they slipped on the ice and broke their stride, they would be butchered and used for food. Not one thing on the farm was ever wasted. Everything had a purpose whether it was to put food on the table, work the fields or produce young.

After Uncle Willie had cleared the creek bank, he began chopping a hole in the ice. This was a lengthy procedure, as he had to make the hole big enough so that a number of cows could drink at one time. The ice was six inches thick and by the time he was finished, my fingers and toes were cold.

When we entered the barn, it was warm and cozy. The heat from the animals kept it at a reasonable temperature. We stood around for a few minutes, stamping our feet and blowing on our fingers to get them warm. Much too soon, Uncle Willie asked me to start letting the cows out. Though I dreaded going back out into the cold, windy weather, the stock must be watered immediately. Even now, after such a short time, they would have to break the surface ice with their noses in order to get a drink.

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