I'm waiting till the 'elder' member of the family is in to watch the videos, as he's 'computer challenged', and I'll want to show it to him later.
Re. 'hard' winters.....I do wonder how much difference 'modern' equipment makes in the 'severity' of winters today???. Born in summer of 1940, I do recall some things about winter of '49. Talk mostly, and of the old surplus WWII vehicles moving about the area to haul hay out to cattle, as well as some airplane drops. The deaths of several members, I believe it was from two families, but were attempting go take, or get, kids between home and school. Kids and adults, maybe a total of 4 or 5. My memories of details of tragedies are not totally reliable, since they come from over-hearing adults talk about them in hushed voices around kids quite young at the time. And I didn't personally know any of them.
I wonder if there was a break in the series of storms in the winter of, if memory is correct, of '51 or '52, it was pretty bad, too, at least in my area of some knowledge, within about a dozen miles of Midland, SD where several family members lived. I recall being driven part of the 9 miles to the Calhoon ranch (my parents) in a pick-up, transferring to a hay rack/Iwagon half filled with hay, and several quilts for us to ride the final few miles home. It was pulled by a tractor. That ride home on a night with a very bright moon shining on the snow. It must have been just before Christmas, as going to the ranch would not have been done just for a week-end. There appeared just a little ahead of us what seemed a very large herd of deer, which of course, the adults riding with the kids, insisted had to be Santa's Reindeer! That was even exciting for a rather new 'non' believer in the Santa Claus story!!! Some of the changes, then to now: there was no county road maintainance in those days. It does happen on some roads now. Kids don't generally live in town during the winter, unless they go clear to Pierre, or at least more than ten or twenty miles to school now. And we very rarely went to 'other towns' for highschool sports events the...….and sometimes we do that several times a week now!!! And even drive more than 100 miles for tournaments!!! Recently, our second grader went 90 miles to a spelling bee (and placed 3rd in her category). I'm almost glad I didn't know about it, so didn't 'have' to go! Another difference in then and now.....I used to love to go anywhere...…..now at times, I almost would rather stay home, but usually think we should be supportive, even if I don't feel like a long ride home 'after my bedtime', being an insomniac, I need quite a few hours to get anywhere close to enough sleep!
We are into an intensifying session of a lengthy 'winter storm', supposed to give us a few inches. Much of Feb. and March has been 'that way'. And we have several inches on the ground. Seems like the current 'snow cover' has relocated several times this winter! Blows one direction one day, and moves all the snow back the next! Much of the time, the sun has been absent. It helps when the sky is somewhat bright, as it is now, but dreary skies tend to make dreary people!
To end on a positive note, we do have the heifers in, the barn ready, and a few calves safely here. Work for cowboys, even on still VERY horse oriented ranch, good pick-ups, trailers, tractors and hay-haulers sure do make the work lots easier and SAFER. But the hours are even longer, since we have artificial lights on/in vehicles and barns (electicity for calf warmer boxes is wonderful! Ditto running water an even hot water when needed at the barn! Saint Patricks' Day and Spring and Easter will come soon!
mrj