King of the Hill

Knowing chores come first, our boys trudge through the mountains of snow to help daddy put in a couple of large, round bales for the cattle. Their main job is to open the gate, remove the mesh netting from the bales, and then close the gate. They eagerly rush through the job with hopes of going sledding afterwards.

My husband recently started using the backhoe to move the hay bales since its large arm is more effective than the 3-point bale fork on the back of the Allis Chalmers WD tractor. With the backhoe being a relatively recent purchase for us, we have not gotten accustomed to using it as the tool of choice until lately, but this year’s extreme winter has reminded us that the larger tractor was obviously a crucial purchase for our farm.

With the bale job finished, dad moves to clearing the snow from the lane. In years past, the skid loader has worked well for this task, but it just doesn’t have the bucket capacity we need this season. As the boys wait for dad to finish clearing the lane, a game of King of the Hill has broken out atop the large piles of snow in front. Each one takes their turn at the top until they are sent tumbling down the side.

A slight pause occurs as one of the boys fusses with a bloody nose (no doubt from rough play). He refuses to rest on the front porch instead preferring to nurse the wound with a wad of paper towels standing by the others. As the cold helps the blood clot, I see him shove the paper towels in a coat pocket while charging back up the snow hill. Eventually, he treks inside for more paper towels, some dry gloves, and a sky mask. As I helped him tuck in the gloves under his coat sleeves, I felt like a boxing manager cleaning up a fighter between rounds. With a cotton-packed nose beneath his sky mask, he was off for another sparring match.

Later the boys got their wish as dad took them for a ride around the farm pulling their sleds behind the WD as they took turns being dumped and then running to hop back on their sleds. It is true that the simple pleasures are the best ones because they’re pure joy unencumbered by technology glitches. At times, I wonder if they have more fun doing the sledding or my husband driving or me watching the whole scene waiting inside with hot cocoa and camera in-hand. Either way, the scene is truly memorable for us all and keeps cabin fever at bay for a while. The radio promises another snowstorm tomorrow, but at least today is a sunny, leisurely Sunday afternoon on our snow-filled farm.