Boots

We had a nasty winter storm move in last night. There wasn't much snow, but the temperatures dropped from the upper thirties yesterday afternoon down to about 10F overnight, with winds approaching gale-force speeds. The snow we did get has been blowing and drifting everywhere, and the roads have a good coating of ice on them. Getting into the upper thirties yesterday seems to have melted the snow we got over the weekend...and going into the teens last night turned that stuff into ice. Especially with the winds and the whipping/blowing snow, I'm not venturing off the property today. I'm just glad I brought plenty of firewood in yesterday, ahead of the storm; the wind has now deposited a fairly substantial snowdrift in front of the wood pile.

Unfortunately, when you have livestock, it's still necessary to venture out to the barn a few times a day no matter what the weather. (But the Yeoman Farm Children are happy that the goats are not in milk right now.)We're keeping the barn doors closed tightly, and the animals have generated enough body heat to keep their downstairs area in the mid-thirties. The big bonus of that: their water has remained liquid.

But, milk or no milk, I've had to go out to the barn. And it's impossible to express how thankful I was this morning for having made a certain investment: good boots. When we first moved to the country, my temptation was to cut corners and buy cheap rubber boots from Wal Mart. We quickly discovered, however, that cheap boots are no bargain. When you wear boots every time you go outside, those boots take a lot of abuse. Cheap rubber boots literally fall apart after just a couple of months of getting that kind of use. And even before they become completely unusable, they leak moisture; there are few things as uncomfortable as wet socks on a ten degree morning in Michigan.

The solution we settled on long ago: invest in a good set of high quality boots. Yes, they cost substantially more at first --- but they easily pay for themselves because they last so much longer. My favorites are made by a company called Muck, and they're available for sale at most feed stores (the company's website has a dealer locater that will help you find a place nearby). There are places that sell Muck Boots online with free shipping, but their prices don't seem much better (if at all) than the local feed store. I've never bought these things online. Besides wanting to support a local small business, I also like being able to try the boots on and make sure they fit comfortably. They are a big investment, and I'd be miserable for the next year if they were a little too tight or a little too loose.

Muck makes several models of boots, depending on the application, but all of them are very solidly made and with care should last a full year on the farm. We usually get the Chore model, in either mid-calf or "high" height. The taller ones are heavier, and can make your legs feel tired more quickly after a long day of walking around, but on a cold day with blowing/drifiting snow they are sure nice to have.

When you're thinking about moving to the country, boots probably aren't high on your list of things to acquire. They certainly weren't on our radar. But good boots should be among the very first investments you make. And in our experience, it's hard to go wrong with anything from Muck.