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I did get some sleep last night. Thanks to a gloriously bright full moon I was able to get a good look at the skating rinks forming in my paddocks during my frequent trips to the window. No injuries yet. I went out this morning and threw down some rocksalt, mixed with wood ash, and wood shavings. Wood ash is an old trick I heard about years ago. Many folks in the country would spread ash from their fireplaces and stoves onto their drives to prevent slipping and to help promote the melt. Yes, it is a messy proposition, but I would prefer to do what I could to minimize broken legs, hip displaysia or something worse. My hope is the dark color of the wood ash will attract the heat, along with the salt to melt the top layers of ice. Then the wood shavings will get stuck in the surface providing a little more grip power.
Watching the girls slip and slide makes my heart skip a beat each time. This afternoon I will go get some more diesel for the tractor and head out there and try to break it up. Once the wood ash and salt has had a chance to do its job. Its only 17 deg. Farenheit out there. But we have clear skies.
I also moved the feeding station so the girls would be less likely to walk all over the icy spots. Then I added extra ash and wood shavings around their water bucket. The boys paddock is less of a mess and are doing okay.
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