No romance about farming in this weather

We are in for 1/2 to 1" of rain tonight on top of 18' of snow which poses multiple issues to prepare for. The roofs need to be raked, ditches around the barn need to be opened to let the rain flow away from the foundation and any snow that needs moving better get moved today before the cold air returns and turns everything to a snowy cement.

The drizzle started at 9AM and we spent the last 3 hours doing all that above. The sheep barn was most important to address to avoid collapse, so Jack cleared off the roof and it was HEAVY snow already. I locked them out of the barn area so they didn't panic with Jack on the roof, and they DO panic at any little unknown issue. I did my best to get the snow and mud cleared in the outside loafing area so the ground will dry off quicker, eventually. I got a ditch cleared so the inner barn doesn't flood. A few years ago , we learned the hard way that if there isn't a ditch the water all just seeps in and then the bedding and everything is soaked. We had a sump pump in there for days during that storm.

Jack did the roof raking for the summer sheep sheds, the house and cottage and one side of another barn. Thankfully he is fit! That is hard work.

Looks like we are ready for whatever happens and tomorrow it will be colder and windy with snow showers. As the saying goes, if you don't like the weather in New England, wait a minute.