I've never bedded my May-calving woolly Herefords. No barns but lots of woods and valleys. They need to have a place to get out of the winds. Each of my winter pastures has dense woods and Coulees as they're called here in the Driftless region of Wisconsin. Yesterday I put extra hay out in feeders close to the edge of the woods. Got to stoke those rumen heaters. Locally adapted cows in good condition are important. Most of mine have been through this before. The heifers and calves follow the experienced cows.

The way the snow is coming down and drifting, the cattle are on their own for a few days. They always find a sheltered spot deep in the woods.

I'm reminded of the scenes in "Dances with Wolves" where the Plains Indians all went north to the wooded valleys for the winter. Also of the towns in ND built down in valleys to get out of the wind.

Here's a picture I took a few minutes ago of our picnic table on the back porch. Forecast is to snow into tomorrow then the temperatures plunge to below zero. I'm glad to have this heavy snow to insulate the ground, waterlines, etc before we hit the -20 F lows.

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