Saturday, November 23, 2013

Ice storms and the Windmill

Excerpts from "Just Thoughts of a Plain Country Woman", 

"While the windmill was always a machine of supreme concern to us in summer when cattle need such quantities of cool, refreshing water, it was a double care in winter when water is a necessity and freezing is a certainty in very cold weather.
 
During a prolonged storm when the legs, steps, mill and all were sheathed in ice, or hanging in icicles, we almost held our breath for fear the sucker rod would break in the high wind or a bolt would need to be replaced in the uppermost spot and someone must needs climb it to make the repairs. On such night, the last chore was to make sure that the windmill was turned off and safe.