Winter Gear

Finding the appropriate gloves for cold winters and water is not so easy. Last winter I found the perfect gloves at the local Field's store, of all places. They are insulated with some sort of fuzzy fiber and rubber on the outside. They are warm enough to keep my hands from the cold and they also help to keep them dry. The insulation is something that does not get cold when it is wet, sort of like wool, but it is not wool. The advantage is great because my hands do get wet, but stay warm. I am busy working though. The moment I stop for very long, I have to tuck my hands in my pockets so the fingers don't freeze. Drying the gloves was a challenge too. Because they are rubber on the outside, the inside does not dry. So I have two methods of drying them: one hanging on a hook above the wood stove, which allows the moisture to move upwards and out, and the other on the tool hanger right by the stove. If the ones on the tool hanger are not quite dry, then I put them above the wood stove the next day, so that I always have two pairs on the go and one is dry.
I wear brown cotton insulated coveralls most of the winter, one piece with a hood. I could not take a picture of myself in them though, so the photo will have to wait for another opportunity. Today I was clipping the mohair from the girl's butts. They grow such thick fiber that it gets caked and matter and has to be clipped off between shearings. It was a darn good thing I had those coveralls on, because I ended up in the snow mostly on top of a goat. I washed my hands three times and they still smelled like goat, even though I had those rubber gloves on. And that is part of the winter gear story!

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