I know the leaves are turning and it’s just hitting fall, but it’s time to make a winter list. This is a list of all the things you need to have on hand to make wintertime a little easier this year. It’s very important to remember the things you forgot last year to put on this year’s list. Remember that small item called rubber barn boots you forgot to purchase for the first cold driving rain that occurred suddenly? You’d been happy running around all summer in tennis shoes and then that rain happened. Tennis shoes are not much good in cold driving rain and deep mud.

I’ll start my list and see if this jars your memory any to add things to your list.

1. Rubber boots -- two pair, one insulated and one not, for those hot 35 degree days. Also duct tape (preferably the same color of the boots, but not necessary) to hold the boots together until you finally make it to a farm store to get another pair. Or, possibly to last all winter.
2. Rain poncho -- Can get at Walmart for $8. The rain poncho will cover all manners of coats and coveralls, no matter how heavy you layer them. Use the above mentioned duct tape to hold it together to last all winter. I have one poncho that’s 4 years old. Sure, it’s mainly duct tape now, but it still sheds most rain and wet snow.
3. Yellow fleece winter gloves -- buy them by the dozen at a local farm supply store. They are warm down to 3 degrees and if you get them wet, just hang them up near the wood stove and grab another pair out of the dozen you bought. The fleece gloves are also good for wiping off newly born kids’ heads when you find you have run out of clean kidding towels.
4. Firewood -- The above mentioned wood stove reminded me of this. Have plenty of firewood on hand for winter. We use only wood heat and have an airtight wood stove upstairs and down. Last year we cut up 22 truckloads of firewood and it wasn’t enough (I like a warm house). Don’t find yourself like we did one winter in a raging white out, could barely see a hand in front of your face from all the blowing snow, out cutting firewood.
5. Spare winter barn coats -- Somehow or another I always seem to demolish one or two winter coats a year. It’s just a gift I have. So, I make sure I have at least three winter barn coats on hand every winter. This also helps if you get soaked by that cold driving rain or sleeting snow when you forgot your rain poncho. You can hang the wet coat by the wood stove and grab up a spare to go back outside, and with the rain poncho.
6. Peanut Butter -- Always have on hand during winter and also the kidding months plenty of peanut butter. When you are in a hurry and don’t have time to fix a meal, peanut butter always hits the spot. It’s nice to have some bread or crackers with it, but not necessary.
7. Flashlights & batteries -- An absolute must for the goat farmer who finds themselves running around in the dark checking on goats, particularly kidding goats. I like the small hand held ones that I can put in my pocket and whip out when I need them. Find the flashlights that are a little hard to turn on when you carry them in your pocket. I ran through a lot of batteries one month when I carried one nice little flashlight that clicked on with the slightest touch. My coat pocket was lit up all the time and I didn’t know it until it was too late.
8. Lanterns, kerosene lamps, & lamp oil -- For those of us who’s electric goes off over the whole area from a windy day, here’s a must. We even have a couple of the old railroad type lanterns for taking outside in case both Lee and I have flashlights that turn on easily in our coat pockets and we’ve used up all our batteries.
9. Gallon of gentle iodine -- This is for kidding time. We usually kid from Oct. on, but mainly in January. We’ve found it cheaper to buy our gentle iodine in the gallon size for all the times I knock over the little jars we use for dipping the kid’s cord in. Why gentle iodine instead of the 7%? Lee and I both developed an allergy to the 7% after the first six years of kidding and we had to switch. Just open up a bottle of the 7% stuff and tears start streaming down our faces, our eyes can’t open, and we can’t find the doe, the kids, and the stall we’re in. You would hear us snorting and blubbering in the kidding stalls, "Can you find the doe?" "No, I can’t open my eyes." "I’ve lost the doe and the kids!"
10. Kidding towels -- Very important item. I go through the towels in the bathroom and pick through the most worn ones and set them aside for kidding. That usually leaves us with two towels, but at the next towel sale I promise myself I will buy us some more towels. I’ve noticed that our town has yet to have a towel sale. Oh well.
11. Heat lamps & heat lamp bulbs -- We buy the heat lamp bulbs by the case and several new heat lamps to replace the lamps the goat kids thought it would be fun to swing on.
12. Toboggans -- No, I don’t mean sleds. These are warm knit caps to pull down over your head. I find in the winter I need a couple of different types. I need the heavy toboggan for those temperatures below thirty degrees Fahrenheit and a light one for temps above thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit. And a couple of spares when I drop them in mud or manure or have a cold day when I need to wear two of them at one time.
13. Kid Kare -- I really like this stuff from Hoeggers. It gives a jump-start to a newly born kid to get him up and nursing. This is particularly important if you are kidding in cold weather. Only problem is this stuff gets solid on you in the colder temps. I usually put a bottle in a zip top baggie and keep it in my inner coat pocket to keep it warm. Goat Nutri-Drench will also give a kid a quick jump-start and it doesn’t get solid in cold weather, but it’s nasty tasting to them and they sputter to spit it out.
14. Colostrum -- I keep Hoegger’s Goat Colostrum Replacer on hand all the time and store the powdered colostrum in the freezer to keep it fresh. It’s a real pill to stir up and get all the lumps out, but it’s saved many a kid.

Now let’s see, there’s also sitting buckets to set aside for kidding. I have many fond memories of favorite sitting buckets I’ve sat on and fallen asleep and fell off of over the years during kidding. Heavy woolen socks to shop for and stock up. And ……. I tell you what; let’s all go to Florida for the winter and have our winter there. What do you say?