It was a long night of freezing rain, then snow, blowing winds, drifts everywhere. Morning brought colder temperatures, tractors that didn’t want to start, frozen water pipes, plowing snow to get the milk truck in, a very cold newborn calf, and more. Finally after several hours and a lot of hard work, things are back in order, everything seems to be working and that new baby heifer calf is tucked in and warm. She just might be a winner this summer.

As you enter the mudroom or basement to get rid of the bulky coat, Carhartt, boots, toboggan and gloves, you are greeted by a beautiful aroma, and it isn’t coming from your boots! You make your way to the kitchen, and there, simmering on the stove, is just what your body and soul needed — hot soup. It is the time of year when thoughts turn to soup, and farm kitchens all over the country have soup on the stove or waiting to be heated in the microwave.

When you check out soups, you find that there are so many different kinds. Not only are there recipes for the ones we have made over the years — potato, chicken noodle, vegetable, chili, etc. — there are so many other nourishing ones containing numerous ingredients. You can find soup recipes from all over the world. I found it interesting that so many of the soups are made with some type of dairy product — milk, cream, butter, sour cream and cheese of all kinds. Recipes for both apple soup and sour cherry soup use dairy products. Perhaps we should be doing more advertising to encourage those types of soups for consumers.

I can’t think of anything better for this time of year and those cold, snowy days. I find soup to be nourishing, comforting and a stress reliever. There is something about sitting down to a hot, steamy bowl of soup and as you slowly savor each spoonful not only are you warmed and nourished, it also seems to ease and relieve the stress you are under.

Several years ago, there was rain and wind on Christmas Eve that turned into a terrible ice storm overnight. On Christmas morning, everything was covered in ice; fences, roads and tree branches were broken down; and electric wires were down. In order to make our way to the barn, we had to put the spikes that railroaders used in icy weather over our boots and hold to the fences, gates and whatever else we could hang on to.

It was three o’clock in the afternoon before my family could leave things at the barn and go to the house. There was no Christmas dinner to enjoy; everyone had to help get things under control at the barn. Fortunately there was a pot of leftover vegetable soup that had been made two days before. That was our Christmas dinner and probably the best-tasting vegetable soup that any of us had ever tasted. We celebrated Christmas and opened presents two days later.

The simple things in life can help us get through the hardest challenges. As dairy farmers begin to make their way through this new year of 2018, they are faced with many difficult problems and challenges. While it won’t solve the problems, there are times when just a simple bowl of hot soup can help us to get through the day and survive. Take time on these cold winter days to enjoy your favorite kind. Don’t forget the crackers.