"It's okay, dad," came Nate's voice from the screen of the computer in what Ulysses Bowman used as an office in his home as he talked with his son and his wife over zoom. Shuixing was seated next to Nate. "From what you've said... it would seem like things are rather rough."
Blueberry was seated beside Ulysses in another chair with Calvin in her lap. He was over a year old now and was managing to toddle around a bit and was working on some words, though for the moment, it appeared that Calvin was more interested in reaching up to bat at Blueberry's right ear with his hand. Both sets of Bowman families enjoyed these kinds of meetings, partially because it wouldn't be easy or cost effective to do a lot of travelling. Shuixing and the Elements lived almost full time on Heiya Island now and while Ulysses' farm was self-sufficient, with its location in Wisconsin, it wasn't as though flying to an island south of the Japanese main islands was easy. Zoom and Skype were easier to work with, and all that would be needed were some emails to schedule these meetings in advance in order to handle the time zone difference between the two sites.
But it still made for a good opportunity to visit, and as Ulysses tilted his ears to listen to the wind outside his home, it was also something required given what was coming with that wind. Talking with Nate would be something that would ease some of his worries. Blueberry was happy to talk, too, particularly with the reports that Shuixing was now expecting. To Blueberry, the female Water Buffalo Animalian looked very happy, and Blueberry was happy to provide whatever she could to help and provide encouragement that anything and everything that might go "rough" Shuixing would be worth it. Calvin was even willing to sit still in her lap for that part.
"Yes... and the wind has already begun picking up," Ulysses answered, "it is looking like something that we haven't seen here in years."
"But you have had snowstorms before, haven't you?" Shuixing asked, looking to both Nate and Ulysses.
"In the past, yes," Ulysses answered, "but in the past few years, the volume of snow has gone down and the number of cold days in the year has also gone down. It's where this storm is really something out of the normal for the past few years."
"I trust you've gotten a rope out from the house to the barn?" Nate asked, "just in case?"
"I did," Ulysses answered.
"The girls were even happy to help move the cattle into the barn and make sure it's well stocked with hay and other foods they can get to that can last them a few days. That is what took time and why the Christmas gifts we sent may arrive late. We saw on reports that the Dakotas actually got hit hard last week and it has also been moving through."
Nate and Shuixing nodded at the mention of the other uplifted Cows that had come back to the Bowman farm and now had homes and apartments in the area. Meryl and Olly had their own home nearby, and one that had been built up for them after Olly first became an Animalian. It took a little while to get it built, but Ulysses had had the space to let the two Mule Animalians stay until it was ready, and while Meryl returned to running her old business with Olly in town, Ulysses could at least be glad to have her around, regardless of her stubborn streak.
"Just stay warm, dad," Nate urged, "and don't worry. The gifts you and Aunt Meryl will arrive when they arrive. We can wait."
"MOOOOO!" Calvin protested loudly while waving his hand.
"You stay warm too, baby brother," Nate chuckled as Calvin relaxed back a bit.
Ulysses and Blueberry chuckled at the protest and noted Calvin starting to kick his legs a little, either indicating he was tired of sitting or was getting ready for a nap. "We all will."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The weather did steadily get worse, and while in the area around the Bowman farm and the town it was just outside of didn't get it as hard as other parts of the country as the Christmas holiday approached. It left some good-sized drifts on the front lawn and going up the driveway to the Bowman's garage. Visibility wasn't horrible, but with the wind it could be difficult and that left daily checks on the barn and the cattle even more difficult, particularly as the days before Christmas also included a heavy drop in temperature.
The Brown Swiss Cattle that Ulysses Bowman raised were strong and could handle cooler temperatures, and after becoming a Brown Swiss Bull Animalian as he began to fall for Blueberry after her uplifting, he'd made an agreement that his cows would be uplifted once they got too old for milk production, just as Blueberry, Strawberry, Blackberry, and Gooseberry were. However, no cattle were that old, yet, and at present the mission was largely to make sure they stayed warm. As being able to endure cold temperatures, being able to thrive in them was another, and a lot of breeds of domestic cattle didn't do well if the weather was harsh. Ulysses had an advantage in that he had a good-sized barn in which he could keep his herd out of the wind and had enough hay in to feed them... or at least Ulysses hoped he had enough hay for them.
Day by day, Ulysses went out, often when he felt the wind wasn't gusting as much and holding onto a rope he'd strung to a sliding door on the side of the barn. He checked the cattle and kept the dividers at wide enough births that they could lay down without bunking into them if they didn't want to be with the rest of the herd in a more open area that was set up for that purpose. He found that most of the cattle were often huddling in that more open area, but it was enough to keep them warm. He'd then check each of them individually to make sure they weren't cold, and so far, they weren't. That gave Ulysses some comfort as he then returned to his home to find Blueberry working on some decorations for Christmas, namely an artificial tree that they'd managed to get from a Walmart. Calvin, meanwhile, was hopping up and down in his playpen.
"It's looking good," Ulysses said slowly as he came into the living room, though sure that Blueberry had heard his hooves clicking on the floor and the carpet when he came in.
"Thank you," Blueberry answered with a smile, "I'm hoping I got it set up right... as my helper here has only had one word of advice."
"Tee!" Calvin cheered while hoping up and down.
"It does look like a tree, so I think you have it right," Ulysses said to her, "and it will give us something to celebrate in the midst of this blizzard everything else."
And the Christmas celebration aspect of that comment was genuine. Generally, his work managing the herd kept him busy through the year, and some of it had been doubled when Nate had been young, forcing him into some odd jobs that helped him add to what the farm generated. This kept him busy from enjoying the sort of vacations that many of those in town often had and enjoyed. But Christmas was often one of those times when he could relax and had some means of having family close. For years, it had been Nate and Meryl, his son and his older sister. It was a moment where they could enjoy what had been good in their lives, and Ulysses often did put up some lights around the windows that faced the road. Though, right now with the blizzard, he didn't think anyone would notice the lights. Now, he had Blueberry and Calvin, and if Meryl and Ollie could make it through the drift, they might join them for Christmas dinner, and it would be a good family moment. Having Nate and Shuixing present would make it perfect, but distance and money made that difficult, and so far, the news reports on the weather made even traveling that far unwise.
Their part of Wisconsin hadn't had it too bad, but there were parts that were getting it bad. Some of the news reports out of Buffalo and parts of the south looked quite miserable, Buffalo especially so because of all the "lake effect snow" they were getting from. There were other parts of the state where travel was restricted because of the volume of snow that was coming down. It was something that worried Ulysses over the potential for things on the major roads. It was something that Ulysses was actually glad that Nate was on Heiya Island with his wife and the Elements. Because while things around the farm wasn't the worst, that didn't mean there weren't areas near them that weren't bad. And there were some areas that were relatively close by that were a bit worse. Parts of Minnesota got it twice with a blizzard that went through two weeks before Christmas and then hit again by the second blizzard. From old news reports and things, he'd heard from the rumor mill when he'd visited Animalia in previous years, Animalia's deputy mayor either had family or in-laws living somewhere in Minnesota.
"I'm sure things will be fine," Blueberry said slowly, "or at least for most people things will be fine and that's the best either of us can do."
"I'm sure," Ulysses nodded and moved to hug his wife, "but right now... with this weather... it's one of those things where I'm grateful to have a home and to have you and Calvin here."
"And lots of snow to shovel once all of this stops," Blueberry answered.
"That I'm not looking forward to," Ulysses shook his head, "but... then, becoming an Animalian should make it easier... unless this blizzard has made the snow proportionately heavier."
"It could be worse... it could be ice," Blueberry answered, "I had the radio on earlier. The in-town emergency crews had to go down to a spot not too far from where Meryl's shop is. Apparently, a fire hydrant burst and glazed the street in ice. It'd been plowed, mostly, but the city had to go in, shut off the water, and find out where the crack in the pipe was."
"That'd ultimately require digging up the street," Ulysses said slowly, "more than likely they'd just shut off the water to that hydrant and any lane that hydrant was connected to until the blizzard stops... at least. And it'll mean that road will be closed when they actually get started on the work to fix the cracked pipe."
Blueberry nodded and nuzzled Ulysses' chin.
"Was anyone hurt?" Ulysses asked.
"NO!" Calvin declared from his playpen, earning a look from Ulysses to his young son, unsure if Calvin was answering the question or didn't like that his parents were hugging.
"No one was hurt," Blueberry gave a chuckle, "fortunately... though it may mean some have a dry Christmas."
"And some of the stores are short on supplies because of the last storm that went through," Ulysses shook his head, "this is where winter weather isn't great... even if we didn't get the worst of it."
Blueberry nodded again and again nuzzled her muzzle to Ulysses' and got another cry of "no" from Calvin.
"Alright, you," Ulysses turned, "what's got you all jealous?"
"Tee!" Calvin declared pointing to the partially decorated tree. That only earned some more laughs, as even in the midst of a blizzard, family Christmases went on.