You know how sometimes winter has to smack you in the face before you realize your gear isn’t cutting it? Well… consider me fully smacked.

This week’s frigid weather has taught me one very important homestead lesson:
I need better gloves. Immediately.

For years, I’ve been wearing my trusty old leather work gloves — the ones that have survived everything from moving lumber to chasing chickens to digging in gravel. They’ve been through a lot… which probably explains why they now have more holes than actual leather.

So what did I do?
Did I buy new gloves like a reasonable, winter-prepared adult?

No.
I grabbed a pair of tiny, cheap knit gloves that I found shoved in the back of a drawer — the kind that cost $2, come in a pack of four, and provide the same level of insulation as a wet napkin.

And friends… those gloves were not the answer.

Try feeding chickens in 20-degree wind while wearing gloves meant for kindergarteners on a field trip. Try holding a metal waterer with fabric so thin you can feel every molecule of cold vibrating through your bones. Try opening gates, untying feed bags, picking up eggs, and cracking ice with gloves that get soaked instantly and freeze even faster.

By the end of my chores, I couldn’t feel my fingertips, my soul left my body at least twice, and I found myself googling things like “gloves for Arctic exploration,” “do people still get frostbite in 2024,” and “best insulated farm gloves for women with tiny hands.”

Spoiler alert: yes, they do, and yes, I’m buying better gloves.

If you’re a fellow homesteader dealing with winter chores, learn from me. Don’t wait until your fingers resemble frozen chicken nuggets. Invest in gloves that actually stand a chance against the cold — insulated, waterproof, windproof… preferably capable of handling ice, animals, and the occasional emotional breakdown.

This cold snap has taught me many things, but the most important one is simple:
Homestead chores don’t stop for winter, so your gloves better not either.

Stay warm out there — and treat your hands better than I treated mine.