Right now, it’s -23 and blowing snow sideways. It isn’t like it was unexpected as they were forecasting arctic cold for nearly a week now. That was good as it gave us plenty of time to put extra hay in the training ring and get the cows moved in there so they could snuggle up in the barn when it got cold.
Likewise, Will hauled in extra “good” wood, which is big dry chunks of black ash, which burns like coal, instead of our “regular” wood, which can be poplar, birch, or fir. He’s got my cold now and both of us are really glad we don’t have to be outside much in this weather.
I’ve been fighting a big flock of starlings in the goat barn. The last straw was when they ate nearly a whole 50-pound sack of chicken feed by pecking into the unopened bag! Besides that, they poop over everything. My chicken coop is cleaner than the barn aisle! So, as we had to run to Virginia (the town) anyway, I had Will pick up a metal garbage can to dump feed into, inside the chicken coop. No more starlings in our feed!
I hope everyone has prepared for this bad storm, going from Texas, all the way up the East coast. They’re calling for snow, freezing rain, and up to 3 inches of ice, which will break down power lines, trees and more. Are you ready for it? This may mean long power outages, dangerous driving conditions, etc. Be sure you have a way to keep warm without electricity, have plenty of water stored up, even if it’s in your bathtub and a few jugs. I’m sure you have enough food to last but please stay safe. Don’t travel unless you absolutely must. And if you go, be sure you have emergency supplies in your car in case of breakdowns or sliding in the ditch.
We’re all cuddled down with a couple big logs in the fire as the temperature drops even more. Hang in there guys, spring is only a few weeks away. — Jackie
A defunct deep freeze makes a good storage cabinet for bags of feed.
We’ve been having below zero cold, a little snow and a couple ground blizzards with winds up to 50 mph over the last couple of weeks. This week daytime temps are going to be in teens to twenties and back below zero at night. I’ve not had a problem with pipes freezing in this house probably because only the kitchen sink has pipes on an outside wall and even then, they run inside the house not through the wall.
Being retired, no animals and a prepper, I hibernate and ignore the weather outside. I do have a generator that comes on automatically and runs most of the house including the furnace. I also have natural gas for cooking, water heater and clothes dryer which makes life easier without power. I would never voluntarily live in an all-electric house!
I agree that ice is the worst. Snow can be shoveled or waded through, but ice is just plain dangerous in every way. Even with ice cleats walking is dangerous.
I have used old chest freezers to store feed. The trouble is I’m short and when the bin gets down to half full, I can’t reach the feed. For me, the metal garbage can works best.
We’ve been having way below zero for the lows at night and only today, seeding zero for a high. I had planned on going to town but decided against it when it started snowing hard. Nah, I’ll wait. There was nothing I couldn’t live without anyway.
The winter is stuck half way down through Oregon, so here in far north California (and all of California) we’re in spring!!! Our oaks and manzanita are blossomed and maybe my orchard, too. I know my citrus are blooming. Gee. This is so wrong and paints a picture of an early, hot summer. We get a lot of hundreds.
Wow, that’s crazy weather for sure! I hope it doesn’t turn around and give you winter in May.
We have been preparing here in the Austin area. The chickens have heat lamps in their coops, the cats stay inside, Cooper the dig, only goes out when necessary snd the goats are boarded at a local vet. We have a battery powered generator to power the heater if needed. We have plenty of food and water. We are hoping we have done all we can.
The ice is expected in a couple of hours. So we will find out.
I hope you made it through in good shape. It’s still really cold here and today it’s snowing and hovering right at zero.
9 below this morning with a good stiff wind from the NW, not a lot of snow. Generator is pulled up close if we need it. A few years back we got a number of steel drums smaller than the normal 55 gallon drum, I think grease normally came in them. Cleaned them well and made a round plywood lid with a handle on top and that’s what we keep all the extra foods for the critters in. Will hold two fifty pound sacks of chicken feed or one of the big 55 pound sacks of dog food. No problems now with birds, mice or any others we don’t want to feed. Stay warm and hope you feel better soon!
We use to feed the wild birds and then the bear came on our deck, opened the door to our bird feed, drug it out and ate what little didn’t fall through the deck cracks! What a mess!
Thanks Reg. I’m feeling better but Will is down with the cold from hell.
We are warm inside with a gas stove, canned goods galore, etc. I baked an extra loaf of bread, made chocolate cupcakes, fried some pork cutlets and other stuff so when the electricity goes out, I can just reheat food on my gas stove. It got several oil lamps filled and ready, flashlight batteries on reserve and my gas fireplace ready to go. I got a crock pot of white beans almost done. I got a quilt almost made. I got a time to be quiet, and I am looking forward to it. I hate that the power will go out because of the ice. Most folks are not self-reliant and I feel for them. Thank you, Jackie, for teaching me over the years!
You’re very welcome Jan. I love helping folks become more self-reliant. It sounds like you’re all set. I’m hoping the power stays on but, as you know, you can’t expect it to. Stay comfortable and safe.
After our basement fire, somehow our lamp globe to our oil lamp was broken. I just replaced it, twelve dollars for this thin piece of glass. Will have to take great care of it, but at least now it’s functional, just in case. Through the years of prepping I’ve collection several bottles of lamp oil. Twenty years here and not had to use it, not even close. But, we do have solar, so no wonder. Failing to prepare, is preparing to fail!!
That’s so true. We’ve tried to keep prepared for years and have never had a real “emergency”, rather several small glitches like COVID 19 and the non-event Y2K. But we’ve survived week-long blizzards and other natural events with ease. Back in Montana, we ran out of kerosene lamp wicks and I folded up a good quality paper towel and it worked very well. You just need to think!
We’re getting ready for it. I milk out in the wood shed because my husband doesn’t want me too comfortable he is afraid I would want more to milk. I got some tarps so I can close myself in some what. Today I had to bring my machine in between miking my pulsator froze just after one cow. I think I might be milking ice cream tonight. Starlings are nasty and spread diseases glad you kicked them out. Glory to God spring is getting closer.
Yes, I think about that every day, especially when our highs are below zero! Wow, that’s cold, to freeze your pulsator after one cow. Hopefully, it’ll be warming up soon.
Yes it’s been brutally cold out. I’d rather have this than ice! I’m praying for the people in areas with power outages. Up north here, people are more prepared (not for ice!) but those in the south, not so much. We’ve been sick too with what everyone I know has or has had :( Stay hydrated and rest is helpful.) Bless you two!
Yep, I can’t believe how much water I’m drinking. But then, blowing my nose all day depletes me if I don’t. UGH! Yeah, I hate ice. Not only does it cause havoc and broken everything but causes injuries too.
Poor Will, Hopefully you’re recovered! Brrr family in Texas just messaged’Ice piled up looking like snow. Everyone warm and safe. Love your photo s of Summer. Was21 this morning, but our2+weeks of ground fog Gone and clear sunshine! With no east winds,finally. With the cold we ll hopefully get a good pest kill. Late December s69! Degrees was a buggy winter. Isn’t it nice to have woodpile full, Hay stacks, Pantries full. God and everyone s prayers for humanity in this country
Yeah, we had -36 this morning. Not fun for sure. We love having everything all stocked up for us and our critters too. I feel so blessed, even though I still have the remnants of my cold. It could sure be worse.
We were at -12 last night with a steady, but not powerful, wind. They’re saying we’ll be getting close to 16″ of snow, starting tomorrow mid-morning. Did a quick shopping trip last week to fill in the few, odd shortages in the refrigerator, bought extra pine bedding for the goose room so they’ve got a nice, deep, warm-ish place to sleep, and made sure to have another bag of sunflower seeds for the birds and, yes (sigh) all the little red squirrels. We keep *everything* in galvanized trash cans. It’s the only way to keep from being robbed blind.
The only bright side I can see – if it’s even that – is that when it’s this cold, the snow is very light and fluffy and therefore somewhat less likely to take down electric lines. It’s ice that’s the killer. Our solar battery will keep us in power for a while in the house, but it won’t keep the water in the barn from freezing. That would be the barn that’s about 200 feet downhill from the house, quite a trek if you’ve got to bring water, especially in deep snow.
Yes, it is! Let’s hope you don’t get the ice. UGH! I’d much rather deal with snow. We woke up to -36 this morning but no wind to speak of. I sure perked up the fire and started another one in the wood kitchen range.
We use to have what they called a trash burner, in the kitchen. It was a woodstove of sorts, tall as the counter, narrow with 2 burner lids. So it kept one end of the house warm, while in the other half, the larger Blaze King woodstove with glass window, like yours. And we could cook on the “trash burner”. Now that was pretty handy.
Don’t get me started on starlings – dirty birds as I call them. They descend at the front of my shed when the sun hits it – pooping on the cement, snow, and straw bales. Not only do they almost drain the bird bath, the water that is left is brown and full of some seeds of sort (probably bush honeysuckle or buck thorn – both are invasive). Wrestling a cement bird bath in the cold is not fun. And I make sure it is filled late afternoon – not my job to ensure the CEO et al nor the shareholders of my electric company get a bigger bonus/dividend.
We had the arctic express too – not quite the low temps you have but close. And no additional snow/wintry mix. Yesterday better half split some our prime oak for use during the next few days.
No precipitation decreases the chances of a power outage. But at least we’re on the national grid. Repair persons for electricity/furnaces are not overpaid during this weather. And we gift our garbage collectors well.
Snagged a stool sample from one of the kittens – the “super poop” test as I call it came back negative for parasites. Hope to get one from the other kitten soon. They go for their first vet visit next week.
Yesterday was not a good day for our adult cat re: kittens or at last one of the kittens. I think the one kitten being in heat *just* did not sit well with her. Today was a better day and if nothing else, detente will happen. The adult cat wants to play but just can’t bring herself to do it yet.
I really feel bad for folks facing thick ice and power lines down. Even when you prepare for it, there are things that go nicer when the power is on. A long time ago, I was milking 36 cows and the power went off for 2 days. I was milking by hand, day and night. I never got done! You can imagine the happy dance when the power came on!!
In a lot of areas, the power lines should be buried. Most newer areas in my neck of the wood are but the existing areas likely won’t be until the power company gets to raise rates to do so. Again, time to quit paying CEOs et al so much in salary and bonus and to the “shareholders”. I never purchase a stock based on dividend but alas too many do. At least we are on the national grid and my state won’t be paying electric sucking crypto mining data centers to “shut down” during stress on the grid.
My grandfather and dad milked by hand when dad was growing up. I don’t think my grandpa ever had electric milkers. I’ll have to ask dad how big of a herd they had.
Back “in the day”, herds were usually smaller and there were more milkers, at least Dad and a couple of kids. In my case, there were a lot of cows and it was just me milking. It took forever!!!
We left the cold, deep snow, and ice storms of Oklahoma winters more than 40 years ago, and were thrilled with far north California very mild winters. Wonderful! We have so many visitors from cold, four season country, thrilled to be visit in our warm winters! I do sorely miss real, four seasons. But, not enough to move there!
Yes, we too are hunkered down, praying it won’t be as bad as they are predicting.But even when it comes it won’t be as bad as what is typical winter for you. Brrr.
The only difference is that because we nearly always have lots of snow and bitter cold, we’re prepared for it out of habit. I’m praying you don’t get hit too bad.