Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Winter Preps

Some of you already have a blanket of snow on the ground while others may get through the entire winter without even having to brush snow off your windshield.

We had our first snow yesterday morning.  It started out as rain, then sleet, then finally those big, heavy flakes.  Not much on the ground, and most of the warmer areas like the driveway were cleared by late afternoon.  This morning, anything that was left has turned to a crunchy ice topping on the grass and leaves (and on the porch steps....ask me how I know).

The goats like snow only slightly more than rain.  The younger batch of chickens didn't seem to mind the light covering of snow, but the older biddies were wary of it.  I just imagined the older hens with babushkas around their heads, wrapped in a musty-smelling crocheted shawl and just staring out the chicken door into the snowy yard......

"Oh Harriet, I told you should have made the trip to town for some birdseed and milk yesterday!"

"Do you see those crazy young'ins Imogene?  Get back in the coop before you catch a cold!"

I was a bit worried when I saw the sleet.  With the Ice Storm of 2009 still fresh in my memory, I had anxious feelings of being unprepared for another long-term power outage.  We were without power for thirteen days, but Rhiannon wasn't around yet.

We made it through that storm without many problems as we had a generator (and fuel for it) for keeping the freezers running and the wood stove for heating the house and cooking our meals.  But what we don't have this time around is our wood stove!  It's still sitting on the front porch.  Between the Thanksgiving holiday, family visiting, a bout with a nasty cold and general procrastination, we've yet to get the tile laid for the stove foundation.

Hopefully this snowfall "reminder" will get our butts in gear.  Going to make "The List" for winter this afternoon and check things out.
 
Have you prepped for the winter and any unexpected cold-weather emergencies?

4 comments:

  1. Nope. Just last night I was reading an article on prepping and felt woefully behind. Double whammy!

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  2. Yep, we're in pretty good shape for winter emergencies. Heck, living up here near the tundra you'd be sure to die if you weren't!

    Our old hens and new hens are just like yours. We have no snow cover yet (what's going on?) and green grass is still showing (although it's gotta be pretty crunchy to the taste) in the chicken's pasture. The young birds are out grazing all day (they do have their down jackets on though) but you'll see nary one of the old girls out. Plus the old biddies go to roost for the night around 3 p.m. it seems, but the wild and crazy young 'uns don't go in until almost dark. (That would be about 4:32 these days.)

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  3. Yes, ma'am. I have received my Snow Wolf so the temperatures haven't dipped much below 50 degrees. It's like insurance! Of course, it's not assembled yet, so that should bring on 2-3 feet of snow at any moment. As for chickens, I am sure my Welsummers will see the snow and faint dead away. It doesn't take much. My goats have gone tear-a**ing through the snow already. They don't seem to mind it.

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  4. For us it just consists of bringing hoses in side....got that automatic propane generator.....a blessing and we are grateful for it.

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