Post by AnnB (NE) on Dec 11, 2009 19:46:17 GMT -5
What a nasty few days!
We've come back up out of the deep freeze for a bit.
Our coldest actual temperature was -14* below, but we had wind chills of -30* below. Our high on Wednesday was a whopping 8*. Today we hit 28* and we're supposed to hit a balmy 32* on Sunday! Then another cold blast (highs in the low-20's, lows in the single digits) Monday & Tuesday, but they're talking 35* for Thursday.
Water is the hardest thing to deal with right now. The electric is all messed up in the barn (just found that out!) so I can't run any stock tank heaters, meaning that I have to bust the ice off of the tanks at least twice a day (usually 3 times).
Filling the tanks every 3rd day is also a pain, but I've got my system down (now, finally) -- I have to run out 350 feet of hose to reach the last tank (4 hoses), so after I'm done, I put the center of the hose up over the stanchion (which is still sitting outside, in front of the barn), then carry each end downhill. I then "walk" the hose, with it up over my shoulder, at least 4 times to "squeeze" every drop of water out of it. I swear, there isn't anything worse than a frozen hose when it's sub-zero! I had hoses in the garage with heaters running, I had hoses in the upstairs bathtub, and I had hoses in the downstairs shower!
The biggest problem we have right now is that our chicken house roof collapsed under the weight of 14" of snow. Luckily, only 1 bird was killed. The rest of the flock were sure glad to be caught and moved into the barn!
Sooo, don't bother with the bright idea of using one of those 10X12 steel buildings from Sears as a chicken house -- it's so much scrap metal now.
And to think, I came back to this climate voluntarily! I had a perfectly good house on 4.7 acres in Florida!
But it was too far away from the grandkids, and don't tell anybody, but I really did miss the snow! I didn't miss 14" at a time and I sure didn't miss this brutal cold. I guess what I really missed was the changing seasons. Florida only has 2 seasons -- wet & dry (or hot and hotter).
At least up here, when it's brutally cold you know it can't last forever -- right now we have 14 weeks until we can count on spring-like weather! and thank goodness, most of it WON'T be like the last few days.
But now I dread that thaw! We were muddy before we froze, now with this 14" of snow, I hate to think what the pens will be like when it thaws.
Ann B
We've come back up out of the deep freeze for a bit.
Our coldest actual temperature was -14* below, but we had wind chills of -30* below. Our high on Wednesday was a whopping 8*. Today we hit 28* and we're supposed to hit a balmy 32* on Sunday! Then another cold blast (highs in the low-20's, lows in the single digits) Monday & Tuesday, but they're talking 35* for Thursday.
Water is the hardest thing to deal with right now. The electric is all messed up in the barn (just found that out!) so I can't run any stock tank heaters, meaning that I have to bust the ice off of the tanks at least twice a day (usually 3 times).
Filling the tanks every 3rd day is also a pain, but I've got my system down (now, finally) -- I have to run out 350 feet of hose to reach the last tank (4 hoses), so after I'm done, I put the center of the hose up over the stanchion (which is still sitting outside, in front of the barn), then carry each end downhill. I then "walk" the hose, with it up over my shoulder, at least 4 times to "squeeze" every drop of water out of it. I swear, there isn't anything worse than a frozen hose when it's sub-zero! I had hoses in the garage with heaters running, I had hoses in the upstairs bathtub, and I had hoses in the downstairs shower!
The biggest problem we have right now is that our chicken house roof collapsed under the weight of 14" of snow. Luckily, only 1 bird was killed. The rest of the flock were sure glad to be caught and moved into the barn!
Sooo, don't bother with the bright idea of using one of those 10X12 steel buildings from Sears as a chicken house -- it's so much scrap metal now.
And to think, I came back to this climate voluntarily! I had a perfectly good house on 4.7 acres in Florida!
But it was too far away from the grandkids, and don't tell anybody, but I really did miss the snow! I didn't miss 14" at a time and I sure didn't miss this brutal cold. I guess what I really missed was the changing seasons. Florida only has 2 seasons -- wet & dry (or hot and hotter).
At least up here, when it's brutally cold you know it can't last forever -- right now we have 14 weeks until we can count on spring-like weather! and thank goodness, most of it WON'T be like the last few days.
But now I dread that thaw! We were muddy before we froze, now with this 14" of snow, I hate to think what the pens will be like when it thaws.
Ann B