Weather Where You Are

[Hattie the Hen]

Ooooow! -- It is so cold here in the UK!! They say this winter is going to be the coldest in 100 years. There is a weather warning for another blanket of snow in my area by this evening. This is very serious as there are virtually no snow plows in this area & the grit & salt are already running low.

Yesterday the temperature never rose above -5*Celsius during the day, although we had bright blue skies & sunshine. Every leaf & branch was covered in thick frost. All very beautiful but Oh! -- so chilly! People were sliding around & falling when I went down to my volunteer job in the charity bookshop.

I know our temperatures seem mild to a lot of you who have much lower ones but somehow it feels a lot colder here. A lot of Canadian & US friends say the same when they visit in winter.

I just hope I don't loose too many plants. I have mulched & covered what I can.....!!

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[digitS']

All that humidity is making for all that hoar frost, Hattie. And, that humidity should be of help to your plants.

Dehydration is a big killer of plants . . . and people, in very cold weather. People become disoriented when they are dehydrated and make poor decisions. And, by the way, be careful out there walking around . . .

The moisture in the air moves warmth away from our bodies. Dry, still air is what we need to stay warm during cold weather. That's why layering fluffy clothes works so well - we trap air between the layers and in the fluff.

Winter weather can get pretty dry here in the Wild West. When I experience -20C or -25C, I feel like a dry stick in the wind!! My hands crack and the hair stands straight out from my head like thistle down.


Steve

 

[Hattie the Hen]

2ndtimearound, from a very chilly England.


We had 6" of snow overnight with more to come. I can't tell you how rare this is in my part of the UK. I haven't seen it this thick in England since the late 1940's when I was a child....!!

I haven't yet braved the outside -- I am cooking up a big pan of porridge oats, mixed with "Chicken Spice" grated cheese rind & olive oil with a little cider vinegar. It should give them a warm start to the day. The miniature White Plymouth Rocks will find the deep snow a challenge, they are so small.

My local council is running out of salt & grit so they are cutting back on which roads to treat. Luckily I live beside a main road between two cities so they will treat that. Unfortunately if the road gets snowed up between grittings we will be in trouble because it is on a long windy hill....!! SO it is time for crossed fingers...!

I'm all stocked up so I should be OK.


digit'S
I shall be very, very careful outside! Thanks for the info about the hoar frost. Gosh that was so beautiful!
I remember the dry, dry cold winters I experienced when I was working in Edmonton, Alberta. My skin used to go all dry & flaky -- I had to bathe with bags of bran in the water & slather on masses of moisturiser afterwards! I had not ever experienced cold like that -- not even in Scandinavia.

Keep safe & warm everyone.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[boggybranch]

Was 19*F this morning.....with colder temps predicted through the first of next week.
VERY, unusually, cold weather for our area....90 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico.
Took the dog out to "do his business" (a wienerdog). When he hit the concrete, outside, he looked up at me like he thought I was crazy.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Whooohoooooo!!!

OMG. that earlier 6" is now 9" at least -- it looks amazing --all puffy & crunchy & exciting (with yet more to come, they say)......!!
Already the country has ground to a halt!
Schools closed, public transport very patchy, villages cut off from supplies etc, etc. A resurgence of the old wartime spirit & neighbourliness that I remember from the earlier days of my youth.

I was right, my chickens, the miniatures especially, were scared of the deep snow & retired back into the coops pretty smartish after eating. It snowed on & off all day.

Luckily I'm sitting tight inside in the warm & I have plenty of food etc.
Hope you are all OK. HiDelight tells me she has been watch pictures of our plight on TV....!!

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[boggybranch]

Hey Hattie,
Saw a piece on MSN Homepage about the UK having the coldest weather in decades. Ya'll bundle up.
Looks like there won't be much of anything going on at the allotments for a while.

 

[Catalina]

Hi Hattie! Hope you are Ok with all the snow!

I feel really bad for all the people that aren't use to the low temps and snow. It must be really hard for people down south when their houses aren't built for cold weather and they don't have the equipment for snow.

It's warmed up to minus -10F today, because it's overcast. We have an Alberta clipper coming in with 6 inches forcast and another week of -25F coming in behind that.

It was so cold this weekend that when I went outside for 5 mins my jeans froze straight (so weird) and I got an ice cream headache.

Hattie: I like to add a little dried or fresh hot chiles to my chickens warm mash. It really helps to keep them warm. I also add ginger and garlic sometimes. They haven't been outside since our first snowfall in Dec. We left the pop door open until the temp dropped below 0, but they weren't interested in going out. Smart chickens!

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi Catalina,
Thanks for chicken advice. I use a very old-fashioned mixture called "Poultry Spice" which I add to the porridge I feed them, it contains most of the things you suggest but in a powdered form. I find it really perks them up.
Last night one of my silly roos decided to hide outside when I shut up the coops & he looked pretty dejected this morning. He had fluffed himself up & taken shelter under one of the coops ( I have one which is up at table height), so at least he wasn't covered in snow. I don't think he will make that mistake again ! I made sure he got a good extra feed!

The description of your whether makes ours seem easy......!!


Keep warm & safe everyone! &

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[curly_kate]

Catalina, I think your weather is headed our way. But here, 6" will shut down the city. I used to be a city girl, and scoffed at the county schools that would close for a little bit of snow. Now that I'm a "country girl," I understand why. But I'm prepared for a day indoors tomorrow, if need be. It makes me happy that I can work from home. I do wish I had a fireplace, tho. Nothing like cozying up to a fire on a snowy day.

 

[wifezilla]

It is 10 right now and going lower. With the wind chill, it is -12. I haven't had to deal with weather like this since I left Wisconsin 25 years ago.

They say there is a 70% chance of snow tonight. In Colorado weatherman terms that means we could get no snow or 2'. The mountains make it really hard to be a weatherman around here