Your Weather, 2021

[flowerbug]

cannot imagine 50 squirrels coming out of my backyard! if 3 were "disappeared", that would be about the entire population on this side of the road.

there's all of one single squirrel here back on the other side of the large ditch and it usually stays back there in that tree line. once in a while it will come through the yard, but i don't encourage it in any manner. we also have the semi-feral kitty around and the hawks...

the most i have seen at a time in the back part of the hedge was a group of five squirrels - i'm pretty sure they were all related. they didn't hang around or last for long.

as for noise, some years ago we had a juvenile woodpecker decide the side of the house here on my room was a good sounding board. thank goodness after chasing them away a few times it did not return. we see and hear them in the trees along the treeline - i leave dead wood standing for them to have places to feed and nest.

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

I just strongly encouraged (made) SO to get out the old Honda generator. He's not a mechanic and doesn't do any preventative maintenance. But I did strongly...made him change the oil. And there was no gas cus it was stored for a few years. And stron made him clean the gas filter thingamajob.

It started right up. We bought it used a bunch of years ago and never used it. Honda EM3000C. Now it's ready in case we need it.

 

[ducks4you]

-3 here this morning. We got 7” of snow, I trudged out trails to the barns and such. I carry 2 buckets of boiling water with 2 1/2 gallons in each bucket. I bust ice, pour in hot water to grateful thirsty animals. I have ewes nursing their babies 15 of them. Plus 2 bottle lambs in the house. I feed twice a day, now with extra feed to help them keep warm. It takes me 3-4 hours in the morning and 2-3 hours in the evening. I am exhausted. We have an ice storm coming in tonight and tomorrow, then more snow Wednesday. Sunday will be a high in the 50’s and the Great Thaw will begin. I can’t wait. We are not set up for this.

This is breaking temperature records back to 1909. I’m betting that this won’t happen again in my lifetime. Once is enough.

@baymule, I never transport boiling water to my livestock. It really cools faster than cold water does. My heated hose is frozen at the end, haven't used it since last weekend. I won't try to thaw it out bc Sunday it will thaw itself when it goes above 32 degrees F for a high. For the last week, I have been filling buckets in the basement and carrying them up 1/2 a flight of stairs to the outside, then 100 more steps to the barn, and around the mountain of snow from plowing with the tractor on Tuesday. I followed Eva's trail, which was the lowest amount of snow. LOTS others here got LOTS more snow, but we had 3 ft drifts on top of ice from 2 weeks ago.
regarding the TERRIBLE weather you are getting!! In Wisconsin the residents shrug off a storm like this. You might as well be on a Caribbean island sent into the deep freeze.
Here:

It’s so cold on the Plains that calves’ ears are falling off

In Arkansas, ranchers are fitting pantyhose over the heads of calves in a desperate attempt to keep them warm. In Montana, they’ve been duct-taping calves’...

www.dallasnews.com

POOR THINGS!!!!
My SPOILED horses have been spending most of their time in their stalls, and not complaining about it. I noticed that Buster Brown (QH) is looking "pregnant."
I have cleaned stalls every 3 days, still have 20 bales/straw left, which I have been very generous with in their stalls, spot cleaning ONLY wet spots when I spot clean. Horses will eat oat straw, so it's a plus, bc it keeps the gut moving when they cannot move.
Praying for your safety and that of your ALL of your livestock!

 

[Rhodie Ranch]

pay wall for the article

 

[Marie2020]

I'm really worried for @baymule with the weather being so bad.

We are due snow this weekend

@baymule, are you ok?

 

[baymule]

I am exhausted. House is a wreck and I don't care. The one thing I really want to do is go eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant and gorge on chips and salsa........ Can't even get out of the driveway......

On a good note, the SUN is shining, going to get barely above freeing before plunging back down tonight. Will freeze tomorrow night and that will wind up the Big Freeze. We got 2 ice storms and it snowed 3 times for a total of 10" of snow.

I have 1 more ewe to lamb, I think she is carrying twins. All the lambs are doing well. One was born during an ice storm, poor little thing has never known warmth. I cut the arm off a sweater to make her a coat, giving her the moniker of Sweater Girl. She looks like a cold hunched shivering little chihuahua dog. I stuff her in my coat to warm her up. I stick my finger in her mouth to check temperature and it is always warm. Her mom is taking good care of her and she is nursing good. She's just cold. I guess so, don't think I'd want to drop out in the hay in freezing weather either.

@ducks4you if I carried cold water to the animals, it would just add to the ice. I've carried the boiling hot water to melt the ice and have machete chopped it so animals could get a drink. That old debate of hot water freezes faster than cold water is not true-at least in my world. My ram, Ringo, LOVES cold fresh water and always gets a long drink when I dump and fill water buckets. That has changed. Now he wants WARM water!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Bay, if you have something black like crushed charcoal or dirt to scatter on the snow and ice it will melt a lot faster. Solar heat. I did that in Arkansas. Just get it dirty.

 

[baymule]

Bay, if you have something black like crushed charcoal or dirt to scatter on the snow and ice it will melt a lot faster. Solar heat. I did that in Arkansas. Just get it dirty.

Haha, I don’t have enough for the myriad of trails I have as I slog from animal feeding station to animal feeding station.

 

[digitS']

As I understand it ,

the "freezes faster than cold water" idea has to do with evaporation and very specific temperatures.

The steam rising out of liquid water in a cold environment cools it rapidly. Obviously, stirring it or blowing air through it will cool it rapidly, as well. Extremely cold air is what you need to go for ... and ... tossing the water into that absolutely frigid air is another step you can take. You get freezing mist and snooooww!

Steve
who doesn't really like winter sports

 

[Alasgun]

12 below here this morning, but we’re getting giddy over the fact it will be daylight in another half hour. 8;30!

holding our breath, not looking for any more snow either. We’ve only got a little over a ft. On the ground but that’s enough. Takes too long to melt once that starts in mid April

im really thankful that i’m only feeding and watering the thing that’s writing this post too. Lot’s of folks “slogging thru” this winter.
i’ll get my turn next winter, once the rabbitry is operational.