Snow storm 2008

Well it hit. A day later than expected. I suppose we were more prepared? This morning we have about 15" of snow. That is, for your information, taller than any of my snow boots. The care of the animals is always the most interesting aspect of winter weather. I have been feeding the horses a little more than usual to give them something to burn with this weather. Last night when I went to feed I had to change their blankets because they were like conformed sheets of ice over their backs. I think what happened is the snow landed on them and their body heat melted it and then as the temps dropped the moisture froze again. But when I stuck my hands under the blankets I decided they weren't keeping them warm enough so I brought round 2 of the winter blankets. Thankfully I have an abundance of nice warm blankets so they will be fine.

The chickens have not left their little barn for days. I have to bring food and water to them because they usually free range for both. The goats have moved in with them and I leave it open 24/7 so they can come and go as necessary. The tough love of goat hay is temporarily on hold because I feel sorry for them. They don't seem to tolerate adverse weather as well as the horses.

My biggest challenge will come today. The water troughs are to the point that they need to be filled again. They have trough heaters which keeps them drinkable all the time so I don't have to break ice but the bad news is all three of the stand pipes are frozen and I can't get water where my horses are. So now I will have to figure out how to run miles of hoses from something close to Betty's house or our guest house to get them the water they need. It should be interesting. Wish me luck.

My little Subaru has scored even more points with me this winter. Last spring I bought a used Forester to beat the cost of diesel in my big truck and no matter how plain or simply equipped my little car is, it ROCKS in this snow! It gets around better than my little Toyota pickup and I am so tickled with it.

Hadley and Kate had their good friends Luke and Gavin come out a couple days ago, before the big snow hit, and they had a great time sledding. Gavin wins the competition of being the hardest core snow kid. He stayed out longer and was more content to sled all day long than any of them. Gavin is a fire cracker. The kids had a good time and then came in to enjoy some hot cocoa and a lunch before Luke had to head off to preschool. Sounds like they will be back later today for some more winter fun.