Winter arrived with a vengeance. Boy did it ever!
Between yesterday and today, we have over a foot of new snow and some drifts. We already had over a foot of snow, so in a few places, the snow is four feet deep. Because it happened so quickly, it was difficult to get around at all and the snow had to be managed so I could feed and water the animals.
I had my friend Andy ready the snow blower the last time her was here. He put oil and gas in and made sure it started. I cannot pull start it, but fortunately, I bought a model with an ignition start, only it would not start. I tried and tried and said a prayer and then it went and quit, so more prayer and it finally started. Thank you.
I plowed paths where I had to walk but around the hay bales I could not go because hay gets tangled in the tines of the blower and then I have to sit and cut it all out. At least it created useable walks where I could hall the toboggan and water.
Feeding was a chore and half though. The hay was under more than a foot of snow and had to be slowly forked out first, then tossed into the feeders. The feeder needed emptying, as they normally do, every few days, but there was a foot of snow on the straws left in the feeders so it was extra heavy too.
Finally, the animals were fed and then the watering began. The snowblower had blown snow over some of the paths though and the toboggan tipped with the buckets. OY! Back to get more water and being more careful, I managed to get every one a drink. Because it is so cold, minus 30 tonight, I did not give the ducks and geese their bath water, just the drinking water. I did not want to come out the next day to find a frozen duck in the bath bucket.
Then, after all that, the driveway had to be plowed. There is a lovely couple at the Inn tonight and with all that snow, it was important to clear the driveway, but the bucket was frozen and the levers would not go down. I used a little hand sanitizer and thawed the ice and finally, after an hour, got the bucket to work. There was a huge amount of snow in the middle of the driveway. It collect there for some reason, maybe the wind blowing or the funneling of the trees, but it had to be bucketed off the driveway, not just plowed. Soon, if the snow keeps up, there will be no place to put the snow though. It took 2 hours to do the driveway tonight and my feet were frozen. I have been fighting a bug that Travis brought from work camp, hoping my garlic, ginger and honey would keep it at bay, but when I got off the CAT, my left ear was blocked and aching. I succumbed to taking some antibiotics, since I cannot aford to be ill.
Finally, after working seven and a half hours straight with no break, I was done. I spent some time with the lovely young couple, begged myself off for the night and am just about to climb into the hot bath to soak these old bones. I must say, today was the hardest of all the days so far to do the chores and that was with the luxury of the snow blower and skid steer. Imagine if I only had a horse?
One more thing..there is a mouse in the house. I have 5 traps set and have not caught him. He got all the peanut butter off two traps, two brand new ones, without setting them off, so I set three more, this time with cheese. I like mousies but not in my house. I may have to enlist the services of one of the cats if he is too smart to get himself caught in a trap. Judging from the little presents he leaves behind, he is very tiny and is just trying to stay warm and alive too. Just not in my house, please, little mouse.
And that, my friends, was today at The Fat Ewe Farm. Bedtime is going to come very soon, zzzzzz.
Between yesterday and today, we have over a foot of new snow and some drifts. We already had over a foot of snow, so in a few places, the snow is four feet deep. Because it happened so quickly, it was difficult to get around at all and the snow had to be managed so I could feed and water the animals.
I had my friend Andy ready the snow blower the last time her was here. He put oil and gas in and made sure it started. I cannot pull start it, but fortunately, I bought a model with an ignition start, only it would not start. I tried and tried and said a prayer and then it went and quit, so more prayer and it finally started. Thank you.
I plowed paths where I had to walk but around the hay bales I could not go because hay gets tangled in the tines of the blower and then I have to sit and cut it all out. At least it created useable walks where I could hall the toboggan and water.
Feeding was a chore and half though. The hay was under more than a foot of snow and had to be slowly forked out first, then tossed into the feeders. The feeder needed emptying, as they normally do, every few days, but there was a foot of snow on the straws left in the feeders so it was extra heavy too.
Finally, the animals were fed and then the watering began. The snowblower had blown snow over some of the paths though and the toboggan tipped with the buckets. OY! Back to get more water and being more careful, I managed to get every one a drink. Because it is so cold, minus 30 tonight, I did not give the ducks and geese their bath water, just the drinking water. I did not want to come out the next day to find a frozen duck in the bath bucket.
Then, after all that, the driveway had to be plowed. There is a lovely couple at the Inn tonight and with all that snow, it was important to clear the driveway, but the bucket was frozen and the levers would not go down. I used a little hand sanitizer and thawed the ice and finally, after an hour, got the bucket to work. There was a huge amount of snow in the middle of the driveway. It collect there for some reason, maybe the wind blowing or the funneling of the trees, but it had to be bucketed off the driveway, not just plowed. Soon, if the snow keeps up, there will be no place to put the snow though. It took 2 hours to do the driveway tonight and my feet were frozen. I have been fighting a bug that Travis brought from work camp, hoping my garlic, ginger and honey would keep it at bay, but when I got off the CAT, my left ear was blocked and aching. I succumbed to taking some antibiotics, since I cannot aford to be ill.
Finally, after working seven and a half hours straight with no break, I was done. I spent some time with the lovely young couple, begged myself off for the night and am just about to climb into the hot bath to soak these old bones. I must say, today was the hardest of all the days so far to do the chores and that was with the luxury of the snow blower and skid steer. Imagine if I only had a horse?
One more thing..there is a mouse in the house. I have 5 traps set and have not caught him. He got all the peanut butter off two traps, two brand new ones, without setting them off, so I set three more, this time with cheese. I like mousies but not in my house. I may have to enlist the services of one of the cats if he is too smart to get himself caught in a trap. Judging from the little presents he leaves behind, he is very tiny and is just trying to stay warm and alive too. Just not in my house, please, little mouse.
And that, my friends, was today at The Fat Ewe Farm. Bedtime is going to come very soon, zzzzzz.
When I first went outside this morning, it had snowed a foot overnight and was still snowing. That little hut to the center right is 6 feet tall.
Jade will not let Mikey eat, even though he is twice her size, so he is waiting his turn. I took two buckets of food for him and Joe, his brother and put them on the other side of the fence. It is not good being cold and hungry.
The branches of the trees are heavily weighted under the snow cover.
Not the best picture through the screen, but you can just catch the piggies house in the right hand corner. I stuffed new straw in it last night and they have not come out since.
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