Sunday, December 21, 2008

Blizzard Warnings

Thank goodness I don't need to go out for anything. Checking the weather on Yahoo reveals that it is minus 11, -11 holy cow. More likely frozen cow. According to the little guy in the television that translates to a wind chill of -38. I know that other places are recording even lower temps so am glad for what I have, I think. Trying to take hot water out to the girls yesterday evening was a bit of a struggle. The drifts were sometimes almost up to my knees, so trying to pull the sled with the buckets of water was a real workout. I don't even want to think how hard it would have been without the sled. Their water buckets are heated so the water does not freeze in them, but I like to put fresh water in and hot. The animal shed is not heated, so just makes me feel good. Jim did help me finish stacking hay bales all along the south side of the shed so no wind can come in that way. There are only half doors which swing down from the top, so bottom half is open. The girls are all fat and sassy and have grown shaggy coats so they probably are fine. Jim also picked up a heated water dish for the outside cats, they live in the barn. I piled hay and feed bags under some stairs for them and they seem to be nice and cosy. Then we have a heated dish for the wild birds, I see quite a few coming to get drinks which is good. I had read that more wild birds die from lack of water then they do from lack of food or shelter. The suet blocks I made are also a hit so put some more of them out and bought a nut and fruit mix of seed for the feeders. The blue jays and woodpeckers especially like it, so mixed it in with regular seed and everyone should be happy.



I took some pictures yesterday afternoon to show the white out conditions. You know what they say about pictures being worth thousand words. This view is looking across the street, trust me it is out there somewhere. Driving over to pick up my share order and then to the store was an adventure. Very little traffic which is a good thing as it was hard to tell where the road was. Nothing had been plowed and I don't think I went over 35 miles an hour. Today is to be the same with higher winds, extending the blizzard alerts. We will remain nice and snuggy inside, thank you.

I had planned to bake on Friday, notice I said planned. When I went down to the kitchen I decided to move some shelves. Sounds simple right? No, I am still trying to get things the way I want them. After moving the shelves I decided to open a few boxes that I knew contained kitchen things. One crate was a jackpot, lots and lots of my cookbooks as well as two binders. One contains some of my special recipes that I used in my shop and the other one pet treat information. This of course caused disruption in my kitchen straightening as I had to browse through everything. Have I mentioned I am easily distracted?? So, hopefully today will be a baking day, the bananas are even riper which is the up side of things being delayed. It is so hard to find over ripe bananas, they toss everything out at the stores, silly!!.

Thank you for all the Christmas greetings and wishes, they make my day. For all my blogger friends I wish you days filled with laughter, love and lots of good eats. Making good memories is such fun.

10 comments:

Mary said...

Barbara,

You sure do have a lot of snow. We are to get more today and then again everyday until Wed. That is one awful lot of snow. I'm not sure where we will put it.

I don't envy you pulling those pails of water on the sled. That is a hard job. Glad you were able to get it done. I had never heard of a bird dish that was heated. Mmm! I am going to have to check that out.

Your little mice below are delightful. You did a marvelous job.

Take care, my friend and Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Blessings,
Mary

BClark said...

Mary, you will find the dishes probably where they stock the wild bird seed. There are quite a few different styles. We chose a shallow one and I put a rock on one side for the smaller birds to land on. I have to keep an eye on it as sometimes the wind blows all the water out. Did I mention we get lots of wind. It is quite a gathering spot for our feathered friends.

Joanne said...

Wow, you've really got snow! It's snowing here again in New England today, but a soft gentle snowfall, not blizzard conditions. There is a certain comfort to it though, don't you think? I didn't know that about the wild birds and water, how nice to have a heated dish for them. I'll bet they're pretty out there. Best wishes for a wonderful Christmas, stay warm!!

Karen said...

Your place looks so warm and Christmasy -- both your blog and your yard. Eleven below! When it gets that cold, what's a few degrees either way. Your feathered friends and pets are so fortunate that you look after their comfort as you do. Merry Christmas to you, from one Clark household to another!

Renie Burghardt said...

Oh, my gosh, Barbara, look at all that snow! And here I was complaining about 19 F earlier this week. Of course tonight we're to go down to 10F with a 0 wind-chill, so it won't be too pleasant either. I'm glad you're prepared for the blizzard, and you and all the critters will be fine. You are a good "mama!" Bless your heart.

Stay safe, warm, and I hope your DH will be home to spend the holiday with you. Love the pictures.

Merry Christmas, Barbara! Hope all your Christmas wishes come true.

Love and Hugs,

Renie

Nancy Jo said...

Hi Barb,
Well About all I can say after reading that is "MY GOODNESS"
We got about three feet of snow over the last few days, but I don't have to pull a sled with hot water on so I won't complain. You have been REALLY BUSY! But just shows how much you care about your animals.
Have a Merry Christmas, let me know if the Animals really do talk on Christmas Eve.
NANCY JO

2 LMZ FARMS said...

Snow?!!! No thanks, think I will just stay south.lol I don't do cold weather too well. We did have some severe storm move thru here but Thank God, we only had a couple of trees down. I'm sorry I haven't been by to visit but as usual been busy. JB leaves out March 3 and I have been trying to get every minute I can spent with him. HOpe you and yours have a very Merry Christmas

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Brrrrr! Stay warm and have a merry Christmas!!
Hugs,Sherry

Carole Burant said...

We are having another winter storm here and another one is expected tomorrow, Christmas Eve. I feel sorry for all those who have to travel, hopefully they will all reach their destinations safely.

I'll have to look into those heated water dishes for cats and birds...with the frigid temps we've been having here, the poor birds have been ice skating instead of drinking! lol

May Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through! Merry Christmas to you and yours, dear Barb. xoxo

Joanne said...

Merry Christmas Barbara!