Entering the home stretch for this upcoming Christmas storm preps. Did I mention how much I hate Winter? Just thought I should get that out of the way.
Got down into the teens last night with 20 or so MPH winds most of the Afternoon and evening so I shut off the water to the barn. It just now is finally climbing up to about 20 degrees or so and suppose to keep warming up under a cheery Sun the rest of the day so I should be able to make more progress on getting everything battened down and squared away. Monday thru Wednesday are suppose to be fairly nice yet too with the real cold hitting us into Thursday morning. As if what we have had the last two days isn't real cold IMO.
I still need to get a couple of round bales moved, more bedding piled into the animal shelters, extra water tanks filled and all my emergency water jugs filled as well. A test burn on the wood furnace would be nice and some more furnace sized logs moved into easy reach. A quick run for more sheep feed is in order as well.
The main snag I am afraid of right now is getting my Deere started as the battery is getting kinda iffy and I have not started it since the beginning of November. I completely forgot about it so I may have to pick up and install a new battery tomorrow as I cannot move a round bale with my 8N that is for sure and my diesel 861 is still in pieces as I kid myself I am actually gonna finish restoring it before I die. I just hooked the Deere up to the charger and am going to wait till about 2pm or so to let it warm up as much as possible but even then at best it will only be pushing 30 degrees in the barn too so no Sun for it.
Getting my log splitter going yesterday proved "fun" to say the least. She was being rather grumpy about being woke up in such cold windy weather I guess but after the first half a dozen pulls she ran well the rest of the afternoon. We will see how she feels today.
I suppose since I am unsure of the tractor starting today I will let the sheep out into the hay field as there is still lots of forage out there for them. They have eaten a lot this Fall so far. I was not expecting to have to take more bales out until well into January honestly. If worst comes to worst I can always use the 8N to push an older bale out and pull it over for them but I would rather use a few fresher bales and save the older ones for compost but need outweighs wants at a time like this.
So another busy day here. I will be a much happier man come Saturday that is for sure. Until this evil cold snap leaves us I will be a nervous wreck and worried constantly about our animals and my poor freezing feet.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
When you say turn off the water to the barn, I'm assuming that means lines drained? What kind of wagon or sled do you have to bring them water then?
ReplyDeleteWinter is when I understand why old school Swiss and German farmhouses had the critters under the home's living quarters. A little extra heat for the home and easy watering.
Keeping equipment tuned up is an ongoing task. I've started putting reminders on my computer calendar, so I get a message telling me for example "Test run the Generator".
Michael - When the pump house well went dry years ago my mother (who owned the place when my parents got divorced) had the wise idea to run the barn water through the water line that was pumped into the house. Of course she just had some guy do it for her and he drilled through the foundation and just added a line then had some guy in a backhoe trench down to the barn and put in a couple of frostfree spigots on the way down. It has been a never ending problem since I paid this place off for my mother like 30 years ago. I actually added in shut off and inside spigot in the basement to drain the line completely for these little Arctic gifts we get sometimes in Winter.
DeleteThe problem with Winter here in Missouri is everything is built during the three pleasant seasons and everyone forgets just how bad the few random Winter storms we get can be here. Plus in order to be completely problem free any thing you do is often liable to actually rot away and never be needed. Then the minute it breaks or wears out...you need it.
One reason I have been kinda down sizing is I can no longer keep up with the maintenance like I used to. I still haven't serviced my generator yet this year and have not needed it in almost 10 years now.
Oh ya and I had a 250 gallon tank mounted on an old lawn mower trailer but somehow someone borrowed it and I don't know who although I have a pretty good idea who told them they could. Anyway I was hoping someone would return it but no such luck. It is rare even before all my old sheep started dying off that I ran short of water and now I would say it is impossible with all the extra stock tanks I have filled for 10 sheep and 3 goats. I could have a frozen water line for probably two weeks and still not run out of water heated in the tanks. It also works well for grain feeders to. I have 3 just stored now and still use 1 eight foot feeder for every three sheep as it is.
DeleteThe number one problem I see being made by banana belt dwellers like yourself is that they don’t know how to dress for weather. When you were a kid your mom could throw you out of the house because she wrapped you up first! Layer up! Stay warm! Get a good toque!
ReplyDeleteAre block heaters feasible for your tractors PP?
Filthie - Ya I actually have a block heater on my diesel. I think I used it once back in 2013. Normally all ya have to do is wait a day and block heaters are pointless around here. I just use a gad tractor the one or two times during Winter it gets that cold :)
Deletegad = gas... BTW
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