SNOW!

We have snow! And not just a little bit. When we woke up on Monday morning, there was 3” on the porch railing. I didn’t have to work the store yesterday, so I pushed the snow off the sidewalks and my truck with a broom. The snow was light and fluffy, but it still stacked up anyways. Throughout the day yesterday, we only had another 1”.



Monday night, weather stations were calling for winter storm warnings, with accumulation overnight of a total of 6-8” of snow. Waking up Tuesday morning, there was another 3” on the railing. Everything was being canceled. Snow was coming down in a very light mist.


Duke

The horses were blanketed this morning with a crusty layer of snow.



But as the horses shook, off came their early morning blanket.

It didn’t seem like there was much snow coming down, but throughout the day, at least another 4” covered the country roads. Walking to the barn, there has to be at least 6-8” that I had to walk through to make my path.



Blizzard warnings were to start today at 4 and continue into the evening, night and throughout tomorrow. The weatherman is calling for a total of 12-14” of snow before this is all over.

I wonder how thick the layer will be in the morning.


Starlet is wondering too!

Macro Monday CAT MARKINGS

Macro Monday: CAT MARKINGS

Yesterday was the Sunday Stills challenge of PETS. As I was taking photos of the horses, dogs and cats, I focused on some of the cat's markings. I'm sure I could have taken closer pics, and I'll work on that for the next time.

Enjoy the rest of the pics on my other blog, Pictures by Brenda.

Sunday Stills: PETS

This week is Sunday Stills first Anniversary. Congrats, Ed!



Today's Sunday Stills photo topic is PETS.

Enjoy the pics at:
http://picturesbybrenda.blogspot.com/

December is here...

December is here, and with it came the first really cold morning! I bundled up with sweat pants over my jeans to do morning chores. I need to dig out the overalls. I checked water tanks first. Will they have a layer of ice on top? Steam was rising off the water. The water tank heaters worked! Yea! No breaking ice outside this year. Even with the colder weather, below 20 this morning, the horses had drank about ¼ of the water.


But inside the barn, I didn’t do so well with the pet water bowls. They were all frozen. I took the easy way out and just poured more water on top, as we are to get into the 30’s today and the water should melt. The cat’s water was plugged in but was frozen. I’m prepared though, as I just bought 2 new water bowls. The cats will need one of the new water bowls. The dog’s extension cords just need to be plugged in, which I did this morning to 2 of the water bowls. The 3rd bowl needs an extension cord ran so I’ll need to do that tonight.

Ok, check off winterizing the water tanks. Now on to the barn. This weekend, I’ll need to drain all hoses. Have you ever tried to curl a frozen hose? They don’t bend very easy. I keep a few hoses in a heated room to keep them thawed for filling water tanks. I’ll need to wet the sand down in the arena before I put hoses away.

I have round bales for the winter months. I just put out 2 salt blocks to the horses. Water tanks are heated. Hoses are in the barn, staying thawed. I think I’m ready.

Now, where are my overalls, insulated gloves, winter boots, hood, headband….

Getting Ready for Winter

And winter is definitely coming. Monday and Tuesday were in the high 50’s - 60’s. Late yesterday afternoon, the temp dropped into the 40’s, with a strong northwest wind blowing.

Monday, with the afternoon high near 60, I decided it was time to get ready for winter. That meant, if I didn’t want to break ice in the mornings, I better get water heaters into the tanks and electric cords run. I have always had to break ice for a few mornings every year, as I delayed too long in getting water heaters into tanks. Some years, the ice got so thick that I’ve had to break through the ice with a fence T post! Have you ever tried kicking through the top layer of ice, to have it quickly break? The force of kicking through the ice takes your boot into the water, leaving you with a wet foot. That doesn’t feel good at all.



Not this year. This year, I am ready. Getting ready for winter means getting water tank heaters and extension cords ready. From the top shelf in the storage barn came down 2 of the water heaters. We have plugged in up to 5 water heaters some years, and that is just for the horses. But this year, all of the horses are in 1 big lot, with Duke, my stud, in his own lot.

I have 4 or 5 more dog and cat pet heated water bowls plugged in the mare barn. Out of the feed bin in the mare barn came out 1 long extension cord to plug in Duke‘s water heater. The other extension cord hangs permanently from the storage barn to the outside shelter. All I had to do is unroll some of it to be able to plug it into the large lot’s water heater that is about 25’ away.



Now all I have to do is make sure both the water heaters and extension cords are still good. Last night, it wasn’t cold enough to see if any water tanks had ice on top. That is about to change. North winds are even brisker today. Temps are dropping, with highs tomorrow only in the 30’s. that means that tonight’s temps will be in the teens. If heaters don’t work, I’ll find a layer of ice in the water tanks!



I hope the water heaters work. I don’t want to break ice in the morning. I really don’t want a wet foot! And my horses will love the warmer water!