We got a good taste of winter with an autumn blizzard. The storm was a surprise to everyone. None of the animals had time to acclimate to colder weather and we were only about half-way through our winter preparations. Usually, the temperatures slowly cool down over a couple of months to give us time to get ready for winter. Not this time! The weather on Wednesday was calm, sunny, and seventy degrees. A perfect fall day. On Thursday we had blizzard conditions with a wind chill below zero. What a difference a day makes!
We’ve had storms that have produced over six feet of snow drifts so we weren’t sure what to expect with Thursday’s storm. With our wind, even a couple of inches of falling snow can result in some pretty impressive drifts. Luckily, the worst part of the storm was the wind, ice, and low temperatures. We didn’t really get much snow or drifts.
The animals
We prepared the animals for the storm the best we could, in the time we had, by setting up heat panels in everyone’s houses and moving everyone’s food and water dishes inside. We also packed the rabbit houses with lots of hay for them to eat and for extra insulation.
Everyone did great in the storm. We kept almost all of the animals closed up in their heated houses from Wednesday night until Friday afternoon. The rabbits had the option of going out into the weather, but most of them stayed inside their houses. For a lot of the rabbits, it was the first winter storm they have ever experienced. They weren’t too impressed with the wind! I think if it weren’t so windy (50+ mph), they would have loved the storm. Rabbits love playing in the snow as long as they have a dry place out of the wind to go into when they’re done playing and exploring.
We brought two of the chickens, Vally and Jorgie, into the basement for the storm. The girls are molting so they’re practically featherless around their necks and shoulders. That’s not good in freezing temperatures! They didn’t like being stuck in a dog crate for a couple of days, but they got through it. They were so happy to go back outside after the storm. Jorgie took the longest dust bath to celebrate her freedom!
Going into town
Since the roads were dangerously icy on Thursday, I decided to stay in town while Tabitha was at work. We live in a rural area and there are only a couple of main roads to get to the house. When the weather turns bad, the roads can get closed. I didn’t want to take a chance of the roads closing and having Tabitha stuck in town with no hotels nearby.
Before heading into town, we packed blankets and supplies into the Jeep in case we slid and got stuck in a ditch. Or, if we couldn’t make it home because of closed roads. There are no hotels in the area so we planned on “camping out” at Walmart for the night if we made it halfway home and couldn’t get any further. Thankfully, the roads were better on the way home than they were on the way into town.
Chili the Snow Dog
On Friday the weather was back into the high fifties with no wind so Tabitha took Chili dog outside to explore the snow. It was the first time he had ever seen snow and he was a little confused at the white stuff making his feet cold. He sniffed it and ate some, but he just couldn’t figure it out!
The garden
Our trees and garden took a beating in the storm. Before the storm, the trees were beautiful with their red, yellow, and orange leaves almost glowing in the sunshine. The mulberry tree was growing strong and the peach trees had hundreds of peaches starting to ripen. Since our focus in bad weather is always on the animals first, we didn’t have time to prepare the garden for the storm. The cold hit everything so hard and so fast. We lost all of the fruit that was almost ready to be harvested. And all of the leaves on the trees and shrubs are now crunchy and brown. Autumn beauty came and went in the blink of an eye. I’m excited to see which trees will come back next spring!
Getting ready for winter
Winter definitely caught us off guard on Thursday. We don’t know when the next winter storm is going to hit so we’re determined to be prepared before we find out. Winter around here tends to linger on for-ev-er. We try to take advantage of the mild weather we usually get in fall to prepare for the long winter ahead so we aren’t caught off guard when winter decides to stay for a while.
Over the last several years, we planted some trees on our property, but they are still young so there’s really not much around us to protect us from the harsh wind. Because of the wind, most of our winter storms are blizzards. During blizzards, there’s always the possibility that we will lose power or get snowed in for days. Sometimes it really does feel like we’re stuck at the Overlook Hotel. But, with preparation ahead of time, we can help everyone get through more bad weather like the stuff we just got a taste of on Thursday!
Some of the winter preparations we do in fall for the animals are
- Install and test heat panels in all of the houses
- Inspect all of the houses to make sure siding and roofs are in good shape and can withstand heavy snow
- Make sure the fencing is strong enough to hold up to the high wind and heavy snow
- Test the extension cords and back up heat panels
- Check the heated water dishes for cracks
- Have kennels ready in the basement and garage for fast evacuation and emergency housing
- Stock up on food and supplies
- Wash the animals’ extra bedding, blankets, and towels
- Stock up on hand warmers for the reptiles, hedgehog, and sugar glider in case the power goes out for long periods
- Give the barn cats and pig new blankets
Some of the other winter preparations we do in fall are
- Stock the pantry
- Make sure we have extra batteries on hand for the flashlights
- Bring blankets, jackets, and warm clothes out of storage and wash them
- Clean up the yard and mow any high grass
- Put away patio umbrellas and cushions, as well as anything else that could become a projectile in the winter wind
- Drain the stock tank pool
- Make sure the greenhouse plastic can withstand the wind and heavy snow by anchoring weak spots
- Drain and put away water hoses
- Confirm with the propane company that we’re on their route for regular refills
- Make sure we have a good amount of firewood stored
- Put winter survival kits in all of the vehicles
- Finish Christmas shopping 😊