# Is any one else really tired of this weather?



## jacks'thunder (Jan 27, 2014)

We have had the snowiest January on record. The kids in our district have had school closed so many times that, starting with today's closing it, will eat into summer vacation. Right now it's 8 with temps falling as I type and a wind chill of -9. Temps with the wind chill today/tonight will be -25 -30 below(wind chill warning starting at noon). It snowed again last night and the roads look like poo. Tuesday and Wednesday look cold also.

I have a 29yr old mare that I worry about. We had an arctic blast for a few days and my barn kitty was gone. I thought she had passed but after that deep freeze she showed up in the barn. She was nearly frozen but alive. I worry about all the critters outside. My barn is big and blocks out most of the wind. The girls have big stalls and the llama room gets locked down so him and the goat have to stay in.

I'm pooped after chores. I haul hot water out to the barn 3 times a day. I wear long johns and jeans, turtleneck and heavy sweatshirt around the house with double socks and ugg boots. Outside, carhart snow pants,heavy carhart jacket, hat and 2 hoods and scarf and gloves! That's so tiring to put on and take off! LOL! I'm tired!!

Anyone else dreaming of sunshine and warm temps????






What's the temps by you?


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## amysue (Jan 27, 2014)

It was 10 below at night and only 2º during the day all last week. Im with you this is tiring. I spend so much time watering animals and removing snow that im too exhausted to do anything else. Plus im so bundled up in overalls and coats that its more work just to trudge thru snow under all those layers. I feel like the kid from the Christmas Story "I cant put my arms down!" Spring cant come fast enough.


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## shorthorsemom (Jan 27, 2014)

Too cold here.. dreaming of temps above freezing. Tired of wearing snow pants and walking with a shuffle. Tired of slipping and falling. Tired of thawing waterbowls for a whole barn of cows. Glad I got my horse his buddy back so he has a horse pal to him company in this brutal cold. My dogs are going cabin fever crazy because it is cold enough to freeze their paws in minutes outside. I fell few weeks ago on the ice and gave myself a concussion. The ringing in my ears and stiff neck and my messed up shoulder is still with me. Oh yeah... I am tired of winter. For you star wars fans....doesn't it feel like we are living on the planet of hoth?


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## jacks'thunder (Jan 27, 2014)

Shorthorsemom, Hehehehe! Waiting for the TaunTauns for the trek out to the barn! or a Yetti keeping warm in my hay! Sorry about your concussion.

Amysue, I'm with ya!


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## madmax (Jan 27, 2014)

Here in North Florida we are also having a bad winter, the below freezing days just will not go away, the wind chill is in the teens, we have damp cold, because of intermittent rain in the midst of all of this, the ground never dries out and the mud is making everything even more miserable. We are expecting sleet on Weds, just what I needed. We will have a day or two of warmer temps like today to give us some hope,but then it turns all around to freezing again, I swear when I was a kid the weather was not like this. Whatever happened to the notion that the sun always shines and we all wear shorts in Florida year round? Maybe in Miami. Sorry you fell shorthorse mom, hope you feel better soon.


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## Performancemini (Jan 27, 2014)

We are having weather like Jack's Thunder. I live in Northern Illinois, close to the Wisconsin border. I can barely get out because I am on crutches. Injured in JULY! (severely sprained ligaments, slight tears and bone bruises). They kind of boo-boo'd. The first podiatriast had me doing some "stuff" and staying at work (walk, walk, walk). Then I went (am at) an exellent ortho place. They had me go to PT at first, but I got worse. They did an MRI (finally) and a Dexa scan. I have Osteopenia and Osteoarthritis and the bone bruising in the heel and ankle bones weren't healing. So, now in a "Moonboot" and on crutches waiting for healing. In two weeks I get to try (on crutches) putting some weight on it again. Where am I going with this??????------

Anyway, I am stuck in the house most of the time. Any with crutches you got no hands, basically-so it eliminates indoor chores and activities a lot too. It's my poor Husband really getting the brunt of it. He works two jobs- his regular job (which is at a church/school, but involves a lot of construction type stuff) and his own business after work of construction/remodeling. Then he has been taking care of the horses (usually was my job)-so in this it's stalls, water, etc. etc. Bringing wood in for the woodstove (gosh, he smoked us practically out yesterday morning-winds were too strong.). I am really worried about him. Saw him crouching in the wood "garage" from the window for quite a few minutes. He said he had indigestion, but it worries me. He said he's "fine". MEN!!!

Yes-we need a break. No January thaw this year!


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## Mona (Jan 27, 2014)

MOST DEFINITELY tired of this NASTY winter. And the worst part is, we're only half way through.


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## shorthorsemom (Jan 27, 2014)

Thanks for the well wishes on my fall.

Opened the door to let the dogs out and took one small step onto the porch. My feet went as high as my head and I fell and hit the door jam with my head and I laid there on the ground stunned it could happen that fast. Biggest lump I have ever had on my head, bigger than when I had my horse wreck and I wacked out my shoulders and it hurts to comb my hair.

It was funny in a way because My dogs were laughing and licking my face and bouncing on me as I laid there in the doorway half in and out of the house wondering if I could even get up. The ear ringing is driving me nuts and the doctor says it might be with me for awhile. Something called post concussion syndrome. ugh.

Performance mini... sorry you are laid up too. best wishes.




There you go Jacks thunder for being amused at my planet hoth comment..a photo for you. haha


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## disneyhorse (Jan 27, 2014)

Here in southern CA it's been in the 80s and maybe 60 overnight. But we have had no rain and it's like a warm drought here. Will mean higher hay prices I'm sure...

But I can't complain. You're welcome to fly out here to warm up and see Disneyland though!


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## shorthorsemom (Jan 27, 2014)

Performancemini... make your man get himself checked.... My man had a heart attack last October. I found out how bad it was at the hospital. My stoic guy turned out the cows and took a shower after his heart attack and he only told me his shoulder was hurting and he didn't feel good. I knew something was up when he agreed to go to the hospital when I suggested he get checked out just to be safe. Had I known he had a 15 minute crushing pain episode he would have been in an ambulance transport. We drove to the hospital, got turned away because they were full and then got back in the car and drove to another hospital 45 mins away. sheesh.

You should have heard the nurses giving him grief for not calling 911 immediately, you reminded me of that when you said "MEN" in your post. That is what the nurses said. He is fine now. We got really lucky. Nurse called his artery clog "the widowmaker" and made me cry.

I lecture everybody now not to ignore any symptoms. Oh... and another thing my man did that probably saved his life.. he chewed up some aspirin. They popped baby aspirin into him at the hospital while they were checking him out too. thought I would mention. My boy was 99% clogged and milking cows twice a day. Normal doctor check up and normal cholesterol and ok on blood pressure two weeks prior to attack. go figure.


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## madmax (Jan 27, 2014)

My husband had 'indigestion' really severe in the middle of the night 2 years ago and did not want to go to the ER because he is permanently in a wheelchair and hated to go through all the manipulations necessary to travel. A call to his doctor in the morning forced him to go. It was a heart attack and a blockage and he went straight to surgery for a stent. Hard to guess correctly sometimes.

Edited to add, yes he did take aspirin when it happened.


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## Debby - LB (Jan 27, 2014)

Me! I'm tired of it and it's just begun. Our Winter here is usually it's worst in Feb. and sometimes March but so far this Jan. has been record breaking cold off and on.

If we get what is in the forecast for tomorrow and Wed. I'll be off the grid for a while.


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## candycar (Jan 27, 2014)

:gaah"tired of it" doesn't begin to describe how I feel about this weather! Crazy mad, upset, depressed is how I feel.



makes me want to



and hibernate.

Here we are trying to move, put up fence and retrofit a shed into a barn and we can't get anything done because of the cold, wind and snow! I really want to move to my new place but things are going too slow! We should be done by now but ole Ma Nature has other plans for us.

I've had the bunnies in the garage and the chickens (2) in the kitchen for 2 weeks now! This place smells like a zoo and everybody has cabin fever. The minis are just fine. They love it. All the hay they can eat, warm water, coolaid, and Mom doesn't make them exercise or do tricks 'cause it's too cold for her to stay out too long.

Spring or normal winter better come soon! I'm Taking out a hit on that darn groundhog if he doesn't predict an early spring.

.


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## lucky seven (Jan 27, 2014)

Here in upstate NY, we are having a heat wave today, in the upper teens but wind chill makes it much colder. Tonight the wind chill will be around 20 below. This is what the winter has been here, luckily we use heated buckets for the horses and they get plenty of hay to keep them warm. This is by far the hardest winter we have had in a few years.


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## jacks'thunder (Jan 27, 2014)

shorthorsemom said:


> its cold outside.jpg
> 
> There you go Jacks thunder for being amused at my planet hoth comment..a photo for you. haha


Love it!! It should be my avatar!!!





Performance mini, Sorry your injured too! It must be driving you nuts not to be able to do things around the house. Hope you heal soon!

disneyhorse, Get the spare room and fruity drinks ready! I'm on my way!!



80 degrees..... i'm so in the wrong state!!! Hehehe!


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## Performancemini (Jan 27, 2014)

Thanks for the 'get wells'. Hey-I guess we need to start a topic called "Get Well Soon" to keep up on all our accidents and such! Husband is on aspirin and cholesterol med (not sure it's too high though). He doesn't even know why the doc put him on the aspirin when I asked him! (Dahhhhh!). I am thinking of making another appt. for him for a check up and I am going to be nasty and GO WITH!


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## Tab (Jan 28, 2014)

Mostly I just feel very bad for my horses and my dad who works full time out in it. It is freeze-you-to-the-bone cold out there. My barn is drafty and if my horses didn't have a layer they would be sunk. I can see why God allowed certain things to happen. For example, an extra stormy and rainy Summer led to extra lush late grass. Horses were able to eat and get extra reserve for the Winter. Rusty, my childhood horse could no longer chew and had to be put down. I was so sad but now that I see the Winter poor old Ruster would have to endure I'm thankful he is in heaven frolicking with my other childhood equine friends. I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with good health to handle it and a Warm bed and hot baths to crawl into for thawing purposes. Very thankful but I'm ready for Spring, like the rest of you


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## Shari (Jan 28, 2014)

Is a bit of a pain with the water troughs frozen solid... well... except the one we have a water heater in.

However, its not super hot out and No bugs..... so I am not minding too much, even with the -10* some mornings.

Hopefully by next winter, will have the frost free water lines in and power to each of the pastures, so things will be a lot easier.


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## shorthorsemom (Jan 28, 2014)

we put up a bunch more plastic last night and the cows actually have the barn inside up to 40 this morning and only 5 frozen water bowls instead of all of them. We have 8 degrees and 11 below windchills this am. I am tired of being cold. My horses and goats are doing good. The dogs hate going out and they are cheating and I had to buy more natures miracle this week for clean ups. ugh.

Some guys that deer hunt nearby saw a coyote on our property a couple of days ago and have found dead fawns and a dead small deer so probably more than one. Not normal for this area to have them but I hear they were moving into Northern Delaware because they opened up hunting in delaware for them because they were gobbling up so many resident critters.

The guys saw them 100 yards from our cow barn. Brought in all cows and heifers that are even several weeks away from calving and they will stay inside for now. Our small heifers are in the barn and are safe in pens. So now we are on critter watch even more, bummer because we have so much really neat wildlife here from bald eagles to falcons and hawks to mink and beaver and foxes etc. wish us luck. gotta run, should be outside but in denial that I have to go back out again. haha.

Off topic note... for cholesterol control try "plant sterol" capsules. Can buy in health food store or amazon. I buy vitamin shop brand. I tried diet control and my cholesterol was very high. My doctor put me on Plant sterols because the statins made my muscles hurt. In 3 months I had normal cholesterol and it has stayed that way for several years. cheers.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Jan 28, 2014)

I hesitate to join in on this conversation since anything I say is likely to temp fate (_*and*_ make you all want to do me harm lol) WE have only had about a week of truly cold weather all winter and that was before Christmas. It has been a very mild winter here (we normally get those long stretches of 20+ below too) and for the last couple of weeks it has been above freezing during the day and just dropping below slightly at night. The worst part of this winter has been all the dang snow we've gotten. We must have easily over 4 feet and that is after there has been mild weather (and rain a couple of times) to settle it a bunch. Our snow banks in our yard are a good 10 or 12 feet high and I am getting pretty tired of seeing nothing but white everywhere. We've still got at least 2 months left I expect so there will be more of it too. Yup, ready for spring as always in January.

I'm sorry to hear so many of you have managed to hurt yourselves. Shorthorsemom, I know how you feel, I stepped down off my deck onto the top stair last summer and went for a ride on my back and butt all the way down to the bottom. I was sore for quite a while after and my backside was black for weeks.No concussion tho, I guess my butt is so big it helped keep my head elevated lol. I am going to suggest the Plant sterols to my husband, he is on statins but hates taking them.


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## Performancemini (Jan 28, 2014)

Gee, so Canada, you have sent your normal winter down here! Oops. Tonight is supposed to be the last night of really low - degree weather; but then of course we get some snow again (hope the real heavy winds stay away). Maybe H. can get the horses back out. Problem is, he is going to have to dig the hay racks out. Only the tops are showing! There are so many deep drifts! And it seems like the when it snows the winds blow from all directions-so if the minis are out they still can't get totally out of the weather.

I'm all for strangling the groundhog if he doesn't tell us the right things too! We need a February thaw (but not so bad we flood). There's another scary thought for spring-all this snow turning to water! (won't be mud in the paddocks/pastures, it'll be bogs!).

If you've read the "Little House" books, remember 'The Long Winter'? I feel we are living it. How DID they do it. Houses not insulated. Only fireplace or stoves. Outhouses and chamber pots. No electric and tv, etc. We actually DO have it good. Our Pastor said a couple months ago that each morning before getting out of bed you show pray 'thank you for this day and my breath'. And to pray for what you are grateful for. Need to get into the habit of that I guess. I think it helps to exchange news on here and know others are facing similair things.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Jan 28, 2014)

Performancemini said:


> Gee, so Canada, you have sent your normal winter down here!


Well in truth, the Eastern part of the country has had a truly wicked winter if our news reports are right. But here in the great white north we've had things easy. I appreciate the reprieve even if it doesn't last the rest of the winter but it does make me worry about what we'll see in the spring/summer. Nature seems to balance the scales most of the time so a mild winter might mean a really unpleasant summer. 'sigh' Hope things ease up for all you down there.


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## Performancemini (Jan 28, 2014)

No offense meant of course, Reignmaker. There's always weather somewhere, the good, the bad and the ugly, LOL.


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## madmax (Jan 28, 2014)

Performance mini, I had to go out today and while driving some distances my thoughts take me odd places, and I started thinking about the Little House book "The Long Winter" (I guess like minds here) and how she wrote about the cattle's heads were frozen to the ground from their breath freezing. Also how they burned what she called "hay sticks" in the stove because they had run out of wood. I hope the new generation continues to read those books. I have a book about Laura and Manly in their later years in their final home and excerpts from a column she wrote for a local newspaper.

Right now it is so bitter outside, have to walk the dog and check on the critters, but I can come in to central heat!! Hot water right from the faucet! Have to hope we do not lose power, but probably will not, southern Georgia is getting it worse. I have a daughter in Atlanta and they have good snow; another daughter is in Tallahassee and school has been cancelled for tomorrow because of icey roads and predicted snow. I am about 30 miles from Jacksonville and sleet is what is supposed to be our worse, that rain is what does us in and I can hear it starting now. Critters are all in the barnyard, run in stalls or stalls, but I still worry about the very old ones. I am glad to read all the sharing about your happenings where you live.


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## Marty (Jan 29, 2014)

What a wonderful gripe thread! I'm presently snowed in up here in the mountains for at least the next 3 days. Feel my joy.I'm so crabby and cranky. I've been a complete downer over this winter.

I'm tired of being cold. It has hit single digits and zero a few times now this month. I'm going to be freggin 61 in a couple of weeks and have to wonder what the heck am I doing this for? I'm sick. I'm hurt. I'm plum worn out. I don't know how I can continue this. If there were still any forever homes left that treated my horses like I do, I'd consider a change.

I'm so tired of having to haul myself out of a warm bed to go outside and freeze and fall. I'm such a natural klutz. Doesn't take much to put me on the ground.Looks like sinkholes all over the property when I fall.

And here's the kicker: Our pipes broke to the barn so even though I have warm water up there, tada, its busted. So back to hauling water from the house 4-5 times a day and at night.

What would make me happy is a HOT sweaty summer and horses under the hose and clipping and primping and scrunchies in forelocks. Now that would make me happy again.


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## jacks'thunder (Jan 29, 2014)

I like that Marty! A gripe thread! I should ad that to my title! LOL!

So yesterday when I woke it was -8 with a wind chill of -25 and no school. Today they say it's -1 with a wind chill of -20. As for school.... I'm keeping my eye peeled on the tv screen and not my sons yet. It does look like it me get up to 15 today but I'm not holding my breath. That wind is whats bad. If the wind would stop I'd bet it would feel like a heat wave at 15 above! LOL!

Now don't get me wrong! I am very serious about being thankful for what I have and what God has give me and how I live. I have 3 times this winter woken up to a dead furnace and the temps in the low 40's in here. I lost my fish of 10 years in in the coldest of those episodes and almost lost my turtles. This morning I got hubby up because I could hear the furnace clicking. It was 51 in here. That's cold for in the house! We keep our thermostat set at 62 and don't touch it. Well he fixed it to the best of his ability. We have a frozen condensation vent line so he just has to empty the line from in house every few hours. This is not the first time this year this has happened. So every time I hear the furnace I thank God it's working!

Hubby works a very strange shift so sometimes he's on days and sometime it's midnights. In the first polar H E "double tooth picks"




we went through he was working midnights and text me with a weather update every few hours. (they are a weather station for the area) It ended up at -11( with a wind chill of _Super Cold_) and it killed his truck. He works 79 miles round trip back and forth. Man you want to talk about mad! LOL! That's his baby and it's dead, and not at home! (Guys and their trucks, right! LOL!



)Fuel pump died, so she(3 days later when they could get the diesel truck fired up and trailer un thawed) had to be towed home. But you know what God opened a door for us and we got a Yukon for him to drive! The truck will be fixed but for now it can wait.

I'm thankful for *everything* God has give me! I'm cold and sore and tired and ..... hate winter!!! That's just life and my huge gripe



I feel it's good to get it out once in a while! Yep get all mad and cranky at something you can't control! Then when things come along that you can actually do something about, it will be a piece of cake to handle!








I hope everyone stays warm and keeps the faith! It's bound to end! (some day



hehehe!)


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Jan 29, 2014)

Of course no offence taken, Performancemini. I would be happy to accept the blame for your lousy winter (wouldn't it be nice if someone could really control such things)



I just thought those who are struggling with horrible conditions in eastern and central Canada would not appreciate me claiming an easy time for all of the country.LOL.

Since they say that misery loves company and I just need to complain about it ; We are getting some 'much needed' (sarcasm) snow today. I guess there just was not enough yet...after all the trees had shed all the white from their branches. Looks like a dang Christmas card out there again. Now I will have to slog thro snow again to feed the horses and chickens. '_groan_,_ moan_, _whimper_' and don't forget '_whine_'


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## Helicopter (Jan 29, 2014)

May I gripe too please.

We've been having a heatwave here, drought, heat.......can't stand heat, dams empty, tanks running low and critters drinking 700litres of water a day, being dry roasted, trees dying, ever present chance of bushfires ..........I do a lot of whinging. I'm very good at whinging in summer. HATE summer. Hate everything about summer. Bring on winter.

Think I'd better stop whinging now. What you folk are experiencing is not within the realms of my imagination. Truly don't know how you cope.

On the bright side, if there is a bright side, when the snow thaws I guess you will have all that lovely water and your trees will not die and your dams will not be empty.....or will you have floods?

Mother nature sure can be a bitch.

Keep strong everyone and try not to slip over too much.


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## chandab (Jan 29, 2014)

For January in Montana we are having moderate weather, mostly above zero to around freezing (0to32F), so we are reroofing the house; we have one side stripped of shingles, new sheeting laid, new tarpaper laid and its ready for new tin roofing, today we started on the other side and have the old shingles stripped. when that's down we'll start on the windows and new siding. Why you ask, do we do this in winter, because spring/summer is taken up with calving, branding, seeding, haying, harvesting, and fencing; so winter it is. And, a lot to do in the next 4 weeks or so, before we start calving.


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## chandab (Jan 29, 2014)

Oh, and by the way, my feet and hands were frozen from today's excursion to the roof; in to warm up before chores. Our warmer temps brought ice, its a skating rink out here, luckily I've only fallen a couple times, so not too bad this year.


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## Performancemini (Jan 31, 2014)

Tonight my Husband (though he has been super irritable almost every night since after Christmas) finally vented about a bunch of things from this weather in Illinois. The horses have been in way too much and long and the stalls (though he cleans thoroughly every night) are just "swimming in poop" (I think that's how he termed it); I said 'well, kick them out-the wind chills not bad'. And he says-I did/will; after I dig out the inside of the sheds (snowdrifts), around and in the hay feeders (snowdrifts), near the water tank (snowdrifts). And they can stay out unless it snows too much (which it's supposed to) and drifts over the remaining paddocks/pastures fencelines that they are in (one already has 6' of snow over one side). Wish we were lucky enough to have a very small indoor like a friend does-hers get to wander during the day in there. Wish I could help Husband out with the cleaning-but can't with this foot/ankle and crutches-aaaaghhhh!

I usually count down til January's over-but it looks like this year I will have to count down to the end of February too! It's just got to start getting better in March! (but maybe it will in February-accuweather long range shows the week after next being better!).


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## jacks'thunder (Jan 31, 2014)

Well this morning it says 28 degrees. Yesterday was warmer with it in the teens but the wind was so strong, I could not tell it was warmer. Hope the wind stops for today, that's for sure. Yep were going to get more snow too. It's going to be something like 4-6 for my area but others close by up to 12inches. It's all blah blah blah to me. I'm soo over winter!


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## Shari (Jan 31, 2014)

Outside water faucets finally froze... sigh ~~ Is going to be a major pain getting water to the animals for awhile. Just hope they don't break.... spent $$$$ replacing those last year. 
Need a few warmer days, so we can have a break.

But I still like the cold better than the too hot and humid and bugs in the summers here.


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## little lady (Jan 31, 2014)

I "normally" love winter(I don't like humidity, the heat or bugs that summer brings), but got to say this year is putting me to the test. Looking for a break...just a few days above freezing would be nice.


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## shorthorsemom (Jan 31, 2014)

been filling water buckets in my kitchen sink for weeks. Kitchen carpet still wet from spilled water bucket. High dollar pirit warmed hose died and now my outside water source is frozen.

Anybody out there suffering with split fingers? I feel like I have been juggling with razor blades. I am gluing them and taping them and putting on cream and they are so sore they feel like they have a heartbeat in them. I also learned the old lesson about not touching the gate with wet hands the other day. Stuck my fingers to the gate and then to the chain for the gate before I trudged into the house for some gloves.

This morning it was 22 degrees outside when I got up. Funny when 22 feels warm. It is going to 40 and I don't know how I am going to act with a day above freezing.


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## chandab (Jan 31, 2014)

shorthorsemom said:


> Anybody out there suffering with split fingers? I feel like I have been juggling with razor blades. I am gluing them and taping them and putting on cream and they are so sore they feel like they have a heartbeat in them.


My fingers don't get that bad, but hubby's have and the only cream that seems to work is "O'Keeffe's Working Hands", it comes in a green round jar. Here's the company website with a picture: http://okeeffescompany.com/index.php?page=working-hands&gclid=CM3gydn4qLwCFYKUfgodVC0AVA

I think we mostly find it in the hardware stores, but also maybe at the implement dealers, last jar may have come from Murdoch's (like TSC).


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## Performancemini (Jan 31, 2014)

We had a year were we (well, H.) had to haul water from the house too. It is really wearing. At least that year it wasn't bad like is is. We do have a leak at the outdoor pump site though; so the water has to be turned on and off in the house. Hot or cold it can't be left on because if it's hot it leaks and eventually we find squishy grass and wet in the paddock that's in that area. Cold and it would definitely freeze and burst the pipe worse. H. dug the shelters out last night and put the horses back out. But he is so tired that he just is feeding them in the shelters. Looks like they are getting along OK sharing that way (I can only see where the 4 are, but the 2 retired ones have always shared their hay). We are supposed to get 4-6 or 8 between today and tomorrow. More possibly toward Chicago. Just don't need it, as many of you know. Would love some warmth-but can you imagine the flooding we are probably going to have come spring-unless it thaws in spurts. But when I think of parts of the country where they have had such real major flooding, like along the coast and such, and even in Iowa last year-well, we are probably not going to be so very bad. Still it helps to hear how each of us are coping and to vent some.


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## shorthorsemom (Jan 31, 2014)

Chandab... I totally agree...

Just found my o'keffee's hand cream last night. Have been looking for that little green jar for weeks. I didn't want to buy another knowing I have at least two wandering around this house. I found it in with my dog grooming supplies. Am applying liberally. Yes, that stuff works, I swear by it. Here is hoping I get some relief soon.


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 1, 2014)

today is in high 40's. wow. Funny how a little thing like getting some of the frozen poo up off the frozen ground can warm your heart and make you happy. hahaha.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 1, 2014)

Yep I agree! It feels like summer compared to what it has been! I went out and buckets weren't frozen solid! WOO HOO!


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## Performancemini (Feb 1, 2014)

N. IL: 20-something, so far we only got about 3" of the 3-6" snow. Horses are out and I think my husband is happy he can just toss hay and not have to scoop poop indoors. Like was said above-thank heaven for small blessings.


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## secuono (Feb 1, 2014)

Frozen pipes, no water for a week, then pipes burst, heater dies. Dog cuts up his foot, it's just too cold and it's making me fool so old and worn out. I'm hating this winter and want it to be over or at least stay above 40!

Then again, soon I'll be whining over heat and humidity....I'm a winter person, but this winter is too much.


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 2, 2014)

ok.. furry little ground hog says 6 more weeks of winter.. ugh. now forecast for tomorrow says 4-6 inches of snow and colder temps. ugh. kids eating up their whole spring break in snow days. ugh. sigh.


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## little lady (Feb 2, 2014)

Nice layer of freezing rain covering everything this AM...gates frozen to the ground, latches frozen shut...24 degrees...I have had enough!!!


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 2, 2014)

More snow right now. Folks who are used to lots of snow are set up for it. Here in SW OK, a mild winter is our usual fare. This winter has been tough. I'm trying to figure out how to keep chicken food/water snow free and thawed. I'm wondering why my silly horses won't stand under the shelter and eat hay instead of standing out in the snow until it's 4 inches deep on them--with no food in sight.

Thank goodness for our wood burning stove! Other folks have terrific electric and propane bills. We are total electric and our December bill was $175. Electric water heaters for the animals, included.

We are glad of the moisture here, but I would settle for a nice spring rain...


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## candycar (Feb 2, 2014)

that furry little groundhog can kiss my furry little.....It was raining and overcast here this morn and our groundhogs say no shadow to be seen! At least it's above freezing. Spring better get sprung early. Now I'm wondering if we will have a normal spring or a super wet one. Probably be the wettest on record with my luck.


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## Performancemini (Feb 2, 2014)

We have pictures on our email address; but don't know if I could get them to here. One of our pastures has a drift along the fence line 6 feet deep. There's a pic of one of our boys standing on a 4' foot pile and one of him on the same pile (from another direction) showing the pile and only one strand (the top one) of electrobraid showing. (It's into the adjoining pasture, so they can't go anywhere. Anyway, they respect that electric- of course, they could decide to jump I suppose! LOL!).


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## Shari (Feb 3, 2014)

A nice break from the super cold weather yesterday. Outside water pipes unfroze.. DH and DS insulated them and figured out one of the house vents had wiggled partly opened, which caused the issue.

Spent as much time as I could outside... ground was too slick to hand walk or drive Maggie around. So I rode one of my Icelandic's, she is the one with Fox hunting shoes on, so the slick wasn't an problem for her.

This morning we are having rain.... lots and lots of rain. sigh ~~~ And tonight it is supposed to get below freezing again.. so make tomorrow interesting.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 3, 2014)

Ok so I have to tell this stupid thing I did yesterday! We have huge sliding doors on the front of our barn. One to close the llama room and 2 on the front of our barn and that's how we go in and out everyday. And as you can imagine the track that they slide on gets full of snow and ice and they are a bear to move. I dig and scrape and pull and push every morning and evening fighting with 2 out of 3 of these sliding monsters(one just stays shut until I have to get the spreader in and out). So last night they said below zero temps, so I'm going to close the llama room up so everyone stays warmer. Now I had left this open all day so critters can go in and out and get out of the weather if needed. I knew it was going to be a fight so I prepared and dug and chopped the packed down ice and snow out of the way. I stood in the door way pulling that door with both hands and all my might. The door finally started to move and it slid pretty good until it squashed me between its self and the door jam! I was stuck! I stood there thinking what the bleep did I just do! I got so mad I started to kick the door (one footed) and tried to squeeze out. Now I panicked alittle but I did eventually wiggle out but I could not budge that door. So I squeezed back in that crack(figuring hey if I got out I can get back in right! LOL!) and put my feet up on the wall with my back on the door and pushed to open it. Nope it did not budge. So I gave it one really good kick.. Guess what she moved just like butter! I just stood there huffing and puffing, half crying and laughing. As I was walking (trudging) back to the house I was thinking, Gosh no wonder I'm so tired and sore....

Another day in the wonderful world of winter chores! Hehehe! Those critters have no clue how much I love them!




LOL!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 3, 2014)

Woke up this morning to a snow storm. Up to 8 inches expected. Kids off school. Woke up every 30 minutes all night and dragged ourselves out into the cold to check on a heifer calving. Delivered her baby girl this morning at 5:30 am. Last thing I feel like doing today is shoveling. ugh. gonna be a long day. Hoping for a nap opportunity. haha

feeling old and beat up this morning.


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## Performancemini (Feb 4, 2014)

Supposed to get about 1-3 inches between tonight and tomorrow morning. Then go rather frigid again. High of 7 on Thursday. Some minus temps in the evenings.


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## little lady (Feb 4, 2014)

Snowing here AGAIN...



! Got about 4 inches and the wind is a blowing...then talking very frigid temps and another round of snow "flurries"(at this point any snow sucks)on Saturday and then more "flurries" Tuesday...Enough already!!!!!!!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 5, 2014)

woke up to an ice storm. trees are leaning and branches are breaking and falling. Pine trees sound like gun shots when they break off branches. Dogs keep barking at the sound.

Second day of no school for the kids for the week and yesterday was 2 hour delay. Branches are breaking my stuff out there but I am afraid to go outside. I bedded up horses and goats and gave extra hay late last night as storm was starting and glad I did.

Husband managed to get to the barn to check on the cows and where he was standing 10 minutes ago has a huge tree branch laying there. YIKES. that was a close one.

I hate winters like this.

Sorry I decided not to buy the 20$ ice tread walking things that go on boots. Only good news is that it will be above freezing in a few hours.

Here is a funny one for you...... last night when my son and I were taking some grain to the cow bunk and I was walking with a stick and I decided to draw a big happy face in the snow with the words... "Have a nice day" on the barn bridge so it could be seen from the road. My son looks at what I wrote and then he looks at me strangely and he says..... "Hey Mom, why did you write "Have anus day" in the snow?

I laughed so hard.. tried to explain to him that this was a thing we wrote in the 60's and maybe I could have placed my words a little further apart.

priceless.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 5, 2014)

Shorthorsemom



:rofl





On a bad note, I think we just got all of Little Lady's yucky weather.....


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 6, 2014)

This is our third day of single digit. Yesterday the wind chill was -39!! Our north wall plumbing froze--not good. We got more snow last night. The horses don't seem bothered, but my chickens are not happy. We are setting records for cold this year. We get a glimpse of sun every 3 or 4 days.

A pot of hot stew made with frozen sunshine (summer vegetables) is on the menu today.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 6, 2014)

Well dang! I knew I was tempting fate by talking about our mild winter. It has dropped down to extremely cold temps, -32 C here this morning (not sure what that is in F any more but it is freaking _COLD_ lol) along with a north wind. It is going to stay this way for the weekend I guess and then warm up a bit and snow some more (oh joy) At least the sun is shining right now and even tho its cold the air smells so fresh, like sheets dried on the line. I don't really mind the cold as long as nothing freezes up/breaks and I can stay home (and feed my animals and heater extra ) and the sun shines. Love the sunny days.


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## chandab (Feb 6, 2014)

Reignmaker Miniatures said:


> Well dang! I knew I was tempting fate by talking about our mild winter. It has dropped down to extremely cold temps, -32 C here this morning (not sure what that is in F any more but it is freaking _COLD_ lol) along with a north wind. It is going to stay this way for the weekend I guess and then warm up a bit and snow some more (oh joy) At least the sun is shining right now and even tho its cold the air smells so fresh, like sheets dried on the line. I don't really mind the cold as long as nothing freezes up/breaks and I can stay home (and feed my animals and heater extra ) and the sun shines. Love the sunny days.


I don't recall the exact conversion, but do know freezing is zero C and 32F, so you must be close to our current around zero temps. so, its friggin cold.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 6, 2014)

I checked my thermometer which has both Celsius and Fahrenheit on it and the equivalent readout seems to be somewhere around 25 -28 below (it is exactly the same at 40 -that is 40F = 40C). Along with a wind it is pretty nasty. I was supposed to go to town today, have lunch with my daughter and husband, but it just isn't worth the risk of harm to my car to run it in these temperatures so I am just staying at home. Used the time to give my dog a pedicure which I've been putting off and to clean my kitchen. I won't need to go outside again today since my horses have all the hay they can eat plus some until this weather lets up. I probably should go out and collect the eggs again around dinner time since all but one was frozen completely solid (and cracked of course) today, in spite of an insulated coop and a heat lamp, but I won't bother, I'd rather lose a few eggs than face the cold again lol (I'm getting softer as I get older  )


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## chandab (Feb 6, 2014)

Reignmaker Miniatures said:


> I checked my thermometer which has both Celsius and Fahrenheit on it and the equivalent readout seems to be somewhere around 25 -28 below (it is exactly the same at 40 -that is 40F = 40C). Along with a wind it is pretty nasty. I was supposed to go to town today, have lunch with my daughter and husband, but it just isn't worth the risk of harm to my car to run it in these temperatures so I am just staying at home. Used the time to give my dog a pedicure which I've been putting off and to clean my kitchen. I won't need to go outside again today since my horses have all the hay they can eat plus some until this weather lets up. I probably should go out and collect the eggs again around dinner time since all but one was frozen completely solid (and cracked of course) today, in spite of an insulated coop and a heat lamp, but I won't bother, I'd rather lose a few eggs than face the cold again lol (I'm getting softer as I get older  )


Ok, so that doesn't make sense to me. My thermometer that shows both, shows 0F to be about -20C. 40C is like 100F. Whatever the temp for both of us, its friggin cold.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 6, 2014)

LOL, great, nothing like having a standard thermometer reading we can trust. You are still correct, *COLD*, no matter the conversion. Up to 15 C now, supposed to drop back down to -30 tonight which is a huge swing.


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## chandab (Feb 6, 2014)

Ok, I don't know how good it is, but guess its correct... Here's a Fahrenheit to Celsius converter: http://fahrenheittocelsius.com/

And, lower on the page it shows the formulas for the conversions, but I kind of like just being able to plug it in and have it tell me, rather than doing the math.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 7, 2014)

That conversion thing is great Chanda, it does say -40 is -40 either way. -32C is -25.6F so yup it was cold




and is again today altho its warming up faster today and is already only -17(1.39F) which is not _so_ awful.


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## chandab (Feb 7, 2014)

Reignmaker Miniatures said:


> That conversion thing is great Chanda, it does say -40 is -40 either way. -32C is -25.6F so yup it was cold
> 
> 
> 
> and is again today altho its warming up faster today and is already only -17(1.39F) which is not _so_ awful.


I missed the minus part of that first conversation saying 40 was the same in both. I knew there was one temperature that was the same for both, but couldn't remember what it was, and didn't look low enough on the thermometer to find -40.


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## Helicopter (Feb 7, 2014)

Well Chandab we have the +40C here and I think I'm going to die. Wish I could send a few of those degrees over your way.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 7, 2014)

I just reread that post and you missed the (-) part because I failed to type it.



Its hard enough to be clear on meaning when I type the details but 40 and -40 are not the same thing at all. Sorry.


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## chandab (Feb 8, 2014)

Reignmaker Miniatures said:


> I just reread that post and you missed the (-) part because I failed to type it.
> 
> 
> 
> Its hard enough to be clear on meaning when I type the details but 40 and -40 are not the same thing at all. Sorry.


No wonder I was confused, which isn't too hard on a good day.


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## Performancemini (Feb 8, 2014)

AND it's snowing again! another 1-3 they SAY, but it's basically supposed to snow all day and a bit tonight. That sounds like

more-I hope not!


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## Sonya (Feb 9, 2014)

Very much so...we have 4 ft of snow at camp on the west side of Michigan and about 2 1/2 at my house in the central part of Michigan....I have an hour drive to work and this winter I have spent way too many 2+ hrs one way to work....we have not seen grass since right before Thanksgiving...on the upside, been doing a lot of snowmobiling. The drifting has been horrible too...and the bitter cold....stay warm everyone.


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 9, 2014)

Ice fog here. It is the sneakiest stuff! Invisible sheet of ice on sidewalks and roads. I went out this morning, carrying a bucket of water, to do my animals and took two steps on the porch. My feet went out from under and I was flat on my back. You can picture what happened to the bucket of water. The sheet of ice was invisible; you had to run your foot over it to detect it. We have not seen the sun in nearly a week.

Thursday is supposed to be 60. We can recharge, before the next front arrives.


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## Performancemini (Feb 9, 2014)

We had 3 inches of the super light and fluffy stuff yesterday. Husband is plowing it. It is taking him a little less time because it is so light. Today is sunny and is supposed to make the low 20's; But it's back to the deep freeze for the next two or three days then (not a freezing as before, but cold enough!!!). Future long range forecasts on accuweather look more promising though. 30's, 40's and they even posted a 50! (I think that was March though). I keep saying, 'Oh, this will be the last week of freezing cold', and then we get another. It'll break sometime. And then in June-August we can complain about the heat, etc. right!


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## chandab (Feb 9, 2014)

Marsha, hope you are ok; but gotta say, at least you made it outside with your bucket of water... I filled a couple up the other day, and tripped over the hall rug and dumped almost the whole bucket all down the hall, so spent quite awhile sopping up water and drying the rug.


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## Shari (Feb 10, 2014)

Supposed to be a big snow storm (for here) coming this Wed. Keep your fingers crossed the power doesn't go out!

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm with all the wild weather!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 10, 2014)

another storm predicted here too... oh noooooooooooooooooo. Folks locally just getting power back in the last 24 hours from the storm last week. tree branches everywhere. Ugh. I am so sick of winter. Kids only had one half day school last week and started today 2 hours late. school going well into june for summer. sheesh. stay safe folks and try to stay on your feet. Falling is no fun.

take care. Keep griping here... its good for all of us.

haha


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## Debby - LB (Feb 11, 2014)

we're under another severe weather warning here too. This is a bad winter even for us in the south!

I'm stocked up and have brought in extra wood. I'll use more of it this time since the darn propane has more than doubled in price.


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 11, 2014)

Today is supposed to be our last day of cold for a while. Tomorrow a warming trend and by Saturday--70 degrees!! I'll be able to clean out the chicken house and all the water troughs! The bird bath will thaw so the birds can get a drink! I may lay out in the sun and catch some rays--something we haven't seen for over a week! Hope to get some driving in, too.

btw, the day after my fall my neck hurt pretty bad. Today I feel stiff all over. It takes a while for a fall to tell its tale.


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## Performancemini (Feb 11, 2014)

Now I am really fed up!!!!!! Yesterday my Mom's car's temp gage went up normally and then fell to 0 before she got too far from home and she realized she was getting no heat. Then my Husband comes home and says I need to follow him to the transmission place this morning so he can leave the truck (his main vehicle and our truck for pulling the trailer). He wanted the system flushed and the transmission checked out. He thinks it might have a problem (he is NO mechanic). So we head out today. He had left my car outside last night and it was -20 or -30 degrees. He had it running and the fan turned up as high as it would go trying to get it warmer I guess cause I am on the crutches. He takes off down the road before I even get in the car. About a mile down the road I notice the temp gage is past half way (it would never be there that soon in this weather) and climbing and realize the car is not warming at all. By the time I went another 1/2 mile it was almost to the red! I pulled over and phone him (luckily has a hands free unit). He comes back and follows me back home and then takes my car to work (guess in the long run it would be cheaper to replace a car than a truck, if needed). I guess the temp thingy is frozen up or something. Our mechanic says, of course he shouldn't be driving it. ERRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I DEFINITELY have absolutely had it with winter now!!!! No more -0 or more temps!


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## BBH (Feb 11, 2014)

Well on the bright side we are all not alone in our misery......we are all worn out.......hoping for warm temps end of week so I can drive, the minis are all pretty crabby right along with the rest of us....


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 11, 2014)

Marsha, no fair! I will not be driving anything for a couple of months yet. Sorry to hear about your fall, I took one of those right next to my barn on Friday, just one foot slipped but I still ended on my face in the snow, grrr. It has warmed up slightly (it was only -17C this morning and should warm about 5 degrees more) but now it has decided that we should enjoy some more of that white s... er...crud! I swear at this rate it will be August before it all melts. At least we live up on a hill so we won't flood but I bet there will be plenty who continue to curse this winter even when it thaws.


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## lucky seven (Feb 11, 2014)

Yuck, more snow on the way. Can't wait until spring.


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## Performancemini (Feb 11, 2014)

I feel bad when ever any of you said you have slipped or fell or are getting more ice. Here I am on these crutches, on and off for almost 7 months now! I sure wouldn't wish this on any of you! Especially now in this weather!

Please, southern/eastern states folks-take care! Stay in. People forget or don't realize that ice is NOT snow. There is no traction. It's not worth a life! Take care all of you..I pray you all stay safe.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 11, 2014)

I really feel for those who live in the warmer climates getting such a beating this year. We expect winters to be like this mostly so we are prepared. It is much harder when it is not something you have to deal with all the time. Stay safe, spring will come eventually.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 12, 2014)

Uhhhhh I'm sooo tired of it.










And I'm mad! I zipped my stupid snow pants up in my stupid coat and broke my zipper pull! I was trapped in my coat and pants... I know, It sounds so stupid, and it was! I just stood their staring at the ceiling thinking, Really! Really! I get a bit claustrophobic and sometimes I panic when I have a turtle neck on! LOL! I did not panic(that bad



) and No I'm not still wearing my carharts! LOL! I grabbed an old key ring and fed it through the zipper pull thing and finally got it loose. Stupid weather!

But what I'm really mad about..... The gas prices! And the Propane shortage! They have a sign at our Lumber Jack in town stating the propane shortage is because of the farmers drying their corn. I have to go in town today I'll see if I can take a picture of it. I asked the girl working if she thought it was true. She said "yeah I guess". I asked her, don't you think it could be because it's so cold and every ones heat is running non stop? She said "yeah I guess".





Stupid cold weather!

Oh yeah and I just checked the temp's gauge and they say -15 - 17 and - 18 right now!


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 12, 2014)

Propane shortage--thank goodness for our wood stove! We have a mesquite "forest" around here so wood should never be a problem. We HAVE been getting a little tired of carrying wood but it's a small price to pay for keeping warm so inexpensively. And the radiant heat from a stove is much more comfortable than a furnace.

It seems criminal to raise the price of fuel when it is most needed.

Sun is out today! I think it's been at least 10 days since we've seen it.


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## Performancemini (Feb 12, 2014)

Well, my car MIGHT be ok. Husband let it run at work last night. Said the gage worked fine and the heat was back on. My son, who does mechanic work (but he likes the foreign cars better to work on) did a check on it. He says it looks like the only thing wrong now is that the warning light is stuck on and he thinks it's only the computer thingy. H. says he may have our regular mechanic take a look at it anyway. And he still wants to get his truck in. He doesn't think there is anything really wrong with it; he just wants it in good shape for this spring and he thinks this weather is tuff on a truck of it's age ('94). It has low miles though and never pulled til we bought it. I have seen more people's car's left by the road; not all stuck in a drift either. I think engines are taking a beating.


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## paintponylvr (Feb 12, 2014)

And it's snowing again here (white out conditions right outside my front door!). School out (doesn't directly affect me anymore) and no work (means less $$ to pay for higher power/heat bill and extra hay for ponies)... This is 4th week in a row Mama Nature has thrown this type of curve ball at us here in NC and while I can sorta deal with it - NC is NOT PREPARED to deal with this type of weather. We don't have the trucks, we don't have the crews, the roads aren't banked correctly on all the curves (cars slide right off if its' slick - lots of cars in the ditches right now), cars aren't set up for this type of sustained cold, wet, frozen weather....

BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE - I'm tired of the folks who are here from Northern States or overseas (germany, austria, switzerland) LAUGHING that schools are shut and roads are closed and everyone is being told to STAY HOME... 2 people died on the two roads that I take to go home from work yesterday - saw the one wreck while I was driving a slow 40 mph in the blowing snow (roads were wet but not slushy or frozen at that point) at 2 pm yesterday. SAD...

I, too, have lived in and dealt with Montana cold/snow (just below the Canadian border) and Colorado and 4 different areas of Germany over a 6 year period and two winters in Korea (OMG - that was COLD since I thought that that was only "monsoon" country when I was 20 something before touching down in country).

It's just a drag when everyone else thinks "we" (southerners) are being overly dramatic. I pray that my water pipes (only 18" below the frozen top soil) don't freeze. I'm tired of dragging 200' of water hose into the house & family is so upset about tripping over it all on the kitchen floor. Water stays running at night (the water bill is starting to suck as much as the power bill) and we'll see what happens when it warms enough to change snow to rain this afternoon and then drops again well below freezing. I pray again that we don't lose our power (source of heat)... Beginning to rethink the fireplace idea (I hate chopping/hauling wood and cleaning up ashes)...

We are having problems with fuel lines, batteries on all of our regular gas vehicles too. I remember when I drove a diesel truck here and someone asked what the plug was on the front and what a surprise it was to not have anywhere to plug it in when I drove it to town the first winter (LOLOLOL). That seems so long ago (1997)... I'm now used to the mild winters here and this one has been killer instead!

Thanks for starting a thread allowing us to vent at Mama Nature!!!


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## Performancemini (Feb 12, 2014)

I think it's cruel to laugh at others just because their 'not prepared' or 'used to it'. They live in states where the NORMAL weather is to their choosing. I think it's crazy here even, because people STILL go out when WE have icing or heavy snow conditions. I still think it's better to be safe than sorry. Of course, most men don't agree with that thinking and will go out anyway. My husband and son always 'pooh pooh' my anxiousness; but I want to do what feels safest for me.

This weather this year is no laughing matter. There is nothing funny about human lives being lost or conditions being extreme. Paula, you make a good bit of writing for all this. Sounds like you have handled a good bit of a variety of weather areas.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 12, 2014)

Let it out! Our weather sucks right now! This weather and how it's effecting lives is nothing to laugh at! And driving in this is no joke. My hubby drives over 75 miles back and forth to work and he's on a crazy shift of days then midnights non stop. It scares me, I worry for him. It's no joke...

My moms pipes froze twice so now she lets her water run also. It's been running sense Christmas, no joke!

I was just telling my hubby about your post paintponylvr. And he said ABSOLUTELY your right on! You guys don't get this like we do. It's the dingle berries who live here and act like this is the first snow ever and cause all the problems. We have complete sympathy for all the lower states that are not used to this and are getting hit hard. _*Were with ya! *_








Performancemini, Fingers crossed for your car! My hubbys truck is still down sense the first jolt of minus blahblahblah degrees! He won't take it in and can absolutely fix the fuel pump him self but being so cold and no $$$ has put that on hold. Thank God we have 3 vehicles just for situations like this. But I must admit, my 95 Jeep has been sitting through most of this. I'll take my son to school in the vehicle thats warm when he get home off midnights. That Jeep is cold! LOL!


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## Performancemini (Feb 12, 2014)

For a bit of an "upper" watch accuweather's long range forecasts now and then. I see 50-58 near the end of March for our area of N. IL. WhoooooHoooo! Sounds simply tropical! Even if it changes everyday, it still gives some hope for the future. (Ok, so there will be some flooding and mud here-and I sure hope we don't see major flooding all over-but I am trying for a bit of not gloomy on this one.).


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Feb 12, 2014)

Want not gloomy



I an do that. We have +2C (above freezing) and ...shhhh..don't scare it away...sun! Thats right folks its sunny and *not* so cold your breath turns to icicles.



We had snow on Monday and Tuesday (about 4or5") but this morning dawned clear and the its like a postcard out there. Everything is so clean with the fresh snow covering it. The roads are not perfect but passable even in my 2 wheel drive car (I know, what the heck were we thinking getting a 2 wheel drive here in the back of beyond, right  ) Hows that for not gloomy? We had our neighbour come in with his skid steer and clean up our front yard and driveway so I could get in after I left for my dentist's appointment (and hair cut) so we should be fine until my guy feels ready to fire up his own equipment this weekend and finish the clean up - provided we don't get even more of that white stuff.


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## Performancemini (Feb 12, 2014)

I guess my car's alright. H. and son said it was almost out of water and antifreeze (I am the worst at keeping my car up; I think I forgot my 3,000 mile ??? oil change too this fall). I won't trust it and them for a while though.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Feb 13, 2014)

I'm 30 miles from Paula (paintponylovr) and this is what it looks like out my back door. Had to knock the icicles off to let Lucky--my Jack Russel--out to go potty. And guess what?? With all that out there, she doesn't pull her pajamas off!! LOL

I'm soooooo glad I checked the weather Sunday before we put new roofing paint on the trailer we boughte. That would have been $90 that would have been completely WASTED!!

I also agree about not being prepared for this type winter if it's not usual. I still starting wanting to lay in a wood supply, wrap water lines, put up plastic over windows etc., etc. starting in late August every year. I remember too well winters in ID, MN and CO. My husband from El Salvador doesn't respect it at all!! This week has been a real eye-opener for him. Imagine how shocked he was when he couldn't open the truck doors 'cause they were frozen shut!!! I'm really, really glad I ignored him ("the radiator's fine" he said) and put extra antifreeze in the radiator. And try explaining a block heater to someone who's never seen snow and ice like this!!! The neighbors' vehicle has a completely frozen engine, I hope it's not a total lose for them.

Seeing everyone else with "real" winter, I've been thankful each day for knowing I won't be hunting Easter eggs in a snowbank...but this week has sure had me feeling justified for being so cautious back in August!!

Hugs all, your welcome here any old time!!

Julie


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## lucky seven (Feb 13, 2014)

Totally tired of it all, snowing again and it's 25 degrees. The wind is blowing the snow all over the place and won't stop until sometime tomorrow.


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## Carolyn R (Feb 13, 2014)

I can't tell you how sick and tired I am of this snow. My days off consist of plowing our driveway, the neighbors and anyone else out. Hauling hot water to the barn, soaking hay, hauling it up to the barn, trying to keep the house clean, did I mention plowing.......I go to work to get a break from all the work at home.....after plowing the driveway and feeding the horses this morning, I headed to work, only to walk in the door and go home because they were closing due to the weather......so home I went to plow some more, do the stalls, hang out with the kids ( thankfully my parents are there for them when we both work). Hubby got a room near work,it wasn't worth risking the drive home when his workplace offered to pay for the room. Tomorrow.....the kids have another snow day, at least the kids will be my snuggle buddies for the night! (not until after I soak more hay, haul it up to the barn,yet again, along with hot water and tuck the critters in for the night.


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## chandab (Feb 13, 2014)

It wasn't so bad here, til today; got a skiff of snow, which covered all the icy patches and I took a header doing chores, I couldn't see the ice... Dumped two buckets of feed and wrenched my wrist a bit.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 14, 2014)

Hope you feel better Chanda. Wrap it and put some Bio-freeze\icy hot on it.

Truthfully this morning I have no complaints! It's 21ish here and I'm cool with that! It's not snowing(for the moment



but just wait, it's suppose to) and it's above 0, I'm happy!





Dragons Wish Farm- GREAT PICTURES! Your place looks pretty covered in snow!


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## amysue (Feb 14, 2014)

I am sooo sick of it. Got another 10" of wet heavy snow over the past two days, then freezing rain so now its slick as heck out here and we're expecting 6" more tomorrow and 3-5" Monday. Im seriously running out of places to put it. My little goat paths shoveled to all of my bird coops are so narrow now that I have to scoot thru sideways to fit. All of the snow is frozen hard like cement so I need the payloader to move it. I am scrambling to get all of these barn roofs shoveled before they fall in. My horses are crawling the walls because it is way to icy to turn them out. I tried and we both slipped. But its ok I broke the pony's fall when she landed on top of me. Im ready for spring!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 14, 2014)

We got about 20 inches total for the storm here with rain and sleet mixing in with it to make it nice an heavy. Drifting is bad and up to my hips in fun places, like in front of all my gates... ugh...I am so sore and I have blisters on my blisters from shoveling. Enlisted the help of our kids for shoveling but even with the 5 of us working it was hard to keep up. Can only do so much with the skid and then it is hand shoveling for the rest. Skid got stuck and spreader wouldn't go under the barn cleaner so we hand shoveled a parking lot size 15 inch deep area so we could back the spreader in to do evening milking chores and to get the feed mixer under the conveyor at the silo.. Its amazing how deep and heavy this snow is.

Got up this morning and noticed it snowed an additional 4 inches overnight. So back out this morning shoveling for the dogs and for the milk truck and the feed guys... Its going to be another long day. Kids off school again but they didn't notify us until 9:45 pm even though it was snowing and only one lane on the roads. Yes I am really whining here. sorry.

I had to shovel for my goats, only had one venture out of the hut before I did yesterday. My horses are doing good thankfully but I am burning through hay like crazy to keep them warm. Last night while we were trying to get liquid cow poop to go up a frozen ramp to the spreader and two of us were pushing with forks in the stinging sleet while the other tried to keep it from jamming under the barn exit door and holding a finger on the off switch in case the paddles got jammed under the return.... I thought to myself how much can we take... I guess we have room for more, but only if we can whine a little bit.

Got home from milking last night at 1:00 am this morning. Had to take care of heifer that calved and her new born baby after milking chores that were already late from all the delays. Heard a loud crash when exiting the barn last night and noticed the snow falling off the upper roof has messed up the roof below it. My yard looks like a bomb went off in it with all the limbs.

We also have a coyote hanging around the barn.. big one, probably a wolf cross. scary.

Ok, now I am really whining. I messed up my shoulders moving heavy feed bags when my husband was laid up last October. I am sore and it hurts to comb my hair. I just grabbed my youngest dog last night when I got home, cuddled up on a heated mattress pad and put a big blanket over me and slept really deep.

Off to the barn this morning to check on my favorite heifer that calved. Raised from birth she now weighs about 1600 lbs. She followed me like a dog from the calving pen to her new stall for her first milking and gave me a hug. 
Thank goodness for feel goods... Hugging heifers, hugging horses, snuggly dogs and for family working together to get through this "worst winter ever".

Bless all of you who are also hanging in there by a thread. There is comfort in numbers and for sharing.

Off to the barn again... will take days to get the milking back on schedule...

When you pour your milk on your cereal say a little thanks to dairy farmers who stand out in sleet and work until 1 am to care for the critters before themselves. Its a farming thing, its hard to explain. check out "got made a farmer" by paul Harvey on youtube. its so true.

cheers and have a great day.

happy valentines day


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## paintponylvr (Feb 14, 2014)

WOW, shorthorsemom, that's a lot...

I've not done either the regular calving or 2x daily milking, but have helped w/ several roundups and dipping of up to 1,0000 first year heifers on who knows how much pasture space (have no idea how large those pastures were). THAT was done in relatively good weather in CO, however, I had to have help saddling the horses I rode and thanked everyone available that at the time I had an iron bladder, 'cuz once up I didn't dismount thru the whole day... I'd been in a car accident that flipped rear over front 3x and while nothing was broke I was literally "green & yellow" for a long, long time with full body bruising, torn ligaments and tendons and a concussion... I remember those days of "git 'er done".. AND I now pay for some of that with my body approaching fifty and feeling some of those youthful injuries (several horse wrecks, too, and the "pounding" while in the army later)...

Some of these other posts make me very thankful I at least know how to deal with winter, even if it's hard to prepare for it completely here... Here's a pic of our 4 youngsters out in the round pen during part of a heavy fall ("white out")... They weren't staying in the barn, so I put them back out where they had free choice hay and alfalfa pellets away from the mature ponies. A pic of the ducks both during the first part of the snow when their "pond" is frozen solid and the next day when we had a partial thaw and rain and the ditch between the house and barn was full of water...






The Jr mares - their pasture has trees in the back edge. It was completely clear of snow and blocked from the majority of wind by the trees & underbrush I haven't cleared yet in a 20 x 14 area. They preferred standing at the hay and getting covered in layers of snow! Though the manure this am shows that they've spent time back there - I will need to concentrate on pick up there when we get dry.
















Well, I was supposed to get a load of 4 round bales this weekend. That water (above) is the ditch that I need to cross - there isn't supposed to be any standing water there - that's what the ditch is for to drain it away from the house, hillside in front of the barn and drive. Hmmm... may be getting a load of small squares and using ponies to pull them up to the barn thru the snow and water on tarps or a skid... I've only got 2 small squares left from the last load of 50 I had. The supplier I get small squares from has 300 left and I have 100 of that, but hadn't planned on getting but about 5 this weekend. We'll see. If I have to feed the small squares to the one pasture that is low on round bales this will be a hard working weekend. UGH. We can't seem to keep ahead of the storms since last June (when I got the 4x4 truck stuck in the mud hauling round bales and it "broke" the truck).

WOW - Chandab - you are having a heat wave!! It's above freezing. And it's the exact same temp here right now.


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## chandab (Feb 14, 2014)

Yep, Paula, its practically a heat wave here for this time of year.


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## Performancemini (Feb 14, 2014)

Got sun and 20 degrees today. Seems nice, considering. Snow tomorrow 1-3. Mixed bag Monday. But then we are supposed to get up to 40ish mid to end of week (might have some little rivers running then). Since I was out and the area near the barn door was ice free, I decided to pull the car up to the door and get an in person peek at my Hubby's kitty. He is keeping him in the little tack room with the heater on (to keep extra water buckets liquid, since we have to turn the water on and off at the house and he has to haul water). He said the kitty uses the litter box; but Hubby never has wanted to clean litter boxes and I always got stuck. He is evidently not doing too good a job or kitty is not that tidy. OMG! There are little piles of kitty-poopy all over the floor in there!!! It smells like cat. I am not sure he is spraying (he's not neutered-YET); but that is one other thing I can't abide. Cat spray on my hay, equipment, etc. I wish he could have had a spayed female. He rescued this guy. Then, the horses water trough is buried in snow up to the top edge. I am not sure how they are drinking. There are hoof prints up to it, so assume they are drinking; but surely they can only reach down so far! I hate to bug him since he is doing triple duty with me layed up with this foot and crutches; but somethings need attention maybe.


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## poniesrule (Feb 14, 2014)

We had snow on Tuesday (didn't amount to much), cold and bitter wind on Wednesday, then it was 50 yesterday, and back to 20's today, supposed to be 50 tomorrow through Monday, then back to 20's. It's really getting old never knowing what to expect! And the teasing 50 degree days that make you dream of gardens and working outdoors, sigh..... soon, very soon it will be consistent? Right?!? Thinking of everyone with the insane snowfall. Yuk!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 15, 2014)

Husband got the payloader stuck moving snow yesterday whle digging a path so we could get the feeder filled. Really? The payloader? It is the biggest thing we have and it is stuck. sheesh. I ran to my amish neighbor and got some shoveling help to get the payloader and the other tractors dug out and we eventually got it all going, but the newly scraped ground is very slippery. On my way to the feeder I slipped and got up some momentum with my rubber pants on the ice going down hill and had my son in a fit of giggles trying to help me get up. The "help I fallen and I can't get up" commercial went through my mind.

Fell twice more this morning getting hay to the horse and goats. sheesh. This stuff is slippery and it is so hard to get up once I go down. My stable is flooded and yucky and I can't do anything about it. Drives me crazy.

The coyote ran right past my house this morning 20 feet from the back of my house,... about 3 minutes after I popped the memory card out of my camera. Missed a photo opportunity. The coyote is big. Running at 7 am and went right past my goat pens. I worry about my cats. These coyotes are getting bold, hungry because of all the snow I figure. Big one... size of german shepherd. yikes. this is not a coyote area. We never had to deal with this before.

ok..its afternoon now.. temp got up to 34 degrees and I have mucked out most of my stable and piled it outside of the stable since I can't use a wheelbarrow out there right now. Bedded up with fresh pine chips and pellets on bottom to soak up moisture and I am soooooo happy to have a nice warm dry spot for my boys for tonight. Amazing what little things can make you happy and smile. Gotta find some happy in all these weeks of nasty winter we have been having. Out to dig some more paths for the goats. I think the wet stable was making me crabby.

take care folks. keep posting.


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## Performancemini (Feb 15, 2014)

The hard packed snow is no joke either. Can be slippery like you said. We were supposed to get snow this afternoon, but it didn't happen. Suppose it will do it this evening or overnight or tomorrow. 1-3 they say. Then Monday is supposed to be like 1-3,but a mix of snow,sleet and freezing rain. I have Physical Therapy Tuesday around noon. I hope roads and such are clear by then. I hope I can get out the door and to and into the car on my crutches. I have already had to reschedule and cancel PT twice in two weeks!

Husband has the horses out, but I suppose he will need to put them in Sunday night for the Monday freezing rain. Boy! What a winter!


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## chandab (Feb 15, 2014)

Yep, now I'm sick of it. Took another header tonight, and wrenched the same wrist and elbow again. At least it happened after we got tin on over half the roof, another afternoon like today, and we'll have the roof finished; here's hoping tomorrow is nice like today was.


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## amysue (Feb 15, 2014)

Yay more snow (hint of sarcasm) we're gonna have snow piles in the yard until may at this point. Ive got roofs sagging and ice avalanches taking us out while doing chores. Seriously fml.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 16, 2014)

More snow, it's snowing right now







I'm so tired of it it's not even funny...

That tree fort is 12 feet up and that stupid snow pile is half way there! That's one pile of many!

Look at those poor bird houses covered in snow...

Yeah the critters don't seem to mind it! LOL! But my old gal is in and warm in her stall.


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## Performancemini (Feb 16, 2014)

Wow! Watch those deep piles of snow on your roofs! Was watching the news last night about it falling off a building. It hit a car and the whole car was bouncing. Sheets fell off the new World Trade Center. It collapsed a whole office building somewhere else. Try to scrape some off-but don't get up there to do it! Stay safe! Tomorrow we get the mix-snow, sleet and freezing rain. Then-we get some low 40's mid to end week. Watch the rivers! Then back to the 20's. (That would be March coming-the moody month, guess that's why I was born in that month LOL).


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## Performancemini (Feb 17, 2014)

Well, the freezing rain is supposed to pass us by; but we are supposed to get 4-7" by sunset. It's almost 11:30 our time and so far it's not too too bad, considering. I am hoping 4" is the worst we get. But who knows; they say we will have some real heavy periods of snow coming through. Looking forward to the 40-ish temps we are supposed to get by Thursday and Friday. Rain on Thursday too. But that presents the flooding and river ice jam problems.


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## Performancemini (Feb 18, 2014)

Today was nice. 43 and melting snow and sunny. Hurray. Loved it. Yesterday got about 5 inches. Hubby worked his regular job and then went to work on one of his remodeling jobs. Got home at around 7:30 pm and took care of the horses. Then he went over to the neighbors and got out the tractor and plowed their drives (about 1 - 1 1/2 hours) then came over here and did ours. I kept hearing the tractor engine kind of revving so I looked out and couldn't figure out a first what was going on (he was across at the second of our two drives). Then I realized he was stuck where the drive dips down from the road. He was trying to dig the bucket in to help push him backwards, but it wasn't working this time. He eventually got it out. It was midnight when he finally came in!!! Poor guy! He said he is sick and tired of plowing and shoveling and doesn't want to see anymore snow. I told him we are supposed to get freezing rain Wed. night and Thursday morning. He said he didn't care, as long as it wasn't snow.


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## paintponylvr (Feb 18, 2014)

Wow, all those pics make me feel guilty that I even complained!!!

Yet, I can remember "just dealing" with the snow, the below zero temps and getting all the chores done and dinner prepared and working, too, when I was in both CO and MT!

OOOO, uck to freezing rain.

We now have a muddy mess. I don't have a grader or a tractor. The area that I tore up the other day trying to bring in the hay w/ 3/4 ton 4x4 - well, once it's dry I will have to pay someone to come "fix" it... And with all this wet - we have rain coming our way as well. And we went from that single digit temps just a couple of days ago to 67* today (and still snow stacked up along the roads and drifted on our property) and supposed to be in the 70's tomorrow. Can't win for losing - neither of these "swings" is normal for us at this time of year.

Isn't there supposed to be a way to "package" up the snow and send it to the west coast where moisture is desperately needed?


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## JAX (Feb 18, 2014)

I really don't want the cold that comes along with it but you guys are more than welcome to throw your snow in some big trucks and send it this way... that way we could have some moisture. It was 92 degrees down the street the other day. The week before we had just enough ice to remind us we are not built to handle the ice lol. The ice brings down the trees which knock down power lines and then we have no A/C when it hits 90 degrees. My horses are refusing to blow their coats so I'm guessing we will have more cold fronts but poor little guys get all sweaty and then are wet and shivery when the temps change yet again!!Vet says she is seeing a lot more than normal colics because of these extreme changes back and forth. OK I will quit my griping because honestly I don't think I could handle your weather for more than a couple of days.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 19, 2014)

Woo Hoo! 32 degrees this morning!



That's why my head had been hurting really bad, the weather changes do crazy stuff to my noodle! It's ok I'll take it if it means warmer temps! LOL!


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## dixie_belle (Feb 19, 2014)

OK, so it finally warms up to above freezing. Things have started to thaw. My driveway is no longer a sheet of ice. So what happens? We got violent thunderstorms overnight. WHAT?? I mean, the whole house was shaking from the thunder. Scared the dogs to death. Sigh. So what's next? Raining frogs? A hungry hoard of locust? An invasion of earth worms? Hey, it could happen. Weird weather up here. LOL


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 19, 2014)

Raining here. Nothing fun as 3 inches of ice with rain on it. Its like the ice rink Zamboni was working hard this morning to make it impossible to stand up. I fell, my husband fell and we are out of gritty stuff to put down and the feed store is out too. not fun. sheesh. going to put some barn floor chaff out there.

I hate falling down. I have lost count of how often I have fallen.

Here is a photo of my goat Lucy expressing how much we hate snow. LOL. couldn't resist


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## Performancemini (Feb 19, 2014)

Aaaah-yah! Starting tonight, here in N. IL, we are going to get freezing rain and sleet all through tomorrow morning when we will wake up to fog and more freezing rain, then rain and thunderstorms on top ( I hear you-water on a sheet of ice). Then come evening it will turn to a mix and probably snow and winds up to 50 miles per hour. OMG!!!!!! I knew we were going to get freezing rain and rain, but not that bad! I thoroughly enjoyed myself yesterday and today (crutches and all). 40's, melting and sunshine-BEAUTIFUL! They said we will have to keep an eye out for flooding also-which means our pasture/paddocks too. There is a farm field in an L around them (back and one side) with a waterway runoff, plus the back side runs downhill toward our pastures. We get flooding a lot. So this could get nasty! My husband just pulled in a few minutes ago and I know he said he will be putting the horses in again (won't they love that! it was so nice today- they may give him a merry chase). Boy this all sucks!


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## bevann (Feb 20, 2014)

We had REALLY bad ice storms a few years back.I threw out the barn manure which is shavings mixed with poop.It gave some nice traction for the horses to walk on since it softened some and got ground down into the ice.sorry for all the bad weather everyone is having.we are now in somewhat of a warm up here in DE.But more cold weather is on the way.I should be very thin by now(but I"M not) just from dressing and undressing,boots on-boots off.got to be good for stretching some muscles and losing weight.Hurry up spring.We have 2 lambs born about 2 weeks ago.Yesterday was their 1st day out with the flock after getting their tails banded..Chester,baby ram, had severely contracted tendons so had had to stay in the barn and get physical therapy and stretching of legs daily.His sister,Lisa, is fine and much larger.Both are now outside and running around.they are so mu8ch fun to watch and remind me that spring is not far away.


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## Performancemini (Feb 20, 2014)

Waiting to see what happens the rest of the day and evening (it's almost 10 AM here). So far, we only got some slightly frozen mush overnight and now there is nothing really happening except it's windy-maybe about 20 mph or bit more. I like when they get it wrong (or it shifts right) to our advantage (of course, then it's not great for someone else area).


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 20, 2014)

We just had "Thunder Snow" too. It was pretty neat, not welcome, but neat. We were going to get lots of rain but I think we missed most of it.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Feb 20, 2014)

So we went from this 


to this I discovered today 


I'm putting this up to offer HOPE!! I remember the depression of this time of year..seems like you're never warm. The snow and ice turns to sludge. Is there never going to be an end to it??? Everything on your body aches from a combination of the nipping of winters icy teeth and when it just SLAPS you down into the muck. At this time of year......you don't even bother to get back up....you just scooch along to the next snow pile. It just seems grim, and that the calendar is LYING when it promises spring in March.

So I enclosed a picture of the little flower sprouts I found under that very same icy cedar tree today. I went specifically looking for some hope. I know I'm in NC, but without Casper here this winter has been a little more difficult for me. Seeing this little sign of renewal, of a promise to an end of each cycle and new beginnings, I offer it to you all as a spiritual hug. We had thunderstorms the other day, with 70% chance of winter mix middle of next week.

I'm holding the treasure of these little sproutlings in my heart....hang on y'all!

Julie


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 20, 2014)

Awww I love it Julie!


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 21, 2014)

School is closed again. I just went out to the garage and everything is a sheet of ice. The garage has a flood of water in it because of all the yuck falling off the roof. I tried to keep up on it yesterday in front of the doors but it's so thick and packed down.

I give up! I quit winter! I can do that right?!?!







LOL!


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## chandab (Feb 21, 2014)

Well, at least its your garage, my barn is flooded (so warmish days its standing water, cold days a sheet of ice). Good thing the girls live out, and usually only eat grain in their stalls, so we can work around it for now. Come summer, I need to remember to dig a trench to divert the water around the stalls.


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## Performancemini (Feb 21, 2014)

Yesterday we didn't get too much freezing rain or the snow. It did rain though and there was one huge clap of thunder that sent the dog up in the air and off the couch and and barking. A little more thunder later in the day. Then in the evening and throughout the night we had winds up to 60 miles per hour. Believe me, the windows in this little old farm house were really rattling! Today it was less windy, and sunny at least!


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## Performancemini (Feb 23, 2014)

Everyone must be tired of griping or maybe we are all on "hold" or in better weather at the moment. We are 20's and sunny. But this week is going to be pretty cold in the teens days. At least we are to have some sun. That's always welcome. Hoping for 30's and 40's though.


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 23, 2014)

Nah, never tired of griping hahaha.... Just numb at this point. another cold flash coming this week.

My stable flooded and is doing the freeze thaw thing where it is either an ice brick or a slushy water mess. I can't roll a wheel barrow anywhere. Ice and snow still too heavy to even walk through. I have never had my stables get this yucky. It makes me crazy.

The snow was so deep and heavy that I was only able to shovel little trails around and then everything froze up and I am stuck with a kitchen size circle for 7 dogs to potty in and my horses are stuck in the paddock because my two gates are hopelessly frozen into the ground... Even if I did get the gates open they couldn't go out because it is so icy.

Good news is that we have had a couple of days near 50 and then back to freezing over night. so we are doing freeze thaw right now. The roads are all blown up. The potholes are huge and dangerous. If it isn't the ice, its the boot sucking mud. We paid some of our amish friends to come and use a breaker bar to knock away some ice so we could get the spreader under the cleaner. 
8 of my calves got coughs and a couple with pneumonia and we had the vet come out Friday and do treatments on all of them. He said every farm he has been to has sick calves. They just can't take the up and down temps and cooped up barn. Too little to go outside and we are dealing with pens like my horse shed that we cannot get cleaned out due to the fact we cannot get the manure hauled out anywhere.

To top it off, we have coyotes that are hungry and hanging around making me nervous.

I better stop now.. haha..

It would be nice to get some sleep. Getting home at midnight or later every night and getting up at 6 am. takes a long time to do nothing these days.

I got my hair cut and colored today. That was a feel good for sure. I kept dozing off in the chair and head bobbing. Lucky for me she didn't cut my bangs right off. I know I snored more than once. Must get sleep soon.

take care folks.... lets drum up some more weather complaints for some fun reading... here is mine. enjoy.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 23, 2014)

Just plain old tired! LOL! Actually the days have been pretty nice. The last 2 were in the 30's and today is in the 20's. I had very stuck front barn doors. They face the north so the sun does nothing for thawing them. It was the worst they have ever been. So this morning I had to take the spud bar and chip all the ice that's in the door track and around it. My arms and back are so sore. It was a great work out though! LOL! But I'm dog tired! I kept the spud bar back in the barn because I know it won't be the last time I'm going to use it...


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## chandab (Feb 23, 2014)

Yep, sick of the weather, but we had enough of a reprieve to get 4 of 7 new windows put in the house, no trim, but the windows are in. Now we are headed back to the deep freeze and its only single digits above zero right now. going to make a batch of chocolate chip cookie bars as soon as the butter softens and I get off this thing.


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## Minimor (Feb 23, 2014)

Very sick of the cold and wind and snow here! It's going to be cold 22 below (-30C) every night this week, or nearly every night, with windchill values colder than that..

Not sure just how much snow we have on the ground in total; kind of hard to tell, the way it has drifted in this past week. I have pretty much quit opening gates; there are still 2 that open okay, and a 3rd that I quite some time ago chopped out of the ice and took it off its hinges; it is tied up with twine but at least I can open and close it to let horses through. As for the other gates, I don't need them, I just walk over the fences when i'm doing chores. I was out in the back yesterday and wondered what happened to the top corral rail--then realized that I was looking at it; the trouble is, the one under it is now covered with snow. The top rail is maybe a foot above the snow, or maybe 10 inches above the snow?

The stallions--Gold is secure in his corral. Venture's fence is maybe knee high in a couple of sections, but he is a good boy and doesn't bother walking out. A couple weeks ago I raised fences in one corral to make it Reno-proof; I was tired of Reno jumping from corral to corral as he pleased. He is now in with Tim and so far is staying put. Hopefully that continues, and hopefully spring arrives before his fence gets lowered any more!

In the back--the mares and geldings were divided into 3 groups; 10 mares on one pasture, 8 geldings on the other pasture, and 5 geldings in a big corral. Some of them started climbing back and forth over fences some time ago. Two weeks ago when I got a new hay delivery I couldn't get bales set out immediately, so I took down one fence to allow the 5 geldings to go out with the 10 mares to eat the bales in the pasture. Well, now they're all going back and forth into the gelding pasture. I've added one extra gelding to the group--he was in a front corral previously, but seems to be happier out with the other Mini geldings instead of in with 2 pony geldings. So--sometimes I go out and there are 18 in one group and 7 on the other side of the fence. I check everyone, go get a load of water and come back to find there are now 9 horses on the first side and 16 where the 7 were 20 minutes earlier. If they're being silly, by the time I get the first group counted and get over to the other side there are some of the ones I already counted, all ready to be counted again. Grrr. I think there are a few places where they could walk over the perimeter fence, but generally no one is interested in doing that, which is a very good thing.


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## Margo_C-T (Feb 24, 2014)

I feel SO bad for what all of you having so much cold, snow, ice, and wind to deal with; I could simply NOT cope with such anymore,at my age and stage in life. Nature surely seems to have NO sense of evenness; out here, we have had, for the most part, an unusually warm and VERY DRY, winter--we are in a situation similar to California--severe drought, and it will produce similar issues w/ hay costs and shortages…though half the world does NOT depend on us for their produce….

Have any of you tried 'Stableicers', which are studded 'grippers' that slip on over your shoes or even overshoes? My daughter who works up at the Nat'l.Lab in Los Alamos brought me some after I fell on ice a couple of times; they are fairly easy to slip on/off, but really great if you have a pair of shoes/overshoes that you can leave them on and just slip those on/off when you come in/go out. I don't know the cost, but don't think they are very expensive.

Good luck to all,and sending hopes for the extremes of weather conditions to subside, and without bad aftereffects like flooding!

Margo


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## Minimor (Feb 24, 2014)

Well it is currently 10 below with a windchill of almost 40 below (by Wed night they say it will

be close to 40 below without the windchill. Blah!

The horses are cold and they are running around, chasing each other and fighting, hopping ack and forth over fences as they please. I don't have horse's I have fleas, big hairy fence jumping/crawling fleas!!!


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## chandab (Feb 24, 2014)

Margo_C-T said:


> Have any of you tried 'Stableicers', which are studded 'grippers' that slip on over your shoes or even overshoes? My daughter who works up at the Nat'l.Lab in Los Alamos brought me some after I fell on ice a couple of times;
> 
> Margo


I just bought a pair of something similar in town today, they were about $22. I've fallen twice and slipped without falling a few times in the last couple weeks, saw the chiropractor today, so thought I better try something to reduce the slippage. I hope they'll fit on my Muck Boots.


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## Performancemini (Feb 25, 2014)

I told my husband I want to invest in a pair of those for each of us for next year anyway. BRRRRRRRRRRR! Come on, it's still going in the below wind chills at night (-20) and the days in the teens, maybe a 20. I hope March goes out like a lamb and stays that way. I need some 60's for the first two weeks of April (a 70 would be a real sweet thing). We have a horse expo and HAVE to body clip and bathe for it. Easter made it a week earlier this year. I wish they could have made it a week later, but they are doing major rip up for for a whole new facility for fall-so that let that out. We can only pray weather wise.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Feb 25, 2014)

HAAHAAHAAHAAHAA!!! Jumping fleas!! Love it...

I hope you all don't think I'm being mean when I post pics like this.........


I just remember (and still suffer with) winter blues, when it just WON'T go away. Everything is soggy and chapped. Hands, feet, legs, faces. Sick of glancing out a window, expecting a little hint of sun, then realizing that glimmer was just a reflection from all those freakin' icicles dangling from all the eaves!! Mud so ground into everything, even the dog makes that weird "big girls in corduroy" swishing noise (that my favorite teacher, Miss Poole made...wish THAT wish hadn't been granted, now that I know how she did it!!)

I found those daffodils while out walking with Lucky in the greyness today. They brightened my day a little, and I hope they'll brighten yours, too.

And keep griping!! I'm happy to "listen" if it makes you marginally sane, and prevents stories such as....

This tragic discovery in MN just in....woman found trapped in hip dip snow, hugging and rocking what appears to be a small wooly yak. When approached by this reporter and asked why she wouldn't release her hold, she groaned out the following reply. "He kept crossing over. He's so little, I really thought it would be alright...it's high enough in summer...right??!! Why, oh why, wouldn't you just stop being a winter wanderer??" she finished in a moan. Authorities are confused, and unable to verify whereabouts of her husband at this time. Neighbors keep saying she is talking about miniature horses, however, until the poor distraught woman's husband's safety is assured, we will continue to post updates as they are received.

ENJOY.....Julie


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## Performancemini (Feb 25, 2014)

I love daffodils and jonquils and tulips! I am glad to see yours. It means "mother nature" has not forgot us and winter IS going to let go. It's just doing it in a round about way this year.


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 26, 2014)

Single digits this morning with a high in the low teens for the next few days. When I see minuses in the forecast, which there is for thursday/friday, I just try to block it out. I'm just tired of the high bills and having to cut back on things we need because of it. Our electric bill last month was over 3 hundred dollars. Hubby says if he's reading the meter right, according to kilowatt hr. our next bill will be almost double. How on earth are we going to do this! I'm truly tired of this weather. It can stop any time. Polar vortex, winter weather advisory, arctic blast, I'm so tired of hearing those words.





On a good note I did get an egg yesterday. First one in 3 months. Usually my chicks will lay all winter pretty much. But not this disgusting, horrible, cold, depressing, ugly, winter!


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## Performancemini (Feb 26, 2014)

Our lilac bush has those little tiny "pre-buds" on it. I told it (through the window) that it was jumpin' the gun this year!!! It's so stinkin' cold again. The wind is blowing and sending chill through the leaky old windows and tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night is going to go WAYYYYY in the minus wind chills again. Hubby has the horses in the barn until????? My insides are not happy with all this. Starting to get stomach aches off and on and eye strain from playing on the computer (especially solitaire). Keep showing the flowers!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 26, 2014)

today was a pain. It started snowing early... supposed to be a dusting, turned out to be a heavy short snow and dumped about 3 inches on us. I got lucky to be out driving in it. Was taking our amish welder neighbor to the store to buy supplies to fix a stall divider in our barn with some really cool hand made curb attachments. Should have been a 1/2 hour round trip. Turned into a super long drive with a few moments when somebody got stuck on the hill and couldn't do anything but spin wheels and turn sideways and we were 1 block from our destination and had to turn around twice. sheesh. Total white out and trying to stay on the road was all I could stand.

Had to turn section of cows out early so he could work with his scary grinder that had our girls standing in the manger with bug eyes...and then they stood outside yelling that they wanted to be back inside.

No sit down time and no rest all day, everything off schedule. Fed dogs late, fed horses late, goats late and husband and I ate breakfast at noon. My stomach has been upset all day. Then the joy of my car ignition picking tonight to quit and we only have one car and it is dead in the driveway. sheesh. Well, at least I am stuck here at the house catching up on chores because I can't walk to the barn. On the bad side, its almost 8:30 pm, we haven't started milking yet and nobody has come to get me or eat supper. Gonna be a long night. I had a heifer calve at 4 am yesterday after we checked her late into the night, and I have another heifer due any minute and I am sure we will be checking her through tonight because goodness knows, they enjoy middle of the night calving.

Tomorrow will be brutal... low single digit temps and high winds overnight.

I have a wind leaky old house. this horrible high wind freezing winter has knocked out so many windows. I have plastic stapled up on so many windows I have lost count. Even have a cat litter bag stapled over an attic window. We look like hillbillies but at least it turns away the wind a bit until we can get somebody to come and put some windows back in. Too icy in yard for a ladder and of course the windows that flew out are on highest part of house. The mice are coming in to get warm. I am trapping a few every day, they are driving the dogs nuts and my one dog sits in one spot in the kitchen and stares at the wall where she last saw one.

ok. Done whining... no.. not yet... haha. Stuck my wet hand on the gate again tonight. When will I ever learn. Ouch. haha.

take care... Keep writing, comfort in not being alone.

wish me luck on my car, last thing I needed was a big fix it car bill.


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## Performancemini (Feb 27, 2014)

shorthorsemom, you definitely have it worse than me! I guess I don't walk dairy cattle; though I am glad there are people who do, of course! I saw a documentary once of a beef farm in Wyoming or Montana or such. Such a time at calving time; between calving problems and unpredictable weather. Wow!

I have to go for Physical Therapy on my ankle tomorrow. It's supposed to start snowing some in the afternoon. My appt.s at 11:15, so I hope I don't run into anything!


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## jacks'thunder (Feb 27, 2014)

Performancemini said:


> Our lilac bush has those little tiny "pre-buds" on it. I told it (through the window) that it was jumpin' the gun this year!!! It's so stinkin' cold again. The wind is blowing and sending chill through the leaky old windows and tonight, tomorrow and tomorrow night is going to go WAYYYYY in the minus wind chills again. Hubby has the horses in the barn until????? My insides are not happy with all this. Starting to get stomach aches off and on and eye strain from playing on the computer (especially solitaire). Keep showing the flowers!


Thats so funny I was just commenting on our lilac bush too! I cant wait for them to bloom!
Fingers crossed shorthorsemom, hope your car is ok!

Margo, those shoe spikes are great! But I have moon boots on steroids so they wont fit





Ok this is the view out my front window this morning

all within the same hour! The wind is so crazy bad. It was kinda neat though, we saw these snow tornados this morning! Like those little dirt devils you see in the summer but snow! I have never seen that before! Cold cold cold!

I just wanted to add I did the best thing ever! I broke out the 1980's snowmobile suit! OMG I should have done that a long time ago! I was warm, and I had movement! Lol! Now no I don't look stylish but I could climb up those round bales with no problems! If you have a Salvation Army or Goodwill near you go find one! Well worth having!


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## shorthorsemom (Feb 28, 2014)

I just saw next weeks forecast. 12 inches of snow predicted for Monday. I can hardly stand it.

Funny, first time I typed this I wrote 12 inches of snot instead of snow. Probably an omen.

My car got fixed last night. Bless the locksmith that worked on my Honda ignition for an hour late last night in single digit temps with high winds in my icy driveway to get my car going. He was awesome and didn't charge me a mint either. Rare individual. Evidently something that happens on Honda ignitions all the time. It was a feel good.

Here is a photo for you to enjoy, something I saw and photographed yesterday in a thawed spot in the yard. Gave me hope until I saw the forecast for next week. UGH. more snow. Run Robin run, we are far from spring.


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## Performancemini (Feb 28, 2014)

I always try to figure out how the birds that live in our garage get in and out for food and water all winter. This is a new building and only my car is in it right now. With my crutches and ankle, I have barely gone out too much. But they are up there, twittering away. They are probably saying-'shut the door, it's freezing!'.


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## Performancemini (Mar 1, 2014)

snowing again! 3-5 they say and if it keeps going all afternoon into the late night it will be the 5 for sure! (and more if it's serious enough). Boy! I suppose summer will hit hard and fast with 90 plus and too dry (or too much rain???). Then we can complain about that. But at the moment I just want warmer!!!


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 1, 2014)

More "winter mix" due tonight. 20 degrees was predicted but it's already down to 23. I guess I'll bundle up and go and shut my chicken door so they will be warmer. They hate winter. It was 73 yesterday. How's that for extremes??


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## Minimor (Mar 2, 2014)

Once again tonight we are at 25 below with a windchill of 45 below--and it will surely be colder yet by morning. No chance here of having a thawed spot in the yard (or anywhere else!) for a bird to land, way too much snow for that, and absolutely no thawing temperatures for us in this winter-that-never-ends.


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 2, 2014)

"winter-that-never-ends" That definitely sums it up! 3-4 more inches over night. I have no clue what the temp is, is "super cold" or "frigid" on the thermometer? LOL! My poor chickens have not been out in months. I open their little door and they peek their heads out and every once in a while my roo will wonder out and check out the area but goes right back in. I keep trying to give them something to do so they don't start to crack eggs. I got 3 eggs yesterday! That means springs coming.... someday!


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## Performancemini (Mar 2, 2014)

We got 3-4 inches, so Hubby is out plowing the neighbor and us out again (her husband, the trucker, is on a run this week-seems it snows when he's gone and not when he's home-my poor hubby!). I was going to go to church today, but with the crutches I am not going to venture out until the drive is plowed again. I also planned to go to an essential oils get together today-but I suppose I will miss that too. It's at the church-if I do get to it, it will look odd that I am at that and didn't get to church. And the two movies I want to see haven't come out yet either. I guess it's next weekend they come out. Pooh! I guess I will sew again. Our temps are "frigid" again too. I think the high is supposed to be 4 or 9 today. Wind chills are back way down. Horses are back in. I think they are getting depressed too from what H. says. They don't have room to run outdoors anyway. The drifts are unpredictable. First it holds them, then they fall through! Our 4 year old is getting testy in the stall and he picks at the others outdoors ('course they don't put up with it-he's lowest on the totem pole overall-but upbeat enough to not care).


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 2, 2014)

Oh I'm with ya! The horses have been stalled more then out this year! The poo is crazy! I just last year had to down size my herd. I can't imagine the up keep if I still had everyone! I'd be in poo up to my eyeballs with how much they have been in!! LOL!

Hubby got home this morning from midnights around 8am and went straight to bed. No plowed paths for me




. So I'm going to grab my son, bundle up and bust out the snow shovels!


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## Performancemini (Mar 2, 2014)

Jack's Thunder: I think you are chasing me around the Forum this morning, LOL!

I can't imagine how hard it must be with those who have larger "herds" then us. I guess we don't even barely qualify as having a herd; as there are only 6 horses here. But my hubby's having enough trouble keeping up with them. The GFI went out in the build that keeps the electric to the submersible heater on and the electric fence operating. So he is hauling water in buckets out for when they are outside. Luckily they are still suspicious of the fence and respect it enough that they are not challenging it. I am sure they know it's not on; because the installers said that the animals can sense the electric current in some way.


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 2, 2014)

Snow predicted tonight into tomorrow about 1 foot worth with ice and 25 mph wind gusts. Oh joy. Got out there this morning and trimmed goat feet. Glad I did. Since goats are made of sugar and they aren't going out of the hut enough their hooves needed trimming badly and were even a little bit stinky. Fun of grabbing a fainting goat for a hoof trim is that she stiffens and lays down and lets me trim all 4 feet with no argument. Not so true of my Nigerian girl, I felt like I was hogtying calves at the rodeo just trying to get her feet trimmed. At one point I had her trapped between my legs and she started to go all the way through and I was losing traction and wishing somebody would have a camera handy for some hilarious moments of old lady getting bested by small goat girl. LOL gotta laugh.

My manure is awful and first time ever I have had to pile it outside of the hut rather than take it to the field. I only have two minis 4 goats and about 100 cows and it is all we can do to keep up. I just keep adding bedding to the goat hut and pretty soon they will be licking the ceiling. (not really) but I dread spring clean out. I just looked in the back yard and now that some snow has melted off, all the dog poo that I couldn't shovel is now out there looking horrible. Adding dog poo clean up to my many "before the storm" chores.

I admit to sending the kids down to the barn to help hubby with milking and calf feeding chores so I could play catch up here at the house. They are managing ok, but I could tell my playing hooky was not going over too good. haha. I was out at 2 am picking up our oldest child from a school competition that was 2 hours away. Short on sleep and no end in sight.

Spent hours yesterday shoring up some roofing and putting in prop supports. So many local folks had roofs cave in with that 20 inch heavy snow last storm so we are trying to do a little preventative measures.

Baked banana bread for the gang, will soothe the mommy didn't help at the dairy barn hard feelings.

take care keep posting...

still have headache from fall a few weeks ago in the ice storm. frustrated by the high frequency hum that comes into my head when the snow is predicted. man. I want spring.

Oh another funny... Trout stream fish stocking is scheduled for tomorrow. Yeah sure. Nobody here is taking fish in buckets across a half thawed snowy field to get to the trout stream. oh well. the bald eagles are going to be disappointed with us.

best wishes


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 2, 2014)

Performancemini said:


> *Jack's Thunder: I think you are chasing me around the Forum this morning, LOL!*
> 
> I can't imagine how hard it must be with those who have larger "herds" then us. I guess we don't even barely qualify as having a herd; as there are only 6 horses here. But my hubby's having enough trouble keeping up with them. The GFI went out in the build that keeps the electric to the submersible heater on and the electric fence operating. So he is hauling water in buckets out for when they are outside. Luckily they are still suspicious of the fence and respect it enough that they are not challenging it. I am sure they know it's not on; because the installers said that the animals can sense the electric current in some way.


hehehehe



:rofl



I gotta get my exercise some how!


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 2, 2014)

shorthorsemom said:


> Snow predicted tonight into tomorrow about 1 foot worth with ice and 25 mph wind gusts. Oh joy. Got out there this morning and trimmed goat feet. Glad I did. Since goats are made of sugar and they aren't going out of the hut enough their hooves needed trimming badly and were even a little bit stinky. Fun of grabbing a fainting goat for a hoof trim is that she stiffens and lays down and lets me trim all 4 feet with no argument. Not so true of my Nigerian girl, I felt like I was hogtying calves at the rodeo just trying to get her feet trimmed. At one point I had her trapped between my legs and she started to go all the way through and I was losing traction and wishing somebody would have a camera handy for some hilarious moments of old lady getting bested by small goat girl. LOL gotta laugh.


This reminded me of this nasty little pygmy we had. I was trimming one of my others (similar to what you described) and had my head down not watching around me. I peeked up and boom she head butted me right between the eyes! Almost knocked me silly! I chased her around the field yelling every nasty name I could think of! She's lucky I did not catch her! That darn goat lived to be 14 yrs old!

I always wanted a fainting goat. Someone has babies right now not to far from us for 350-400 bucks. I can't pay that for a goat! LOL! Maybe when I win the lotto


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 3, 2014)

Temp on the thermometers say -9 and -11.


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 3, 2014)

Too bad you don't live near me... Two guys near here breed fainting goats and sell for $75 no matter whether you get a buck or doe. Not overly fancy on colors, but nice goats. The one guy has a daughter that handles them a lot as babies and I enjoy how tame and sweet they are. My Nigerian is sweet, her name is princess... I think the problem with trimming her feet is more with the handler (me) because her former owner could do it with no issue. I love her too.


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 3, 2014)

I think we set another March record last night, or tied it with 6 degrees. The earlier 6 was in the early 80's. The snow is slick as a marble out there. At least the wind died down and the sun is out. Maybe tomorrow we'll get a thaw. THe chickens came out to soak up some rays, but they hate walking on the cold stuff. Every time my glove sticks to a piece of metal I think of the kid's tongue on the flag pole in A Christmas Story.


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## Performancemini (Mar 4, 2014)

We had about an inch last night and are supposed to get another inch tonight. Sunny today and a bit warmer. Supposed to get up to 24 degrees today. The rest of the week is supposed to be a bit better than it has been. Next week is supposed to be warmer looking ahead. I sure hope so!


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 6, 2014)

This picture is from last Thursday. The early morning was warm. By 11:30 (when I took my daily exercise with Lucky) it started light sleet when I got halfway into our route. Instead of paying attention to where I was walking, I ended up in the ditch! What you NEED to know.....these tiny violets are only as tall as my pinky finger. Fortunately, while I was on my knees in the ditch, I thought to take this picture. LOL People driving by thought I was an avid photographer...and I didn't correct them! ROFL

The daffodils are the same ones I posted last. Today they were not so cheerful. Their pretty little face were prostrate on the ground.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 6, 2014)

Here's another. I found these hopeful apple blossoms in Walmart on Sunday.





It was sunny and mid-60's (I'm ducking now!) Monday it was back to '40's Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. it was 61 and by 11:30 it had dropped back to 39 with wind chill in teens. Today icy rain.

I looked at pics of last (only) snow of 2013, on February16th. Blossoms on Bradford pear out back were popping out at the top of the tree. That same tree has buds that are just beginning to swell this year. The few flowers, other than those I've posted pictures of, all have frost burns because they got too hopeful and spouted early.

Right now I'm getting a mix of sleet/rain and they're forecasting low 60's for Saturday, then back to this on Sunday. Makes me really feel for you folks up north if we are lamenting winter here.

Post when you can, I hope sharing keeps you all sane.

Here's another. I found these hopeful apple blossoms in Walmart on Sunday.





It was sunny and mid-60's (I'm ducking now!) Monday it was back to '40's Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. it was 61 and by 11:30 it had dropped back to 39 with wind chill in teens. Today icy rain.

I looked at pics of last (only) snow of 2013, on February16th. Blossoms on Bradford pear out back were popping out at the top of the tree. That same tree has buds that are just beginning to swell this year. The few flowers, other than those I've posted pictures of, all have frost burns because they got too hopeful and spouted early.

Right now I'm getting a mix of sleet/rain and they're forecasting low 60's for Saturday, then back to this on Sunday. Makes me really feel for you folks up north if we are lamenting winter here.

Post when you can, I hope sharing keeps you all sane.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 6, 2014)

HAAHAAAHAAHAA!! I don't even want to know how it did that, 'cause I'm gonna call it cabin fever anyway! LOL


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## Performancemini (Mar 6, 2014)

Well, it's getting a little better here too. Not AS cold. SOME melting. They say we may have el nino next year and have a mild winter. (lot of good that does us now though-LOL). Two of the minis are pawing down through the snow looking for some semblance of grass. They look like they are nibbling on something. Probably crisp brown dormant grass-must be like chow mein noodles! LOL!


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 6, 2014)

Those apple blossoms--two leaves showed their faces on my apple tree and now they are frozen. We are all dreading to see how many plants we lost through the winter.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 7, 2014)

Performanemini....chow mein noodles HAHAHAHAHA!! Guess that's the excuse for giving you the "hungry eyes" two hours later!! ROFL

Marsha, not sure how much snow you've gotten. Perhaps it was enough to insulate without flooding risk when it melts.

March 20th, spring solstice. Shall we start a betting pool on whether or not THAT happens??


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## chandab (Mar 7, 2014)

I'm not a betting person, and I live in MT; so I already know I won't see spring staying until around Mother's Day. Oh, she'll tease us with nice days, but won't be here to stay til May.


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## Performancemini (Mar 7, 2014)

My husband must have been trying to get the "sluggish" out of the geldings tonight. He was throwing snowballs at them.I don't think they were amused!


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## amysue (Mar 8, 2014)

Nature is such a tease. Two days ago it was 2º now today its 47º. Everyone is starting to shed but I dont think we are done with winter yet. its gonna take a while to thaw everything out. My fish pond fountain froze and im betting i have frozen gold fish fish sticks in there.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 8, 2014)

I'm in the middle of reading a western. While traveling through Wyoming, one hombre comments to the other during a blizzard "this area has spring the last two weeks of July and summer the first two weeks of August."

Usually I'd know this was a bit of an exaggeration. Not this year!! Sorry guys. Do I need to send Cling-free dryer sheets so that you can pet your critters without getting shocked?


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## Performancemini (Mar 8, 2014)

Dryer sheets! Yes! Seems like everything you touch zaps you! I know my little dog is getting disgusted with it.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 8, 2014)

Amysue......ooooohh, your poor little fishes! Don't see how they could survive that!!

Just for laughs, you could seat a stuffed scarecrow on that little metal stool in the backgound, put a cane pole in his hand and drop a line into the frozen pond. Then stick a little sign up that reads "the (your state inserted here) version of Minnesota ice fishing". Whatcha think??


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 9, 2014)

We are in a bit of a thaw. My hose coming out of the basement broke off and blasted a water hole in the snow. We were running around the house trying to figure out why the pump wouldn't shut off and realized that the hose was blasting. Now everything shut off and drained and now have to fill all horse and goat buckets in kitchen sink even on thaw days. sigh. My kitchen sink is so slow, another project... They do stack up. The mud is so deep it can suck your boots off, everywhere else is still ice and I still can't let my horses out on pasture. ugh.

We are also having a stink bug attack in the house. I hate those things..

so on goes my kids and their stink bug wisdom comments...

Like...

This is worse than a stink bug on your toothbrush.

This is worse than a stink bug in your hair dryer.

This is worse than a stink bug on your pillow.

On a good note, started bathing and grooming my dirty dogs yesterday. I did three of the 7 so far. Its been too cold to give any a bath for weeks, most of my dogs are so old... now that we have a couple of days over freezing a few of them need both a bath and hair cut. They are looking good. My old 14 year old crested was spinning and dancing in celebration of his new hair do this morning. He loves being super clean. I know with this mud it won't last long, but isn't it a great feeling to make some progress on something?

cheers.

ps love that fountain photo.


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 9, 2014)

amysue said:


> Nature is such a tease. Two days ago it was 2º now today its 47º. Everyone is starting to shed but I dont think we are done with winter yet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's what mine looked like a couple of times. I had to take the pump up out of the water because it was taking it too long to thaw and start working again down in the cold water, even when I got the ice off the top. We don't have snow around ours, so the birds and wild animals rely on it to drink. I feel bad when it's frozen over.

Your fish sticks will be fine; amazing how they can thaw out.

We are having a warming trend now, but we are desperately dry here.


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## amysue (Mar 9, 2014)

So I bucketed warm water to the pond today. Surprisingly they all survived. Its not wide across but its about 4' deep. Its actually an old cast iron pasturization tank from the 50's with dark blue enamel glaze baked on the inside. Used it as a water trough for the steers for the longest time until we moved and my husband turned it into a pond. Lucky I got water into it before it pumped itself out. Some where I have a ceramic statue of a boy fishing that used to sit on my great grandmothers dock. If I can find it ill put it out there. We are starting to thaw but it is going to be short lived. Expecting 4-6" of snow tuesday.


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## Performancemini (Mar 9, 2014)

We are getting a bit warmer, yet you would say it's still cold. News channel reports we are 10 degrees below normal on the average. I had a dream last night though (wishful thinking for spring?) that my husband was out in the paddock putting the hay out and was half way up to his knees in thick gooey wet mud!!! And I remember dreaming "I wonder if he put his knee boots on?" (he wears his shoes in the snow sometimes-Brrrr!). We probably will have mud almost that deep with all the snow to melt and run off. It's sunny today and supposed to get up to about 30 or a tad over, but it's pretty breezy out there. The house feels chilly (leaky windows).


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 10, 2014)

This weather is tearing my head up. The last few days it has been ranging anywhere from single digits to the high 30's low 40's. My head hurts so bad, but this is typical spring, I know it's coming!



I'll take the head aches as long as the snow and bitter cold goes away!


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## Performancemini (Mar 10, 2014)

I will be glad not to use the wood stove anymore! This morning at about 6:15 am the carbon monoxide detector went off. It sits on a shelf about 8 feet from my head. I haven't shook off the effects yet. Hubby wasn't even going to call the fire dept. to come check it out. But I annoyed him to do it. When we first moved in here 18 years ago, the detector went off about 3 different times and all were a false alarm. The fireman said they weren't very good detectors. Well, we got a new one last fall. Turns out the woodburner was putting out a little CO this morning, that's why it went off. It was very very low, but at least we know it's a good unit and that if we keep having problems we may need a new wood stove or something. Now it's breezy out too, so I am getting the "ash stink" in here from the stove. Hate that too. Going to be 50 today, hurray! and again on Friday! Whoo-Hoo it's a start!


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## Riverrose28 (Mar 10, 2014)

Almost all of our snow has melted, we only have a couple of little piles left from digging out. Boy oh boy do we have the mud. Went out the other morning to bust up ice in the tub and got stuck in it. The passage between the paddocks is all tore up and rutted from driving between and dumping manure in the pile. The tractor has also left deep ruts when hubby moved hay up to the barn. The mail man came into the driveway and when he went to turn around to avoid the mud on the far end he got stuck in the mud by the horse trailer. I had to get my truck and pull him out. Needless to say my paddocks are a mess, can't get in there to clean them till it drys up some. At least it is not freezing out at the present time, but the weatherman said we may have a new storm coming in on Wed. On the bright side, some of the spring bulbs are starting to show themselves, so flowers will be blooming soon, I hope.


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## chandab (Mar 10, 2014)

We are unseasonably warm right now, so snow has melted and we have a river running through our yard and my barns, along with a ton of mud. The main county road is running over, hopefully the water won't wash it out.


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## Performancemini (Mar 11, 2014)

All our little pastures are filling up with water I see. The horses are in due to the vet coming this morning to do vaccinations and coggins for the year. Since I am on crutches I had him leave them in. I figured my husband could turn them out tonight; but maybe not as they will probably be swimming. Plus we are supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow and 24 mph winds again. BUT, it's supposed to be 51 on Friday! It was around 51 yesterday, that's why it's melting so. All that water is runoff from the farm field around our pastures. The field slopes down toward us. (well, it slopes back up toward the house and buildings). Poor pastures are kind of in a little valley. Never noticed that when we bought the place. But the pastures were just a field full of tall weeds then, so we couldn't see what was what.


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## amysue (Mar 11, 2014)

It was un seasonably warm today 51º. So the snow is melting and my horses are mud bogging right now. They were clean this morning but tonight it looked like I had a barnyard full of bays as they are covered head to toe in mud. I figure I need about 100 yards of sand to fix the paddocks and yard.


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## lucky seven (Mar 12, 2014)

It has been warm here lately, yesterday close to 50, now we are back to snow. The storm is lasting until tomorrow morning, wish it would go away for good and stop teasing us with a few nice days and then below freezing.


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## Performancemini (Mar 12, 2014)

We were supposed to get 1-3. I think we got barely 1". But with the darn field sloping down towards them, our little pastures are under water. So the horses are stuck inside again! And for how long I don't know. It's supposed to be low 50's Friday so more will melt and run into the pastures. (I won't complain about the temps though!). I think the drain that runs UNDER our neighbors yard may be frozen so the water can't get through. Or else the openings are frozen over enough yet to stop draining. (Drat! just glanced out the window and it's snowing lightly again!). I am tired of snow and cold!!!


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 13, 2014)

I hate wind. We went from 66 degrees and sunny yesterday afternoon and boot sucking mud to 1 degree in 12 hours. Brutal winds with this 65 degree change in temperature. Wind from a weird direction... house is cold and wind sucked out 4 windows in my house and we were stapling up plastic at midnight after spending hours closing the barn up again, windows that we had opened up because it was so warm during the day. ugh.

Checking heifer during night for calving... I am totally whipped this morning. no end in sight. Really hate the high winds the most. Branches flying around and falling and I feel like I should wear a helmet outside. One of my dogs is freaked out from the storm. Smelling poop and can't find it... scared dog probably found some place she felt safe in house to go. ugh.

take care folks. keep posting... great gripe thread.. I read every post.


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## Riverrose28 (Mar 13, 2014)

It was 60 yesterday, 26 this morning and the wind is howling. The gusts have been as strong as 50 miles per hour. Thank goodness we didn't lose electric. Had to restart the woodstoves last night and sometimes the wind gusts send the smoke back down the chimney. The smell of smoke wakes me up becuase I'm afraid of fire, so between that and the wind screaming outside I didn't sleep very well. I did venture out this morning to look around and make sure that no trees or branches fell on fences but I haven't feed the horses yet and they are used to eating early, but I'm hoping if I wait just a little it might warm up a tad. They were calling for thunder storms last evening, but we lucked out and only had a little rain, the mud is drying up, so I'm thinking this weekend we can grade the ground that we have been tearing up with the tractor and the ranger.


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## Performancemini (Mar 13, 2014)

Riverrose, I have the same fears with our wood stove. I hate when that smoke backs up too. What's worse now is our CO detector went off the other early morning back a few. Had the fire dept. out and it was from the wood stove. It was a very low amount and they said we would be ok and it would disapate quickly. So now we know our CO detector works. I will just be glad not to have to use the stove once the weather warms. So far we haven't used it since then. It's been pretty decent temps considering. Glad it is slowly starting to turn to spring. Of course now we have to gear up for tornado season, which scares me just as badly.


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## vickie gee (Mar 13, 2014)

Within less than 2 weeks I have traded ear muffs, scarf, mittens and hand warmers, and insulated coveralls for shorts, tank top, and mosquito spray. The saying is true for Texas, "if you don't like today's weather, don't worry, it is about to change."


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## Performancemini (Mar 14, 2014)

Vickie: I saw on tv some area in Texas also got a dust storm.

Drat! Husband lit the woodstove again tonight. Now I am phobic about the Carbon Monoxide; because of it going off from it the other week. So I am sitting up and now the wind picks up and it stinks of smoke in here. I woke H. up and asked him can he get it to die out. Says he'll take care of it and puts more wood in! I don't still get how it works; but I thought he would mash up more of the remaining wood and embers and try to get it to die off faster. I imagine we would still get stink because it does it in the daytime sometimes after being lit the night before; I guess because of the ash and hot ash still in it; but at least I know it's basically "out". I'd rather have some smoke stink than CO, but I can't stand the smell. I don't know how he sleeps through it. Our house is so small and our bedrooms downstairs off the livingroom, so it's right there. Ick, it's getting worse now. It's going to be a longggg night!


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## Riverrose28 (Mar 14, 2014)

I can sympathize about the wood stove problem, we have used them since 1977 for heat and also have our bedroom nesxt to the family room, we have two stoves, one at each end of the house. One thing that has helped us is to replace the lining inside the stove doors and if you have a tray to change that insalating strip as well. Hubby is very good about cleaning chimneys and pipes, but I am paranoid about fire. Yesterday and last night was brutal with the wind, it has died down somewhat and no more gusts. I went out today and lots of trees and limbs down. The sun came out here and it is supposed to get up to around 60 but right now I'm still chilly. Good thing is the mud is starting to become solid, so hoping to fix some ground tomorrow and maybe get into work on paddocks next week. Spring ccan't be to far off there were ants in my sink this morning, yuck!


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## Performancemini (Mar 19, 2014)

Drat! I wish it would warm up! My bad ankle is aching something fierce. Getting windier, so I am going to try to veto the woodstove tonght-though it would feel good. Time to cuddle up in the winter throws.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 19, 2014)

Performance mini......winter throws....what an interesting nickname for your hubby!! ROTFL

Here in NC we've also had a couple more extreme swings since my last post. The miniature daffodils came out at the house. Two days later, they had their bright little faces smaushed into the ground by another onslaught of rain/sleet mix. They are starting to recover a little today, as we're above freezing for the first time in two days. Supposed to get very warm the rest of the week **shrug** but I suspect we're in for a sneaky hard freeze a couple more times before mid-April.

Loved the baby cowy pictures! I suppose that's why I've always wanted a Jersey heifer...they keep that doe-eyed, soft baby look into adulthood.

I'll get out tomorrow and try and snap everyone a few more hopeful spring pictures. If I could send more moderate weather to you poor frozen, chapped and bruised internet friends, you know I would! Hugs all.....Julie


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## Marsha Cassada (Mar 19, 2014)

There is some reason the smoke is a problem. Do you have negative pressure? The correct window open for the wind direction? The only time we have a little smokey smell is when it is very calm and the smoke swirls around the roof. Maybe your baffles in the stove are rusted through?

It feels like spring here. I see some buds on the cherry tree. Too soon to get our hopes up, though.


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## bevann (Mar 20, 2014)

Here in southern Delaware we woke up Monday morning to 8 inches of snow.Shoveled my way to the barn again in heavy boots(I am warm and dry but feel and walk like Bigfoot).Got the horses fed watered, stalls cleaned, turned out under sheds and ready for the night feeding.Shoveled my way back to the house since it was still snowing and blowing and drifting.Golf cart(my reliable wheels to the barn is no good in snow and was tucked safely under a run in shed.)On my way to the barn I checked and mailbox is still standing in spite of snow plows flying down my road.Karl usually removes the sleeve and box until plowing is done(this time he didn't)Looked at the road and there is a GIANT red tractor with a plow scraping the road and blowing snow everywhere. Checked later- post is still standing-mailbox in the ditch.I think the highway workers have a contest when it snows to see who can knock down the most mailboxes.Noticed yesterday mailbox is up- Closer look reveals that is it tied on with 2 strands of baler twine which is a bright blue.Asked Karl if I should get a new box."No that 1 is fine".Wonder how long the baler twine will be there.He said he plans to put pink ribbon on it for Breast Cancer awareness and the blue and pink will be great for Easter.Orange and black for Halloween,red and green for Christmas,red for Valentine's and green for St Patricks.Are we Red Neck or what?I should be REALLY skinny from all the shoveling and just getting dressed and undressed so many times daily,but I'm still my same chubby,fluffy self.Now our local weather guy says upper 60's this weekend and back down to low 40's early next week with chance of snow Tuesday or Wed.Is he kidding?Hope it is just rain-at least we don't have to shovel rain.I really have gotten my money's worth out of boots and long johns this year.


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## lucky seven (Mar 20, 2014)

_At our other house, we used a woodstove. Now that we have moved into a mobile home with propane heat, hubby can't get warm and is talking again about putting in a small woodstove for next winter. I would rather move again than do that. Single wides weren't made for them and it really scares the s...t out of me._


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 20, 2014)

Well here's a nifty (that you really don't want to know!) tidbit. The last 6 months have been, on average, the coldest since 1922.

You can tell I live in the south, since the announcer stated "if it stays this way 2 more weeks, we'll break the record. I hope we do.....if not, it would be like training all your life for the Olympics, then coming in second." Honestly, I wanted to reach through the radio and smack the back of his head!!

People who've never lived through REAL winter don't understand/can't imagine! My husband's from El Salvador, and in late September he'll ask "is this as cold as it will get?" On January 2nd he asks "is winter over now and it's going to get hot?" For poor him, even here in NC, it has been the equivalent experience for him that you're having. Living in NY or the mountains isn't nearly as exciting an idea for him now!! ROTFL


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## Performancemini (Mar 20, 2014)

I think we should have the stove and pipes above the room's ceiling checked. It's an old (but quality) stove. My husband put in new pipe when we redid the flooring about 3 years ago. He is planning on getting one of those good wind blocker thingys too for the top.

We are having 2 nice days-today 45 and tomorrow 56- but then back into the 30's. SIGH!!!


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## Riverrose28 (Mar 21, 2014)

It was so pretty yesterday that when I went to the feed store to buy my feed I was almost dancing. It was in the 60's now today it is in 40's so not too bad, only problem is mud will suck your legs off. The silly weatherman is saying we may get snow next Tuesday! I really don't believe him, maybe rain but really we don't need that either.

Performanceminis my woodstoves are over 30 years old and we have an old potbelly up at the garage that I think is almost 50. Ours are Pioneer and made by the Amish. If you are looking for a new one check out the amish made ones, just google pioneer stoves.


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## poniesrule (Mar 21, 2014)

It was 70 yesterday... 70!!!! Slight breeze, birds a singing away. I took my guy for a short drive, he's out of shape and still wearing his winter coat, but I couldn't take it anymore!! 50 with 20-25mph winds today, colder over the weekend with snow on Monday. I'm SICK of it! I hate to say it, but I'm glad we aren't the only ones with constant up & down weather. It makes me feel not quite so alone! I feel for you who've had a harsh winter with snow. We've only had the cold & wind.


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## Performancemini (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks Riverrose. I will keep that in mind. Our stove has the name "Vigilant" brazened into the sides. The chimney sweep the first year said it was a good stove, though older.

This next week a whole week of 30's. Besides my bum ankle,I broke my hand-and now the darn ankle is acting up worse again. It aches like a son-of-a-gun (am I allowed to say that? It's not cussing.). The winter and my couple body problems seem never ending.


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## Silver City Heritage Farmstead (Mar 21, 2014)

Geeeeeeeee....thaaaaanks guys. Turned to the weather channel just in time to see "rain mixed with snow along the I95 corridor on Tuesday." :-/


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 22, 2014)

At the beginning of this week that just passed I remember the weather man saying this weeks weather temps are going to be like a roller coaster and it was. Anywhere from single digits to high 40's F. I was so sick with an allergy flair up and I usually don't get allergy issues.

My poor llama slipped and fell on the ice Thursday. I thought he was down for the count but nope I got him up and I put him in a horse stall next to my Dee Dee, my old gal. No way was I letting her out, if he fell, she could easily too. So those 2 got down time relaxing, not having to fight for food, or get pushed around. Just stay inside, listen to the radio and eat all the hay they wanted. He looks and acts fine, so out they went yesterday. What's strange is even though I only have 2 minis now, a goat and a llama, there is still herd dynamics, a pecking order between all 4 of them.

YES I'm still wearing my snow suit! And no I don't think I'll be putting it away any time soon! Spring what????? What is that???

Oh and *now* my water is frozen in the barn! I have had running water all stupid, sub zero, -30 degree, 20 inches of snow(or more who knows, I lost count along time ago) nasty winter. And _*now*_ I have frozen water.....




It's like even on it's way out this winter is slapping me good bye, or kicking me, how ever you want to look at it.





I really want to put some spring things out but we still have snow so that don't feel right.

This winter has been bad that's for sure. It has made us look at things a little different. Trying to figure out how to lower some bills. I'm really considering solar heat panels.


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 22, 2014)

We had a little warm up these past few days. I have been hauling manure out of my paddock where my horses have been stuck and I have been piling. I have taken 9 full wheel barrows since in 24 hours that I could hardly push and pushed them out to the field (up hill) and dumped them. The manure is so heavy because it has had snow thaw in it and my ground is soggy to push over. After moving all that manure and I survey my pile I can hardly tell I have done anything. sheesh. Its going to be a long day today. 63 degrees but rain expected for tomorrow so I am shoveling like crazy. I got so tired last night I just left my last wheel barrow in the driveway, not enough in me to haul out one more. Will try to start again today after I finish milking chores and feeding calves. I did finally get to take a walk yesterday with my boston terrier girl. Only young dog in the house and only dog of our 7 that can go for an extended walk. She needed it, we have been stuck in for months with lack of footing and snow and ice trapped. Time to work off the 10 lbs I have gained this winter! yikes. No walks for me equals weight gain.

Next week it is going to dip back into polar vortex they tell us. No spring for us yet. I am ready for spring.... today I will pretend it is already here to stay and enjoy the weather. I could hardly move my arms this morning after shoveling all that poop by hand yesterday. Not a place where I want to run a big tractor and rut everything up so it is wheel barrow and time and hard work until I get it all out.

maybe I can work off a few of those 10 lbs I gained. at least I can try. cheers folks... keep posting.


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## Riverrose28 (Mar 22, 2014)

I'm beginning to think that the weatherman is messing with my head! It is supposed to be close to 70 today well it isn't going to make it, not like this. It is cloudy, dreary and windy, and I'm freezing. Hubby and Darryl took our cans to the center to recycle and I was working in the back yard getting beds turned over again for my spring flowers. Don't think I 'm ever going to get any at this rate. Snow is moving up the coast with a bad N'Easter they say, Ha, got to half way laugh so I don't go nuts. I seriously was hoping I wouldn't need to start the woodstoves but I'm freezing so as I'm watching Steel Magnolias with Sally Field so I can cry my eyes out later I'll start the stove so my tears don't freeze on my face.


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## Minimor (Mar 22, 2014)

It is 8F here at the moment, looks like tonight will be down to -14F tonight. Way too cold for the 3rd week of March! We still have lots of snow on the ground, and now there is really icy, horrible footing because of the few (very few!) thawing days we had. Doesn't look like it is supposed to warm up again until Wednesday or Thursday--and perhaps by the time Wednesday/Thursday gets here the forecast will change again.


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## paintponylvr (Mar 27, 2014)

Add in being sick to the constantly changing weather! My body isn't even recognizing NICE weather days right now with my fevers ranging from 100* to 104*. Thought the antibiotics had nipped the fever & started me on the mend, so went to work yesterday. Still don't have much of a voice - no voice at all last week for 2 days. Lost most of my voice in the 5 hours I was at work, then passed out for 3 hours with another fever when made it home... It's cold out there this morning (20* when I went out at first), warm in the house according to all the moniters (68) - but I'm just freezing. Ok... Off to get ready for work again. UGH...


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## Performancemini (Mar 27, 2014)

Sure hope you get well soon Paula. I know you have a lot of home chores plus your job. So hard hard you are ill. Be careful with the fevers. 104 is nothing to ignore. Take care of yourself. I know lots of us out here will be pulling for you to get well.


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## ohmt (Mar 27, 2014)

It's consistently been about 30 degrees with 20-30 mph winds....yes, I am extremely tired of this weather. Even here in Fargo, ND this is getting a little old.


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## Performancemini (Mar 27, 2014)

Grey and drizzly all day. Now, tonight, we are having a thunderstorm. The dog's not used to it yet. Well, all that melting snow was washing things out and this thunderstorm is doing some heavier pouring. It's supposed to be 49 and some sun tomorrow. Horses are in since the farrier is coming early. They are probably glad. They all looked miserable standing in the sheds out of the drizzle today. OOh, it's blowing some too now!


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## Performancemini (Mar 30, 2014)

Nice day today! Sunny, so much warmer at around 50. Kind of a breeze but tolerable. H is out playing with our soon ( I guess) to be new horse trailer. He took it out down the road and now he's practicing backing it around in spots. We have a 14' stock that is shorter in height. This one is a friend's that is 16' and wider and full height. It's only 5 years old this year and they had barely used it (there were trails right off the place they boarded). Our trailer is 18 years old but in real nice shape. We mostly keep it in, so the rust is minimal for it's age. Paint is oxidized from years of summer sun, but that's about it. Hopefully we can find it a good home quick.


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## madmax (Mar 31, 2014)

The incessant rain and damp cold conditions are what I blame for the loss of my 20 year old mare last week, I had faithfully fed warm bran mashes and beet pulp through it all, but she still must not have been drinking enough water, she had a severe impaction. Three days of iv's, meds, tubed with oil and warm water did not resolve it, bad turned to worse and it was so sadly necessary to end her suffering.

This was my first loss to colic, my vet and I had always been able to pull them through before. She was such a sweet girl, I bred and raised her, she was silver dapple with a pure white mane and tail. Rest in peace, Singin in the Rain, we called her Melody.

We actually have sun today and hopefully can dry out somewhat and get warmer. I know everyone on here has suffered this year more than usual with this horrible weather, sympathy to those struggling to keep going when you are not one hundred percent healthy yourself.


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## jacks'thunder (Mar 31, 2014)

I'm so sorry madmax..


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## Performancemini (Mar 31, 2014)

To lose a loved horse after this long long winter-that's such a sad end! I'm so sorry.


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 31, 2014)

so sorry for your loss madmax... that made me cry. Horrible winter and losing a beloved horse because of it is just the pits. hugs.

this weather fluxuations has been so hard on our critters here too. Going from 60s and 70s and then dipping into teens, high winds and this weekend incessant rain for days on end has made things so tough. My heifer that calved this past week needed emergency twist surgery on Friday and I have several calves being treated for pneumonia and scours. Still all alive, but takes so much time to do treatments and coaxing them to eat and with the crappy weather it is just such a battle. Had to stomach tube feed a couple of my calves because they wouldn't swallow, and have been giving electrolyte solutions for all daily. I thought I was going to lose a couple and was so glad each morning when I got back to the barn and found them still alive. My sweet girl calf named feather that was my worst was mugging me last night for her bottle... fingers crossed she is finally on the mend. I never thought I would be glad to be whumped around by a calf at feeding time, not out of the woods yet, but glad to see her not laying so still.. Today the sun is finally out but the wind is horrible and I see three more days of rain in the 10 day forecast. Tired of stomping through mud.

On top of that, kids all got sick this past week and I am running on very little sleep. sigh. Car broken and at the mechanic today. Come on spring, I need some pretty days. best wishes all.


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## madmax (Mar 31, 2014)

Thanks, folks.

Shorthorse, you have a lot on your shoulders, take care. I ended up in the emergency room with heart related conditions as a result of all this stuff.


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## Reignmaker Miniatures (Mar 31, 2014)

Wow, I hadn't checked in here in a while. I'm sorry to read of your loss madmax. That is such a heartbreaking decision to have to make and it is so frustrating when it seems no matter how hard you try everything just conspires against you. Shorthorsemom, I agree with madmax, you have a lot going on and I sure hope you find some time to take care of your own mental and physical health while you see to everyone else's needs. I sometimes think this time of year is the hardest on us because we get hints that the worst is over and spring is on the way and then it slides backwards into winter again. Very depressing sometimes. We have had some really nice, above freezing, weather and some sun and then last week it got cold and yucky again. Today its sunny and crisp, supposed to go just past the freezing mark but warm up more as the week goes on.


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## chandab (Mar 31, 2014)

Paula, so sorry you are having so much trouble with your calves. We've lost three, but not for lack of trying to save them.


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