Thursday, November 28, 2013

Brrr...Time for the Barriers...

Brrr...I think winter's here....at least if cold and wind are any indication!

Over the weekend, we said goodbye to our mild fall, and began to batten down the hatches.  Jim cleaned out the outside pen and wooden pen one more time, and put up the plywood barriers between the outside pen and wooden pen.

The pen, which is on the cold west side of the barn, opens to the south and in the winter it acts like a channel for all the cold winds to blow right into the barn.  Water pipes can freeze...and it's a mess when that happens.

We usually wait as long as possible to put up the barriers, because the barn is better ventilated without them. When it's closed up too tightly, the heifers can pass around respiratory viruses (just like a room full of school kids!)   However...the cold weather won out this time...


The outside pen heifers can still get inside for shelter, but those barriers keep out the worst of the cold. There's also a door to the left that we pull shut to block off the entry way.  When it gets really cold, we drain the water line and fill water tubs several times a day for the outside pen heifers.  Luckily it's not nearly that cold yet!

It's just below freezing right now on this beautiful Thanksgiving day.  The sun is shining, and we'll be spending the next several days with family...eating way too much of course...but enjoying time together.  The gourmet potatoes are in the oven, and we're working up our appetites for a feast.

Wherever you are...and however cold...or warm...you are, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Linking to Alphabe-Thursday


13 comments:

  1. Wishing you and yours a very blessed Thanksgiving, Alica.

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  2. hope you're keeping warm. have a great day.

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  3. it was 28 here in NE Tx this morning. brrr. :) enjoy your time with family and food. blessings to you!

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  4. It's 32 F. here in Fredericton New Brunswick, Canada. No snow but a bit windy and overcast. We've been trying to keep up getting ready for winter here on the farm too. So, so much to do and so little time.

    Happy Thanksgiving Alica, and many blessings.
    Hugs,
    JB

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  5. *´¨)
    ¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
    (¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ Happy Thanksgiving! ¤

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  6. Cold here in Canada too. Currently -4c.

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  7. we had the first of the cold weather this past week - that wind is wicked! Hope the animals and you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving. {:-Deb.

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  8. Happy Thanksgiving ! It is winter here has been for a week or so now , has been snowing for 6 hours now no signs of it letting up anytime soon either lol ! Temps are -16°C or 16°F . Stay cozy and have a good day !

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  9. Oh, it's BRRR cold here! On Thursday morning while we were traveling to see our families it was 20 degrees. It felt more like winter than late fall, but the landscape was gorgeous with rich blue skies and left over snow from our first wintry storm system on Wednesday. I hope you and yours had a grand time around the table this Thanksgiving. Thanks for visiting. Now, it's off to bed we go!

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  10. It does sound so cold. My hands get so cold just thinking about that kind of weather.
    I hope you had a lovely day.

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  11. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful! I spent a big chunk of my weekend winterizing for the animals.

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  12. It is definitely time to start bundling up before you go outside...

    It helps having barriers to block out the cold !

    Beautiful post for the letter "B"!

    Thanks for linking.

    A+

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