Wind doesn't have to be terrible.
But put them together, and they're a mess!
We think we're prepared for the cold and wind combination that is to arrive later today. It's only to last for a few days, thankfully, but water pipes freeze quickly, and animals need water!
A couple of years ago, we had a longer stretch of cold weather like this. Jim came up with a clever way to help insulate the west side of the barn. You can read about it here. He saved all of those pre-cut pieces of insulation, and we put them up again this morning...
In anticipation of the cold weather, along with the cows leaving this week, Jim has been thinking ahead about more ways to keep the water pipes in the soon-to-be-almost-empty barn from freezing. If it gets too cold we can turn the water off to the barn completely, from the house. We would like to keep running water in the milk house though, so we wrapped the water pipe where it comes into the barn with heating tape and insulation. There's a valve at the end of this section that we can turn off to the rest of the barn, but we'll still have water in the heated milk house...
The heifers that we are keeping can then be watered with a hose run from the milk house into a large water tub.
Life is changing quickly here, and we are filled with mixed emotions. It was our choice to make changes, but it's still hard. I'm heading off to a new job next week, and I'm looking forward to it! I'll be staying connected to the ag industry, and I hope I can learn quickly! I will have to do more planning ahead for meals and laundry, but lots of people do it! Jim will be busy for a while with hauling manure and some projects around the farm, but will also be pursuing other ventures.
In the mean time, here are a few pictures of the snow we had last night. It didn't amount to more than an inch or so, but it's pretty!
Stay warm, wherever you are!
Stay safe! We were at -26 this morning. So far everyone is hanging in there.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that it's not a horrible stretch of super cold weather for you guys, and that none of your water pipes freeze.
ReplyDeleteChange is always scary, but you guys will do awesome job at whatever you do!!
I like your positive attitude. You are inspiring!!
Smiles :)
~K.
Change is always scary. I hope that all goes well and that the weather warms up before the cows leaves. Cold weather is always a problem. Today it's a bit windy and cold at -14 ℃ or for you it would be 6.8℉.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you'll enjoy your new job.
Hugs, Julia
Thinking of you as the time to say goodbye to the cows nears. I am not a person who particularly likes change, but you have a wonderful perspective on this next step on your journey.
ReplyDeleteWe had our coldest days of the winter on Tuesday and Wednesday. The temperatures are supposed to go up to close to 60 this weekend. It's a roller coaster. Thankfully, the heifers who have calved thus far have done a good job with their calves, with some help from Randy. Thankfully, we didn't get the polar vortex that my sister in Chicago got!
Again, thinking of you!