Anticipation can be the worst, I think. Wondering how much snow we will get? How cold will it be? How long will it last? Will we lose power? Will the milk truck get here?
...and so on...
Now that it's over, we can deal with the facts.
It was an almost record setting storm for the east coast, with snowfall totals in our area ranging from 26" - 30". It was hard to measure accurately, for the strong winds that came along with the storm. On one side of our house you could still see tufts of grass peeking through the snow, while in other areas there were big drifts.
The first snow flurries started right on time, Friday evening around 6 pm. This is the first picture I took on Saturday morning, 6 am, looking out the porch door towards the barn, while my coffee brewed...
Jim had already headed out to start milking, and Daniel was coming on his four wheeler. He lives about 1 1/2 miles away, and we figured that was the best bet to get him here. Getting him home late morning was another story! The roads weren't plowed, and even a four wheel drive pickup couldn't get through. A snow mobiler came the rescue, and that was probably more fun than a truck ride anyway!
It was a long day. The snow just kept falling, and falling, and the wind blew everything shut as quickly as it could. We were expecting the milk truck, so Jim and Daniel worked together to open the driveway as much as they could. Daniel ran the skid loader to move the snow off the driveway...
...and Jim used the D-17 to scrape...
I had taken extra feed to the chickens on Friday, but they still needed fresh water to drink. The trek across the chicken pen...after fighting to get the gate open...was slow going, with snow above my knees by late morning...
This is looking back towards the barn from the calf hutches. The hutches are on the south side of the house, in a protected area, so the calves were cozy, but the path getting there was hard walking through deep snow. Our tracks were almost blown shut in the ten minutes we were down there...
The milk truck never made it yesterady, but we were fine. We can hold extra milkings in our bulk tank, and so those who were full, got picked up first. The roads were horrible. Those truck drivers have to have nerves of steel to navigate in weather like this! Next time you drink some milk, thank a trucker!
The snow stopped last evening around bed time, and things look and feel totally different this morning!
Murphy and Snickers ventured outside, after being cooped up in the barn all day yesterday. The path that Jim shoveled to the hutches last evening stayed open...
This view is much cheerier than the same view yesterday, isn't it?
The roads are passable again...
After milking this morning Jim began widening the driveway for the milk truck, who we expect this afternoon. The driver just called to see if we are ready for him.
In fact...here he is!
We were waiting to dig out our cars, because the snow around them will get thrown on to the driveway. Now that the milk truck is in, I guess we'd better get to work!
Snow makes everything look so clean and bright...
I still had a hard walk to the chicken pen with water, but I got eleven eggs, even though they were closed in their shed for a day and a half! Good girls!
We are so fortunate. We never lost power, which would have thrown a whole other wrench into things. Yes, we have a generator, but it's one more thing to fool around with when we're already cold and tired, so we're glad to not have to use it.
Looking back, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, and for that we are thankful!
Every time I drink a glass of milk I thank you good people, and now I'll remember to thank the truckers. Great pictures. We live in northern Virginia so we have snow drifts everywhere but don't have to shovel much out other than that away from the front and back door, the footpaths and the drive. When I look at your photos I stop thinking what a lot of hard work it is :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds and look like what we often go through over here in winter. We are usually prepared for such storms.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you didn't loose power. It make a good blog post. Yea for your hens to still lay eggs when all cooped up.
The farm sure looks pretty in the snow with blue skies.
I'm glad the storm is over for you.
Hugs,
JB
I'm glad you didn't lose power. Sounds like you were able to keep your head above water, er snow. I'm glad the storm didn't last any longer than it did. Thank you for sharing your adventures.
ReplyDeletehooray for sunshine, snowplows and milk trucks (and their brave drivers!) glad you made it with power, too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference a day makes! Glad you had no serious problems.
ReplyDeleteGlad the snow didn't cause serious problems at the farm. We had about 30 inches here. So pretty the next day when they sun came out. The blue sky seemed extra blue!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you came through the blizzard in good shape! I agree, the anticipation of the storm can be nerve wreaking.
ReplyDeleteGlad you survived the blizzard! What a huge dump of snow. That big tanker looks great. Kudos to the driver with the steel nerves. Cheers to you for being prepared and for caring so well for your creatures. Everything looks better when the sky is blue.
ReplyDeleteWow! You got plenty of snow. It does make for a lot of extra work, but I'm glad you didn't lose power. That truly does make a huge difference. We still haven't had much snow this winter. (I probably shouldn't tell you that!) We may get some this coming week. Today, it's beautiful though!
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