Cold Weather Update

The icy rain started, as soon as, I left work (around 6 pm).  I had a couple of stops to make (for a few grocery items and a brooder lamp for the quail).

The porch started icing over around 11 pm.  When I would step out for more wood, I had to be careful not to slip.  The heat lamp was doing great for the quail.  They had stopped shivering and were hopping around their cages.  All the animals (except for Sophie) were rushing the door and begging for a few moments of stove time.  **Sophie was a stray that came with our property.  She must have been abused, because it took us over a year to be able to pet her.  Five years later, she is happy to see us when we get home.  She lets us pet her, but she always turns over, closes her eyes and hunches over.  It is like she is remembering being hurt, but figures we probably won't hurt her.  Sometimes she even comes up to us first.  I tried to get her to come inside last night to lay by the fire, but she preferred to lay on a pile of hay by the front door.   I covered her completely with a fleece blanket and she stayed there all night.  This morning the blanket was frozen solid on top of her, but she was warm and toasty underneath and very happy she could move.

Around 4 a.m. the power went out, and along with it, the big diesel heater.  It looks something like this:

We had a fire going in the wood stove, and try to take turns getting up to add more wood, but on really cold nights, we have this plugged in, and it comes on when it gets to a certain temperature.  We keep it on low, so it has to get cold before it comes on.  It is LOUD!  But we are used to it, and it doesn't wake us up anymore, and it keeps the house really toasty.  Well, when the power was out, the silence from the heater was deafening.  PH got up and added more wood to the fire, and came back to bed.  I could hear the sleet hitting the metal roof, but we were warm and cozy.  Praise God for allowing us to build the house, because on nights like these, the container is almost unbearable.  Praise God for also giving me a husband that is capable of building us a snug, little house.  It may not be complete, but it does the job of keeping us safe and warm.  I am also thankful for the indoor toilet!  Who would want to make the dash to the container on a night/morning like this!?  We were a little concerned for our neighbors.  One with an all electric, brand-new, double-wide (no fireplace even), and the other lives in a little, un-insulated, cabin-shed.  I am sure he and his wife were a TAD chilly. We do not get much cold weather in TEXAS, but sufficient enough to require an alternate form of heat (other than electric).  Last year, we used our wood stove from the end of October until late April.  That is six months of temps in the 30s and 40s (nights primarily), definitely worth installing a wood stove, or purchasing a kerosene heater.  Something!  I strongly encourage people to think about this...

PH and I were up at 6:00 am.  I lit the kerosene lamps so he could get dressed and out of the house safely.  He had to use a flashlight to get down the front steps.  They were ICY! PH left for work around 6:30 a.m. but before he did, he dragged the quail cage into the house.  They had lost their heat lamp when the power went out.  I was worried about them, but PH doesn't like them inside, because they STINK.  I was so thankful and appreciative that he brought them inside to join the menagerie of guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs and cats.  Unfortunately, he set the brooder lamp BULB side down onto the porch, and at 9:00 am this morning when the power came on, unbeknownst to me, it started burning a hole in the porch.  By the time I noticed it, had a nice bulb-sized, round hole on the very end of one board on the porch (sigh).  Thankful it wasn't the entire house.

Coturnix Quail

It was 27 degrees when I started the car to warm it up.  I was about 5 minutes late to work due to a frozen padlock on the gate, but I arrived here to realize that the power was off here too last night, which means the heaters I left on were OFF.  The temps inside the library was 43 at 10 am, and now they are 55.  I am sitting in front of a heater, and feel mostly warm (one leg feels like I am getting burned, and my toes are frozen, but otherwise, I am good).  Cannot wait for this day to end, so that I can sit by the fire at home.  4 pm cannot come too soon for me!

I like the cold weather, but prefer to stay home on days like today.

Coturnix Quail

We were up bright and early to get everything battened down in preparation for the cold weather that hit us this afternoon.

I left the library at 6:00 pm and the temp was 38 (down from 60 this morning).  I drove 3 miles and the temps had dropped to 34.  I had to stop at the hardware store to get a brooder lamp for the quail (I have eight).  It is in the 20s now, raining and VERY windy.  I thought it would be good to have the animals on the front porch, but the wind is blowing from the NE directly onto the porch.

When I arrived home the kids had brought the rabbits and guinea pigs inside, and one dog.  The mama dog and two puppies are in the kennel behind the house (out of the wind) with another heat lamp and a ton of hay.  Hope they keep warm.  Oh! my chickens I forgot to put them up!

I went out just now, as my stupid chickens, refuse to stay in their coop area.  The were perched outside the back door in the cold and rain.  I picked them up and put them in the shelter out of the weather, and they promptly ran out.  (sigh).  This batch of chickens is the dumbest I have ever seen. I had ONE smart one that was snuggled down in the hay before I put the rest inside.  She is my favorite :)

Man! it sure is cold out there.

On the way home I stopped at the grocery store and meat market to get my groceries.  Made sloppy joes for dinner on Whole Grain buns.  Very tasty!

Back to the quail...a friend gave me 12 quail eggs.  Mine are not laying regularly yet. I hope that changes with the warm weather.  Reading up on them their breeding season begins in March, so that's good. My goal is to be able to raise enough to butcher for us.

I cleaned the incubator tonight and have it plugged in to warm up.  Tomorrow I will place the eggs inside, and in 17 days, maybe, we will have some baby quail :)

I can't wait!  I get so happy when I am able to (successfully) establish a food source for my family.

Keep warm everyone!

Winter Will Be Here Tomorrow

We are expecting really cold weather tomorrow.  Half of the country seems to be gripped in some kind of new Ice Age, and TEXAS is not immune.  We normally have our coldest times in February, but tomorrow we are expecting sleet and SNOW!  Amazing.

Tomorrow the Prairie Kids and I will be preparing for the cold weather.  We will be filling the wood rack on the front porch, stuffing hay in all the animal shelters, putting a heat lamp on the quail, guinea pigs, cats, dogs.  They will all have to share.  Putting out the heating pad under some burlap sacks for the cats to pile onto.  Most of the little critters like to stack themselves in piles on the front porch.  It is SO funny to see.

Had another great bartering this month.  I LOVE our Barter Days.  So much fun!
I look forward to it every month, just for the fellowship with like minded folks.

PH put in our new toilet last weekend.  So excited!  We now have a flushing toilet in the house. I feel so fancy!  There is even a door! (gasp).  Privacy, what a novel idea.

See the sink? A couple of years back we had a new "neighbor".  They put a small cabin on their land, then promptly never came back.  During a storm, their cabin blew to pieces.  Called the land agent to see if we cleaned up the property if we could keep any items (we had scoped it out beforehand).  He said yes!  We came away with two bathroom sinks (one is above), a roll of barbed wire, a large plastic trash can on wheels, a gas can, an igloo cooler and assorted tools.  Pretty cool! A brand new sink we have been saving for just this time!

PS#2 turns five in two weeks.  It sure went by fast.  PS#1 turns 25 too!  I feel too young to have a kid that old!

Learning lots, cleaning up the property, splitting wood, baking and learning to eat REAL FOOD.  (See 100 Days of Real Food Blog - very cool!)