Branching Out
Deeply Rooted
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Your Weather 2023
- Thread starter flowerbug
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ninnymary
Garden Master
Marie2020
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Thank you for your understanding 😀
Carol Dee
Garden Master
Another subzero day here. At least the winds have died down. But it still needs to warm up so road salt will work. Roads are pretty much snow packed. Got up to -12 F (windchill of 35 below) Snow totals for the weekend came to about 25 inches. This cold is to last until next week.
Carol Dee
Garden Master
Of course, these are right outside the back door. (Watch your step)
Our cluttered back deck has lots of places to hold the snow. We got a bit more after this photo was taken.
ducks4you
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Bitter and brutal weather. We didn't hit the -15 degrees F (actual low temperature) that DD had in the Peoria, IL area, but I woke up to -9 degrees F yesterday. Our overnight temperatures will dip below 0 degrees F until Wednesday night. Late next week, highs back in the 40's.
Ponies are LIVING in their stalls. It poured absolute BUCKETS on Friday, almost 50 degrees F, then the bottom dropped out. We had 40 mph gusts during the RAIN, then 50 mph gusts that night and next day, fortunately, all from the West.
My mare escaped to the inner sanctum and grazed while it poured on Friday.
The 2 boys were turned out, first running and "acting stupid", then miffed that it was so wet, so they hung out in the shelter until I let them back in their stalls.
DD helped me clean all 3 stalls yesterday. I never did clear out the burdock from the south pasture, so I had to scout new areas to dumped used bedding. Since we broke the very old (and just about ready to bite the dust) fencepost that secured the 4 ft wide gate and alleyway between the barn and the "Carraige House" (one car garage sized building), I made the executive decision to pile it up there. It's become a weedfest of late, and I can till it in the spring and plant oats there, so no loss. To fix the open gate we took the unused and stored 12 ft metal gate and secured it, 1/2 between the fencing and the west outside of the Carraige House, so secured for the winter, no escapes.
I started the season with about 65 packages of pine bedding pellets and we have been using them. They do an excellent job of keeping stalls dry bc they never quite get sopping wet like pine shavings or straw.
Yesterday we cleaned up the wet spots, put down pine pellets, then raked the dry leftover bedding on top of it.
When DD fed for me Saturday night, she asked the ponies about the windstorm, and they said...
"What storm?!?"
The 5 1/2 ft wide sliding door to the shelter is toast, with big gaping holes and pieces missing. Couldn't figure out how to call to make a new one, so I bought a 4' x 8' half inch thick sheet of construction plywood (half the cost of better plywood,) and called in a favor and paid my friend to saw the piece and fix the drafty hole. It would have made my mare's stalls impossible to use this winter. Not the best photo, but you get the picture. He also cut some 1/4 inch plywood that I had and filled in the cracks with fiberglass insultation.
He took my plan which was to screw this wood to the existing sliding door, which still has enough wood and frame to hold it in place.
I know that it will probably be the summer of 2026 before I get a new shelter door!!
No drafts now.
Enjoy the cobwebs. I plan to hire a teenager this winter to clean these up for me.
I was laughing bc the Australian on the weekend morning show on Newsmax, talking about Iowa Caucus temperatues, had a dropped jaw until she realized that these were NOT Celsius figures.
Ponies are LIVING in their stalls. It poured absolute BUCKETS on Friday, almost 50 degrees F, then the bottom dropped out. We had 40 mph gusts during the RAIN, then 50 mph gusts that night and next day, fortunately, all from the West.
My mare escaped to the inner sanctum and grazed while it poured on Friday.
The 2 boys were turned out, first running and "acting stupid", then miffed that it was so wet, so they hung out in the shelter until I let them back in their stalls.
DD helped me clean all 3 stalls yesterday. I never did clear out the burdock from the south pasture, so I had to scout new areas to dumped used bedding. Since we broke the very old (and just about ready to bite the dust) fencepost that secured the 4 ft wide gate and alleyway between the barn and the "Carraige House" (one car garage sized building), I made the executive decision to pile it up there. It's become a weedfest of late, and I can till it in the spring and plant oats there, so no loss. To fix the open gate we took the unused and stored 12 ft metal gate and secured it, 1/2 between the fencing and the west outside of the Carraige House, so secured for the winter, no escapes.
I started the season with about 65 packages of pine bedding pellets and we have been using them. They do an excellent job of keeping stalls dry bc they never quite get sopping wet like pine shavings or straw.
Yesterday we cleaned up the wet spots, put down pine pellets, then raked the dry leftover bedding on top of it.
When DD fed for me Saturday night, she asked the ponies about the windstorm, and they said...
"What storm?!?"
The 5 1/2 ft wide sliding door to the shelter is toast, with big gaping holes and pieces missing. Couldn't figure out how to call to make a new one, so I bought a 4' x 8' half inch thick sheet of construction plywood (half the cost of better plywood,) and called in a favor and paid my friend to saw the piece and fix the drafty hole. It would have made my mare's stalls impossible to use this winter. Not the best photo, but you get the picture. He also cut some 1/4 inch plywood that I had and filled in the cracks with fiberglass insultation.
He took my plan which was to screw this wood to the existing sliding door, which still has enough wood and frame to hold it in place.
I know that it will probably be the summer of 2026 before I get a new shelter door!!
No drafts now.
Enjoy the cobwebs. I plan to hire a teenager this winter to clean these up for me.
I was laughing bc the Australian on the weekend morning show on Newsmax, talking about Iowa Caucus temperatues, had a dropped jaw until she realized that these were NOT Celsius figures.
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flowerbug
Garden Master
... Got plenty of exercise (including shoveling for a friend who just had surgery) so at least I don't have to go to the Y for a couple days.
i spread my shoveling over 3 days. the wind kept it mostly cleared once i had it clear to start with but i did have to move a snow drift that was trying to take over again yesterday. what little sunshine we have will help sublimate the remaining bits of ice and snow on the driveway. it's not going to be enough but every little bit will help. i hate to use salt so i scrape it down the cement as best i can and try not to drive or walk on it until i've shovelled. luckily we usually don't have to be anywhere so this works out well.
ducks4you
Garden Master
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As usual, we got about another inch of snow. I have the snowblower staged right behind the truck. It is an electric start, gas engine. I empted out last winter's gas, end of season. Oil is still good. It has it's own dedicated extension cord coiled around and secured on top.
Odds are it WON'T have to be used this season...again.
We will finally get out of the deep freeze tomorrow afternoon. We will have highs in the 40's end of next week.
Odds are it WON'T have to be used this season...again.
We will finally get out of the deep freeze tomorrow afternoon. We will have highs in the 40's end of next week.
Zeedman
Garden Master
It's so cold, my icicles are starting to grow fur to keep warm.
