It's Still Winter

I'm finally back.  It has been a challenge.  We have had a lot of sickness over the past two months and I am still trying to get rid of the remnants of a horrible cough I had that would just not leave.  It ended up being quite a bit of sinus issues, but pretty miserable nonetheless.  I have so many dreams and plans for this year and I can only hope that I can do a better job at blogging and sharing what goes on at our little homestead.  I would like to incorporate more informative posts and share more of my experiences with successes and failures as we slowly grow in our knowledge.

It's still winter time and I guess we needed to be reminded of that.  The above pic shows what happened today within a matter of hours.  We went from too much rain and flooding to a flat out blizzard.  I think there might only be about 6 inches or so of snow out there not counting the snow drifts but the cold and wind have been brutal.  It has been close to 20 mph winds most of the day and it is still blowing hard.  The snow has stopped but the wind will continue through the night.

We have had SO MUCH rain lately and the water was starting to be a problem with the chickens and now this.  Needless to say, they were NOT happy about this sudden snow blizzard.  It will be interesting to see what the morning brings.  It will be a challenge.  The not fun part of homesteading and raising your own animals.  They still need food and water and no matter the weather, they depend on you to get it to them.  It's also critical to keep their bedding as clean and dry as possible during the cold.  Dampness and wet cause more frostbite issues with chickens than the cold itself.

Hubby installed the new Cozy Coop radiant heater in the main coop today so hopefully, they are a little more comfortable in this cold.  It does not heat the coop but should rather take the chill off for them to not have to work so hard at keeping their bodies warm, especially overnight.  I'll keep you updated on my experience with it.  They certainly seemed to appreciate it tonight when I closed their coop up for the night.  The coop is still very cold (about 30 degrees last I checked), but again, more tolerable than single digit temps which is what it is with the wind chill right now.

Until next time, may your day be blessed.