chickens | Northwoods Homesteader

DSC_0032 (2) Well, apparently they are pretty much right on the money for the prediction of weather this winter in New England. We have had three major snow storms in 10 days for a total of around 30 inches here at the homestead. Many places closer to the Maine coast have gotten double that in the same 10 days. Not only have we had a lot of snow but it has been cold and windy. Our high temperatures have been in the teens during this time. And, here we go again with another big one predicted to start this evening and go through Monday morning with another 1 to 2 FEET of snow. The National Weather Service has already issued a blizzard warning.

The chickens seem to be doing okay with the cold. We give them some extra cracked corn to eat which helps them stay warmer. I’m more worried about the bees. Their hive has been battered by the cold winds. The good thing is that the snow has now covered half of the hive which will help to insulate it. When it gets a little warmer we will give the hive a little lift just to see how heavy it still is. This will help to determine how their winter stores of honey are holding out. The hive was packed full in the fall so hopefully there is enough food for them if they can survive the cold.

Our wood supply is doing well. It is so nice to be able to sit in front of a roaring fire while it howls outside. I like to put my soups and stews on a trivet on the stove when it just needs to simmer for a few hours to get all happy and flavorful. I also have a popcorn popper that can be used on the woodstove as well as the regular stove. It is nice to know that if needed I could cook on the woodstove.

Well, I need to top off the wood box and I think I'll fill the bathtub with water (to flush with) just in case. Even though we have a generator we don't run it all the time if the power is out so having the water on hand is a help. I also fill a few jugs for drinking and cooking and just leave them on the kitchen counter. We have extra fuel for the generator so I think we are all set for what is to come. The big task will be where to put it all once it stops snowing.

Happy Valentines Day everyone, hope that you are spending it with loved ones.

Well, we had our first snowfall of the year on November 1st and it was a doozy. It started during the overnight and just kept snowing all day Sunday. When it was over we had somewhere between 12 and 15 inches of heavy wet stuff. It was hard to tell because besides the heavy snow the wind blew really hard. There were times during the day Sunday that I looked out the window and the snow was falling sideways. Our power went out around 2:00 Sunday afternoon. Thank the Lord for the generator and that we have extra fuel. Since the ground was not frozen yet we could not plow for fear of digging up the ground. My wonderful husband used the bucked on the tractor to back drag it in critical areas so that we could get around in our vehicles. Besides our long 440+ foot driveway we plow out our Uncle who lives next door and Mom and Dad who live a 1/4 mile down the road.

Life goes on and we ran the generator in the mornings and evenings to get showers, animals fed and watered and to catch the news. Both my husband and I went to work as usual. I never lost power at my work and my husband has a generator where he works so we were all set. Finally Tuesday mid afternoon the power came back on.

Fortunately, the weather warmed back up for a little bit. Enough to melt off the rest of the snow except where it had been piled up. It has now gotten cold again and we had another couple of inches of snow on Thursday into Friday. Not much over 35 degrees here today but the chores must go on.

The pigs went to the butcher at the end of October but the turkeys have another week before their time so cleaning had to be done. Wrapped warmly my husband and I cleaned out the turkey pen and put down fresh bedding for them. We have had to shut off the automatic water system to barn as we do each fall so now we have waters with heaters under them for the poultry. Right now we can still use the outside faucet to fill the waters but soon it will be too cold for that and we will be using gallon jugs filled in the house to haul water.

I also got 34 pints of applesauce made and canned last week. The house smells so much like fall when applesauce is being made. There is a fresh batch of yogurt incubating right now. Made with fresh milk with the cream still on top. This yogurt comes out the consistency of greek yogurt without even taking any of the whey out.

I would like to with everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving may you be blessed to spend it with family and friends.

Tag: chickens

Farmer’s Almanac Was Right

Fall Early Snow