What's everybody doing today?

[Magus]

Try the astroturf anyway. my wolf loved to dig at it.

 

[sonya123]

Try the astroturf anyway. my wolf loved to dig at it.

where would I put it? How much of it? If I did that I wonder if the goats would try to eat it when I take them free ranging in summer....
Seriously, I have a feeling the astro would be covered in mud really fast

 

[Pearl]

Staying home, drinking coffee right now! Watching the few snowflakes fall and the wind blow! Making a big ol' breakfast shortly! Napping! Having the kind of morning I rarely get to have!

 

[Magus]

where would I put it? How much of it? If I did that I wonder if the goats would try to eat it when I take them free ranging in summer....
Seriously, I have a feeling the astro would be covered in mud really fast

3'X5 foot in front of the door just as you come in.
when it gets nasty, take a hose to it.

 

[Mountain trapper]

If I can get the snowblower and side by side started this morning I'll be working on clearing the road today.
Yesterday I made a batch of habanaro, ghost and scorpion pepper hot sauce. I need to cook it down a little more, to concentrate the heat, and then bottle it. I tried some last night and it is HOT .

 

[sonya123]

3'X5 foot in front of the door just as you come in.
when it gets nasty, take a hose to it.

I guess it can't hurt to try this

 

[sonya123]

I actually have NOTHING to do. Fed and watered the animals, all ok so far, but it's just pouring and not that cold yet
Son went shopping, didn't notice he left until I saw the empty parking space so no time to talk him out of it. He got there ok now he just needs to get back ok
House is as clean as it is going to get, laundry done, and there is no way I am going to take the dogs for a walk in this weather

 

[Bacpacker]

Drivin.

 

[Curmudgeon]

It's 2 am and the generator shut down again.

Is it a newer one? Check and make sure the oil is topped off. My Honda will shut down if it gets a bit low.

I'm sure most people know this, but I didn't when I had issues, lol. It was a gently used unit when I bought it and I didn't get the manual.

 

[Tacitus]

Work. I'm supposed to be on vacation. Ugh. At least I am able to work from home for these projects.

Took time off to salt the drive and walk, though.

 

[Curmudgeon]

When we first moved here I actually had a bucket of water outside the door and would wash off their paws and dry them , but that turned out to be way too much of a hassle and the dogs also didn't like it

I use an old piece of carpet 4x6 just inside the door, then a couple old bath towels beyond that when it's wetting out, lol.

When it dries out you can hang the piece of carpet and beat the dirt out, towels in the washer.

 

[TeeJ]

@sonya123 My mom taught our old golden to wipe on command - it was an amazing thing. I've been trying to figure out how to teach the puppy he's allowed on the sofa when he's dry but not when he's wet (snow is up to his shoulders) and I'm just confusing the poor thing. I have some elastic cushion covers on order I'm hoping will make it a moot point.

Continue to enjoy my lazy days off, actually got scolded by my boss and the CTO yesterday for chiming in on group chats where they were troubleshooting one of the servers I administer. It's nice to have coworkers who can pick up the slack and bosses who treat work/life balance as more than a buzzword.

My one job today is to go out an buy some cheap panythose to make some salt bombs for the roof, as my heatrope seems to have died and I've got a decent ice dam built up right over the front door. Hope everyone stays warm and safe this week!

 

[Mountain trapper]

Is it a newer one? Check and make sure the oil is topped off. My Honda will shut down if it gets a bit low.

I'm sure most people know this, but I didn't when I had issues, lol. It was a gently used unit when I bought it and I didn't get the manual.

It's a Perkins 12kw. I keep it well maintained and check the oil regularly, but apparently I overlooked the coolant level, my bad. It has an auto overheat shutdown, as well as underspeed, overspeed and other safety shutdowns. With the cold temps I thought maybe I was having fuel issues, but that wasn't the problem. For winter time I use a mix of 50% stove oil and 50% diesel.
It's working great again. With the snow covering the solar panels we aren't getting any "free" power. I've got the generator programed to start at 24.4 volts and to run for 4 hours to keep the battery bank charged.

 

[Amish Heart]

Negative 7 and 30mph winds when I started the animals. Did ok, but had to take a couple of breaks in the milkhouse. Not figuring out how one dog gets out of his kennel and out of the milkhouse, but he did it again. Too cold for him, though, he went into the garage with the cats. The milkhouse would of been warmer. 16 gallons of hot water for minimal animal water. Took a few trips by wagon to the house, but I welcomed warming up. The twins just left for the day in her Kia. I will be surprised if they don't skid out in a ditch somewhere. The snow and ice are crazy, but they do what they want. If they call husband, I hope he tells her to call her boyfriend to get her out. Neighbor boy and little granddaughter are making garlic shrimp for lunch. I've got the wood burning stove roaring and brought in more wood already. Swept and salt the porch and walkway to the truck in case we have to get out for an emergency. One more round of hot water for the animals around 3:00, and I've delegated the dog walking for the potty time to little granddaughter. The dogs are snug in the milkhouse on their quilts. Our dogs are old and don't do cold well, although one thinks he does. Inside chores for me this afternoon, and an episode or two of Rawhide probably.

 

[snappy1]

I picked up my friend and went to Walmart at 7:30 this morning before the crazies came out. Got everything but frozen green beans (for dog treats).
We now have a small tent to put up in the living room if we lose power again.
Cooked sausage and scrambled eggs for DH breakfasts.
Sliced up carrots for dog treats.

It is up to 56 now and down to 15 tonight. Already got towels out to wrap faucets.

a "festive night of laundry!"

I love that! Too funny!

Guess I'll go find something to do.

 

[Magus]

Parking more canned food where it won't freeze.

 

[Spikedriver]

It is -9° with sustained 25mph wind right now, and gusts are supposed to reach 45mph. It's a good day to stay inside. My driveway is still relatively clean after I shoveled it. I think it got cold and windy enough that the snow settled and packed down. There doesn't seem to be as much blowing snow as I thought there would be. I haven't been out on country roads to see what that looks like yet though. I live in the center of my little town so some of the wind is blocked here. Out in the country where there's no windbreaks, I expect there are some nasty snowdrifts.

We didn't get as much snow as predicted. I'm estimating 3 inches. Stores here in town are open. The wind picked up in the last hour and now my cold water to my shower has frozen. The bathroom sink and the kitchen are still good. But I'm having drafts in this place like I've never had before. The wind is just cutting straight through this old brick building. It's never been so cold in here before...

 

[sonya123]

I use an old piece of carpet 4x6 just inside the door, then a couple old bath towels beyond that when it's wetting out, lol.

When it dries out you can hang the piece of carpet and beat the dirt out, towels in the washer.

Yeah we call these towels "floor towels" and have a ton of them. They get used to dry goat kids and lambs off, dry the floor if it needs it, dry the dogs etc. I wash them in the old washer with bleach

Son got back ok, roads here still ok earlier, daughter is still driving. She makes me crazy....I asked why they left so late that they needed to drive in the ice and snow at night, and she said they went to the gym first.....
whatever

Barn is about as weather ready as it gets, we put up the board in front of the rickety door on one side to keep the wind from blowing it off , gave everyone lots of hay and warm water and added some actual straw we bought for the babies in spring but using it now in this weather already

Neighbor just invited us to the Amish Christmas party thing they do tomorrow. It will all depend on when daughter and sil get here tomorrow and what our road looks like

 

[Magus]

Got my preps as safe as I can get them, got drunk. meowmeowmeow.

 

[Tacitus]

Relaxing by the fire place now. Decided outside was no place for me. Stay warm, everyone!

 

[Pearl]

Got the donkey hunkered down for the night. Will feed the outside kitties some canned food one more time tonight, they have a heated bowl on the front porch and heated mats in the insulated kitty houses. Bear and I bundled up and took a woods walk and played ball. We are all in with a nice fire, a roast in the crock pot! Drinking some coffee, listening to the wind, and watching the daylight fade away. 12° right now, how low will it go, thermometer pictures in the morning!!

 

[LadyLocust]

Is it a newer one? Check and make sure the oil is topped off. My Honda will shut down if it gets a bit low.

I'm sure most people know this, but I didn't when I had issues, lol. It was a gently used unit when I bought it and I didn't get the manual.

I didn't know that. We've not had any problems with ours, but good to know!

 

[Peanut]

Nothing today, everything is ready for the big freeze. An fyi, I'll be upgrading my satellite internet equipment tonight or in the morning. New gear came today. Just in case there are problems, no worries, we're fine. Might be a hiccup or 2 getting back online though.

 

[Patchouli]

In the car getting ready to head home today, temp read 13. but 15 by the time i got home. I don't even know. It is just cold.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Couldn't start the snowblower today. Had to cover with a tarp and build a fire under it. Once I got the engine heated up it started just fine. Got the road cleared good enough to drive out tomorrow morning. It's supposed to start snowing again later tonight. High temp was 4 degs today.

 

[Wingnut]

Well, guess I'll log out and watch a movie... if I can't find anything on my Roku Streaming Stick, maybe I'll read a good Western, I picked up a nice stack from the library the other day. Should last me over the holidays! CHEERS!

 

[Mel]

Prepared for the ice storm. Went to the dentist. We are at 13 degrees but the wind chill is 5 below. I don't know if my blackberries and garlic will survive. I do have a shed, a wood fence and a raised bed within 2 to 5 feet of the blackberries plus the house is 3 to 4 feet from the raised bed I mentioned. So I am hoping those will act as a windbreaker. I'm reading Thomas Jefferson's Garden Book. Got some Brahma work boots and a Ridgecut jacket.

Yall tell me which pic you like. Im going to enter one in a calendar contest.

 

[TeeJ]

@Mel - the red leaves with the snow is my favorite, but they are all beautiful!

 

[Peanut]

I like the red also, either leaves or the bloom. Like the 4th pic with the red bloom the best.

 

[Spikedriver]

The wind chill has hit -40° now, but it's strange. I've dealt with far worse since I've lived here, but this seems colder. It's the first winter since the grocery store was built next door, and maybe the wind is being funneled down the alley by the building. I don't know for sure. But it's cold as hell, that's for sure...