Brutal cold, teaching in the morning

We went from having a mild Winter to having a brutal one – at least for one week. Temperatures have sporadically been at or below freezing overnight in the past several weeks but nothing of particular note. Each day has reached temperatures well above freezing. Sometimes into the sixties. The fruit trees are starting to bud out because of the warmth of the afternoons up to this point. However, the Winter is going to inflict some severe damage on those plants that have been a little ahead of schedule. This week is going to be colder than I have seen in many years. So much for Global Warming affecting our area. The temperatures are forecast to be in the teens overnight with several nights getting into the low single digits. One overnight low is predicted to get to -2° F with that day’s high forecast to be only 16° F. That is unusually cold for our area and we are in no way prepared for that kind of cold. Fortunately, Mama and I have lived in multiple areas where those temperatures are not uncommon so we have some idea of how to deal with the freezing conditions. Today and tomorrow will be spent in preparing our outside hydrants for the extended freeze. We will not be able to keep the hydrants from freezing but we hope to succeed in saving the hydrants from bursting. Time will tell.

Getting water to the calf will be our biggest challenge through this extended freeze. I will have to fill buckets of water at the house or well house and carry them over to the barn to fill the waterer we have there. There is no way I can use the line run from the barn well house to provide the water to the calf since the hydrant I have at the barn does not work properly – and the hose coming from that hydrant will be completely frozen. We will manage. The last thing I need to do is spend a lot of time and money to fortify our water system against this type of cold when we only experience it on rare occasions, but I am praying for wisdom to do what is necessary and prudent to get us and our animals through this unexpected cold spell.

There is little I can offer the animals in the way of warmth. In the coop we will hang a few heat lamps and hope for the best. In the goat barn I will hang a tarp over an area to shrink the area on one side of the barn giving the goats a smaller, more enclosed area to shelter in, hoping their combined body heat will warm them more efficiently in the smaller area. Mama and I will put all the girl goats together this afternoon. That is to say, Millie and Lilly will be put back in with the girls and Julius will be put back in with Midas. Hopefully the boys will find a spot in their shelter to share where they can snuggle and get out of the wind. There are predictions of accumulating snow. Overall, the forecast is for more than seven inches total accumulation over three days early next week. That would be highly unusual, so we will see if that happens. If is does, that will be a blessing for our plants because the snow help insulate the ground and protect it against freezing too deeply. Whether or not the accumulated snow will help the animals or not is hard to tell. It will certainly not help with travel.

Tomorrow I will be teaching a 4-hour class in the morning. Our office is technically closed, but I will go to the office to present the class. The office is closed because of the weather. I do not see the need for that this week since we are only dealing with cold temperatures and not with ice or snow; however, next week, if we get even a portion of the snow that is forecast, it will be a difficult task just to get to the office. I have classes on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. We will see what the road conditions are like when I go to bed Monday night to determine how hazardous the drive to the office will be on Tuesday morning. Likewise, Wednesday morning. I suppose I could present the classes from home, but I have not tried that yet and am not going to try it until I have to. Doing the eight-hour class from home could work, but I am not completely sure of the internet viability for that many hours. I suppose it would work, but I am not anxious to see.

At some point I will have to try presenting from home, but for now, going to the office has proven more efficient.