Consolidated Kansas

[sharol]

I had seen another report on FB that had said that same thing but then started seeing things to refute it so I hope it's all wrong & we're not all going to be buried in snow. It was back in the early 70s when I saw the biggest snowstorm I had ever seen. I lived in Wichita, still at home with my parents & we had so much snow it literally closed the city of Wichita. Our house faced north & I remember the snow being piled up over the front door all the way to the roof. Nobody could get anywhere unless they had a vehicle that could make it through that & that was few people back then. It was a mess for days.

I remember that one. We were living near Harry and Woodlawn in a house facing west. We couldn't get the front door open that Sunday morning. I hadn't paid any attention to the weather reports, so it was a complete surprise, and we were out of everything. We managed to walk a block and a half to a convenience store and got bread and milk first thing. People died on the turnpike when they got snowed in and left the engines running. It was amazing. We would get the driveway shoveled out, and a grader would come by and fill up the entrance to it again. As I recall, schools were closed for 3 or 4 days (and they NEVER closed schools back then for weather). That was scary because it was unexpected.

As the weather changes (and the climate is changing) we will all have to rethink the ways we prepare. We live in the country and bought a small generator a couple of years ago to keep the freezer and refrigerator going. We heat with wood in a free standing stove, so as long as we have wood, we won't freeze at least, and we have a couple of options for cooking outside on a grill if it comes to that. I think the little generator would support my breadmaker long enough for bread, and if the outage lasted too long, we could move the freezer to the garage. (Yeah, I've been thinking about this).

I'm hoping my friend down the road offers me some beat up tomatoes to can again this year. They are a mess, but I really like having my own canned food. At least I know what is in it and it doesn't require refrigeration.

OK, enough of the weather talk already. I need to get back to work.

 

[cherwill]

Yowza. I was outside much of the afternoon and evening and finally walked in after dark, carrying the egg basket. I walked through the kitchen to turn on the light and in the dark did not see that the dishwasher had been left open (by moi because I was using it as a drying rack for some pans I had rinsed out). I hit it in full stride and sort of flew through the kitchen, landing on my shoulder in front of the stove. Of the eggs in the basket, just one survived the impact intact. My shin has a huge knot on it, and it hurt to walk for an hour afterward. Not even sure what the lesson here is. Don't do dishes and leave them to dry? Don't collect eggs? Don't walk?

I've done similar things to myself. I think the lessen is don't leave doors down or large things on the floor if that isn't how things are normally.

Since I still do things like that, I'm guessing that lesson is a difficult one to learn! Sorry about your leg and all those eggs.

Quote:

Research is kind of my thing, here is what I found.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...p-el-nino-chances-to-60-65-percent-by-winter/

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.html

http://www.ibtimes.com/winter-weath...ve-central-eastern-us-frigid-forecast-1649852

The bottom line is that yes our weather is changing drastically, and yes we could be in for a harsh winter. Yes chances of Ell Nino affecting our weather have dropped, from 75% to 60%. Stocking up and being prepared is always a good idea. I think the pampered days of us relying on the grocery store are numbered.

My mom has told me several times that the Farmer's Almanac has predicted a colder, wetter winter than we're used to. Regardless, you're correct that stocking up and being prepared is always a good idea, especially since the bag of groceries that used to cost me $20 four or five years ago now costs me $50-60.

 

[sharol]

One thing you can count on in Kansas is that you can't accurately predict the weather any time in advance.

 

[HEChicken]

I've done similar things to myself. I think the lessen is don't leave doors down or large things on the floor if that isn't how things are normally.

Since I still do things like that, I'm guessing that lesson is a difficult one to learn! Sorry about your leg and all those eggs.

I'm in the habit when I wash the big things that can't go in the dishwasher, rather than drain them on a towel on the counter, I drain them by placing them on the bottom rack of the dishwasher. So my door is down more than it is up, I hate to admit

This means it *should* have been on my radar last night but I just came tripping in from outside, feeling good about all the things I'd accomplished and didn't give it a second thought.

 

[sharol]

My kitchen is so small and narrow that if I leave the dw door open, you can't walk past the counter on the other side. Probably not a bad thing in light of your experience last night.

 

[chicken danz]

I use my dishwasher for a drying rack as well but shut the door... I just don't latch it, or sometimes I even put the dishwasher on the dry cycle if it's something that won't dry as easily.Honestly my dishwasher is used more as a drying rack than an actual dishwasher.
I've been so busy. I had to get a bunch of things done in a big hurry because the only person I know who could move my sea van is leaving for a three week vacation. I have been going non-stop the last two days with no down time.
Luckily last evening I had a couple wonderful friends show up and work past dark helping me. DH is on night shift so he couldn't be here. But all in all I got the seavan moved today. It costs me twice as much as I was told it would because of where it was and the load inside. I had to rig up netting (like I use on my chicken pens to hold some stuff in . I am scared to death to even open the door. It could be one huge pile of broken and crushed things in there. I am so tired I'm afraid if It is a big mess I'll just sit down and never get up again!
I had a bunch of chicks hatch yesterday while I was too busy to even pay attention. So I scrambled this AM to get a bin set up for them. I just thought they would be fine for a while and didn't put marbles or anything in the waterer. I came in and heard a bunch of loud cheeping and every last one of them had gotten soaked an cold. I put them back in the incubator with only one fatality as of that point. I have no idea if they will make it or not. I need to get something in the water and then go unload the incubator again. I hate it when I am so busy I don't have time to take care of normal things. I also found several of my birds were out of food and water this AM which just makes me feel like a real failure.
I need to check the forecast and see if it isn't raining if I can rent the trencher in the morning and get my water lines and drains installed for the building. I need a few more parts but hope I could pick them up on my way to get the trencher. I do know that they were forcasting rain but I haven't seen an updated forecast.
Once those lines are in my concrete crew can then get to work. Yay!!!
I have heard multiple times about the winter going to be extreme this year. I tend to believe it, not from predictions but by watching the animals and they cycles they are going through. I really hope we can keep power going this winter. We usually have pretty good service but with enough ice it can be a problem out here in the sticks. That is one reason I am dead set on putting in underground cable to the new building. The power company lines are overhead but if mine are underground at least I know they should be okay.

 

[Trish44]

Danz I'm glad you got some help & got that big seavan moved, whew that has to be a relief. Yay for the progress!

I had really hoped to have this section of fence we worked on yesterday done today but I did get all of the fence clips on the t-posts myself & DH got all but 3 wires attached to the corner post when we had to stop so he could eat lunch & go to work. I took the remaining piece of fence down to the other end to see if it would stretch the 20 feet we needed plus a 12 foot gate but it came up short. So tomorrow I hope to get my DH to haul the last complete roll of fence down & we can measure out enough for that corner & the gate & start on that. If I can get him motivated this week I just want to get the last side put on so this project will be done before the weather turns. It's going to get cool & rainy at the end of the week, it's even predicted to be a low of 44 Friday night, brrrr. I'm not ready for that yet, that's for sure. We have the Walnut Valley Festival coming up the following weekend, we may be sitting out there in coats & blankets if this keeps up.

I really have not done any planning as far as food goes for winter. I don't can any more but I do usually have extra canned things & a little extra stuff in the freezer just in case. We do have the woodstove so if we have to we can heat the house enough with that to keep warm enough & we could heat some things on it if we had to as well. We did have one winter where the electricity was out for 3 days & we ended up cooking some on the woodstove. I'm really glad we have that. We have enough wood left over for this winter & then since DH had to cut a bunch of wood for this fence project we probably have enough cut for the next two years right now. he will be cutting more when he has to clear the next part for the next section of fence. At least we have enough free wood here on our property to keep us in firewood for a long time. I hate those hedge trees myself, they're treacherous, but they do make a hot fire in the stove.

I just feel like now I have a lot of things to get done before the weather gets bad as far as cleaning coops & pens & it was just too hot before to get out there & do it. Now I'm going to be pressed possibly to get it done in a hurry.

 

[morgangirl1]

You have a Morgan?? I'm Jealous!!!!

I'm hoping to swap work with someone for riding lessons before I take the plunge to get a horse. I've been dreaming about horses since I was knee high to a grasshopper and I'm determined to live the dream at some point!!

Yep! Raised her through her whole life, I remember the struggle of breeding her mare about 3 times before it was a go, then keeping her preg too. Tally was such a wonderful baby. I love Morgans they are such dependable horses and well growing up with them science I was two kinda helps my bias. Although I will warn anyone, Morgans live forever! Grandpa, the horse I started my western and Hunt seat carrier on is about 27 years of this year and let me tell you he looks fantastic!

 

[morgangirl1]

So I have a conudrum. We have quite a few pullets that should be laying soon, the problem is our birds tend to lay all over the property. I'm wondering with 16 acres you'd think it wouldn't be too hard to go through a barn and coop and run to find them, but I even chase one through our good ol field of ragweed trying to find her nest but no look. Any ideas for where one would start to be laying?

 

[HEChicken]

I use my dishwasher for a drying rack as well but shut the door...

I mainly use it as a drying rack for the bigger items like the pots and pans that aren't dishwasher approved, and with those in there, I usually cannot push the bottom rack in to shut the door.

Good job getting that seavan moved! Is that the big trailer you showed me when you were there? If not, I guess I'm not sure what a seavan is.

I had really hoped to have this section of fence we worked on yesterday done today but I did get all of the fence clips on the t-posts myself & DH got all but 3 wires attached to the corner post when we had to stop so he could eat lunch & go to work. I took the remaining piece of fence down to the other end to see if it would stretch the 20 feet we needed plus a 12 foot gate but it came up short. So tomorrow I hope to get my DH to haul the last complete roll of fence down & we can measure out enough for that corner & the gate & start on that. If I can get him motivated this week I just want to get the last side put on so this project will be done before the weather turns. It's going to get cool & rainy at the end of the week, it's even predicted to be a low of 44 Friday night, brrrr. I'm not ready for that yet, that's for sure. We have the Walnut Valley Festival coming up the following weekend, we may be sitting out there in coats & blankets if this keeps up.

Sounds like you are making good progress on the fence - I hope you're able to get it completed this week.

So I have a conudrum. We have quite a few pullets that should be laying soon, the problem is our birds tend to lay all over the property. I'm wondering with 16 acres you'd think it wouldn't be too hard to go through a barn and coop and run to find them, but I even chase one through our good ol field of ragweed trying to find her nest but no look. Any ideas for where one would start to be laying?

You might have to lock them in the coop for a couple of weeks so they have no option but to lay where you want them to lay. When you start to let them out again, they should then return to the coop to lay their eggs. Mine have free-range over 10 acres (though they mostly only use about 3 of those) but most of them return to the coop to lay. I would wait until cooler weather to lock them in though - you don't want them getting over-heated or your problems will be bigger than hidden nests…..