The Old Folks Home

[ronott1]

I'll take frozen hoses to no water. We often coil the hoses and lay them on the kitchen floor to prep them. Having a hot water faucet helps keep the lines open but it is a PITA. Oh, and I don't let the faucets drip-- fills the last 8 inches with ice; better to have it frozen at the 8 inch mark inside the house and heat with the hairdryer. Even my boys can manage that task now. Honestly I hate the hoses in winter-- much faster to have boys man the faucet filling buckets even if only half full, and I lug full ones out to the animals, and they can carry the 1/2 full.

I really wish I had cut back as much as I had intended before January. Too many coops.

THe word is worst drought in 500years-- wonder who was keep the records in 1525?

No one!

It would be from other sources I suppose. Trees?

 

[Pozees]

ChickenCanoe, class for work on the company's procurement program for end users. It was rolled out in our market area last February with rudimentary training, then last October I went to Tempe, AZ to participate in a Train The Trainers session, and now I go to our Denver office once or twice a month for two days at a time to teach to other end users what we learned in Tempe and what we've learned since then. The classes are small, usually 8-10 people, and we try to use examples of problems they are actually experiencing so the training is customized to the group. I am not usually a fan of classroom teaching, I prefer remote, but this program can get pretty complicated and it really helps to bring up on the screen a live example of a problem that is keeping an invoice from being paid and go through the steps to identify and resolve the issue. Lights go on and it's gratifying to see the relief on the faces of folks who have been struggling.

How are the NYD Penes coming along?

 

[tnspursfan09]

tnspursfan You mean my mother didn't invent SALMON PATTIES?

I assumed everything she made was original.

I didn't like those either. Next I suppose you are going to say she didn't invent brisket, beef stew, American spaghetti (spaghetti in a skillet with tomato soup), and chicken soup. This is about as hard to take as finding out I WASN'T switched at birth.

Mmmmm...brisket. Makes me think of bbqs when I lived in Houston, when the brisket was so big it looked like a whole half cow.

 

[dsqard]

One thing that helps keep hoses from freezing is to empty out the water and hang them up every day. The first whole winter I lived in Utah I tried many different things. Electric heated hoses (work great until they don't then they freeze) and hauling the hoses into the garage every night (worked until the garage stayed below freezing all day) and hauling a hose into the house every night and only bringing it outside when I needed to water and then bringing it back inside when I was done. Of them all, hanging them up has been the easiest way to keep the hoses clear. Last winter I had to be careful how long I left the hose attached to the bib because even in only 45 minutes the water would freeze in the hose. This year has been a "milder" winter so far. Only one to two weeks where it didn't get above freezing all day.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

And I just take the hoses off for the 6 months of "winter" that we have and use the spigot on the side of the house and haul water. That is less intrusive to me than dealing with a stiff, sometimes clogged hose. I have a cute couple gallon bucket with a rope handle that I got for free at the transfer station's "swap shed" one day. It works great. It is the perfect size and easy to carry and pour. It's just a little bit of extra shoveling after it snows to get to the spigot.

The spigot drains when turned off so it doesn't freeze shut, and you can buy an extra protective cover for it, too, but I don't bother with that, anymore. Even down to -30 it doesn't freeze (so far!). The spigots I don't use all winter I turn off inside the house and put the cover on.

 

[ronott1]

And I just take the hoses off for the 6 months of "winter" that we have and use the spigot on the side of the house and haul water. That is less intrusive to me than dealing with a stiff, sometimes clogged hose. I have a cute couple gallon bucket with a rope handle that I got for free at the transfer station's "swap shed" one day. It works great. It is the perfect size and easy to carry and pour. It's just a little bit of extra shoveling after it snows to get to the spigot.

The spigot drains when turned off so it doesn't freeze shut, and you can buy an extra protective cover for it, too, but I don't bother with that, anymore. Even down to -30 it doesn't freeze (so far!). The spigots I don't use all winter I turn off inside the house and put the cover on.

I do not want to think about this stuff!

It gives me a headache....

 

[chickadoodles]

We have all been asked to cut water usage voluntarily by 20%. Some places have Mandatory rationing.

We have been declared a State and Federal Disaster area already.

I'm so sorry!

I hope you get some RAIN!!! Soon!

 

[chickadoodles]

I'll take frozen hoses to no water. We often coil the hoses and lay them on the kitchen floor to prep them. Having a hot water faucet helps keep the lines open but it is a PITA. Oh, and I don't let the faucets drip-- fills the last 8 inches with ice; better to have it frozen at the 8 inch mark inside the house and heat with the hairdryer. Even my boys can manage that task now. Honestly I hate the hoses in winter-- much faster to have boys man the faucet filling buckets even if only half full, and I lug full ones out to the animals, and they can carry the 1/2 full.

I really wish I had cut back as much as I had intended before January. Too many coops.

THe word is worst drought in 500years-- wonder who was keep the records in 1525?

Thanks for the tips. It does not freeze much here so we don't usually have to do much to prepare for it. In fact for may years I ran my AC at Christmas...
Our well freezes up if we don't drip the faucets then I have no water till DH gets off work to come tend it. I don't know anything about the well...
I am sorry you have to haul buckets to the coops. That must be terrible!

Today I put a bucket of water in the coop hoping it will not freeze because the hen with her chick's water bucket has not been freezing with the heat lamp on in the coop.

 

[Cynthia12]

Oh man. I was sent 15 BO eggs. 15 are going into lock down tomorrow! And, 12 Rhodebar eggs were sent to me. 10 are going into lock down. Here's hoping my bator does as well during lock down.


Have to share something, that us older folks can appreciate. I was at the store struggling to get the money out of the inside pocket of my purse. Took a while. I don't know why? I just find that some things take longer now. The person behind me was smiling, and being so patient. I remembered then. Something I read about 10 years ago.
A lady that was behind an older woman saw that she was struggling with her purse, she could see that the woman was feeling embarrassed about taking so long. Then the woman that was standing behind the older woman had a thought. I hope when I reach that age, that people will be patient while I am the one taking a while in line. Boy, did that come to mind. My time had come. In fact, it came to mind just a couple of weeks ago too.

 

[Cynthia12]

One thing that helps keep hoses from freezing is to empty out the water and hang them up every day. The first whole winter I lived in Utah I tried many different things. Electric heated hoses (work great until they don't then they freeze) and hauling the hoses into the garage every night (worked until the garage stayed below freezing all day) and hauling a hose into the house every night and only bringing it outside when I needed to water and then bringing it back inside when I was done. Of them all, hanging them up has been the easiest way to keep the hoses clear. Last winter I had to be careful how long I left the hose attached to the bib because even in only 45 minutes the water would freeze in the hose. This year has been a "milder" winter so far. Only one to two weeks where it didn't get above freezing all day.

I know right? We still have Feb.! Let's hope it just stays the way it is right now. My chickens and I can handle this right now.