Just heard from a fellow Colorado Homesteader that more than 200k people have lost power.
As the sun wanes here is a picture of the back door and a video out the front. No issues here. All is normal.
Monthly Archives: March 2019
Living Up To The Hype
So the much ado wasn’t about nothing. The sustained winds are up around 40 mph. Fortunately, the gusts really haven’t happened. It is just a combination of strong winds and LOTS of snow. That translates into drifts. Zina just made an attempt to go out to the barn to check on the critters (that you cannot see from the house right now). The pioneer woman couldn’t get there and got turned back. Of course the dogs think its a hoot. So far we have 4 to 6 foot drifts and can only get out of the house via the basement door. We are told to expect another 7 inches by midnight. Oh boy!
I can understand completely, how, in generations past, it was possible to get lost just going out to the outhouse. You dress like you are wearing a space suit and venture out into the unknown. It’s a Mars white-scape. There is about ZERO visibility. There is nothing left to do now but wait it out. It’s supposed to be in the 40’s on Friday. Which, of course, will bring … floods.
My only regret is that I haven’t gotten the new water catchment system hooked up yet. This storm would have filled the 1000 gallon tank all by itself. We haven’t lost power; although it wasn’t for lack of trying. The inter-webs are very slow. I guess smoke signals don’t travel well in a blizzard. I canned 22 quarts of roast, weaved a bit, and Zina has been working from home and sorting through boxes as a result of our house consolidations. This isn’t the biggest I’ve been through, but the drifting and white out conditions have been impressive.
Bombogenesis
So the blizzard has arrived. It rained all night to start it all out so the snow is now piling over mud puddles. Zina closed up everyone in the barn so all should be well. The little bucks hunker down in a 12 foot hog hut and it has a wind break fence behind them so they are all toasty. It isn’t exceptionally cold, its just a huge blow.
We are officially cut off from the world. The highway is closed from Denver to the Kansas state line. This is expected to last through noon tomorrow.
This storm made the barometric pressure plummet. That is bad for folks with muscle and joint issues. I had to take drugs first thing this morning. I haven’t been this frozen up since surgery. Mostly all better now.
The inter-tubes and the power are flickering so hopefully this gets posted before it all cuts out and we have to run on batteries.
Bombogenesis: Native American word for Big Ass Storm. Then comes the mud….. again.
Might As Well Get Something Done Before Stormaggedon
It’s almost 60 degrees and no wind. The calm before it all cuts loose. The weatherdude just gave us a 100% chance of a blizzard tomorrow with over 75 mph gusts. Evidently, the farther out onto the plains you go, the more snow is to be expected. So that puts us at a foot or more of wet heavy slop. We are definitely east/central Colorado. Unfortunately, because the mountains are expecting up to 2 feet, that means that very soon when spring runnoff starts we are going to have to contend with hail again. The last wind storm cost us shingles. All the other buildings have metal roofs…. just not the house. Figures.
That being said, I finished up the last of the hail guard frames for the raised beds and tried out the screens. Looks like they will work. One down and “only” 26 more to go. This is the part that pokes and scratches. I’ll just turn up the radio so no one hears my cherub like expressions and colorful chanting.
Tomorrow is a canning and weaving day intermixed with clearing the snow off of the chicken coop netting. We had it collapse once under the weight. Lesson learned.
Battening down the Hatches
The whole county is bustling like a hive of bees. I was just at the feed store and everyone was talking about getting the generators out, critters hunkered down, and closed up in the barns. The Colorado beast has awakened. Whenever a system comes up from the Gulf, it brings a buttload of moisture. This one, coupled with very low pressure, is bring up an alleged humdinger. They are projecting 35 mph winds with gusts to 80. In addition, it is supposed to dump up to a foot of snow, yet at the same time it isn’t supposed to get down to 32 F. We’ve seen this before….. it’s going to be scary windy and the snow is going to be crazy heavy. So as with all the other worker bees, Zina is coming home, the batteries are all charged up (because we are sure to lose power), and we will be closing up all the creatures and putting the boy goats, who usually just hang out in a pig hut, into the chicken barn. Here we go. Just a typical Colorado spring rain. Then, of course, it’s all supposed to melt off…. Yay! Mud!
https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/12/colorado-weather-blizzard-bomb-cyclone/amp/
Finally Weaving Again
So the winter weather “pre-spring” is the usual fare here in Colorado. In the past week there have been 350 sighted Avalanches in the high country; closing down highways and byways. One was clocked at 108 mph. Several were right up the road from my old office. I guess we don’t have to worry too much about snowpack this year. Out at our place we have been getting a snow fall every week. The temps plummet to below zero (last week we awoke to -18 and I am continually amazed at the resiliency that the farm critters show to such cold weather). The temps drop, the snow falls, and two days later we are in the high 50’s and everything becomes a mud hole. Our puppy loves it! There is nothing better than chasing a ball through mud puddles! She never tires out!
Today was a lazy day. After breakfast and chores, we just went out to the barn and hung out with the animals. Spring is coming so everyone is, um, happy. If we get some respite from the weather, the boy and girl goats will get together. We could have put Cumin in with one of the bucks last week, but we had one of the snow cycles I just described. The turkeys are finally laying eggs, and we have been getting an education in heritage breed turkey mating rituals.
In between snow and ice storms, building the remaining parts to the additional garden beds, teaching gardening classes, my retreat from mostly everything and everyone (that will actually leave me alone), I was finally able to get the napkins I designed onto the loom. It’s a huge project that goes along with my last set of placemats and table runners. It’s a 14 yard long wind on (42 feet). The pattern is a twill. Each napkin will be approximately a 24×24 square before shrinkage. The yarn is very thin so it had a seriously frustrating desire to snarl. But! After 3 popped threads, some farmer cussing, and a lot of patience, I got it all under tension and ready to go.
This is the first pattern I “made up” and designed on my new fancy weaving software. Nothing too complicated, but I think it will turn out just peachy. It feels good to be throwing the shuttle again.
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