Ice is Nice

The past week we've been slowly digging out of the worst ice storm I've seen since I moved to Texas.  We got a lovely, thick layer of ice over everything, and then below freezing temperatures for days afterward, so none of it was melting. School was closed for three days (not counting the weekend), Church was closed and most local businesses, so our family hunkered down for the long haul. We were fortunate to never lose power or water (many people did), but we found that living on a farm brings unique challenges in this kind of weather, such as:

• Animals have to be fed and watered no matter how often you slip and fall on your rear on the way out to the barn.
• When outdoor faucets are frozen and you don't have a heater in your water trough (and how many people do in warm and sunny Texas?), you have to haul gallons of warm water from the house out to the animals multiple times a day...increasing the risk of falling on your rear on the way out to the barn.
• Every time you leave the house, barn cats scurry across the ice to be petted and loved, and they rub your legs and get under your feet...increasing the risk of falling on your rear on the way out to the barn.

And my personal favorite...

• You find yourself standing precariously on top of an ice-covered dog house, holding a pool pole with a hair dryer duct taped to the end of it, trying to melt the ice off the loafing shed roof.  Why?  To save the life of a not-so-bright guinea fowl that roosted on the top of the loafing shed overnight and froze to it.  I asked my daughter to spot me for that one, because there was a lot more risk than just falling on my rear.  Fortunately, both the guinea and I survived. 

However, even with the cold and all our slipping and sliding, it was actually a wonderful week.  We got some great family time in, made some holiday treats, put up our Christmas decorations, snuggled up with fuzzy blankets to watch movies, went 'sledding' on our ice rink of a driveway, made a few cozy fires and more than one pot of homemade hot chocolate.  I love my family, I love our little farm, and I love that this ice storm helped us slow down and truly enjoy the holiday season together.

People and animals coming out to play a few days after the ice storm

Cold outside isn't bad when it's so warm inside.

Greenhorn Tips:  Regardless of the climate you live in, having at least a few weeks worth of extra food and water storage for your animals is always a good plan.   Otherwise, when bad weather hits, you risk making an unpleasant run to the feed store on flooded, icy or snowy roads.  On top of that, you have to unload several 50 pound bags of feed in bad weather...increasing the risk of falling on your rear on the way out to the barn.