Winter

[rainbowgardener]

Well, we don't have cows to milk, but we do have to go out every morning and take care of the chickens. In weather like what is coming, that includes breaking the ice out of their water dispenser. We have one about like this:

[jal_ut]

7 degrees here this morning. I don't have chickens at this point, but have had them in the past. At one point I got an electric heater that we sat the chicken waterer on and it kept it liquid.

[rainbowgardener]

That's a good idea, but our chicken area is at the very back of the yard and there's no electricity out there. We don't even (so far) have electricity on our deck.

[jal_ut]

A light in the coop is a good idea too. Chickens won't lay eggs unless they get so many hours of light. You can get a roll of underground burial cable and with a spade split the sod and poke the cable in. You may need to talk to your electrician? Certainly its a worthwhile investment if you are going to keep chickens. How many hens do you have?

[rainbowgardener]

We only have six hens. It's about enough for our suburban half-acre and the size coop and run we have.

We understand that hens don't lay as well with less hours of daylight. Right now they are barely laying half as many as they were at their peak. We thought about trying to put light in their coop (like a battery powered lamp). But some people said that hens (like human females) are born with all the eggs they will ever have and if you "force" them to keep laying all through the year, they will just lay for fewer years. Anyway letting them rest through the winter just seems more natural. The way I do my gardens, I'm all about natural, so we decided to let the hens do what comes naturally as well. As it is six hens laying about 3 eggs a week each still takes care of our egg needs for the two of us, we just don't have eggs to sell, as we did when it was 6 eggs a week. Since our hens started laying, the only time we have bought any store eggs was when I was doing a bunch of Thanksgiving cooking and needed 14 eggs all at once.

[jal_ut]

Well when they quit laying eat the chickens. Get some new ones come Spring.

[rainbowgardener]

Not going to happen. I've been a vegetarian for over 40 years. I don't eat chickens anyway and I'm definitely not going to eat our pet girls. When they quit laying, then we will add to the flock, but we will be running an old age home for elderly chickens!

[thanrose]

I've done that old aged hen home thing, too. I relished their eggs, but they were individuals with distinct personalities that could really tear up a weedy patch when necessary. Not as good as goats, perhaps, but worthwhile. I'd love to have chooks again. Mine were either Araucauna or Americauna, with the different colored eggs. I did use a light on a timer in the small coop.

Princess Stephanie was a spectacularly beautiful chicken. She made me realize why farmers don't want smart chickens. Sure was fun for me, though.

[digitS']

Winter time, it was so much more comfortable getting your head against the cow's flank and your hands on her utter at milking time. Of course, there was warm water to wash her and to warm your hands before the enterprise began. Still, I remember Daisy or Violet dancing around when the hand or water was too cold .

This was in southern Oregon so we weren't often trudging through snow to get out to the milking parlor or dealing with much sub-freezing temperatures. Now, I live further north than any part of New England but am comfortable knowing that there is much of that corner of the US with more severe winter weather than here at home.

RainbowGardener, I would just use a metal bowl for chickens' water in freezing conditions. It would need to be in a strategic position so that they would not step in it but it's easy to dump the ice and put in fresh water, 2 times each day.

Steve

[jal_ut]

"and I'm definitely not going to eat our pet girls"

and there in lies the problem. You have made PETS outa the stinking things!

I am sorry, I grew up in the post war depression of the early 40s. We lived on a farm and Dad had milk cows and also kept chickens and a pig now and then. He grew a garden. Yes, we lived off the farm, we ate what it produced. Including chickens and eggs. ....... and damned happy to have it. Some families were not so fortunate and I remember Dad giving them milk and garden produce.

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, we have made pets of them and we think they are adorable. Doesn't matter, since as a vegetarian, I wasn't going to eat them anyway. We just got them for the eggs and we have been very satisfied with that. Even here, approaching the shortest days of the year, they are still producing enough eggs to meet the needs of the two of us. In the summer, we were selling 1-2 dozen eggs a week, which covered cost of their feed, etc.

[jal_ut]

You claim to be vegetarian, yet you eat eggs? Arguah, did it not occur to you that an egg is just a little hen waiting to hatch? It is animal not vegetable. Might as well go get a big beef steak and live it up?

[applestar]

Stop. stop. You know there’s nobody home unless the egg has been fertilized and rainbow doesn’t keep roosters.


It’s snowing again here. Sooo cold!
Upper teens overnight though mid-20’s on the brick patio. I wonder if the can-o-worms I didn’t get the chance to let escape into the ground have frozen solid.... At least I salvaged a 2 gal bucket mini tower worth to carry on over the winter and re-stock in spring....

[rainbowgardener]

yes, the eggs are not fertilized and I don't harm the chickens to get them. Sort of like picking fruit from a tree... Yes, I am what is called ovo-lacto vegetarian. I eat eggs, milk, cheese, etc. I keep inching towards vegan, eating less cheese etc, than I used to. But having our own chickens, upped my egg consumption.

[ElizabethB]

I have been away for a while - cooking rather than gardening.

James - the cold you have adapted to is beyond my imagination. Temps in the low 40's upper 30's with wind chill and humidity - I am shivering.

We actually had a little bit of snow last week. It rained for 2 days prior. Snow did not stick - quickly turned to mush. An interesting novelty in this part of the country.

My #1 brother had back surgery yesterday. He lives in Denver. My lovely SIL has to travel for business January 6 - 12. I am going to Denver to visit with and "Ta Ta" my brother while she is gone. I have been thinking about clothes. I do not own a heavy coat or water/snow proof boots. I will get a pair of boots. I will rely on layering and borrow a coat from SIL's closet. Not worth buying a decent, heavy coat for a week.

The severe cold that so many of you experience is truly foreign to me. I can not begin to imagine the depth of cold at 7 degrees. I do not want to. In my mind I see my bones freezing and shattering.

I do complain about the summer heat and humidity and the nasty, wet chill of winter - I will take that any day of the week rather than face the extreme cold that some of you face. Bless you all - you are stronger and braver than I am. Call me Wuss.

[rainbowgardener]

Those of you on Facebook will know how FB pops up "memories" of things you have posted on the same date in previous years. So a couple days ago it popped up a memory from Dec 14, 2010, while I still lived in Cincinnati:

"18 degrees now, going down to SEVEN tonight! I was just out at committee meeting. I want to live somewhere, where if your car would happen to break down, you would not DIE in two hours!"

So now I in fact do live somewhere where it never gets cold enough to kill you if your car breaks down. I love Chattanooga!

[thanrose]

Elizabeth, consider visiting a thrift store for heavier winter gear if you can. Absolute warmest garments that aren't synthetic will be wool, specifically lambs wool. Silk is also good for little bulk but extra warmth. Not so good on its own.

Wear a thin pair of gloves under heavier outer gloves. If wind chill is a problem, having leather, vinyl, or ski wear synthetics as the outermost wear significantly improves warmth. Pretty scarves worn outside of coats are useless. Tuck those bad boys in under your coat. Fluff a bit up your neck. I would use a knit scarf to filter warm the frigid air I was breathing, but it could also insulate my ears if necessary.

Vests are a good idea. Keeping your torso warm is important. It's not true that we lose all of our heat through our heads, but wearing a knit hat will help keep you warm.

Chap stick and a glass of water at bedside are practical especially for those of us accustomed to more humidity and lower elevation.

Enjoy the contrast in environment.

[digitS']

I hadn't thought of me layering gloves. That probably isn't easy for my digitS'; hand or feet - even x-large can be a tight fit.

Other than those extremities, loose fit is best. Layers there are a possibility and I have been known to wear as many as 4 shirts. Pullovers used to be common but I grew tired of pulling off my hat and making a big scene, removing layers. Except for the first layer of a t-shirt, it's buttons and zippers. Yes, vests became a common feature. Pajamas can go under denim, I don't care what cowboys might think of that.

Hats. It is a habit that I have long cultivated (so to speak). I have hats for different seasons and will even pull one over a knit ski mask in below zero weather. Scarfs become common and, yes, put them on before shrugging into your coat .

Steve

[jal_ut]

Lovely this morning. 30 degrees and snowing. Still dark outside as I write this at 7:30 AM.

[SW WA Gardener]

Hi There

I am new to the forum. I assume it's OK to post on ongoing message threads

Being in SW Washingotn, we have mostly wet chilly winter with a few episodes of freezing into 20s, sometimes snow or ice storms.

I've gone through my seeds and organized them. I don't know why I keep all of the old packets. Last year, I diluted new ones with old ones of the same varieties, since they would need thinning anyway.

I also bought mail order seeds for most of 2018's kitchen garden, plus some for rows of flowers. Mostly ones I am sure, or think, will be rabbit and deer resistant, like zinnias, marigolds, cosmos, poppies, and gladiolus corms. I also have a box of gladiolus corms in the pantry, waiting to be replanted.

So now, I can mull over what went well and what didn't, in 2017. I am getting older, and take medications that make me fatigued and achy, so one big change is make maintenance easier. That will mean the raised beds are further apart to allow mowing with a riding mower. My orchard has deer fences around each young tree. I'm working on how to eliminate those,to make for easiler mowing. The big plan is to have all branches above 6 feet off the ground. The deer in our area don't browse above that height.

I did order some new fruit and nut trees. The first, another hybrid chestnut, went into the ground 2 weeks ago, and got immediate protection from voles and deer. I think the others will come in Feb or March.

Meanwhile, I am getting the plant stand ready to start. The first will be onion seeds, which I started last year in Jan to great effect, and daylily seeds that I stratified in the fridge. Those daylilies have shoots after only a few days out oft he fridge. Also some persimmon seeds. I don't know when to take them out and plant them. Maybe in Feb.

We have hens and ducks who need ongoing feeding and attention. The Indian Runner Ducks are especially entertaining.

That's a lot of rambling.

Daniel

[MoonShadows]

As someone who spends Spring, Summer and Fall in my greenhouse and gardens, I hate the winter. There are just so many seed catalogs I can look at. And, my home biz really slows down for January - March. This year I have a new internet website project to keep me busy. This should help.

[jal_ut]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/148851736 ... ed-public/

Did I happen to mention that I hate this board software?

[ElizabethB]

Shopping thrift stores is a good idea but in the deep south thrift stores don't normally have heavy winter wear - wrong market. The coat is not a big issue. SIL wears the same size I do and has a closet full of coats. I have a warm knit hat and scarves - designed for warmth not fashion statements. I will get a pair of boots and wool socks. I don't think my light weight cotton socks will cut it. Also warm gloves. I will not be spending much time outside - driving Brother to and from physical therapy and maybe a quick run to the market. Most of my time will be spent visiting with him and cooking. He has been away from Louisiana for so long that does not remember how to make a gumbo.

For Christmas we pull names between the siblings and the adult nieces and nephew. I happen to have Brother's name this year. My gift to him will be food - south Louisiana specialties that he can not get in Colorado.

Thanks for all of the good suggestions. I am really looking forward to visiting with my Brother. He is a lovely man and we do not get to visit often enough.

[digitS']

At home much of the time, get some warm slippers. Or, a double pair of wool socks. I wear wool socks year round .

Our snow is melting! A local airport had reported a daily record of 7.1". Now, it didn't freeze overnight! We have a 100% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow. Then! The forecast highs will be below freezing going into the holiday weekend. Oh boy, icy conditions!

While it's raining down here, it might be fun to check out the other border of the Idaho Panhandle. It's just a little over an hour's drive away ... under good conditions : Lookout Pass

Steve

[ElizabethB]

James - beautiful photos.

[MoonShadows]

Views out my home office window the other day just after daybreak...

[applestar]

Very nice! I wanna know more about that first building next to the green house. The last one is chicken coop? Maybe in another thread....

[MoonShadows]

The building next to the greenhouse is a two story shed built on that hill in the 1940's. When we first bought the house, it had an old wood burning stove in it...that's why the chimney. It has clapboard siding and a slate roof. There is a door in the floor that opens to a staircase down to the lower level. You can also access the lower level from the outside. For years we used it as a tool and storage shed and stored lawnmowers, tiller, etc. underneath. Now that we gave our chickens away, the chicken coop in the 3rd picture is the new garden tool shed. The chicken run has grape vines planted in it. One of my winter projects is to turn the old shed into a wood shop. Now that I have the room I can. It does need some repair, new siding and soon a new roof. Our house is white siding with green trim and a green metal roof. I may do this to the old shed as well. I would love to restore it, but I just don't have the time.

Here's a view of it from the front. This was taken when we were building the greenhouse a few years ago.

This is a better one.

[jal_ut]

I went out long enough to feed the cats and put some seed on the bird feeder. (We have three cats that hang around. They are outside cats, do not come in the house) The temperature is 26 degrees F and clear blue skies. About 8 inches of snow on the ground. No bees flying today!

[jal_ut]

Lots of birds on the feeder today. Starlings, Eu Doves, English Sparrow, Junco, House Finch, Magpie. At 3:42 Pm its 28 degrees and snowing.

[jal_ut]

12 degrees F this morning and mostly clear skies. Sure thankful for a house and a furnace.

[rainbowgardener]

Wow!!

Every time I see your signature line: "Frost free from May 25 to September 8 +/- " I think what a long cold winter that is to get through. I have no idea how you grow as much as you do in a growing season like that.

We currently have highs in the 60's, lows in the 50's, but starting Christmas Eve the bottom drops out and we have lows between 27 and 36 for the rest of the ten day forecast....

[digitS']

It's 10°f this morning with just enuf snow to say that "it's looking a lot like Christmas!"

There was snow in the shadow of the buildings from the 7" that we had on Tuesday. Much of it melted away with temperatures in the high 30's since. This was added to, and spread more generally, by the lightest covering of snow yesterday afternoon. It will probably melt off the north side of the roofs with the sun, just rising in the East!

Not to worry ... there is another inch or two forecast for Christmas Eve and no open air temperatures are thought by the WS folks to reach melting over the next week.

We will need the moisture of winter snowfalls through next year's growing season. The "snotel" totals at the higher elevations are looking good, right at 100% of normal or just above. Yay!

Steve

[jal_ut]

On January 9 there was 0.22 in the rain gauge. Today 0.35, It was mostly rain. Gee if all that had came as snow we would have a pile of snow.

[jal_ut]

This morning its 35 degrees F overcast and calm. I took the birds some seed and sit here and watch the birds play on the feeder and play on the computer. I don't grow indoors, but took one six inch pot and planted two tomato seeds. That will have to do for my winter garden.

[digitS']

The skiers might look at Lookout Pass on the Montana and Idaho border where there was 69" at the summit or at northern Idaho's Schweitzer with 73". That was this morning.

Here at a lower elevation, it was snowing at 3:30am lightly ... and it is still snowing at 7pm. Recent warmer weather and quite a lot of rain had nearly "disappeared" the snow in the yard. My paths were widening! This afternoon's temperatures were supposed to be a little warmer and some of this was to be rain but that didn't happen. Light snow fell all day.

This keeps that ridiculous snow making machinery out of the ski areas. Of course, we need the soil moisture, adequate summer stream flows, and the ground and perennial roots need some insulation from winter cold.

Steve

[Taiji]

First significant moisture finally the other day. About 1 and 1/4 inches. It had been close to 4 months with no rain til this recent storm. Forecast for this winter had been warmer and drier than usual for this area. That has held true. 10 day forecast is back to "normal" though. Low 60's during the day with no rain.

[jal_ut]

25 degrees and clear blue skies. No bees flying today! Six inches of snow still on the ground. I took the birds some seed and sit here and play on the computer.

[jal_ut]

Taiji: "First significant moisture finally the other day. About 1 and 1/4 inches."

It has been dry here too. The month of December had a grand total of 0.02 inch of rain. January has been a bit better, with 0.22 Jan 9 and 0.35 Jan 10. Today 22 degrees F and clear blue skies.

[jal_ut]

About 4 inches of fresh snow this morning. Its 30 degrees F and overcast. I took the birds some seed and was happy to come in and sit at the computer.