The next morning even before it was light, I knew there was a LOT of snow.
View from my livingroom window early morning. No main street visible... can just see the rink on the far side of the street
Going out to water chickens, snow over my knees
Dude looking hopeful that we can get in the truck
Garden shed
Main Street when it was still blowing
Main Street was impassable. I was stuck until someone came to blade me out.
I spent the morning doing a few things around home.
Walked out to the hens and gave them fresh water and some scratch grains. The snow was over my knees on the way to the coop. My yard is pretty sheltered with a lot of trees so normally I do not get much for snow drifts.
I spent a vigorous 20 minutes digging out my truck, and then used the roof rake to rake some snow off my house roof - being an older house, it needs insulation in the attic and the heat escapes there, so ice dams could form on the roof if the snow is not cleared off. Insulating the attic is #459 on my to-do list for this year. :)
The wind was still blowing, I walked up Main Street a ways where a tractor had plowed a single lane - visibility was still poor and I had to wait for the street to be cleared because there was 20 feet of 3 foot deep snow between my truck and the lane.
Finally at 1:30 the wind had died down enough and the tractors started clearing the street (living in a very small town, we just have a neighboring farmer come and clear snow from the streets)
Main Street
Abandoned house on Railway Avenue, magpie in the tree
Main Street after I got bladed out - still not cleaned up to go North.
The bit of pavement out to my goats had drifts on it, but with 4x4 I could get through. The biggest drifts, however were at the goat farm. Oh my goodness!
One massive one blocked my access to the old shop - that's where I have some good square bales stashed in the back, and my more needy goats (the sick or old or injured) stay in the front. the drift was well over 6 feet high, and over 10 feet wide. Nothing to do but start clearing a track so I could open the little gate and get at some square bales to toboggan for the goats in the barn.
The massive drift in front of the shop
I crawled up part of it to peer in
There I can see the goats and the top of the 4ft high little gate
I knew that under the snow was a 4 ft high, 8 ft long gate perpendicular to the shop and if I could find it, I could follow it to tunnel into the shop. The photo below you can see a slight line that is the top of the 4ft high gate. A goat is looking hopeful that I would reach them
Some serious elbow grease later! I can see the gate!
From inside the shop looking out.
That task done, I checked on the barn. All the animals had come up to the barn, and the track to the round bales was blown in. I trail blazed for them (no mean feat) and the horses followed, making an easier trail for the sheep who streamed out, grateful.
Snow drifts in the corral
Spice standing on top of a 4ft high drift
Putting the hay bales on edge, kinda makes its own little windbreak. You can see the snow piled on the North side of the bale. The sheep have been bedding in the hay that they are not eating.
Happy sheep this morning (Saturday)
At Larry's farm - laneway
Sheep and drifts
Closeup of wind sculpted snow
Drifts in the corral.
I tobogganed some square bales to the barn for some goats that were still reluctant to leave their shelter for food. Lucky everyone had survived the storm. Goats are finicky and might just get depressed and die if a storm lasts too long! Good thing I had forked in hay the day before, it was all gone.
The force of Nature is incredible. We will be dealing with the aftermath of this for a while. I had a friendly neighbor help me clear some snow at the goats, but Larry and I will have to dig out goats and clear a track in the pasture over the next couple days to be able to get in to feed. Monday is supposed to be +2 which should settle the snow so it quits blowing.
But yes, Mother Nature is a force to be reckoned with. :)
