Just heard on the radio that we set a record cold last night, -24F. Yes, that's 24 below zero! Currently it's about 15 below zero, but with not much wind so it doesn't feel too bad. George got the new puppy out for his walk and then, with this new routine to fit in, he missed the bus to work. So I had to get out of my warm bed and drive him to school. I didn't mind, as we get to visit with each other for a few minutes that way.
How is life on the urban homestead in this cold?
Well, we adopted our new puppy the day before a blizzard which brought in this bitter cold from the north and west. It's probably not the ideal time to get a puppy and have to stand outside with him for potty breaks and take him for a couple of walks each day. But we really don't mind and are feeling well cheered because Billy (should we call him Blizzard?) is doing so well at it all. We get him out to his "potty spot" about every two hours during the day and if he needs to go before we get to it, he lets us know. The only accidents he's had were in his crate the first day he was here, which is certainly understandable. He is a very smart, obedient dog. We have to keep a close watch on him yet because he likes to chew on the furniture a bit, but other than that we are very impressed with him.
The cat isn't too upset about this new puppy addition. Of course, puppy is mostly confined to the kitchen yet and kitty has the run of the rest of the house, so I think she knows she's still queen. Whenever the two have met, the dog barks and wants to play but the cat hisses and lashes out at him and then Billy leaps back in fear but comes back for more. I think it's going just fine. They'll get used to each other.
Elijah has mentioned a few times already that cats are so much easier to take care of, and he's right but a dog is so worth it. I think Eli will continue to be an avowed "cat person", but at least he will not forever be afraid of dogs, we think, now that we have a nice one. Rose is happy to have as many animals as possible, and the dog provides her a needed playmate during the quiet times at home. They are both helping, but she in particular doesn't balk at all at taking the dog out to potty or any of it.
The chickens seem to be faring just fine in this bitter cold, as well. On Sunday, the day it was snowing, George finally got a little shelf put up in their coop, and he screwed a food tray to it so that we can feed them in the coop and not just in the run. We've been keeping the light on in the coop 24 hours and keeping the chickens inside it. They have survived the worst of the cold now, and today it should warm up a bit (maybe to zero degrees!) so it appears all is fine. We've been using just a one quart water bottle waterer for them instead of the big galvanized metal one. We have two of the little ones and change them out every few hours when they're frozen. I'm too cheap to buy the $38 water warmer, so this is what we decided to do instead. We are still getting 2-4 and usually four eggs a day and we only had one day when we were gone for hours and the eggs froze outside. Have I mentioned that the eggs are delicious! Far better even than buying from a local farmer, because they're so so fresh.
As for the humans, George had to teach at school (yes, we still hold school in this cold) and the kids and I mainly hibernated at our house and a friend's home yesterday. I did have to go out for groceries and dog food, and at one point getting out of the car I found myself thinking "it could be worse". Whenever I say that, I have to chuckle though because Garrison Keillor uses that line so often on his public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, as something that Minnesotans say so often. And it's true, about almost everything including this terrible cold. It's a DRY cold, as we say, and therefore just freezes your nose and fingers and toes off but doesn't get to your bones like a damp cold does.
How is life on the urban homestead in this cold?
Well, we adopted our new puppy the day before a blizzard which brought in this bitter cold from the north and west. It's probably not the ideal time to get a puppy and have to stand outside with him for potty breaks and take him for a couple of walks each day. But we really don't mind and are feeling well cheered because Billy (should we call him Blizzard?) is doing so well at it all. We get him out to his "potty spot" about every two hours during the day and if he needs to go before we get to it, he lets us know. The only accidents he's had were in his crate the first day he was here, which is certainly understandable. He is a very smart, obedient dog. We have to keep a close watch on him yet because he likes to chew on the furniture a bit, but other than that we are very impressed with him.
The cat isn't too upset about this new puppy addition. Of course, puppy is mostly confined to the kitchen yet and kitty has the run of the rest of the house, so I think she knows she's still queen. Whenever the two have met, the dog barks and wants to play but the cat hisses and lashes out at him and then Billy leaps back in fear but comes back for more. I think it's going just fine. They'll get used to each other.
Elijah has mentioned a few times already that cats are so much easier to take care of, and he's right but a dog is so worth it. I think Eli will continue to be an avowed "cat person", but at least he will not forever be afraid of dogs, we think, now that we have a nice one. Rose is happy to have as many animals as possible, and the dog provides her a needed playmate during the quiet times at home. They are both helping, but she in particular doesn't balk at all at taking the dog out to potty or any of it.
The chickens seem to be faring just fine in this bitter cold, as well. On Sunday, the day it was snowing, George finally got a little shelf put up in their coop, and he screwed a food tray to it so that we can feed them in the coop and not just in the run. We've been keeping the light on in the coop 24 hours and keeping the chickens inside it. They have survived the worst of the cold now, and today it should warm up a bit (maybe to zero degrees!) so it appears all is fine. We've been using just a one quart water bottle waterer for them instead of the big galvanized metal one. We have two of the little ones and change them out every few hours when they're frozen. I'm too cheap to buy the $38 water warmer, so this is what we decided to do instead. We are still getting 2-4 and usually four eggs a day and we only had one day when we were gone for hours and the eggs froze outside. Have I mentioned that the eggs are delicious! Far better even than buying from a local farmer, because they're so so fresh.
As for the humans, George had to teach at school (yes, we still hold school in this cold) and the kids and I mainly hibernated at our house and a friend's home yesterday. I did have to go out for groceries and dog food, and at one point getting out of the car I found myself thinking "it could be worse". Whenever I say that, I have to chuckle though because Garrison Keillor uses that line so often on his public radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, as something that Minnesotans say so often. And it's true, about almost everything including this terrible cold. It's a DRY cold, as we say, and therefore just freezes your nose and fingers and toes off but doesn't get to your bones like a damp cold does.
Comments
Oh, call him Blizzard, yes! lol he sounds adorble, and glad the Cat Man is at least not scared.
I havea worry about chickens in the cold (thinking about when we have them 'up there') do they really do alright?
And yes, the chickens do appear to be fine. No frostbite even. They may be bored, stuck in the coop, but they are alive and kickin'.
You know, that "it's a dry cold" thing is actually pretty true, in my limited experience. The winters in New York were relatively humid, and it seems like it was colder there, where the average winter temp is in the 30sF, than in Idaho, where the winter average is in the 20sF (and the last week has been much colder than that).
Of course it's all cold to me, being from Southern California!
It has been so cold that the friend we get out eggs from doesn't have many this week- they are freezing before she can get to them! COLD!!!