Found out that QA's power was knocked out by the high winds on Wednesday. She was hoping to have it restored today. She was very thankful to have a wood burner.
Sorry to hear that you lost a turkey and a bunny. But I guess it's good that it wasn't more.
It's been awfully cold here too. Not as bad as where you are at of course, but still we are not used to below freezing weather and neither are our plants. We lost quite a few from the ooks of it. WE can only hope that the roots didn't freeze and that they'll come back next spring. We have several citrus, avocado, birds of paradise and a few other frost sensitive plants. SO covered some of them, but he didn't get around to them all and many don't look so good right now
I'm glad your kids got some nice things at your shop with a cop program. I would have put the toys away for christmas also. It'll give them something to look forward too. After all, that is part of the fun for Christmas.
One year when DD was five, we went nuts for christmas and bought her just about everything she asked for and then some. What a mistake! She just tore everything open threw it aside to open the next one and about half of it never got played with.
Now that she is an adult, she will throw everything out. She firgures if she needs it again, she'll just go out and buy it. She thinks I am a hoarder, because I save so much stuff. But then I KNOW I can not go out and just replace something.
In retrospect, I do believe that we spoiled our DD. Maybe if she had to do with less, she would be a little more conscious about holding onto some things. Her house is nice and tidy though
And I could definitely stand to get rid of more stuff
I tell ya, I'm still enjoying having our power on after that storm that came through. I woke up this morning and first thing checked to see that the clocks and lights were working still. LOL Told Ernie, "Power's still on!" He cracked up laughing.
I gotta tell you, God really blessed me when He chose Ernie as my husband. He's gotta be the most caring and considerate man I know. For someone who really *dislikes* my chickens (and my Alpaca) he sure goes through A LOT of trouble to make sure I have everything I need to take care of them.
Yesterday, I caught him filling all of the waterers in my poultry pens for me. Then he helped me re-run the cords for the heat lamps and put my new heavy duty extension cord in the main coop. Hung it and plugged in a heat light for the main coop. It's sooo cute looking out my window and seeing a light coming out their little window, knowing they have a little extra warmth now! We also hooked the cord going to the bantam coop so that it is now in the air, and we can walk under it, so it's not laying on the ground/mud etc during the cold weather.
God also really blessed me when He provided a friendship in Becca.
Today, Becca stopped by and brought Ernie a bourbon red tom for his surviving female turkey. Well, we think it is a tom, but we're not 100% sure. Ernie thinks it might be another girl LOL We'll see with time I guess.
Becca also brought us two bales of hay and two bales of straw! We were very happy for both. So were our animals! Then Becca helped us move my call ducks. We moved them closer to the house, putting them under the pole light, so I could plug in the de-icer I have for their pond. We didn't want to run it off the cords back by the coops because Ernie was worried that it would be too much on the power cords. It's plugged directly into it's own outlet outside this way.
She then walked with me around all the pens and helped me put straw in everyone's housing. She shoved some straw in my call ducks pen, too, not just inside their house, but in their outside wire area and told me that's what she did for hers. My call ducks loved it! They rarely go in the house part, so the straw on the outsdie was a great idea! The de-icer is working, too. Their pond was froze solid, but now it's not and they were loving that they can now get in and swim a bit or get a drink without waiting for me to bring fresh water.
The barn was spot cleaned and fresh straw laid in it for Boss, Chase, and Job. There was a small skirmish between Boss and Job over the hay, and Job showed Boss how well he can kick.
My Mandarin ducks have been moved into the brooder pen inside the bantam coop. They really seem to like it in there, and I've been catching them on the roost a lot. Will probably try to hang a nesting area in there for them and keep them in there until we get them an aviary built.
I've been collecting 1 duck egg a day for the last several days out of my large duck pen. Not sure who's laying it yet, but it's either a rouen, Welsh, or blue swede laying. Sent the ducks eggs I had already collected (total of 5) home with Becca since she has a customer base for duck eggs.
Ernie and I have already been discussing our plans for spring. I'm already ready for winter to be over. And we're just getting started. I'm hoping that with the extra heat in the coops that I'll not have the frozen waterer problem as bad as I did last year. We'll see, though.
Ernie said if I want it, he'll install a breaker just so my coops can have their own electric. It'll mean purchasing another box to install on our other pole and about 70 feet of electrical wire to go from the pole to my coop (will be buried). He said that will allow me to run heated waterers and heavy duty cords for my poultry pens without having to run on the same breakers that our pole light and deep freezer and his storage barn are on (which is what we're doing now). He's only allowed me 2 heat lamps and the de-icer for the call ducks for now because he's afraid more than that will be too much for the breaker. I will probably have to wait until spring before we can install the new breaker for my coops though. Will be worth it if it means less bird loss. Plus, he said he can install actual outlets IN my coops this way, so no more extension cords laying on the ground from the pole to the coops (stretches about 100 feet).
Sure hope my chicken venture proves worth all the trouble and expense my husband is putting out for me.
That breaker sounds like a wonderful idea! I would bump the electrical idea up one more notch and put a GFCI outlet in as the first in the series. That way if the chickens ever short out a wire in the coop it will pop fast and prevent a fire or either you or your family getting a fatal shock when tending the waterers.
When we did the electric in the barn (when I was a kid) we also purchased metal exterior-type boxes for the outlets that had little doors over the outlet when not in use. It costs a little more in the beginning but REALLY protects the outlet from damage, moisture and dirt when not in use.
Sounds like you are all set for colder weather. You know the saying "what goes around, comes around" ? Well people who are blessings to others usually get blessings in return. Merry Christmas, my friend!
So it seems like everytime something good happens, and I'm living high on the pedestal of happiness, something happens to knock me down into the pit of gloominess.