It's really dark at 5am in the country when the power goes out.
And it's really cold when the air temperature is well below freezing, and the wind chill and humidity make it feel even colder.
And it's a lot of work on the farm when daily chores are slowed by a thick layer of ice covering everything. Fences, doors, gate latches, water troughs...
And it gets even colder when the power has been out in conditions like this for 13 hours. Today was a long, cold day here on the farm, and for people all over Texas.
The first photo is the fence next to the barn where the chickens are, and the second is a piece of wire that hangs on the side of the barn which I thought looked cool! You can see that even the side of the barn was coated with ice at least 1/4" thick - more in some places. It was really beautiful ... but VERY cold!
Since we had no power, that also meant we had little to no heat until Alan got the fire started. And then, we were all still pretty chilled. The people in town didn't get power until after 9:00pm, so we had Alan's parents out to the house to keep warm and have dinner. Tomorrow is supposed to be just as cold, but hopefully not as much ice... Hope the power stays on!
Anna - first, great pics! And second, brrrr!! Hope you've thawed out by now!! Hope your lovely calf is doing ok w/ the cold!
Posted by: danita (moberkitty) | January 16, 2007 at 04:49 PM
Beautiful photos, terrible circumstances!! Sure hope you are all snuggly warm by now. It's so hard when you get ice and snow where it is not expected...they are just not prepared to deal with it. I'm going to email you a link to some photos of the NE store that hit the end of Dec...I think you will find them fascinating! :)
Posted by: Diane McVey | January 16, 2007 at 02:55 PM
Anna,
Sorry for the horrible weather but gorgeous photos. And some of the best family times are those we have because of "circumstances". Hope you get thawed out real soon. By the way, I loved the paper and all the items I've ordered from you!!
Posted by: Lyn Heppner/EMSchick | January 16, 2007 at 02:33 PM
Great photos! I hope you and everyone else are warm and toasty by now. The same thing happend here in Columbus, Ohio two years ago two days before Christmas. The power was out where my daughter lives for SEVEN days, can you imagine?
I'm a real city girl so I have to ask this question - are all of the animals okay? I don't know if folks put heat in barns or not, LOL if necessary, I can only learn by asking.
Posted by: Juanita(Toni173) | January 16, 2007 at 09:08 AM
Beautiful pictures Anna! I remember what it is like to feed cattle in the dead of winter in Montana....dad driving the tractor pulling the hay rack and us kids using a pitchfork to throw off the hay to the cattle. It was great to get back inside and have some hot chocolate or java(as said by my dear dad).... Hope you all thaw out soon.
Hugs
Julie
Posted by: Julie Phillips | January 16, 2007 at 08:21 AM
Michigan received it too! I guess not too many places were spared. We didn't lose our power but we sure worried with the ices on the trees and power lines. Anna, your pictures were gorgeous! I hope little Dixie's Chick was able to stay warm and all your other critters, too. Let's hope it warms up soon.
Posted by: Viv (VivLyn) | January 16, 2007 at 06:13 AM
Cold in Texas....who'd a thunk it!? Try to stay warm - hot chocolate with marshmallows can do wonders. We drink alot of hot chocolate in Toronto.
Posted by: Kathy | January 16, 2007 at 06:10 AM
Thanks for sharing those gorgeous pictures. We had the same storm come thru Oklahoma. We were fortunate as in our area we only got sleet. It is a good 6 in. deep on the ground, but it does not stick to power lines and trees like ice. Less than 60 mi east of us really got it with ice. Lots of damage and power lines down. Glad you have other heat options. Hope the baby calf stays warm.
Posted by: Linda Palmer | January 16, 2007 at 05:52 AM
Thanks for sharing some of your photos! Really beautiful! Your little freezing guy at the bottom of the post was sad! I hope you get thawed out real soon. Stay safe!
Posted by: Sherri | January 16, 2007 at 05:19 AM
That same storm was over us in upstate NY yesterday but our power was only out for 4 hours and I don't have a barnful of animals (does a houseful of kids count the same??). Bless you guys!! I too thought the ice, although dangerous and destructive, looked beautiful hanging on the trees and such except I didn't get venture out with the camera. Your eye and photos are gorgeous!
Tracy (Lodichick)
Posted by: Tracy Harp | January 16, 2007 at 04:02 AM
Texas welcome to New Hampshire weather. Beautiful photos Anna, sorry that the "warmth" conditions weren't better. Take care and stay safe. Hold on Mary... we're expected to get as cold as 30 below zero with the wind factor according to the 5 AM forecast! Southern NH saw the same storm as Texas and over 24,000 people are still currently without electricity! Keep the woodstove burning and put on pot of soup Anna... hope the storm blows through Texas quickly.
Posted by: A. Sanborn | January 16, 2007 at 02:42 AM
First of all I am so sorry to hear that you have been without power for so long. I hope it is back on now. Here in NH we had our first ice storm of the season. I am one of the fortunate people who has not lost thier power. It is quite cold here but again,I have power.
Now for your pictures. They are stunning! Your pictures are always so beautiful, These are not only unique but you certainly captured the ice in a way that I have never seen before. Thank you for sharing them. I realy enjoyed looking at them. Good luck Anna. I hope that the storm passes through Texas quickly.
Mary
Posted by: Mary | January 16, 2007 at 12:06 AM