Geesh, I knew it was getting cold, but this morning it was only ten degrees!  Brrr!! And whoever said it can be too cold to snow, well, they’re wrong!  It’s been snowing all morning and it’s really starting to pile up. This looks to be an all-day snow.

I dressed early and really filled up the spot for wood behind the stove.  The usual chores always include feeding the chickens and taking them fresh, warm water.  With as cold as it is, I will keep them confined to the coop, and not let them out into their inner yard, conserving the heat they generate.  I’ve got lights and heat lamps for them, but of course, no power….no lights.  They need to survive on their own.  The most I can do for them is to add the extra bale of straw I stored.  That will insulate the floor some; enough I hope.  The fresh eggs are an important part of my diet, Jason’s and Tom’s.  Sure glad I kept the one rooster so I can hatch eggs in the spring.  The meat will be welcomed, and we really need to propagate the layers.  I do have a roll of metallic insulation I could cover their window with for extra protection.  I’ll have to pull it out and see if there’s enough.  Only problem with that is it would block all the light from the only light source, and chickens need the cycle for laying.

I shoveled the deck off around 1pm.  I have to keep that open for the grill and so I can get to the generator and the coolers.  The way the snow is falling I bet I will shovel again at least twice before calling it a night.  I moved the ice pans under the eaves so the snow wouldn’t insulate them from freezing.  One is almost frozen enough to bring in.

I pulled a small chuck roast out of a cooler to thaw for dinner.  I’m hoping to grill it like a steak, my favorite way to have a roast, seasoned with olive oil, Worcestershire and my own pepper blend.  I haven’t had much red meat in the past ten days, bet the doctor would be happy with my low cholesterol level… LOL.  I’m trying to spread out the use of the few fresh root crops I’ve got left.  In another month or so something fresh is going to be non-existent. But I still took two beets and slow roasted them in the oven; they are so much easier to peel that way, and once done I’ll keep them in a small corning ware dish to reheat at dinner time.

I’ve started re-reading Alas, Babylon, my all-time favorite disaster book.  I thought about re-reading One Second After, but that might be a bit too close to home right now