We are experiencing a cold snap here on our little island in Southwest Nova Scotia. Negative double digits and a wind chill of -21 coupled with the dampness and high winds means we have near blizzard conditions by times. And it stings!
There are lobster fishermen on the water today, my son in law one of them, and I always have them in my thoughts first and foremost as I type this from my cozy kitchen table. We will enjoy hot lobster rolls this weekend and will appreciate every bite as I know how hard they worked to get the lobster.
Cupboards are open to expose pipes to the heat, and faucets are dripping in this old farm house. Wood is stacked and dry by the wood stove, and later today I will use it to cook a big chowder with food we grew ourselves. Kids are nestled in with their electric blankets, a luxury we didn’t have as children when we had hand knitted wool socks to slip on right away or freeze our feet as they hit the ground. The dogs and cats go out quickly to do their business then lay by the fire the rest of the day.
Our livestock were all braced around last evening with things they can’t advocate for themselves : warm stalls, blankets and extra hay for the horses, and plenty of water from
heated troughs so they don’t colic in extreme weather changes like this; the chickens and ducks bedding was tossed yesterday, extra straw added, heated waterers plugged in, and some corn before bed so they generate more body heat through the night and today; the rabbits were moved to the barn, and given extra hay and dishes of water so if it freezes they can lick the ice ; the sheep didn’t need much as they have such beautiful thick wool coats right now, but they have shelter with nice dry clean bedding, water and extra hay to generate body heat.
All our meat animals were butchered in the fall and we won’t have more on the ground till April when the new piglets arrive, followed by the yearling steers, meat chickens, and turkeys-when it’s much warmer and we will be complaining about the heat.
The cold makes us appreciative of our creature comforts. But it also reminds us of all the hard work we do to get here when the warm sun and green of the pasture seems a really long ways away.
Love Jenn xx
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