Gangway Northwest........Here comes Winter!

[Shari]

We have snow!!!!

 

[Bess Kelly]

I'm in coastal VA, near NC border........we had sever rains Thurs, coming from South so it was about 70 outside in the 4-5" of downpour. That storm front proceeded NORTH and teamed up with some Canadian blasts, so the NE is now, literally, covered in an layer of ICE.

Hoping the members from those areas get power back real soon but, doesn't look promising as the temps aren't looking like they will rise enough to melt the ice. Down trees, power lines, etc.

We all know how vicious the winds/cold/ice can be but, NO POWER??? That's the pits......no water heaters and for some, no heat. I keep generators, alternative heat source available but sometimes those things aren't even enough in some areas.

I hate the cold!!!!! Those with snow are taking it better than I

 

[Shortpig]

As I set beside the fire staying toasty warm,

I think of my poor horses! Sheltered from the storm.

Nestled in their barns, eating lots of hay.

I know that come tomorrow it will be a nasty day.

The freezing temps are coming soon

I can't wait to see the month of June

The dogs will all come live inside and curl up by my feet

Making cuddly blankets and when sleeping look so sweet.

I will dress in layers and go out to the barn,

Make sure all are fed and watered and no blankets torn,

Winter comes and winter goes, the horses like the snow.

After all they're silly critters doesn't everyone know.

Nose to ground and push on thru, snowplows they will be

Run and buck and snort about, All things I like to see,

Then they see you standing there, laughing, filled with Joy!

They are so cute, when they know, they try to act so coy.

So when the snow covers the ground

And white and silence is all around,

Grab a warm drink and think about,

How Gods Love and Grace Abound

 

[Shari]

That is really good Marie!

My horses love the snow too. Would think they were a bunch of little kids.

 

[Shortpig]

Shari they are kids!

Just finished cleaning stalls and putting in fresh bedding. Everyone is wearing their blankets. However Koda is like a fat boy in a little coat. Actually he is a fat boy in a little coat.

Right now the sky is really ugly and the temperature is dropping quite quickly here. I do expect snow here tonight but we will see.

Thanks Shari I was feeling alittle poetic this morning.

 

[LindaL]

OK, so as soon as I saw flakes falling, I got excited...lol

 

[gimp]

In Kingston we have a bit of snow and a lot of freeze. The horse cannot figure out what the dog sees in the compressed snow "hoof droppings."

Kate loved chewing on the chunks of ice, but after about 10 minutes of her belly being exposed to the snow she was shaking and shivering. Our normal two hour pasture time with the two dogs and horse were cut to two 10 minute visits.

Henry's longer than normal corgi legs allowed his tummy a little less chill!

 

[Leeana]

We are getting blasted with ice right now, i just got in from the barn and the top of my hood on my carhartt jacket was frozen like a peice of ice, its just raining ice down. I am sure it will make driving home tonight at midnight from work very interesting.

 

[shalamara minis]

We only had 4 inches of snow this morning but the temp was 4 degrees at 7 am

 

[hobbyhorse23]

We got snowed on but good on Saturday although it stopped with only a couple of inches accumulated. Temps started dropping rapidly by Sunday morning and are even lower today although the bunches of snow they forecast for Sunday never arrived. Supposedly it will be mostly dry except for Wednesday-ish but getting colder, colder, colder. Okay, so our version of "cold" is "temps in the teens/twenties" but that's the coldest I ever remember it being here!

Luckily the ground hadn't frozen yesterday despite the icicles on everything else so it was actually pretty nice but I don't think that's going to last long and the mud ruts are going to be hard on horse and human alike.

Kody manages okay but I hate to see my almost-32 year old boy slipping and sliding and ouching around.

Ah well. Kody's got plenty of coat and Spyder is blanketed up all warm and snug so we're as comfortable as can be expected. I even went out and bought heated water buckets for once! Woot!

Leia

 

[HGFarm]

Man, you guys can have all that white stuff, and ice and all! NO THANK YOU! Lived in Eastern Oregon for a short time many years ago and in Montana for just under a year. That is all I want to see of that kind of stuff!! I could not get back to the desert fast enough (run, do not walk.....)

We were whining seriously today because it was so stormy today it looked like dusk all day and got up to 45, with some drizzling rain for a bit.

 

[susanne]

...it looked like dusk all day and got up to 45, with some drizzling rain for a bit.

Now, that is what we expect of a WESTERN Oregon or Washington, althouigh it would be "drizzling rain for an eternity..." You have to remember that the east and west sides of the Cascade Mountain are two TOTALLY different worlds...this may be the norm for the leeward wide, but it sure isn't for the rainy side!

A normal winter for us is nonstop rain from mid-October until the 5th of July, with one or two accumulations of snow. Even up on our hillside (roughly 800 feet), we drop to freezing many but rarely much below that, and almost never in the daytime.

This year, Mother Nature forgot the word "temperate" and gave us this Arctic blast. Of course, her especially cruel joke was that today was clear, bright and beautiful -- just horribly cold.

They expect more snow Wednesday, then possibly 1 foot more on Saturday...

We really can't complain, especially compared to what the northeast and midwest are going through right now -- it's just so much not the norm for us...we're spoiled!

 

[Miniv]

We only had 4 inches of snow this morning but the temp was 4 degrees at 7 am

We were at 3 degrees this morning.......about the same amount of snow, but it's been snowing on and off all day.

We're fighting to keep the pipes in the house from freezing......Last year we didn't have water for two weeks!

 

[MountainMeadows]

Yuck - I hate this cold weather

It is very pretty - the 6+ inches of snow covers up all the mud, but the 9 deg temp this morning just outside the barn and 14 deg INSIDE the barn make for some pretty chilly "ponies", not to mention frozen water buckets in 28 stalls -- the outside troughs are clear thanks to the trough heaters, but getting all the buckets thawed and refilled at 14 deg is a bit of a challenge!

That said, the horses LOVE the snow and it is so fun to watch this year's weanlings romping around in their first snow and getting all the "ole broodmares" to cave in to their mischievious antics and get to running, bucking and romping around in the new white stuff - even the 28 year olds, Cleo and Debonaire, had a good run and got some of the kinks out! Truly brings a smile to my face to watch them frolic

(this is what it is all about!)

Stac

 

[Shortpig]

So here in Scappoose this morning it is 14deg. I don't have enough clothes to keep me warm at 14deg. Horses are dry, blanketed and locked in barns. I will open their doors and let them run today as it is supposed to get up to 30deg

today. It did yesterday so when I went out last night to feed and clean barns I was actually dressed too warm. Now they say way more snow tomorrow and tomorrow night. Then sun and cold temps and even more snow and maybe ice over the weekend. This is just crazy for our area.

My daughter flew up to Alaska one week prior. This is her fault and I have told her so. She brought this all back with her. Next year she doesn't leave the state of Oregon between Sept and May. No more of this going in search of

snow.

Well time to hunker down and try to stay warm. Today I will venture out to my office downtown. Again not enough clothes to wear to work and when working in an office trying to look nice this really doesn't help at all. Brrh!

 

[Miniv]

Larry just checked the weather at the Redmond, Oregon airport and it's reporting MINUS 8 !!!

We are about 10 miles east of there and must be in the "banana belt" because we are at 5 degrees. Our high is supposed to be between 17 and 20.

We've lost our water going to the kitchen sink, but (fingers crossed) our bathroom and laundry room is still okay. There's a heater going inside our pump house and Larry crawled under the house day before yesterday and set up a heat lamp.

I'm watching the national weather on Fox and this arctic blast is hitting just about the entire country! Where's the global warming ???

 

[hobbyhorse23]

A normal winter for us is nonstop rain from mid-October until the 5th of July, with one or two accumulations of snow. Even up on our hillside (roughly 800 feet), we drop to freezing many but rarely much below that, and almost never in the daytime.

We hit freezing a few times a year for a few days at a time, but never like this.

They expect more snow Wednesday, then possibly 1 foot more on Saturday...

You've got to be kidding me. I knew about tomorrow, but Saturday too? I've got to drive down to Seatac and back to pick someone up from a 10PM flight!

We really can't complain, especially compared to what the northeast and midwest are going through right now -- it's just so much not the norm for us...we're spoiled!

So true.

...the 6+ inches of snow covers up all the mud, but the 9 deg temp this morning just outside the barn and 14 deg INSIDE the barn make for some pretty chilly "ponies", not to mention frozen water buckets in 28 stalls -- the outside troughs are clear thanks to the trough heaters, but getting all the buckets thawed and refilled at 14 deg is a bit of a challenge!

I adore the new heated buckets I bought at Dayville Hay and Grain in the Snohomish valley. They're cheaper at Valley Vet though by about $10, you might try ordering some of those and rotating them through the barn. I can't believe how much colder it is just 30 minutes away where you are! :Cold-Scared Our low here so far was 16 degrees this morning. I was amused to see icicles hanging off my car's hood where the engine had melted the snow on the drive home last night then froze as it dripped off.

That said, the horses LOVE the snow and it is so fun to watch this year's weanlings romping around in their first snow and getting all the "ole broodmares" to cave in to their mischievious antics and get to running, bucking and romping around in the new white stuff - even the 28 year olds, Cleo and Debonaire, had a good run and got some of the kinks out! Truly brings a smile to my face to watch them frolic

(this is what it is all about!)
Stac

Stac, I don't suppose you could get PICTURES of that?

What a lovely sight it must be with all your beautiful horses!

Horses are dry, blanketed and locked in barns.

I have trouble imagining any healthy, dry, unclipped mini needing a blanket in anything above -40 degrees.

Mine is giving me disgusted looks every time I even mention it!

My daughter flew up to Alaska one week prior. This is her fault and I have told her so. She brought this all back with her.

Hey, now wait a minute. How come every time I go to California I seem to bring the rain with me, but every time I come back the sunshine stays behind?!

That's not fair!

Leia

 

[Equuisize]

Weather is a spectator sport in the Pacific Northwest.

It's part of the daily conversation even when it's nice out.

However, I think, any amusement value of this particular

storm is going to be gone pretty quick.

The Ohhhh Ahhhhh factor from the pretty falling snow goes

away pretty fast when the temps hit the teens and the wind

chill drops it lower and lower and lower.

The sun is shining on the thermometer now and it's up to 20 degrees.

If anyone is missing the snow that they were supposed to get on

Sunday - it's down here in Grays Harbor County....

Not that I wish ill on anyone but I hope we miss our turn with

the forecast snow on Wednesday and Saturday.

It is fun to watch the horses playing in it and rolling snow balls with

their noses.......brrrr!

Stay safe and warm everyone!

 

[anoki]

Don't get me started about snow.....

We've had snow (and I mean SNOW, not just a few flakes) since Nov 15!!!!!!

Yesterday we had rain, and I was driving south east of London, ON (just over an hour from me) and the ground was actually bare!! Came home, nope, didn't get rid of ALL the snow, but there were actually some green patches. Let the dogs out before bed....everything was white again

and COOOOOLLLDDDDD :Cold-Scared I drove back to the same area this morning, and they still don't have snow!!!!! grrrr....even drove through a few flurries on the way.... *sigh* I'm sick of winter already.

~kathryn

 

[jayne]

Another northwesterner here. Down to 8 degrees last night, up to 21 degrees at 11 am right now. Those of you not in the northwest, west of the Cascades, probably don't understand how this is such a huge change for us! Like Leia said, we're used to RAIN and if it does freeze, it's just for a day or so and surely it's just during the night and not during the day!!

I took 6 solid inches of ice off the outside troughs. There is a sheen of ice on the waters inside the barn. I want to add more pellets to a couple of stalls, but I usually wet them down to puff them up, but that's not happening! I am feeding lots of hay 24/7 and warm, soupy beet pulp when they come in at night.

Now while I'm not too crazy about this freezing weather, the horses are loving it. Every time I look out to check on them, they're cavorting around, or wrestling, or taking a nap in the sun. They are fat fuzz balls and have no problem with this at all!

The chickens are not too thrilled. I put a red heat lamp in their coop and they are staying in there even though the little door is open to their run. I know the coop isn't getting too cold as their water has not been frozen any time I checked.

I told my husband I will never be so happy to see rain in my life once this thing breaks. I think I throw a rain party!!

Thanks to those of you who live through this all winter for putting up with our pitiful complaints!

Jayne