Is This Spring?

The day after we arrived at my folks' we woke to this:

It's kind of hard to tell what's going on, but it was fiercely snowing, and the robins that had just migrated to the area couldn't find anything to eat but my Mom and Dad's leftover crab apples!

A Memorable Trip

The boys and I returned on Saturday from a trip to visit family near Duluth, MN. We were originally scheduled to leave earlier than we did, but our area had experienced a snowstorm, bringing another foot of snow for us. We then decided to leave as soon as we could, since a second storm was heading our way.

Another factor for this trip was how we were going to cross the North Dakota/Minnesota border, since the Red River of the North was overflowing its banks. Originally I had thought we would travel through the Fargo-Moorhead area, since I am familiar with the roads and knew once we passed by those cities we'd be okay. Instead, after talking with a friend who lives in Grand Forks, we decided to head through that direction.

The photo below is of the Red River as we were crossing the remaining open bridge in Grand Forks. We had stopped at a gas station just before entering the city, and the manager assured us it would be an easy drive through. Sure enough it was, and I was very pleased. Grand Forks had built dikes, etc. to protect the city after they were devastated by the 1997 flooding, so they were confident they would remain dry. And so far it has.



Jonathan drove through all of North Dakota, and I took over when we hit Grand Forks. I was a bit surprised at how one of the front tires gave me the feeling that it was off balance a bit, but it stopped when we accelerated.

The Bartlett car made it as far as just south of Bemidji, MN when all of a sudden there was a tremendous noise and grinding sound. I quickly pulled to the shoulder of the road, and we jumped out to check for damage.

I don't know how it happened or why, but at 65 mph we had blown a tire.

I was very thankful I hadn't lost control of the car, as I had heard that could happen. We got out and the boys pulled out the donut spare tire we have and got busy unscrewing lug nuts, etc.

Soon a man in a van stopped and asked if we needed any help. The boys assured the man that we were okay, and I asked him where the nearest town was where we could purchase a new tire. Ours was now in shreds. He told us to turn around and head back into Bemidji, and gave us directions to a tire store there. We were very thankful for his stopping and for the information he was able to give us.

However, soon afterward we discovered the tire did not want to come off from the axle. The boys tried all kinds of things, but it just wouldn't budge. We had accidentally placed the scissor jack on the bumper instead of the side of the car and the car had moved, sending the jack off kilter and unusable. The boys jiggled with the thing for quite a while and finally got the teeth going where they should go, and then tried jacking up the car once again.



At least an hour had passed, and I sure was tired of seeing all the vehicles making a detour around us. It was cold and windy, and all of us were getting rather chilled. The younger boys and I had walked a ways back to look for the hubcap, but had no success in finding it.

Finally a man and his son in a pickup truck stopped to see if we needed help. I was thanking the Lord, as we had no cell phone and didn't know what we were going to do. The man gave all sorts of helpful advice, and got down where the tire was and tried prying it off himself. They did a few other things, and finally Peter was able to get the tire off. We all were very thankful.

After thanking the man for his much needed help he started walking back to his truck, and then turned around for one last question: Do you have enough money to pay for a new tire? I cried, because he was actually offering to pay for the new tire! I reassured him that I did, and he drove away.

The boys were then able to get the donut spare tire on, and we turned around and used the first man's directions to look for a tire store. Sure enough, we found it without any trouble.

The manager of the store took one look at the tire, decided which new one we would need, and got the car in right away. Within a half hour we were back on the road in the right direction toward family.



It was all such a lesson for me in trusting the Lord in trying circumstances.

Update

We just received this note from friends:

HI Lynn,

This will be short as we are packing to leave. We heard from a state patrol officer that they may be or will (not sure) be evacuating the city of Fargo tonight. I also heard this from a friend who is sandbagging around their home right now. We will probably be going to some friends out near Casselton as getting across into Minnesota is difficult. Andrea will have her laptop, so we will try to keep you posted. Keep praying!

Please keep praying for the area!

Sad Day for Fargo, ND

This is the latest news article from the Fargo newspaper (http://www.inforum.com/):

FLOOD UPDATE: Red River broke crest of 1997 flood at 7 p.m. tonight.
By: Patrick Springer, INFORUM

The Red River in Fargo-Moorhead now has reached 39.61 feet, edging past the 1997 crest of 39.57 feet.

That level was recorded at 7:15 p.m., the latest available.

Earlier today the National Weather Service revised its upper crest from 41 to 42 feet, with 43 feet possible, by Saturday.

The highest flood on record, in 1897, is 40.1 feet. The Red River in the metro area is expected to reach that milestone around midnight tonight.

"You're in uncharted territory, I guess," National Weather Service meteorologist John Hoppes said.

----------------------------------------------
We started receiving emails shortly after the news broke. Here is one:

The National Weather Service just issued a warning that the flood crest may go up an additional 1 to 2 feet!

I don't think they can hold this one---I'm heading for Bismarck.

Pray for the people of this region!

And another:

We can see the Red River coming from the east and the over land flooding from the west. With the new expected crest levels of 42-43 feet we have decided to send the women and children to higher ground. ___ and the children will go to ___'s parent's place in Mandan. They have already left. ____ is taking me to our dear friends, the ___'s. The men will return tonight to do what they can.

Please pray that we will be calm of spirit and that we will continue to place our complete trust in our dear Lord Jesus. It is likely that you will not hear from me for awhile. We appreciate your prayers and feel free to forward this email to others. Even so...we love you Lord Jesus and trust You to care for you little lambs.

With kind regards,

And one more:

Subject: Update

We just got the word they're now predicting a 42 foot crest. Since it's changed every day this week, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes higher. They're also saying the river is going to stay there for several days so the chance of a breach(es) is very high. 41 was my cut-off so I'm leaving for Minneapolis tomorrow. I just walked around the block and it's like a ghost town around here. My 91 year old neighbor left this afternoon, which was a huge relief. I really didn't want to go until I knew he would be safe. There aren't many people left on the block, it's very eerie. I'd go tonight but the roads are so bad because of all the snow we've had and it's still coming down.

____, I'm going to turn off the water and power before I leave. ____, I'm going to call you before I leave tomorrow so you can tell me what you want me to do at ____'s.

I'll be in Minneapolis (hopefully I can get there!) at my friend ____'s. My cell is ______, hers is _____.

____, let me know if they're sending ____ to Minneapolis. I talked to ____ and she'll be at the hospital if and when she gets there.

It seems so weird to be sending this message, I'm so sorry I won't be able to stay and watch the houses.

I'll e-mail you from ____'s when I get there. I'm going to disconnect my hard drive now.
--------------------------------

It's heart breaking. Please continue to pray for the area.

Another news article:

EVACUATION NOTICE: Moorhead residents between I-94 and 50th Avenue, west of 8th Street, directed to evacuate to higher ground

By: Dave Olson, INFORUM

MOORHEAD – Moorhead officials are directing that all residents who live between Interstate 94 and 50th Avenue South west of Eight Street to evacuate the area immediately.

Residents are being told to seek shelter with family or friends outside of the flood zone to conserve emergency resources.

A Red Cross public shelter is available at Moorhead High School, 2300 4th Ave. S.

Bring your identification and a seven- to 10-day supply of medications.

Bring baby supplies if you have an infant.

Pets will not be accepted at the Red Cross shelter. Animal shelter may be available at the Doggy Depot (3224 8th Street South, 218-236-DOGS) and the Mutt Hut (1214 Main Avenue, 218-236-9935).

Call ahead; please bring your animal’s food and health records. Pet shelter space is extremely limited, so please try to make accommodations with family or friends outside of the flood zone.

Once you are at a safe location, call (218) 477-4747 to register your home’s address and temporary location so emergency personnel and your family and friends can know you are safe and how to reach you.

If you need assistance with relocation, please call the relocation hotline (218) 477-4747.

If your family needs special assistance with relocation, you may also contact the Clay County Emergency Operations Center at 299-7768.

Fargo, ND Flood Update

Here's the latest from the Fargo newspaper (www.inforum.com):

Published March 25 2009
"It's time to get busy again:" Area flood-fight leaders plead for massive volunteer effort as crest level raised to 41 feetUPDATED 2:27 p.m.

By: Steven Wagner, INFORUM

UPDATED 2:27 p.m.

FARGO – Residents received a double dose of bad news this afternoon, as flood fight leaders pleaded for every possible volunteer to deliver time and energy to save Fargo and Moorhead before an unprecedented Red River crest reaches the metro area.

Precipitation overnight, with a combination of rain and 5 to 8 inches of snow, and a new 41-foot crest prediction have leaders taking several steps:

– Topping off existing 42-foot dikes with another foot of sandbags. Moorhead also plans to add another foot to its dikes.

– Contingency dikes being built to serve as backup protection to core city facilities and neighborhoods.

– Plans to hold neighborhood meetings to gather residents to inform them about plans.

– Discussion of an evacuation plan that will be announced in detail Thursday.

– Warnings of arrest and jail for those who climb on top of dikes.

– A plea for people to keep vehicles out of work zone areas as parking and congestion have impeded emergency flood-fighting efforts.

“It’s time to get busy again,” City Commissioner Tim Mahoney said.
He urged people to go to the Assembly of God church or the Fargodome immediately to start working.

“We need to put another foot on top of the dikes,” he said. “Everyone needs to get involved for next 48 hours.”

Mahoney said the city needs to do 500,000 sandbags each day.

“Are we confident that we are going to beat this? Yes we are,” Mahoney said. “I need another 48 hours of hard work of people working together.”
He added that neighbors need to check on each other and pitch in to build up the dikes.

The latest Red River crest prediction, released about noon to the public, is 41 feet Saturday in Fargo.

“We’re not talking about doom or failure of the dikes,” Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said. “We’re really just down to a time crunch.”

Previously, the National Weather Service predicted a range of 39 to 41 feet this weekend, with 40 feet the anticipated crest.

Severe overland flooding and record levels on the Wild Rice River, which feeds the Red River south of Fargo, prompted the latest prediction.

Commissioners are meeting at 5 p.m. to discuss the flood.

Fargo Police Chief Keith Ternes said people climbing onto dikes to look at the river have been an ongoing problem.

“We are done asking people to stay out of those areas,” Ternes said. “We will be making arrests and people will be going to jail.”

He also urged volunteers to use the mass transit system being used to shuttle sandbaggers to work areas.

Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said emergency crews had made 11 rescues by 1:30 p.m., helping 20 people and a number of animals from the rising flood waters.

The county is delivering sandbags to Forest River and Chrisan Way for those homeowners who think they can still beat the flood. Trucks are delivering the sand today and offering up the sandbags on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The county, along with other federal agencies, started water patrols this morning.

Laney said that anyone who wants to be rescued needs to pack light, gather their family members and leave when the boats arrive.

“We’ve had people ask us to come back in an hour,” Laney said. “I don’t know if we can come back in an hour.”

He warned that people should not wait until night fall, as rescue operations are life or death in the dark.

“If you know you have to get out, get out before tonight,” he said.

In some cases, water is lapping within inches of dikes in rural areas.
“It’s time to get out,” Laney said.

Flooding and Now This

North Dakota needs your prayers:

STRONG WINTER STORM TO CAUSE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN NORTH DAKOTA TODAY & TUESDAY. A POTENT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER NORTHEASTERN COLORADO AND WESTERN NEBRASKA THIS MORNING IS FORECAST TO SWEEP INTO EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA BY TUES MORNING. RAIN SHOWERS & THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TODAY, WITH A CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW THIS MORNING IN THE WEST & LATE TONIGHT IN PORTIONS OF CNTL NORTH DAKOTA. STRONG NORTHWESTERLY WINDS OF 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE PRECIPITATION, RESULTING IN QUICKLY FALLING VISIBILITIES WHEN CHANGE OVER TO SNOW OCCURS ESPECIALLY IN HEAVIER SNOW BANDS. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY DEVELOP WITH VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO AT TIMES.

[Below is what our area is forecasted: ]

BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 7 PM CDT TUESDAY. A BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO 7 PM CDT TUESDAY. EXPECT NW WINDS OF 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH ALONG WITH HEAVY SNOW, RESULTING IN BLOWING SNOW & VISIBILITIES NEAR ZERO AT TIMES. A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING & BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS, MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IFYOU MUST TRAVEL, HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED, STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

Jim just returned yesterday from the ND Home School Convention, and now has to leave this afternoon for Bismarck to testify on behalf of the homeschool bill that is before a committee hearing on Wed. He needs to head out before the storm hits.

On top of this, we can't get our car into the driveway, as yesterday we had lots of rain and terrible winds -- enough that the tarpaper was ripped from the roof of our newer barn. The driveway is a sea of mud and ice, so this morning we walked down to unpack what was taken to the convention and this afternoon will walk Jim's stuff back down to the car so he can leave from there.

The worst part is our former city of Fargo, and also Moorhead, MN are in imminent danger from flooding. This involves flooding of the Red River and also overland flooding from the rain melting snow and the ground is still frozen so nothing is seeping in. When we lived in Fargo back in 1997 there was also a terrible flood, which peaked at 37 feet. This year the prediction is now for the water level to peak on Thursday at 41 feet or more. We have friends who are preparing for evacuation and are in the process of hauling everything near and dear up from their basement. This is happening all over the city.

Here is an article from today's Fargo newspaper: www.inforum.com

FROM BAD TO WORSE: Forecast flood crest earlier, higher than first thought F-M area steps up efforts upon hearing newsFargo-Moorhead and surrounding areas were inundated with bad news Sunday with a new predicted Red River flood crest that now could reach 39 to 41 feet and arrive as early as Friday – a foot higher and day earlier than originally forecast.
By: Patrick Springer, INFORUM

The Red River barely skims the deck bottom of Fargo’s North Broadway Bridge on Sunday afternoon. The bridge was later closed.

Fargo-Moorhead and surrounding areas were inundated with bad news Sunday with a new predicted Red River flood crest that now could reach 39 to 41 feet and arrive as early as Friday – a foot higher and day earlier than originally forecast.

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker pleaded for stepped-up volunteer efforts as the city races to prepare for a flood that now appears likely to surpass the flood of 1997, which crested at 39.57 feet.

The worst recorded flood in Fargo’s history was 1897, when the Red River climbed to 40.1 feet.

“Volunteers – it’s time to take this thing seriously,” Walaker said in a news conference Sunday afternoon, as a light rain began falling – the beginning of several days of forecast heavy rains falling on ground already saturated from fall rains and a sudden spring thaw.

To handle the higher crest, the number of sandbags needed to protect Fargo has jumped to 2 million – a daunting task given the next couple of days of rains turning to snow expected to hamper efforts at a critical time.
The higher projected river levels also mean more Fargo neighborhoods will be threatened and will require protection, in most cases a layer or two of sandbags, city officials said.

Engineers on Monday will issue a list of threatened neighborhoods in addition to the approximately 13 originally slated for protection.
The most immediate focus in Fargo: neighborhoods along the river between 32nd and 40th avenues south, an area that will require an estimated 350,000 sandbags.

“Our first line of protection is along the river,” Walaker said. Truckloads of sandbags began pouring into southernmost Fargo Sunday.

Besides the ongoing plea for volunteers, city officials made multiple appeals for residents to cooperate, including a request for gawkers to stay away from areas near the river or areas where dikes or sandbagging operations are under way.

Issues area officials addressed Sunday:

A major concern is traffic that will intensify today as thousands of people return to work. Police Chief Keith Ternes urged motorists to choose north-south routes as far from the river as possible and to use Interstates 29 and 94, if possible.

Code Red alerts will be broadcast via telephone to areas of town that are not threatened, with a request that neighbors walk to nearby areas to help in sandbagging.

Worsening weather conditions, with heavy rains turning to snow, will compound an already daunting task of protecting the city.

“What’s scary right now is the weather,” Walaker said, noting that the city’s past flood fights generally occurred in favorable weather.

Conditions will become especially difficult after temperatures fall below freezing Tuesday and Wednesday, making sandbags rigid and resulting in a porous barrier.

“You can’t place frozen sandbags,” Walaker said.

Despite the mounting challenges, the mayor said he remains “cautiously optimistic” the area will be able to beat the flood, as it has in many years past.

He estimated earthen dikes were mostly complete late Sunday, with some nearly complete. The higher crest, however, means dikes now must be raised another foot or so.

Still, the mayor said contingency plans are being made for an evacuation, in the event that becomes necessary, and people should take precautions, including moving valuable possessions upstairs.

One fear, Walaker said, is that the Sheyenne and Wild Rice rivers will flood overland and merge with the Red River – a confluence of water several miles wide that would have to make its way through the narrow funnel formed by levees in Fargo and Moorhead.

“It’s like an hour-glass that we’re forcing all this water through,” city manager Pat Zavoral said.

Officials emphasized, however, that the focus remains doing everything possible to beat the flood, and urged people to redouble their efforts.
City officials have been notified that at least 25 employers are releasing their employees to join the flood fight, along with Cass County Jail inmates, North Dakota State University football players, and public school students in grades 9 through 12.

Police are escorting trucks delivering sandbags, and people are urged to go to staging areas and take shuttle buses to the sandbag barricades.

“What we want to do is avoid any kind of chaos,” Walaker said. “To win this battle, we need your help, even more so.”

What's Been Happening

We've finally been having nice weather and the snow is melting. I can sense the anticipation of another busy growing season.

A couple weeks ago the boys started tomato, onion and pepper seeds. I've been amazed at how quickly they germinated, and today Peter and Jonathan transplanted tomato seedlings into individual cell packs. We purchased our seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and are very happy with the results so far.

Our wood pile shrunk quickly this winter, due to all the very cold weather we've experienced. It has been necessary to add to the pile of logs for our wood stove, so the past couple of afternoons Jim and the boys were out cutting up downed trees. Hopefully their efforts will keep our wood stove happy for the duration of what's left of winter.

Approximately three weeks ago we called a couple that lives in the area to see if they would artificially inseminate our Jersey heifer. It was a bit tough to tell if Sandy was in heat, but when she showed some of the signs we went ahead and had the procedure done. Apparently the timing wasn't correct or something didn't go as planned, as today the signs were undeniable that Sandy was once again in heat.

Jim called the couple once again, and tonight the procedure was performed on Sandy. My job was to heat extra water on the stove to 95 degrees; a bit tough to do when the thermometer was just about impossible to read! We really need to purchase a digital one, so bifocal impaired people like me can even read the numbers! By the time I had the water where I wanted it, the event was over and everyone was heading back to the house. Oh well, I viewed the procedure last time, and there really wasn't much to see. Hopefully this time it worked.

Last night someone called about 9:00, and while I was visiting on the phone it suddenly seemed as if a skunk had sprayed the house! I quickly cut short the conversation as the boys jumped out of bed and went running to the door. Jonathan grabbed the shotgun and a flashlight and headed outside.

I don't know exactly what happened, but JP, our big tomcat, had been sprayed at point blank range by a skunk! The poor cat was running around in a frenzy, trying desperately to shake the spray from his face. We didn't know if the skunk was right outside or not, but Jonathan and Jim went out to check. They didn't find anything and JP settled down a bit. The other cats were very curious, and one by one came up to him to take a whiff. I don't know why, but he chose to sit right by the side of the door.

We had an experience a few years ago when two of our cats ended up in the waste oil bucket and were soaked in oil. We were able to give our female cat a bath and got the bulk of the oil out of her hair, but when we tried to do the same with the male he tried to bite Peter and me, so we had to let him outside and fend for himself. It was amazing how quickly he was able to clean the mess from his own hair.

By morning JP smelled a whole lot better. I caught sight of one of the female cats licking his face, and felt a bit sick at the thought of what she was ingesting. Guess it worked for them!

There's never a dull moment around here!

Spring is Almost Here -- Maybe Not

Our family has been busy with thoughts of spring and preparations for what we need to do. Some of our seeds are planted, and Jim has been thinking a lot about bees. Last year we were too late in ordering bees so had to forgo the season, but this year Jim is determined to give it another try.

Yesterday Jim asked me to wash his bee suit. He read somewhere that if there is any residue of dead bees on the suit it will make the new bees think he is showing aggression. Without thinking too much about it, I washed the jumpsuit and gloves in the washing machine. Oops. When I took out the suit I happened to read the instructions on the tag, and it told me to hand wash the items. I sure hope I didn't do any damage to it, as we certainly don't want to purchase another one.

I was dismayed to discover one of the gloves is torn in a couple of areas where the mesh meets the glove portion. I hope I can repair it well enough so they don't provide access for bees to Jim's arms and hands. The bottom of the washer had residue of chunks of rubber or plastic, and I have a feeling I washed out the coating from the inside of the gloves. I think I need to call a friend that does beekeeping to see if that's a bad thing, and if we should invest in a new pair.

Thankfully I soaked the head covering in a bucket of soapy water, so it is in good shape. Guess I better start reading labels before I attempt to clean something for the first time.

All day we've been receiving warnings of impending storms for the state. Jim is supposed to head out very early tomorrow for legislative hearings down in Bismarck, and we'll see if he can even get out of the driveway:

WINTER STORM TO AFFECT PORTIONS OF WESTERN & CNTL NORTH DAKOTA MON. THROUGH TUESDAY. A BAND OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL CONTINUES ACROSS FROM FAR SOUTH CNTL NO. DAKOTA & INTO THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. TWO TO FOUR INCHES OF NEW SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS BAND BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON IN THE AFOREMENTIONED AREAS. FORECAST NORTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WILL CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW TODAY ACROSS S. NO. DAKOTA, FURTHER REDUCING VISIBILITIES & CAUSING ROADWAYS TO BECOME SLIPPERY.

A SECOND & HEAVIER AREA OF SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ACROSS PORTIONS OF WESTERN & CNTL NO. DAKOTA TONIGHT & CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS FROM MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUES. WILL POSSIBLY REACH 7 TO 10 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ALONG & SO. OF A LINE FROM HETTINGER TO CARRINGTON, 3 TO 7 INCHES ALONG & 30 MILES TO EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM BOWMAN THROUGH FESSENDEN, INCLUDING MANDAN AND BISMARCK. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL SLOWLY DECREASE FURTHER NORTH OF THIS LINE, WITH LESS THAN ONE INCH EXPECTED IN NORTHWEST ND. SOME FORECAST UNCERTAINTY STILL REMAINS, SO THE AXIS OF HEAVIEST SNOW COULD SHIFT FROM THE CURRENT FORECAST.WINDS WILL INCREASE TONIGHT & INTO TUES. ACROSS WESTERN AND CNTL NO. DAKOTA, POTENTIALLY CREATING SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF BLOWING & DRIFTING SNOW WITH HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE TUES. ACROSS SE NORTH DAKOTA, INCLUDING JAMESTOWN, ASHLEY & ELLENDALE.

FURTHERMORE,VERY COLD TEMPS COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS ARE FORECAST TO CAUSE WIND CHILL VALUES TO FALL TO 30 TO 45 BELOW MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUES. ACROSS WESTERN & CNTL NO. DAKOTA. SEE THE LATEST FORECAST UPDATES FOR FURTHER DETAILS ON THIS DEVELOPING WINTER STORM.

I feel for our animals. It's been warm at times, and so they are starting to shed. This very cold weather can be quite a shock to their systems. I'm thankful our goats won't be kidding until at least April.

Starting Seeds

We still have drifts and banks like this on our farmstead, and it's a bit tough to think about starting seeds.

Below is a photo looking down towards the end of our driveway:

However, we did start seeds last Saturday. I think the boys planted tomatoes, onions, green pepper, and I can't remember what else. We'll do more in a month. We'll keep them here until the seeds germinate, and then bring them over to a friend's place that has some very wonderful southern exposure windows. I look forward to the day we can do seeds from start to finish over here, but at the moment we don't have windows that are helpful for that purpose.

Jonathan has just completed his first flat of seedlings, and Jim in the background is managing the process by entering the information on his spreadsheet. (I was busy making bread!)

On Sunday we had a surprise visit from our friend Steve Schadler (Mountain Fire Keeper). He had just been to Fargo and purchased vegetable and flower seeds in bulk, and offered some to us. We spent a fun afternoon getting excited about gardening as we decided what and how much to purchase from Steve. He does a good job of showing up when we need a bit of a boost in getting going and also answering questions for us. I guess he will be coming back for the summer to finish up landscaping projects he has committed to doing here in the hills, and we look forward to having more times of fellowship with him.

I just heard yesterday that someone is predicting a cold, wet summer for us, and that is not what I wanted to hear. We'll see what happens.

Interesting People

Our family has certainly run into a lot of interesting people lately.

A couple of days ago Jonathan and I traveled to town in the boys' pickup truck so we could purchase a large bag of grain. Jim had ordered the grain that morning, and it was supposed to be waiting for us.

Before we could get the grain we needed to open up the house we are watching for a friend so a man could install carpeting on some stairs, and also someone else could repair the dishwasher. After this the house should be ready for appraisal.

After talking to the carpet layer by phone, I had a hint that he was a real character. He must be French Canadian, as his last name implied. This guy came in wearing a black beanie, complete with a cross bone skull and lettering of "Sturgis." He was obviously a biker. What caught my attention was as he turned around I saw a braid that extended down to the middle of his back! I don't normally run into people like this, and certainly wouldn't have wanted to run into him in a dark alley at night, but he seemed decent enough. He even brought his son, who was apparently apprenticing in his dad's trade.

They got busy, and then the man arrived that was going to check out the dishwasher. He sported a gray haired braid, only not quite as long as the other guy's braid. We stayed to see what he thought of the dishwasher, and watched him take care of the rather simple problem.

It isn't just the hair styles that catch my attention, but the many people in the area that go about their lives without much thought of how the rest of the world lives. Up here in the hills we have quite a few people that basically just want to be left alone, to live as they choose. Maybe there are characters like this all over, but I've never seen as many in such a short time as I have up here. I sure would hate to be a census taker -- unless I knew the people and the area. Someone recently told me of a place where no one visited unless invited; if you did, you found the end of a gun barrel.

I remember walking a small town during the campaign season with our sons Jonathan and David, and how one lady was very rude and slammed the door in our faces. Shortly after that we saw a group of rough looking characters milling around an old pick-up truck. I took a deep breath, and David and I walked over to give them Jim's campaign brochure. Those men turned out to be the friendliest ones I had met all day. One even mentioned how he had met Jim a week or so ago at the stock car races.

I guess you can't judge a book by its cover, or people by the length of their hair.

However, I am hoping people in the area are not judging us as well. It has been stated that Jim and I may always be considered outsiders, but maybe our boys have a chance to become part of the locals. When we first moved here the gossip went around that we were Jehovah Witnesses from the east coast. I would be hard pressed to consider Fargo as being the east coast, and can't figure out how they ever thought we were Jehovah Witnesses!

This summer will be an interesting one. We are beginning to market our farm products, and we'll see how willing the local population will be to check us out.

Stuff

Moving out of Fargo, August 2004.

A while back a friend of ours moved from our town to the east coast, and we offered to keep track of her house in town until she returned. Well, it's been decided that she would sell her house and stay in the east, so we were then asked if we would pack up the rest of her belongings and store them until she comes to claim them this summer.

We are finding that selling a house in winter is not an easy task, especially when there's been very cold temperatures and lots of snow. It made me very thankful our house in the city sold in late summer, and we moved before winter set in. All of this packing reminds me very much of our packing days back in 2004.

I'm a careful packer, making sure things wouldn't be damaged. Since our friend will have to haul everything back in a trailer, I've had to pack every box to the top so they won't crush. I have everything that was in the house packed up, and now am working on garage items.

----

I've been thinking a lot about a post Scott Terry of the blog, Homesteader Life wrote concerning being a "frugal materialist." We got rid of a lot of things before we moved, but it's amazing how much we've accumulated since moving here. We live in our basement, and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to manage all the stuff in here. Either I have to get more creative in how to store things, or it's time to declutter and get rid of them. I've been looking forward to some day moving upstairs and having more room to spread out, but I have a feeling there will always be a storage problem.

--

Maybe it's a good thing we don't have a thrift store or used book store in the area ...

Poor Marlys

Our cat Wendell is on the left, and Marlys on the right. All of our cats seem to enjoy watching me from the kitchen window.

Last spring our cat named Marlys was hanging around with Jonathan and Peter when they were setting poles into the ground as supports for our future barn. Peter lost his grip on the log and dropped it -- onto Marlys. She stayed in the chicken barn for a while, and had some bleeding through one of her eyes. She healed up, but that one eye at times is mattery.

Yesterday the boys were doing chores when they noticed some blood on the snow; then they noticed Marlys. We don't know what happened, but her tail is now half as long as it used to be, and its new tip was bare of hair and a bit bloody. I called a friend who had had a cat that had frost bite on her ears and tail, and lost the tips of them. She said the tail never became bloody, but eventually just fell off. We are suspecting that Marlys must have gotten too close to the horse or cow, and probably had her tail either stepped on or laid on, and lost part of it. She doesn't normally spend much time up at the house, but today she was up here quite a bit and seemed to be doing all right. Cats sure are resilient.

Our Singing Lake

Last week before going to bed I stepped outside to see if our occasional house cat wanted to come in for the night. It was very still out there, but all of a sudden I heard something that sounded like music. It puzzled me a bit, until I remembered people talking about lakes "singing" during certain weather conditions.

I thought about that sound again as I was outside today, and decided to see what I could find on the internet to explain the phenomena. All I could find was a journal entry from Bruce Gardner called Singing Lake. This isn't exactly what I heard, but here is a portion of what Mr. Gardner wrote:

As we walked past the first, smaller bowl of the lake, we heard a sound that neither of us could identify. Our first guesses as to the sound’s origin included the bugling of a distant elk, the whine of a chainsaw off in the distance, or maybe the whirring tires of a vehicle stuck in the snow just over the far ridge. As we approached the center shoreline of the lake the sound became more distinct and more regular in occurrence. The loudest echoed and reverberated from the surrounding ridges and were accompanied by a series of pinging notes similar to sonar sounds in an old submarine movie. While we watched and listened intently, we became aware of the faint sound of cracking accompanying the louder sounds. The air temperature was hovering in the low twenties and the sun was at its zenith. What we were witnessing was the contraction of the thin sheet of ice in front of us as it melted and fissured. The fissuring ice created sound waves that seemed to be amplified by the tympanic membrane of ice. The loudest of these sounds were similar to whale music, but much more drawn out, much louder, and a bit eerie. A narrow, open lead had formed to our front. As an individual moan faded, the surface of the open water became calm. With a rising crescendo, the open water quivered as the waves of sound rolled to shore. Ripples splashing through the open lead, launching thin sheets of ice aloft. On impact these thin windowpanes of ice shattered with the tinkling sound of breaking glass. I have read accounts of mariners ice-bound in the arctic who described the booming sounds of the grinding ice pack. I have heard the sharp reports produced by ice during spring break-up in Alaska. I know the sound an avalanche makes. The sounds at Mussigbrod Lake were more musical and outside my personal experience. I am thankful my wife and I witnessed the event. Both of us yearned for a tape recorder with which to convey the phenomena.
We made our way back to the car.

The wind picked up and the air cooled. The sounds of the singing lake, which had sonorously entertained us for the better part of an hour, quickly died. We were left only with the memory as we recounted the experience to each other throughout the balance of our jaunt.

We don't have any open water, but I still heard the sounds our lake made as it "sang."

On the Road

A friend asked if we were interested in heading three hours east to visit friends today, since she had some ladies to visit (she is a midwife). We hadn't been over to see our friends in quite a while, so David, Andrew and I decided to go along on the trip.

It felt good to get away. I think I've been experiencing cabin fever, and it's sometimes good to go away and come back with a fresh sense of purpose. We even stopped at a consignment store, and the boys found some items they couldn't live without.

We got back on the road and were about half way to our destination when suddenly we started experiencing ground blizzard conditions. The day was sunny and clear, but we were no longer in the Turtle Mountains and there were no hills to protect us from the wind. I had forgotten how scary it is to drive when it isn't easy to see the road. This particular highway is very desolate, with mostly grain trucks using the road. Those trucks kick up even more blowing snow, so it was doubly hard to see. My friend didn't have cell phone coverage in this area, since "progress" hasn't set up any towers yet along this road. Just to be on the safe side, we turned around and headed home.

This is the first year I've seen county road crews having to take bulldozers to break up drifts of snow along the roads and then load the snow into trucks to be hauled away. Thankfully we ran into such a crew working on this before we hit the ground drifting of snow, or we may have "run" into them.

Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow, and we will reach our destination.

"Summery" Weather

It's been a beautiful day outside, sunny and warm (at least for us). The temperature was in the 30's, and the sun felt warm. The only drawback was the high wind warnings, with gusts clocked at 45-50 mph. I walked down to the mailbox before lunch and discovered the wind was directly in line with our driveway, so the blowing snow hit me directly in the face. It wasn't very pleasant until I turned around and walked back up the driveway.

My progress to the mailbox and back is always very slow, as we have a German Shepherd that insists I throw snowballs for him. All I have to do is start getting on my boots, and he is dancing around me and whining. I have never figured out why he enjoys it so much, but I enjoy seeing him having so much fun. Samson loves it when I throw them in the air and he jumps to catch them in his mouth. I always grow tired of the game before he does! It wasn't much fun throwing snowballs when the wind was so rough today, but the return trip was very enjoyable.

This is the mode of dress when temperatures head into the 20's. Yesterday I had to get David back to the house to get a jacket on, as the temperature was only 18 degrees! The above photo is of Andrew, Peter, and David. Samson is laying there, hoping someone will throw some snowballs for him!

Jonathan, enjoying a good book with our cat named Snowball.

Jim, Jonathan, Peter and David traveled to our neighbor's farm to help out today with running their sled dogs and giving rides to a Bismarck Girl Scout troop. Jonathan came home wanting a sled and dogs, and David came home wanting a snowmobile! He "helped" our neighbor with keeping the dogs on the right path and holding off other snowmobilers while the dog sleds were crossing their path. Our neighbor's property connects with the state park, so they have a lot of snowmobile traffic over there.

Peter, giving rides to two of the Girl Scouts.

Tomorrow the weather will moderate into the 20's. The wind will be down, but then snow is predicted to fall once again. I am anxious for spring.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Flatpicker

It's so hard to believe, but today Peter, our second son, celebrated his 15th birthday. I still remember the day of his birth, and it just can't be 15 years ago! He is such a blessing to our family. Samson thinks so, too!

Andrew, son #3, made Peter a cake to go with one of the birthday gifts he received -- a Gerber. Around these parts, a male homeschooler's attire includes a Gerber or Leatherman hanging from their belt.

Andrew also made Peter a contraption he found in one of the Foxfire books ... A donkey that kicks a man when the crank is turned. The boys were in the process of painting it today.

I also want to tell son #4 -- David -- a happy 9-1/2 birthday. We will celebrate his 10th birthday six months from today!

Learning Valuable Lessons

We just experienced another very cold snap, but tomorrow is supposed to be warmer than it has been the past few days. Spring can't come soon enough for me, although I have a lot left to do before I feel ready to tackle what's ahead for another growing season.

Last Thursday Jim, Jonathan and Peter traveled to Bismarck (four hours away from here) for the Home School Association's Day at the Capitol. The rest of us stayed home to do chores and hold down the fort. Jim elected to make it all in one day, since there's much to do around here. They had to get up at 3:30 a.m. in order to be out the door by 4:00. Everyone but me went to bed extra early the night before; I was still preparing food to take along. There's been so much happening in the way of food-borne illnesses that we have chosen to stay away from restaurant food and much of what can be purchased at the grocery store.

Jonathan and I also decided we'd better pack some heavy duty survival gear, since the weather was predicted to be bitterly cold. Jim is the type that would rather travel light -- too light by North Dakota winter standards. I rarely see him wear even boots when traveling, since cars tend to be warm inside. We added sleeping bags (also for in case they ended up spending the night in Bismarck) and plenty of outdoor winter clothing. Jonathan even added our tow rope.

I finally got to bed about midnight, and Jim was still awake. We aren't used to setting an alarm, and I worried that my ancient little travel alarm wouldn't go off when it was supposed to, so it was a fitful night for me as well. At 3:30 the alarm did go off, and I woke the three to get them headed in the right direction. It was then that Jim told me he wasn't feeling well, and hadn't slept much at all. Oh oh! They did manage to get out the door on time anyway, and I really wondered how Jim would do.

We didn't hear any more from the travelers until they returned about 10:30 that night. The boys related the story that they could tell Jim was getting mighty tired, as his reaction time was slowing down. There was also a high wind warning which made it difficult for them to see due to snow blowing across the roads. About 45 miles from home Jonathan noticed a stop sign quickly approaching, so he alerted his Dad. Jim pumped the brakes, but as they came to the "T" intersection he kept on sliding and ended up in the ditch. Jonathan said they kind of sat there for a bit in stunned silence. Jim realized how unprepared he was for an attempt to dig themselves out of the snow, and at that point my preparedness son Jonathan handed him his bunny boots and snowmobile suit. They also pulled out a shovel and the tow rope. The incident could have been very serious, and if they would have been traveling any later at night there may not have been anyone driving by until morning. The roads in North Dakota can be rather desolate, especially on a very cold night. However, the guys hopped out of the car, secured the tow rope, and I'm sure they prayed. About ten minutes later a lady in an all wheel drive SUV stopped and pulled them out. Up here it's almost a crime for someone to drive by without stopping to offer assistance. We are very thankful for that.

Since then Jim has become a preparedness nut that almost rivals his son. And I'm thankful for that as well!

(By the way, whatever it was that made Jim feel nauseated that day disappeared by mid morning; another thing to be thankful for!)

Sunday Afternoon Doings

Sunday afternoon Jim and I decided to go look for rosehips. I neglected to pick them after the first frost but we decided to give it a try since we knew last fall where there were quite a few loaded bushes. The day was so beautiful, with little wind, lots of sun -- and warm! We started out down the hill from our house, but there were not many to be found. I remembered a lot of bushes along the edge of our big field, so we headed out that way.

Too bad we don't have snowshoes or cross country skis, although I wonder if we could have stayed on top of the snow for long. We were plodding along in snow up to our knees, so we received quite a work out. I didn't mind, as it felt so good to be out and about after hibernating during the recent cold snap.

We skirted along the edge of the woods, and it was fun to check out all the deer trails and places where they had bedded down in the brush. I have a feeling that deer like rosehips as well, since the bushes we checked out last fall no longer were loaded with the rosehips. We did line our ice cream buckets with them, but that was all we found.

On the way back we walked close to the shore of the lake. Jim noticed a bush that had quite a few highbush cranberries, so he scrambled down almost to the lake shore to pick them. While we were there a snowmobiler came rushing across the lake, and we waited to see if he would run the thing onto our property. Thankfully he had sense enough to make a big u-turn and head back the way he came. It's frustrating to me to look out over our fields and see the scars of snowmobile tracks -- and know they belong to someone that is trespassing.

We passed a spot near the lake where beaver have been busy cutting down trees. There's a little stream that runs there in the spring, and a large downed tree we use to walk over the water. I had forgotten what was below the tree, so I stepped onto the log and then down on the other side -- only to sink to my hips in snow! It was a bit tough to get out of that one.

It was a very relaxing day, and I hope we have more sunny, above zero days to enjoy before spring arrives and the snow melts.

Only in ND

Looks like tomorrow's forecast indicates a heat wave:

Today
Sunny. Highs around 5 below. Variable winds 5 to 15 mph this morning causing wind chills of 50 below to 65 below. Winds becoming southwest around 10 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight
Increasing clouds. Not as cold. Lows around 10 below. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

Friday
Cloudy with chance of snow and light freezing rain in the morning...then partly sunny with slight chance of light freezing rain and snow in the afternoon. Not as cold. Highs 16 to 26. South winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to west 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Looks like we are in for a thaw!

Sun Dogs

Karsten left this note on my last post:



I had never heard of, much less, seen "sun dogs" before. They are beautiful. But,why are they called "sun dogs"?



Here is the photo my son Andrew took back in 2006 of sun dogs. The vertical line in the sky was due to Andrew having to piece two photos together to show the entire display.



I included Wikipedia's explanation, but they neglected to explain why "sun dogs" is their common name. Please let me know if anyone knows the reason why.

Sun dog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, for "beside the sun") is a common bright circular spot on a solar halo. It is an atmospheric optical phenomenon primarily associated with the reflection or refraction of sunlight by small ice crystals making up cirrus or cirrostratus clouds. Often, two sun dogs can be seen (one on each side of the sun) simultaneously.


PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

[Sun dogs appear on a cold day with blizzard conditions. This photograph was taken in the evening as the sun was setting in Fargo, North Dakota. ]


Sun dogs typically, but not exclusively, appear when the sun is low, e.g. at sunrise and sunset, and the atmosphere is filled with ice crystal forming cirrus clouds, but diamond dust and ice fog can also produce them. They are often bright white patches of light looking much like the sun or a comet, and occasionally are confused with those phenomena. Sometimes they exhibit a spectrum of colours, ranging from red closest to the sun to a pale bluish tail stretching away from the sun. White sun dogs are caused by light reflected off of atmospheric ice crystals, while coloured sun dogs are caused by light refracted through them. White sun dogs are also thought to be caused by the light from the sun reflecting off of water on the ground and focusing the reflected light on the clouds above.

The ice crystals causing atmospheric phenomena are shaped as hexagonal prisms (ice Ih, e.g. with a hexagonal top and bottom and six rectangular sides). Some of these crystals are elongated, some are flat; the latter causing crisp and bright sun dogs if evenly oriented with their hexagonal ends aligned horizontally, while the former produces other atmospheric phenomena, such as parhelic circles, 22° halos, circumzenithal arcs, upper tangent arcs, and lower tangent arcs. A mixture of various crystals with different alignments produces several of these phenomena at the same time.

When sunlight passes through the sides of a flat crystal, both the angle of the sun rays and the orientation of the crystals affects the shape and colour of the sun dogs. Misaligned or wobbling crystals produce colourful and elongated sun dogs, while light passing through the crystal in non-optimal deviation angles (up to 50°) produces the "tail" of the sun dog stretching away from the sun. As refraction is dependent on wavelength, the sun dogs tend to have red inner edges while the colours farther from the sun tend to be more bluish-white as colours increasingly overlap.


When the sun is low, the two sun dogs are located on the circle of the 22° halo. As the sun rises, the sun dogs slowly move along the parhelic circle away from the sun, finally to vanish as the sun reaches 61° over the horizon(e.g. the sun dogs move from the 22° halo to the circumscribed halo).


On Earth, the first planet (counting from the sun) with significant amounts of ice crystal-carrying clouds, the pair of sun dogs flanking the sun are aligned with the horizon. On other planets and moons where water and ice are less prevalent, however, various crystal structures produce different halos. On the giant gas planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—other crystals form the clouds of ammonia, methane, and other substances that can produce halos with four or more sun dogs.


In remote stretches of western Texas, sundog refers colloquially to a segment of a common rainbow.

Cold Day

It was very cold outside today, and I can tell tonight and tomorrow will be very cold as well, since I just spotted the not quite full moon and a clear sky from my kitchen window.

This was the view from the same window today as the sun was rising:



Those are sun dogs on either side of the rising sun. Jim had never heard of them before moving to North Dakota, but I remember them from my growing up years in Minnesota. We have a better photo of them from back in 2006, but for some reason I can't get it to download. Sun dogs indicate a very cold day. I should have been outside before the cold weather hit, as we probably would have observed a ring around the moon. That indicates a change in weather is about to happen.

Living in the country causes you to observe things in nature which indicate changes in weather. I would not have noticed these occurrences while living in the city.

A couple of years ago I was driving north out of Minot, ND with a friend just after sunset, and we observed the most beautiful Northern Lights I have ever seen. It was as if the lights formed a ring all around us, and they bounced back and forth from the earth to the sky above. I wish I had had a camera that would capture the event, but it was useless to even try. We stopped the car and got out to observe the changing colors and patterns.

I'm looking forward to some day living on the main floor of our house with windows facing north so we'll be aware of nights when the Northern Lights are dancing in the sky. I'm sure they've been there even this winter, but we've missed them.

Captive Audience

David and his cat, Funny Face.

Details are Important

Our cow is old enough now to be bred. Since we don't have another cow we have to go through some alternative methods to determine when she is in heat. Jim has set himself a schedule of checking Sandy four times a day: 5:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m., and 11:00 p.m. I'm glad it's him and not me doing the checking, since it has been very cold, snowy and windy out there.

Last night both of us stayed up rather late, and Jim asked me for the clock I keep by my side of the bed. The battery had quit, so I replaced it with a rechargeable one I found in the charger. Jim decided to sleep on the couch since he had to be up early and didn't want to wake the rest of us.

It wasn't more than an hour later that I heard Jim go outside and soon come back in and add wood to the wood stove. I thought he must have forgotten to let our dog Samson back in, since I heard him barking outside. I got up, let the dog in (Samson has gotten spoiled lately), and checked the wood stove. I thought it rather strange that I had heard Jim do the same thing not too long before, and yet there was room to add a few logs.

Morning came, and I didn't remember hearing Jim get up at 5:00 to check the cow. Jim's first comment was that he had been so tired when the alarm went off that he had great trouble getting up and going outside to the barn. I asked him what he was doing at 1:00 when I heard him go outside; he said he didn't go out until 5:00. I told him no, it had been 1:00. We checked the alarm clock, and discovered it had not been set to the correct time but when the battery was replaced it was left where the hands had stopped! Jim said he had left Samson out because he thought someone would soon be up to let him back in, and he hadn't completely filled the wood stove since he figured everyone would be up shortly and it would be taken care of then.

We all had a good laugh, and decided we'd better pay closer attention to details or the cow may never get bred.

Christmas Break Activities

So, what do homeschooled boys do on their Christmas break? Butcher pigs!

A couple of weeks ago Jim placed an ad in our local weekly paper, advertising two pigs for sale. I think the Bartletts are known in the area for dominating the want ad section, and through that is how we've purchased a lot of things.

Well, the two week period went by, and there wasn't even one call to express interest in the pigs. Today is butchering day. On a whim, Jim called the paper to see what happened, since we have yet to receive the bill for placing the ad, and discovered it never ran! We'll know better next year. Jim still has the leftovers of being a university professor in his brain, and likes to use email. Around here, physically doing things seems to be the norm, such as driving to town, walking in to the paper's office and handing them the ads. Apparently that is the only way you can be sure things go smoothly. I count it up to Providence, as now I will be able to pressure can some pork along with having more in the freezer. And fresh pork chops for supper!

But I Haven't Finished with our Last Storm!

Ice on my kitchen window during the cold snap.

I have more photos to share, we haven't been plowed out yet, and looks like another storm is brewing:

From the National Weather Service:

WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM FRI AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE SAT NIGHT. THE NATL WEATHER SVC IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH. WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE FRI AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE SAT NIGHT. SNOW WILL DEVELOP DURING THE DAY ON FRI & MAY BECOME HEAVY BY FRI NIGHT & SATURDAY. SIX TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE EAST CNTL. WITH 4 TO 7 INCHES ACROSS THE CNTL [which is us Turtle Mountain people]. 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE WEST. EXTREMELY COLD WIND CHILLS OF 40 TO 50BELOW ARE POSSIBLE WEST SAT NIGHT. NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE CNTL [which is us again] BY SAT AFTERNOON & NIGHT.

Peter, the goat milker.

Not Frozen Yet

We are all doing okay, in spite of the frigid weather. Our outdoor faucet (which is made for winter weather) did freeze up, so the boys have to come inside and haul buckets of water from the laundry tub to the animals. We did purchase a heater for the waterer down by the barn, but they still have to haul water down to fill it up. We just got the heater as the cold weather was beginning, and it sure draws electricity. It's a blessing, though, since the boys don't have to haul water down quite as many times a day as they used to.

Last night one of us neglected to get up during the night to refill the wood stove, so it was probably about 50 degrees in here when morning arrived. We won't do that again! I'm setting my alarm for 3:00 a.m. to keep the fire going. I did turn on the floor heat this morning, because the concrete was very cold to walk on. I'm not sure the boiler has even brought the floor heat up to the lower setting I had it turned to yet, but I can tell the difference when we use both the boiler and wood stove on these exceptionally cold nights. Unfortunately we'll pay for it when the electric bill arrives.

Jim signed up for off-peak heat with our electric company. That means they have the ability to shut off power to our water heater whenever extra electricity is needed, and we receive a cheaper rate on our electrical usage. Since this cold has started, we've hardly been able to use the water heater. Tonight I noticed the red light wasn't on which meant we did have use of the heater, so I finally got the boys to take quick showers before it went off again.


There are two things I want to show you in this photo ... One is how we dry clothes in the winter: around the wood stove. I place everything on hangers, and use clothespins to hang up socks and other items that could fall off the hangers. It certainly saves on dryer time.

The other item to notice is the old water heater on top of the wood stove. This is what is giving us hot water, in spite of having our regular water heater turned off by the power company.

We brought our wood stove from Fargo when we moved up here. Originally it was purchased for use during Y2K, but if I remember correctly, all we did was burn paper in it. A friend up here was getting rid of an old water heater and asked if we wanted it, and Jim thought he could rig up a system to have pipes running through the wood stove which would heat water, with the old water heater used as a holding tank. I don't know all the details, but it works pretty slick. The water is heated and piped to our "real" water heater in pipes running by the ceiling. I was more than a bit wary when we first started using this operation, but it does a good job and sure beats heating water on the stove. We do have to be careful about how much of the hot water we use at a time, since the old water heater only holds 30 gallons and it takes a while to heat more water. In the summertime the water still circulates through the pipes in the wood stove, but since the wood stove isn't operating the water isn't heated.

We ended up having to insulate the pipes that run to the "real" water heater, as the they would sweat from the very cold water that comes from our well and then drip on whoever was under them. We also had trouble at first when we didn't use enough of the hot water before everyone went to bed at night; we would suddenly awaken to the sound of running water. The PTR valve would open and send hot water through a hose into a bucket, but if the bucket filled and no one woke up, the water would be all over the floor and was a real mess to clean up. We haven't had that happen for quite a while now, and I'm wondering if the innards are coated with hard water deposits and affecting how warm the water is heated. We also had to be careful when using the shower, because the water was VERY hot.

I'll have to post some time about the love/hate relationship I've had with our wood stove. There definitely is a lot to learn about using them, and we had to learn a lot of it through the school of hard knocks.

What Do You Do When There's a Blizzard Outside?

The Weather Service wasn't kidding when it predicted frigid cold, snow, and fierce winds. We battened down the hatches, and prayed for the safety of our farm animals. Our dog Samson has found refuge in the house, and loves to lay by my feet as I work in the kitchen. I have to be careful not to trip over him, but I must admit that I enjoy having a dog in the house.

Jim checked up on the main floor this morning for signs of the temperature getting too close to freezing, and everything seemed okay. We are storing our potatoes, pumpkin and squash up there until they are consumed. We have a small hole cut in the floor just above the wood stove, so apparently that heat source is enough to keep the area where the produce is located above freezing.

Jonathan took another look right after lunch, and discovered the water bottle we keep up there as a makeshift thermometer was now frozen. We moved into high gear, and brought everything down. And the photo below is what took place all afternoon:

David was in the back, washing more pumpkins in the laundry tub.

I usually bake the cut up pumpkin pieces in the oven, but that would have taken forever. So, we also chunked pieces and boiled them on top of the stove. We must have a hundred pumpkins to process! I then mashed the pulp and placed it in bags that will go into the freezer.

There's more to do tomorrow!

What's in Store for Us

This just arrived in my inbox:


A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.



THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN BISMARCK HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH, WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING. EXPECT 6 TO 10 INCHES OF SNOW & WINDS OVER 35 MPH FROM LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. WIND CHILLS WILL FALL TO NEAR 40 BELOW LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. TRAVEL MAY BECOME IMPOSSIBLE. IF NECESSARY, RECONSIDER TRAVEL PLANS.

----------------


Our winter has been rather snowy lately. In fact, our driveway was snowed in yesterday, due to a small amount of snow and lots of blowing. Jonathan needed to get to his vacuuming job this afternoon, so Jim tried using the station wagon. No go. Jonathan walked back up our quarter mile driveway and got the pick up truck (in need of repair of the rear brakes; we keep losing brake fluid) to pull out the car and then continue on to the retreat center. Even the gravel road going past our land has yet to be plowed, which is unusual for our township. In previous winters the township plow has come in to clean out our driveway without us even asking, so it makes me think they are starting cost saving measures. We tried to call them all day today, but no one is around to take messages.



Last night I had allowed our German Shepherd to come into the house for a visit. The younger boys were in bed, and Jonathan had just gotten there as well. All of a sudden Samson let me know he wanted to go outside -- highly unusual. I let him out, and saw him look to the right and stare. I took a look, and there was one of our pigs! She had climbed on the frozen hay in their pen and gotten out. Andrew had said the two remaining pigs have been a bit restless since the other two were butchered, but I hope this doesn't happen on a regular basis. Jim was still working on his computer, so I let him know and also got Jonathan up. I had just finished cooking up a bunch of pumpkins, so gave them the scrap bucket with the peelings, and away they went. Unfortunately, "Nancy" wasn't interested in the scraps. Jonathan ended up pushing her all the way down the hill and into the pen. At least she sort of cooperated! They did some bracing of the pen, and were back in by 11:15. So far so good -- "Nancy" hasn't been up to visit us since.



We discovered something else this morning that we are not happy with: Somewhere during the night we had visitors on snowmobiles. Many times people on those machines would follow the power lines and cut through our fields, but this time they must have taken a nearby snowmobile trail and then veered into our big field, right down to the barns. They then rode their snowmobiles in between the barns and onto the lake. It would have been easy for them to hit a fence or two, and I just hope it doesn't happen again.

We were told once by a local snowmobile enthusiast that NO HUNTING OR TRESPASSING signs do not apply to snowmobilers, but landowners have to post NO SNOWMOBILING signs to let people know not to use the land for their recreation. To us, NO TRESPASSING means just that, but I guess we learned something new. There are plenty of trails up here for snowmobiles and even a state park that is noted for their trails. I hope it doesn't happen again.

Leaf Lard vs. Regular Lard

Somewhere I had read there was a difference between leaf lard and regular lard. Just before we butchered our pigs this week I read again that leaf lard was superior to the other lard, and was what was used to make pie crusts, biscuits, etc. My source came from a tutorial I found on Granny Miller's blog .

When we processed the second pig I asked the boys to keep the leaf lard fat separate from the other, and yesterday rendered them in separate pans on the stove. I was very surprised to see how much quicker the leaf lard fat melted, compared to the other type. Last year I rendered lard and never really understood what the cracklings were, but with the leaf lard they were very easy to see as the fat was almost done rendering. The regular fat seems to stay rubbery much longer, and the leftovers in the pan weren't as crisp as the other cracklings. Maybe I didn't render them long enough, but it seemed like I was working with that fat all afternoon and into the evening and they weren't turning out quite like the other one.

I have more lard to render before I'm done with these pigs, and then it's time to do the tallow from the deer we butchered a few weeks ago. Then I can check that job off of my "to do" list -- which seems to be as long as my summer lists!