100 Year Summer Rains and Early Autumn Snow

 

100 year flood in Cedar City, Utah
August 18,2021

In summer we had a few 100 year rains that flooded the town and surrounding farm fields. The waters breached the irrigation ditches as culverts and drains blocked with boulders and debris diverted the water away from its normal destination. Tons of mud, clay and silts covered the home properties and farm fields with a foot of clay, mud and silt. All that rain soaked deep into the ground and the trees and plants drank it up. 

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Early Autumn Snow on Little Utah Farm

An early autumn snow hit in the first week of October and left us 10" of snow. The leaves hadn't even begun to turn color yet . The snow was heavy on the branches lush with green leaves and bowed down to the ground. We got some long poles and tapped the branches on all our trees to release the snow. 

Our Crabapple Tree
BEFORE we tapped the snow off the branches

Our Crabapple Tree
AFTER we tapped the snow off the branches.

We could hear branches snapping and cracking  all around the area.  It snowed all day but the temperatures rose so the snow began to soften and fall from the roof and high branches. 

Early Autumn Snow on Little Utah Farm

It took only 2 days for the snow to recede uncovering rich green grass and green canopy of leaves. 

The weather warmed in the weeks ahead and we have been enjoying the sunshine and spending time outdoors.  

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Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm

An Early Visit From Jack Frost by Little Utah Farm 

A Farmgirl's Experience Is The Greatest Teacher

 

Sparrows on icy winter branches  Photo by Deborah Moen
Little Utah Farm

The temps have been dropping down from 20 to 6 degrees between 4 am and 7 am the past few days. I made my mind up before going to sleep that I would get up early to turn on the heat lamp in the coop.



I got up at 5 am got my warm clothes on and filled the water buckets, with warm water, in the kitchen sink. I stepped out into the new snow. It was so beautiful outside. Everything was enveloped in an icy fog. I made my way to the coop. I had my crampons on. I felt confident in the new snow which was on top of last weeks snow which turned to ice.

Yak Trax
They are awesome !

I took off the blue tarp I had clamped across the front of the coop to stop the wind and snow from entering. I noticed one of the latches were unhitched by the strong winds last night.

I unlatched the door with gloved hands because flesh can stick to freezing metal. The freshly filled water bucket was set inside the coop, the heat lamp was turned on, and the feed was replenished, along with some very desired dried boon worms, and sunflower seeds.



The bucket of water I had in there was frozen solid so I removed it and set it where the sun would help the ice to melt. My ducks and hens have a small insulated room where they roost. There was not so much as a quack or a peep while I was in there except for Fae, our white Plymouth Rock hen who came out and began eating. She looked great, unscathed by the bitter cold.

I shoveled the paths and cleared the corral along the fence so the llamas could eat their hay. The green hay looked so beautiful against the white snow. My hair was frozen and I had white frost where my breath had flowed in and out. 

Overhead I saw the ravens flying from the west. I could see their under wings were frosted with ice. 

Raven's wings were frosted with ice.

I so enjoyed my time out in the snow. As I opened the gate to walk back into the house, I looked back at the at the rising sun and low clouds which hung along the foot of the mountains. 

I looked back as I opened the gate and felt so thankful.
Deborah Moen Little Utah Farm

I can not express enough what living on this little farm has taught me about caring for our animals. It has opened my heart for other living things besides myself. It has made me strong and capable of doing things I did not know I could do.



Changing from a City Girl to a Farm Girl is not easy at first but you learn by doing. All the books about farming and animal care can help but it is the experience that is the greatest teacher.

Deborah Moen 
of Little Utah Farm

I thank you for visiting, Little Utah Farm
Until next time,
Believe in your dreams
They do come true.

A Farm Girl's Gloves

My box of gloves. 

A farm girl's gloves are her best friend throughout the year.


There is a glove for every chore and activity. I didn't realize how much I use gloves until I misplaced the box clearly marked "GLOVES" . I have been making do by borrowing from my husband and buying new pairs now and then. This morning while cleaning the hallway closet, I found the box on a shelf at knee height. What a joy to be reunited with my box of gloves !

Meet my gloves :

My Cold Winter Gloves

I own a rugged pair of gloves built for a cowhand with rough leather lined with softness to protect your fingers and hands in the freezing cold. When I look down at my hands on a corral gate I feel like a rancher or cowgirl from the old west. These were my first winter gloves in Utah. They are great for wiping away snow from the backs of llamas and hay stacks. Unlocking gates and dialing a phone can be near impossible so I take a glove off to unlock the latches and put the glove back on.

Thse gloves are good for watering
 or any wet chores.

These warm sweater knit type gloves with the rubberized palms and finger tips keep your fingertips dry and they are great when watering your herd and flock. There is nothing that is good about getting your gloved fingers wet on a cold, single digit morning.

Use gloves with Thinsulate reflects the
 heat right back
 into your hands and fingers.

Thinsulate is best for keeping your hands from freezing. It reflects the heat back into your fingers. Once my hands were painfilled with bitter cold, not even the barn heater gave me comfort. My fingers were numb. But put a pair of working gloves with thinsulate and the hands warm up very quickly. I do have a a slight size issue with these as the fingertips are an 1" longer than my own.

Driving and Parade Gloves

I have a sort of fancy work glove that is a creamy sort of leather for driving the tractor and the four-wheel buggy, we call it. They have a bit of smudged dirt on the underparts from running my hands on the wheel. I do have a clean pair that are good gloves for the parades.

One of my favorite pair of gloves
with the purple trim.

My mid-weight gloves are flexible and serve to warm my hands when weather first turns cold. These also make good weeding gloves. I have 4 of these. Some with splits on the inside of my fingers from grasping tumbleweed or mallow stems and worn spots on the finger tips from pulling the earth this way and that to plant. Here are two of the pairs below.

Hail to the all-purpose glove for gardening, weeding,
feeding, and most any chore.

This mid to lightweight glove also serves as protection from the sharp dry alfalfa stems, baling string, and the equipment when we take the bales off the trailer and onto it's place on the pallets. These are good for feeding hay to the llamas.



I do love my gloves. When I do not wear them my hands are rough as unpolished wood and I cannot feel any soft or silken surfaces without feeling my skin pick at the fabric like a hundred cactus needles.  

I am so glad I found my box of gloves. All is well in my world.

Deborah Moen
Little Utah Farm

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm,
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Until next time,

“Finn fell asleep draped in Kittens and dreamed that the corn walked the earth on skinny white roots, liked to joke with the crows, and wasn't afraid of anything.” 
― Laura Ruby, Bone Gap

Vinatge Child Feeding Hen and Chicks Kitchen Towel
by LittleUtahFarm

Chickens and Deep Snow

 

The snow reached a higher volume than my hens could handle. We had shoveled paths but the walls of the path were much too high to see over. Naomi one of my Giant Jerseys, flew into the white abyss and landed in a foot of soft Utah powder. She was stuck and looked all around for an escape route. But the white snow overwhelmed her and she stood still. 





Here is Naomi strutting through the snow when it was only 2". She is now on a greeting card to wish someone a Happy New Year. Click on the image to see this card.

Happy New Year Hen Greeting Card by LittleUtahFarm
See more Chicken Cards at zazzle.com

 

 

 I picked her up and her little body was cold and shivering. I warmed her and placed her back in the coop and closed the door. . The solution to this was to keep them inside their coop.

 My hens are tough and do enjoy tromping around in the snow. They cackle and whine a bit inside the coop, especially Winona. She sounds like a little girl with pigtails, saying Why ? Why can't we go outside?

Little Utah Farm has a hard working Kabota tractor. www.littleutahfarm.blogspot.com

Husband Paul made our winter wonderland a bit more animal friendly with his Kabota tractor. He shaved the snow down to 4 inches where the hens and dogs play in an enclosed back yard.. It is so much better.

 

We have a magical winter wonderland around us as far as the eyes can see so this does not diminish our beauty one bit. He did such a great job. So much easier to feed and care for our flock and herd and dogs. We let the hens out and they are laying outdoor in the sunroom on their sides, wing extended, leg out, soaking up the sun.
 

 

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm (page views 9354)

Until next time

Wishing you a Merry Christmas
touched with wonder
and filled with love

 

Deborah Moen of Little Utah Farm
Farm-girl, Nature Lover, Photographer, Writer

 

PS

 

We have a Little Utah Farm Store on Zazzle and a Facebook page.

 

Greeting Cards and Express shipping are both 50% off till Sunday December 20, 2015 Zazzle always has a sale going on.

We have a winter Holiday Category on Little Utah Farm Store. Here is Starbuck our llamas peeking out of the shelter on a winter wonderland morning.

 

Llama In The Snow Happy Holidays Greeting Card by LittleUtahFarm
Make custom notecards at zazzle.com

The Day Winter Came

The Day Winter Came

Autumn brought such beautiful color and a short cold snap that turn the leaves a beautiful burgandy red, orange and yellow gold. After that brief cold snap, it was mild most everyday. The colors on the trees stayed longer and brighter most of the season. One day a strong wind came through and dried the leaves untill they were crisp which made a rustling sound as they moved up and down. The warmer weather was a blessing for the baby llama, Luna. We took her homemade coat off and she was able to enjoy her infant days much more grazing and playing naked in the sunshine.

We had heard of a storm coming but we gave it no mind as the mild autumn had cast her spell of euphoria and complacency.  I stepped out onto the back deck. A freezing cold wave of wind and snow flurried around my face I shivered all the way down to my feet and followed the snowflakes out to the coop.  I felt my heart race to think of the girls in this cold weather and stepped into the coop to turn on the heat lamps. Click* click...there was no light....nothing... then I tried again...click* and no light came on ... no electricity! * (see note below)

Husband usually takes care of these things but he was at work so I had to put on my big girl pants and investigate the source. Sure enough after testing the main outlet with a hair dryer I found the electricity was off . I tried the reset button but it did not help. Rerouting the extension cords to the house from the barn was a bit dramatic as the snowflakes swirled around me in a white out.  I held that "can do" spirit of a farm woman. As I worked, the snow got deeper. I grabbed the cords to the llama trough heater and pulled them out across the pasture, through the backyard gate, across the lawn and plugged it into the socket on the back porch. The chicken coop and llama trough were connected. Success ! 

The next on my chore list was to sew on some velcro fasteners onto baby Luna's winter coat. That went fast. By now the sun had begun to lower fast and it was dark by the time Paul got home. We went to get that coat on Luna. We turned on the back porch light and could see the snowflakes swirling down and blowing in diagonal sweeping motions like a curtain in the cold winds. 

  I wore a head lamp and Paul held a flash light. We were ah mazed at the snow heaped on the gates and panels and we shivered as the ice crunched under our feet and gloves. There is this metallic crunch like a crystal glass vibration as we forced opened the gates. being from Southern California this is quite awesome to us. We entered the shelter and gently cornered baby Luna. Momma, Gaia, made no mind of it.

Luna, 3 months old, had bits of frozen ice on all over her and I pulled them off with my heavy gloves. She was dry under the ice. She grunted and hummed like a child who was getting her face washed but she stood quite still for me to get her coat on. The new coat fit so well with some room to grow and Luna was now protected from the wet cold snow.  Yay ! Done! That night I slept pretty good knowing all my fur and feather family members were safe and warm.

Within 2 days the winter has brought us minus digits to -7 degrees and then it let up and became warmer.  Highs in the 20's and lows in the teens and single digits for the coming days and nights showed on the weather reports. 

The water at the spigot outdoors had frozen which means the water buckets must be filled from the sink or bathtub indoors then carried out to my trusty wagon.  As I pulled the wagon behind me over the ruts of frozen snow, the water in the buckets sloshed.  I made my way to the corral and emptied the buckets into the big water trough. 

Really, I do love our little farm. It is quite an adventure for me.  Everyday brings another lesson, another joy to experience and another story to share. 

As I write this morning, it is 14 degrees. I will stop now as it is time to feed breakfast to my dear animals outdoors. I will fix a nice meal of scrambled eggs, oatmeal, and fresh broccoli for the hens. The llamas are easy. They love their hay of alfalfa and grass.

I wish you all a Happy and Joyous New Year!

Thank you for visiting Little Utah Farm

Deborah Moen
of Little Utah Farm

We hope you can come again.

Until next time you may like to try my post 

 Pumpkin Seeds recipe:

* [Please note: I was new to cold weather, being from mild Southern California, and unaware that chickens can hold their own in the cold.  As I got used to the cold I have let the girls use their feathers and warm bodies to keep warm. I do have a great coop heater panel which I use in single digits and minus temperatures. It has a timer and 3 settings. It is safe for coops on the ground or hanging on the wall. I got it at amazon. ]