Icy freeze coming

[Kathryn]

Well, we have been preparing for an icy freeze coming from up north bringing up to 2 inches of freezing rain. Last big ice storm we had knocked out our electricity for three days...no water 'cause the well pump is electric..no heat except by wood stove. :x I've baked oatmeal cookies, prepared some meals that can be reheated on the wood stove, and tried to secure all animals' warmth and safety. I make a mean pot of coffee and wonderful pots of beans on the old wood stove...even baked a chicken stew. ;)
We have extra candles, oil lamps and extra batteries on the ready too.

Cattle are bunked in fields with wind breaks and all hay feeders are filled. We have filled all the tractors in case we have to feed cube feed from them.:)

The big crocks are filled with water and I've filled extra containers of water for the birds and pets. The cats are snug in the bird room and all bird cages have nest boxes attached for sleeping just in case. I've laid out extra blankets to cover cages. The bird room has it's own heater/air and the hot tub is full of hot water 24/7 so it warms the room too.

But if the electric goes, Hubby knows the cats and birds will be moved back into the main house. We may have a noisy zoo but we won't risk their health. Two are sitting on eggs right now.

I've made sure the wood for the wood stove is seasoned oak and hickery so I'm hoping this mix will not be a problem for the birds. Right now that's my only real concern. I have a Kerosun heater for backup but didn't want to chance it right now with the birds.

:confused: Anybody have any experience with that? The wood stove is one of those that seals so all smoke goes out the chimney.

[Elle]

Can I move in with you please?

Sorry. I had a moment of nostalgia. Good food, heat of a wood stove, extra warm blankets. Reminds me of cattle drives on the Rockies. Ahh... the good old days :)

[Kathryn]

Yeah, it feels like we're headed for the early days!
It's already freezing on the pipe and cable fence and the bridges. Schools are closing early and the TV is running lots of early closings. The rain is freezing as it hits now. The second wave of colder air is to hit tonight.

If we go out it may be this evening or in the morning. So, we will be out of pocket for a while....sure will miss you folks on this site!!!

At least we had several days notice. It was in the 70s here yesterday and it's already in the 20s and dropping. Wonder how the pioneers did it with no prior warning!!

[bellarains]

Kathryn,

I know oil filled heaters can be used, but not for sure about Kerosene. My first thought would be the fumes. The other thing to watch with heaters if Teflon. Alot of manufacturers use a Teflon coating, so that's something to consider also.

The only other thought would be hot water bottles. You could heat water, and put that in the cage covered with something to keep them from being in direct contact. I know it would be temporary heat, but it's a thought:wink:

[mjm8321]

Kerosene is a no no. Those heaters give off fumes and can kill a little bird very quickly; not to mention it's not too healthy for humans either. A ceramic or oil filled heater is a great addition, but of course, when the power goes out unless you have a generator, they aren't much help.
My suggestion, if possible for you is to keep the temperature up, perhaps even a little higher than usual so if power goes out, it will take longer to cool off. The hot water bottles sound like a good idea too. As long as the temperature doesn't drop extremely quickly in the house or room where the birds are, they can regulate their bodies to accept fairly cool temperatures.
I'd imagine as long as none of the fumes or smoke come out of the wood stove that everything would be fine with that.

[DebSpace]

Not sure what to advise on the heat situation. I bought a couple of cases of envirologs for the fireplace if needed. Gee, if I had known sooner that you were baking cookies, cooking beans, stew and making strong coffee, I'd have driven to your place! Sounds much, much cozier than my bag of chips and diet Coke sitting here on the couch. I pulled my teenager out of school early so we could avoid being out in the worst of the storm. He is happy, talking about "beating British bootie" in his electronic soccer league (no offense, Heather, we're real football/soccer junkies here, although I like American football, too). :lol

So far we have more sleet than freezing rain, so hopefully we won't have the bent/broken trees and power outages like we did in 2002. I have the artificial light set up in the birdroom with a blanket over the window. It isn't drafty, but the cold glass really seems to cool the room down when weather gets this cold. I'll miss everybody here if we lose power! Time to snuggle up with the dogs.

[Kathryn]

MJ, Thanks for the info on the Kerosene heater...looks like its out! We use it in the barn mostly anyway.
The generator we have will power 110 volt so we can have lights but it won't operate the heating system.

Lori, I can heat water on the old wood stove so that's always a possibility...thanks for that suggestion.

Yes Deb, we're getting the freezing rain/ice with light snow here....not much sleet. It's beginning to look white. Schools closed here at 1 p.m. and the bus just delivered the children across the road from us. Glad you made it home. You sure would have been welcome here....the more the merrier!!

Projections are the moisture from the south is moving faster than the cold front dropping down from the north and Oklahoma is the center of the storm...so now we might get 1 to 3 inches of ice over the next several days.
I sure hope we don't get the storm damage like in 2002...

[patti2297]

Let's hope all your preparations will be in wain, and you won't lose power. Living in Virginia, we have more ice it seems every year than snow; this year being the exception. We will be thinking of you and hope everyone fairs well.

[Kathryn]

Looks like this artic storm is affecting folks from Dallas all the way to Chicago.
And Denver is down to 1 degree. Also saw that the artic air is affecting the orange crop in California.

We've been in the middle of it now for 8 hours and have 1/2 inch ice and 1/2 inch sleet so far.

Guess we need to keep many people in our thoughts and prayers this week.

Grandma has always said to be prepared...one of her favorite quotes is "Better to live like there is a God and find out there isn't One, than to live like He doesn't exist and find out He does." Can't remember where she found that one, but it's been her favorite for the past 10 years...she is 97.

[Janie]

Kathryn,

Grandma sounds like a very wise woman! :D I hope all of you in that deep freeze will be OK and WITH power. I worry about loosing power (even in Atlanta) all the time. When I found out the price of a generator, I figured I could afford a luxury suite at a hotel if I loose power easier than buying a generator. My A/C guy quoted me around $4,000 to cover the bird room and one or two more. :omg: So, we'll be at the Ritz Carlton if it should come to that! :whistle:

[DebSpace]

I hear that, Janie, we checked a few years ago on a generator - yikes! :omg: Kathryn, I like the way your grandmom thinks; I've heard a saying close to that and it is very smart indeed. My son asked friends over for the night (or three days, maybe!) so I have taken this opportunity to bring each of the birds into my bedroom one at a time for some one-on-one, trust-building, quality time. My husband is on duty at the firestation today and again Sunday, so say a prayer for Phil, too. Stay safe and warm!

[Joey'sGirl]

I'm in Oklahoma with you. Broken Arrow to be exact. We haven't lost power, but I hear there is another round heading our way. I've stocked up too, and my lovie has been riding around on my shoulder all day. He loves to have me home during the day.

[Keltoth]

Anybody have any experience with that? The wood stove is one of those that seals so all smoke goes out the chimney.

I burn hickory, oak, and pine in our wood-burning stove all the time (I use the stove for the main heating in the house whenever the local air quality index allows me to do so, as the wood is free and I am a tight-wad ...er, "thrifty". Yah, "thrifty" - that's the ticket...). In fact, my conure and cockatoo cages are right next to the wood-stove, so I would say that your birds would be ok as long as you really didn't smoke the place up with a plugged chimney-pipe or some such thing.

- Eric

[Janie]

And another thing about Beckham....he is a hotty! :whistle:

[zlatushka]

And another thing about Beckham....he is a hotty! :whistle:

That's for sure!:lol Nothing wrong with being easy on the eyes as well as a great player ;)

[Kathryn]

It's frozen solid enough to play hockey in our pasture!! Think I could talk Beckham into coming here!! HUBBA HUBBA!!

Thanks Eric, that is very helpful on the wood stove!! So far haven't had to use it....hopefully the sleet will keep falling and no freezing rain!!

Hey, Joey's Girl, Broken Arrow is close to Tulsa....are you still okay today?

[Janie]

Kathryn, I've been thinking about you and am glad to get an update, even though it is a frigid one! Stay as warm as you can I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you won't loose power!

[lovebird_lover101]

You sound like you would be well prepared if the power were to go out...though I hope it doesnt for you. Its been really cold up here in Wyoming also...it started last thursday and is slowly warming up. We didnt have any freezing rain but we did get some snow and temps below zero and wind chills in the -20's to -30. It was so cold that school had a 3 hr delay (I was hoping they would just cancel school but then again I would have to go to school in June to make it up:lol) I hope everything goes well for you.

[chris631]

Just dropped in ny last night up to this point its been in the 40's and 50's. I did however find out that you do have to be careful, of wood burning stoves. i just installed it this past october and found that when i over fill it, i get a very strong teflon smell. i immediately locked up the bird room, and cracked the reg thermostat up