Of Ice Angels and Snow Flakes A Plenty.....

The Great Lakes about seventeen hours ago

Oh wow…Lake Erie is 94% frozen over again and with the frigid temperatures predicted for the near future…it will probably freeze over completely. The total ice cover on the entire Great Lakes is now rated at 82.3 percent as of Tuesday. On the same date last year, the Great Lakes had 81.6 percent total ice cover. The recent arctic blasts have caused the ice cover on the Great Lakes to increase rapidly and the water temperature is presently at 32° and with the temperatures plummeting in the next few weeks, will fall even lower. That drop in temperature will ensure the finishing touch to freezing everything over. I think the last time that Lake Erie has frozen solid was back in 1996. There are sketchy records that tell us that once in history, all five of the Great Lakes were possibly frozen over. That was around 1877 and 1878, but the records aren't clearly stating that beyond question.
The only thing I know is that the lakes now are freezing at a faster rate than last year and if the weather hold like it has been, they WILL be frozen solid by March (or maybe mid-March).
That means that spring will be lost as it almost was last year…with winter simply blending into summer. That again equates to a chilly summer, where air conditioning will not be needed in upstate New York…just like last year.
Be ready to sit at your Fourth of July picnic table in a snowsuit!
One of our outside hydrants is not working eight now…and I can’t tell if it is frozen or broken. The last time I used it, the hydrant functioned normally, so I have no idea what occurred. If it has frozen, it will thaw when warmer weather comes, if not…I have a backhoe attachment for my tractor and it will be my first spring project. (Let’s start stacking up a list of crap to do already…) In the mean time, we are carrying water and trying to keep our heads above water err….snow as we do so.
Other than that, everything on the farm is about as normal as any other winter since we’ve been here and better than some we’ve endured. We have only lost a few geriatric chickens that could not fend off the winter’s cold, even with the heat lamps we provide in every area. The coldest days are when you can expect to lose animals that are no longer hearty and robust…usually aged birds.
Soon the temperatures will break, but not soon enough I fear. Spring is definitely coming…and is officially only 28 days, 9 hours and 35 minutes away from NOW…(Friday, February 20, 2015 at 9:11 AM)
Let’s hope for the best and quickest relief from this deep freeze of winter 2015!!

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