Mercy it's cold!!

What a way to bring in the new year.....colder than a well diggers bottom! The weather guy said we were supposed to get a LOT of snow Sunday, however we didn't. We got a LOT of rain. At first I was glad....rain fills the water troughs and rain barrels. Yep... that is a good thing....then...the temps started dropping. FAST! Everything froze solid. The winds picked up, it started to snow on top of all of the ice. Wind chills of -30 to - 45. So, while the temps were "warm" and we were getting rain, I headed to the barn to get everyone settled in before the "big freeze" Locked the goats in their stalls, threw a lot of extra bedding to everyone...a little extra groceries. Yes...I was sure everyone was ready. This morning...wow..it was so cold going out there to do chores. They warned us that any exposed skin would freeze after 30 minutes. So we did chores in increments. First the barn.....warm water for everyone, extra hay, done. I was happy to see the sheep was laying with the pig. Since the pig is older, she needs all the heat she can get. Back inside to thaw a bit and grab more warm water for the pigs and poultry. We added warm water to the pigs feed so they could warm up from the inside. Everyone seemed to be doing alright. I am so glad. I was worried I would go out there to frozen critters. The temps are steadily dropping here. It was 5 degrees at 04:30 this morning. It is now -6. Dangerous temps. By the weeks end...back into the upper 40's. CRAZY! I am going to grab my blanket...some hot tea...and sit here by the fire. Until it is time to take more warm water to these critters. Stay warm....be safe if you MUST get out there.