Winter Storm Prep on the Ranch

Bananas? Check. Bread? Check. Extra pounds of hamburger? Check. Hay? Check, check.

When we lived in the city, prepping for a winter storm was as easy as a quick-trip to Safeway for the essentials and maybe the not-so-essential. And, when we got there, it was not unusual to find all the bananas, bread, milk, and hamburger gone.

Flashforward to this week, with a the forecast calling for a winter storm complete with freezing rain, snow, wind, and all the fixin’s – prepping isn’t as easy as it was in our past life.

Leading up to this week, you wouldn’t have believed the weather man and what he said was coming. But, believe him or not, we couldn’t sit around basking in the sunshine. We had to get to work and take advantage of the calm before the storm by prepping for it. This included the quick trip to the grocery store – where the bananas, bread, milk, and hamburger were quickly selling out. It also included trips to the tire store, feed store, gas station, barn, pastures, barn again, pastures again, and so on…

We needed to tuck the cows and calves into a pasture with lots of good protection and feed extra hay. The pigs needed extra straw to keep warm. The chickens needed a heated waterer and got some hay for the coop. Then we had to prepare the house for the coming weather by getting the the generator ready and filling fuel cans and water jugs should we lose power.

As we come out on the other side of a very cold night, I am happy to report that the animals have survived the storm. Confirmation that we did everything we could during a dangerous storm to help the animals survive. The house survived too, minus a frozen water line.

I am never super excited about a winter storm, either in the city or on the ranch. As a former Coloradoan, I love the snow, but could do without freezing rain, negative wind chills, and terrible driving conditions. But, I am grateful for the life we choose to live, for the winter storm warnings, and the calm before the storm. It’s moments like these that I see us come together as a family and watch as we grow and learn.