This was a big one folks! 14″ of snow and 50 mph winds have buried North Iowa. By 3 pm today we could finally glimpse the highway between gusts.
The wind whipped the snow into high drifts everywhere we looked. Hazel couldn’t go anywhere since it was deeper than she was tall and Telly just couldn’t figure out what happened.
I shoveled my way out to the quilt shop to check on Jackie.
I made my way to the barn to check on everybody there. Two chicks had gotten through a little hole and couldn’t find their way back to Mama who was pretty upset, clucking and pacing. I herded them back home, fed hay to goats, filled water buckets and made my way back to the house.
It was a great afternoon to watch The Fall on Netflix and cut buttons off shirts while Rick cleared the yard. I also baked eggs for the dogs because I have soooo many eggs! I’m getting a dozen or so a day – that’s a lot of eggs! I bake eggs in muffin pans.
And then there were 5. 5 chicks, not 6. I could tell what had happened. When I got to the barn for chores two chicks were again outside and when I put them back with Mama she was very upset. The water was tipped over and I knew exactly what had happened. Obviously one of chicks escaped to the outside of the pen and one of the barn cats grabbed it and Mama flew into a rage trying to reach her baby, overturning the water in the melee. Can you imagine her horror? I don’t grieve the chick as much as I do Mama’s terror. I found cardboard boxes in the garage and built a wall on the inside of the pen which I should have done before now but they’ve been there for weeks. I honestly think I will let them out tomorrow to make their way with the rest of the chickens. Then Mama can defend them – she will fly into any cat trying to get to her chicks.
My pleasant afternoon just became a sad day.
Wanted you to know we have orders here to fill and if Connie can get here tomorrow, we’ll get them in the mail to you. Our road has not been plowed however. My friend, Kathy, has the original Big Harvey in her kitchen and here he is.
Here is Little Harvey.
Both sizes of Harvey are $10.
Little Harvey only is $5.00.
March’s Night Star is $3.00.
Frosty and I Love You are no longer available.
Beyond The Battlefield is $31.00.
When the roads clear up, I will get to Connie’s to take pictures of her fabric. I can tell you enjoyed my tour – haha! And I know you’re going to enjoy the next tour just as much.
And until I talk to you tomorrow, here’s more snow to look at.
We are having dangerous winds, up to 70 mph, snow, rain, ice, you name it. Lake ice on Lake Erie is being blown into roads along the lake, the entire county is shut down tomorrow… 40,000 people do not have power, trees down…it’s just terrible. But at least the snow accumulation is not bad…I think it is flying elsewhere! A friend had her 600 pound pergola blow through her window!
However, it was a good day to sit and sew! Square in a square in a square blocks, eight done, 48 to go!
Carol – I just have to know what your friend did with a window out in that wind!
Stay warm and safe! I hope all the animals are doing well.
Good day to read a book or sew!!!! Looks horrible out there. Keep warm!
Poor mama hen. Aren’t animals dear? I am so sorry.
Oh my! You have had quite a winter. Spring is coming!
Aww, poor mama hen. She’ll take care of any cat that comes after her chicks! Your snow looks like Western NY. We live in Ohio now where we have had 50 or more mph winds. It is WILD. The wind warning has been extended to 1 AM instead of 10 PM since it’s still going strong. My big, heavy grapevine tree blew over; that’s never happened before. Squeak loves to run out on the porch, look, run back in. It also went from 52 degrees at 7 AM to 29 now. Brrr again. We will look forward to Connie’s stash whenever you can get out, Mary. Stay in where it’s warm and safe:) PS One of the ads this time had a shirt that said, “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t want to come.” Funny.
The wind continues to blow here tonight. It has calmed down, and the high wind warning has expired. We did not get the snow here in southeastern Wisconsin. We had lots of rain again that has now frozen in our 8 degree temps. It is so dangerous getting out to our shed to get the car. So sorry for the hen and chick. One of our cats got a junco the other day. They always have food available. I guess it’s in their nature. I did enjoy the tour of your fabric. It is so nice to have many colors available when you need them, especially when you have a blizzard and can’t go to a fabric store. Hope things improve tomorrow. Keep warm.
We got 10 1/2 inches today to add to the 20 inches still on the ground but now as much as you did. You are out in the open so I can imagine how it was there. We had a lot of wind too but being in town it wouldn’t be as crazy as where you are! So sorry about the little chick but I feel like you do that Mama being so frantic would be worse. I hope that you get through this blizzard ok – I wasn’t even able to go to the farm today, my husband was able to trudge through the snow but he said it would have been up to my hips and I would be Stuck!!! Maybe tomorrow, we shall see. Good thing he can get through all of that!! lol
Kathy Hanson – who takes care of everybody if you can’t get there? Does he like them? Or maybe he just loves you and is willing to do it because it’s important to YOU!
My Iowa friends put videos of your highways on facebook this morning. The whiteout was so bad they couldn’t see 10 feet ahead. It was a very wise day to stay inside, at especially not on the road. The snow is one thing, the wind is the worst. When I see all the cars and trucks in the ditches and accidents, I wonder why they even tried to go on the highways. A late load wouldn’t be worth all the damages or deaths.
On a good note, here the sun was shining today, the wind wasn’t a problem, but it was a bit nippy here in Rapid City. We’ve had storms, snow, ice and wind, but were lucky to be on the edges.
Hi Mary! This storm is crazy!! We are still at the retreat tonight and hopefully will be able to go home tomorrow. Several people left on Saturday, and some even on Friday. Lots of sewing getting done though. It is so pretty to look out over the river, the parking lot and the road out – not so much. I got my bullseye extra blocks done and all together, I made 90 – so 9 wide, 10 long. Everyone loves it and I sent them to your blog!!!
Sherry Whalen – gosh, I thought you said you were heading home! Our road hasn’t even been plowed and all schools are closed again. Oh, but think of all that uninterrupted sewing time! Wowser!
What a crazy awful winter! It’s everywhere. Today on Facebook I saw snow in the California desert. That can’t happen very often, I’m sure. But your snow. It’s huge! Stay warm and safe.
Bulls Eye top is done. Now to make a back and quilt it.
Wow! What a snowy winter you’ve had so far! No thanks. We’ve had 10” of rain this week in TN. My area is fine but Knoxville & some smaller communities got hit pretty hard & are still waiting for water to recede. So sad! Even Nashville had some flooding issues. And if that isn’t enough, there have been numerous mud/rockslides in TN! Looking forward for February to be over, as I’m sure you are! We actually had a sunny day today & May get 2 more before rains return! Ugh! Hang in there, Mary. It’ll all melt eventually. Sorry about the baby chick. Sad,
Mary, your snow pics remind me of the old days when winters were long and blizzards dumped so much snow. We had high winds here but no snow. Twenty miles to the north of us got 5 inches or more. A 130 car pile up on I-41 north of Oshkosh left one dead and 70 plus injured. I took your advice and stayed home and sewed this weekend. Finished my Bullseye Quilt! Sending it out to be quilted this week. Keep warm!
WOW! That’s a lot of snow. Here in Southeast Louisiana we are running the air conditioner as it was also 80 degrees yesterday after all the rain for the last week. Today (Sunday) it is cooler and the heater might go on tonight! Take care and stay warm.
My kid spent almost 3 hours tonight trying to get the drive open so we can get out. Butler and Bremer counties have not put their plows back out yet at 12:30 am Monday, so it’s questionable for schools and others tomorrow. We have a drift by our cement block bldg that is about 15 ft high. I can live with lots of things, but the wind gives me the willies. Been stitching. The back door blew open, the dog ran out. She ran around a little bit, then ran back to the door so the kid let her in. She was so excited to be back inside. Stay warm, watch those roads.
Mary what wonderful pictures you captured. Sorry to here about mama hen and the lost chick. Always amazed seeing all of the baked eggs, Enjoyed the tour of fabrics, and anxiously waiting for the bunny patterns . With the weather the mail is creeping along. I sent a registered letter to Saint Paul, Minnesota on the 12th and it still has not reached there.
Hope Spring
is around the corner for all of us to enjoy.
I drove home to Illinois yesterday from West Virginia. I had clouds, rain, snow, about 5 minutes of sun, but the WIND! I was surprised there wasn’t a ban for semi trucks. The pictures of your snow are amazing. Definitely a good time to see inside! I feel sad about the chick. That poor mama!! Stay warm!
Winds still blowing here at 55mph and some snow flying, so schools are closed. It’s ice out there from the rain we got yesterday. I would rather shovel a path of snow for the dogs to go out versus struggling to keep us all upright on ice with the wind blowing. Our temps dropped fast. I saw the over 100 car pileup in Wisconsin and thought the same thing why people would be out driving. We had a travel ban here in the afternoon and overnight. And those ice chunks blowing onto roadways in Buffalo – YIKES! Saw that too and then the Jack Daniels plant in the south with water going into it. Happy Monday to everyone and be safe.
Out here in western South Dakota there can be a lot of miles between nothing and next to nothing. Because of all the danger to the people stuck on the road or the people trying to rescue them, the State just closes the gates to the Interstate. And if anybody goes around the gates, nobody tries to rescue them. You just don’t mess with Mother Nature.
Mary, do you remember maybe 20 years ago or more when Iowa was having a blizzard that a school bus loaded with the girls’ basketball team got stuck on No. 3 in the 5 mile stretch east of Clarion? Nobody lived on that road anymore and nobody from Clarion could get to the bus to rescue the girls. If my memory serves me, the next day several of the Clarion guys volunteered to take food, blankets, heaters, etc to the bus using their snowmobiles. The girls and the bus were stuck there for 3 days.
Betty Klosterman – I do not remember that story but I can imagine it happening. Plow still has not been on our road!
I want to purchase a large and small Harvey pattern. This totals $10-correct- shipping included. I send a check to the Country Threads address w/ an address label.
Marcia Livingston – you are correct!
It was a doozy! We came to retreat a day early to beat it! So experienced this at Spirit Lake area but did not lose power and were warm, especially with friendship—quilters are the best!
We are now having your storm. Everything is closed up and some have power outages.
Good to be in. Generator is ready, but not needed so far. We did make it to church yesterday morning, only two miles from us. Quilting is on the program for today. Loved seeing all your pictures of your stash, Love the Harvey patterns. Hope the weather calms down soon. Have great day Dianne
I heard the wind was bad in Osage and my moms driveway drifted something awful. So glad she has a reliable person who plows and shovels for her. Such sad news about the baby chick, glad you keep a good eye on them and solved the escaping issue. We finally had a day of NO RAIN in TN! the flooding has been pretty devastating to folks and sinkholes are a real issue here. We should have 3 more days of glorious sun and warm weather, hallelujah!
Kim – glad your mom In Osage has help! We hear and see on the news about all the rain in TN which is difficult to deal with, too. Hope you get some sun!
Wind has been something else! We had about 15 miles to go to the east and going there wasn’t bad but coming home against the headwind was something else! If it had been blowing across the highway it would have been a horrid battle! Don’t know how the big trucks manage! It must be a bit like sailing! We were surprised our power stayed on.
Sorry about Mama and the chick but I guess that’s all part of nature too.
We have a lot of snow in NW Wisconsin too. What I want to know is how do you bake eggs? We have 8 hens and get 8 eggs daily. We each have an egg and our two dogs each get an egg but they are piling up.
Holly Woodyatt – spray the muffin tin well with Pam.
Crack an egg into each cup.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 5-8 minutes – until yolk is cooked.
Turn out on counter.
I freeze some individually on cookie sheets so I can take one or two out at a time. Baking time is approx – I never have timed this because I continue to bake and take out and refill the muffin tins. My dogs love eggs and I don’t have to stop and cook for them.
thanks Mary, my husband cooks each dog an egg every day, this will help him out as well as deal with the eggs that are piling up. we have 22-26 inches of snow so far. My husband just got done clearing shed roof and chicken house of snow. I feel bad for him but I have gotten lots of quilkting done in this cold snowy weather.
Your storm reminds me of the snow we used to get when I was a child in SE Minnesota. We loved to dig forts in the piles my Dad would shovel off the driveway. I remember hearing of people needing to shovel snow off of roofs. I’m hearing that again this year for the first time in ages. Denver got 8+ inches but the storm completely missed Windsor and Fort Collins. There was a 50 car pile-up by the airport Friday night. I’m always glad not to be out when things like that are going on.
No seeing here this weekend as Jen was home and wanted to do a cooking marathon and spend time with Pete. Mary, I sent you the video via FB Messenger of Pete yesterday, loping across the pasture. So wonderful to watch his progress in recovery! I will head to Berthoud this morning to pick up my Bullseye from my quilter. Can’t wait to see it!!
Diane Bauer – I will look for that video – isn’t that just wonderful? And so heartwarming for Jen. Interstates around us are still closed! Yikes! And your Bullseye is already quilted? Wow! My favorite part is washing and drying after it’s bound! Send a picture of that when it’s done.
Will do! I’m going to trim the edges and start binding it this afternoon!
I’m so sorry about your chicks. I know that is part of the ‘circle of life’, particularly on the farm, but it’s still a loss and still hard. Christa has had chickens off and on at the barn where we keep Pete, and they had awful trouble with foxes and coyotes. I didn’t ever hear the barn cats had gotten the chickens–that was new for me. I think they have ducks now, so there are still eggs, but they aren’t having the issue of losing so many–well, that and and a huge, new, enclosed pen. The chickens used to hang out in the stalls with the horses occasionally–everyone likes company, I guess!
Diane Bauer – before we fenced in the 7 acres I lost lots of chickens, eggs, etc until I started locking everybody in the barn at night. I have several live animal traps but I’ve also had to shoot some varmints which I hated but like you say, it’s part of farm life with animals. I can’t believe Pete had a stroke – he runs, didn’t lose his balance and looked happy doing it!
WOWZERS! We use to get snow and wind like that, but any more just snow or wind. And not much snow.
So sorry for all suffering with winter storms. I cannot complain as we are experiencing a mild winter this year. Afraid you will have to suffer my complaints come summer heat. Still working on heart blocks for red & white quilt. Want to hand appliqué hearts (what was I thinking ?). 2 down..15 to go…
Y’all stash warm & be safe.
Nikki M – I look out into my screened porch and dream of those days to come! Yes, what WERE you thinking wanting to appliqué by hand? You go, Girl!
WOW and I get excited for a couple inches rain or 3″ of snow in local mountains. I remember those heavy snow storms and winds, when I was a kid in Minnesota. Don’t know how you do it. I don’t like the 36 degree weather here at night.
Nancy Poole – I guess we just get used to this weather and expect bad winters.
Is March’s Night Star the same star in Presidents Pride? It looks familiar. I can’t find my book to check. So sorry to hear about the chick & poor Mama. It sure looks cold. We are in for more rain by Saturday which will then head east next week & more snow for you guys! Stay warm & dry.
Linda In So. cal. – I don’t know.
Plenty more snow here in north Idaho last night n this morning. Our Polaris Brutus had to break down so we are renting a friend’s tractor to plow. What a time for his gout to act up! Son is taking our CanAm Polaris to dealer to be fitted with plow blade to keep our road fairly clear to neighbors 2 miles from our home. Hiway 93 is 2/3 mile in opposite direction from our house. Sorry for all the nasty weather everywhere!
Poor little chick, Mary.
You can also bake your eggs in the shell for hardboiled eggs for the humans. Place eggs in cupcake tins and bake at 320 degrees for about 30 minutes, cool in ice water for about 10 minutes. You may see a brown spot or two when you crack the shell but the eggs are still good to eat.
We had a bit of a shock on Sun. morning. During the 50 mile an hour winds during the nigh, part of our dairy barn roof fell in. Killed 9 cows–they are still lying in the mess, they are trapped by the metal and wood. They are literally frozen stiff–broken legs, etc. Too much snow on the roof. We hope the other half does not fall in. 6 cows got out (maybe they got scarred during the crash.) This is a barn where they “loaf” during the day/night. All of the milking equipment is up and going. We milk about 100. Thank the Lord it happened at night when no human was in there.
No school again today (Mon.)–this makes day 9. They are going to extend the school day by 20 minutes to meet the state requirements. And, we still have March to go.
Sorry about your little chick.
Kathy Schwartz – oh your poor cows! Did you know it when it happened or did you discover it the next morning? And if the roof didn’t kill them, they then froze to death! Oh, how simply awful! How will you ever get that mess cleaned up in this weather? Oh, I am so sorry! We just don’t think about all that heavy snow on the roof, do we? I’ll say a prayer for you and your family!
Kathy Schwartz-I keep thinking about your poor cows! Are there others who are still alive but seriously injured? I cannot imagine how you feel – I was sad about one chick – I’m devastated about your cows! As I drove to town I looked at the loafing sheds — and the snow on the roof!
That poor chickie :{
I lived in Colorado and have had winters like that. Snow is beautiful though, but can be dangerous. Glad everyone is okay, especially the furbaby!