Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Twin Blizzards at the Farm 2010

What a wild winter! We got about 26 inches here in Finksburg. We knew it would take a few days to get our lane open so we were well prepared to relax here at home. But before we could relax, we had to get ready.



Charlie & the kids stack up wood near the house to keep the fire going while I'm inside working on a big pot of beef stew.


We woke up to a beautiful snowy morning and the snow just kept coming & coming.





Here is our Border Collie, Zoe, trying to run in the snow. She was no match for the 2 feet of snow.












Sarah & Becky take a break from clearing paths to the goats and chickens.



After clearing the heavy snow from the deck, Becky, Sarah, Ben & Daniel jump over the side into the 6 foot deep pile of snow.

Yea... the goats are happy to have a path to walk!



After all the hard work, Ben finds time to enjoy the snow by building an igloo from the pile of snow that was pushed off our flat roof.

Round 2: More snow... Unbelievable!



Well, three days after the first snow, with almost non-stop commercial digging, our friend was able to come and begin digging us out. We have a quarter mile driveway and no tractor at this time to dig ourselves out of huge amounts of snow. Just as he got about one third of the way down our driveway, he got a call to go back to work for the second snow...another 24 inches or so was on the way... with Blizzard conditions! We were still stuck. Thankfully Charlie & Becky parked their vehicles out at the end of the lane so we could walk that quarter mile out if we needed to.





The total accumulation was so heavy that Charlie had to even shovel off the grape arbor to rescue it from the snow.





Here are the bee hives covered by snow. The snow actually acts as an insulator to the hives helping to keep the bees warm and protected from the blizzard winds.


Believe it or not that little piece of wood is the top corner of the gate to the goat pen.



This is Becky attempting to make a snow angel... not quite working for her!

How beautiful everything was the following morning when all the snow had finally stopped...completely!




This is our 5 foot above ground pool...LOL!


The kids get back to some serious deck jumping.


"Oh...let's try this part of the deck...watch out below!"


Ben gets some serious hang time on this jump!

These next two beautiful pictures were taken by our budding photographer, Sarah. She took many of the other photos also.



Like all the commercial snow removers, our friend was out working very hard so we had to figure out a way to get Becky & Charlie to work our selves. The kids & Charlie decided it was time to trudge their way out to the car and truck. Shoveling was out of the question so they just walked one behind the other to stomp down a reasonable path. Of course, they talked Daniel (our 9 year old) into going first through the deepest snow. He crawled on top most of the time.



Charlie & the kids finally reach the one-third of the driveway that was first cleared by our snow removal friend... a good place to take a rest. It will be easier going the rest of the way.



Daniel is "King of the Hill" as he climbs to the top of the mound to touch the street sign.

Ben & Daniel invent a new Winter Sport..."Luge for Chickens". Daniel gets on his sled at the top of the deck while Ben holds it in place with his foot...


Ben lets go with his foot and away Daniel sails down the snow mound and drops into the channel path made to the chicken coop...


And as he banks the corner almost taking out one chicken...


...he arrives at the finish line in a flurry of feathers
(Important Disclosure: No feathered friend was injured during the making of this Blog)

About Ceilidh Meadows Farm

My photo
Finksburg, Maryland, United States
What does Ceilidh (KAY-lee) mean? It is a Gaelic word for a traditional Scottish or Irish gathering. The Gathering Place!

Our Mission Statement and Goals

Our Mission Statement:
To glorify God through our family, home, & farm. To serve Him by being good stewards of His creation and the resources He provides.

Our goals:
To grow & provide delicious, fresh naturally grown foods for our family and members of our CSA. Though we are not certified organic, we choose to farm using non-chemical methods. We also provide a happy healthy home for our animals using pastured systems.

We hope to support our family & CSA members in learning to eat seasonally from the farm. We hope to do this by sharing ideas for food preparation & storage.

As God provides a bountiful harvest, we hope to provide extra food for families in need during this economically difficult time.