Gildrien Farm

We had a big storm a few days ago, with so much wind that we lost power for a while and thought were going to lose the plastic off our greenhouse. We went running outside to tack down the roll-up sides, pack snow around the bottom seam, and tighten up the ropes along the sides. It held together, but we were scared for a minute.

Temperatures have been dropping like crazy, but the broccoli in the greenhouse and the chard in our cold frames are still going strong. We finally set up the heat lamp in the chicken house, for which they seem to be very happy. We decided to get light-less infrared lamp, which just produces heat. Since it's infrared, it only heats the chickens, not the air, and hopefully is therefore more efficient, since their roost is not very snug. To keep their water from freezing, we bought a magnetic oil-pan heater which we stuck to the bottom of their galvanized waterer. It seems to be working really well so far.

People keep telling us that there's going to be a lot of snow this weekend, but the local forecasts and radar don't seem to agree. We'll see!