Homestead Acres

Posts Tagged ‘winter’

Burrr our summer weather has left and been replaced by cold wind and rain. Yesterday it changed to snow. Coming down very heavy at times. Only a dusting stuck to the ground and melted away by noon the next day.

Hubby mixed some organ music he wrote with some winter driving footage.  Hope you enjoy!  (music cuts out near the end, sorry editor problem)

Now that we have a break in the cold weather hubby decided to take the older kids for a nature walk!  The -25C windchill’s we’ve had the last few weeks are just to cold for little ones.  Well it’s to cold for ME to! They had a wonderful time looking at the deer and finding different tracks.  Afterward it was time for hot chocolate!

It’s a big change from our fall nature walk you can also see one of our winter walks from last winter.

This is a sulfur spring, it’s a really interesting nature study area.  In the summer because of the sulfur water bugs don’t lay their eggs there.  It also runs year round with out freezing.

Kid’s found some mouse tracks!

While January has been fairly mild weather for us, many places around the world have been hard hit.  The southern USA has been hit with weather far below normal.  Europe and China have also been hit with freezing weather and snow.  I’ve been reading about damage to orange crops, also corn and other grains in some areas.  Homeless shelters are having trouble keeping up with the need.  Some areas have had power outages due to the high demand of electricity for heating.

It’s a real reminder why we need to take time to prepare for hard times.  You never know when unusual weather, job loss or illness will strike.

I would love to hear from you!  Are you having unusual weather in your area?  How are you coping with it?

More Cold Heading for Florida as Northern Hemisphere Shivers

Deaths, damaged crops, strapped shelters: Effects of cold lingers as South Florida thaws from record

Cold weather ends, but has damage to Florida oranges been done?

Weather is stunning for Florida turtles sent into coma by the chill

Winter of 2009–2010 in Europe

If you heat your home with oil, or perhaps have an oil hot water heater.  What happens if you run out of oil? If you run out in the middle of the night or in a storm and the truck can’t get in to service you right away, you can use diesel fuel as a replacement.  After adding fuel to your tank you will need to bleed out your fuel line.  This video shows you how we do this.

Note Disclaimer: We are sharing what works for us for informational purposes.  And please NEVER use gas in your furnace!

Would you like to join us for a winter drive? Hubby put together a video of some winter senery we filmed along with music he wrote.  Hope you enjoy!

Our Canadian winters are long and cold.  A favorite treat during that time is our homemade hot chocolet.  Nothing taste better after coming in from shoveling the driveway sledding with the kids.

I’ve found this a much taster and cheaper alternative then buying little cans at the store.

This also makes a wonderful gift!  Fill a quart canning jar with the mix.  Add some pretty ribbon around the top and you have a quick and easy gift.

Hot Chocolate Recipe

5 cups powderd milk

1 cup non dairy creamer

2 cups sugar

1 cup coco powder

Combine in a bowl and mix all together.

Place 3 TBS in a mug, top with boiling water and enjoy!

So when it’s snowing hard out, the roads are closed and it’s -19C windchill.  What do you do?  Have a BBQ!!! LOL Oh yes and try out the new snowblower.

I finished another knitting project and it’s a hit!  This is for my BIL for Christmas, but dh was kind to model it for  photos.  He loves it and wants one as well.  I’m hoping to start on that today.

The pattern is Easy Balaclava and you can find it here on Ravelry or on Knitting in Color’s blog.

The only change I made to the pattern was to use a bulky weight yarn.  This gave me a men’s large size and it fits great.  Yarn used Cascades Eco +.

Hubby getting his new snow blower ready for winter.  Just in time for our big storm!  Since our driveway is not paved we have to adjust the guides higher then factory settings.