Grab your ice skates boys and girls (and maybe your life preserver too) and tie your hats down!

I’ve already had to reboot my computer three times while trying to get even this dopey little post written because the power keeps flicking on and off. Sheesh. I am a stubborn fool though. We know it’s windy out when we can hear the gusts buffeting this house. Built just under two years ago the house is so tight, that we actually had to put in a vent that we turn on in order to create an artificial draft to allow the living room fire place draw properly.  Built to the latest energy efficiency standards at the the time, all of the insulation was the of the freaky blow-in type that looks something like styrofoam snot. It really works though. During a run-of-the-mill winter storm we are barely even aware of what’s going on outside. Not last night though. With the wind hitting gusts of 30+ knots and rain turning into sleet and freezing rain it was not exactly the most restful of experiences.

That was on top of yesterday’s wet weather bringing snow off of many of the building here on the farm. Pinaya, our 14 year old retired Peruvian import who drew the short straw as the female weaner’s den mother this year, almost got buried when a sheet of snow came off of the north (uphill) side of the Main Barn. Thankfully the old girl still has a quick first step and dodged the worst of it, thank you very much. Jen described hearing and seeing the snow come off and then “seeing a flash of fawn” as poor Pinaya got tagged but not taken down. No harm, no foul I suppose. 

That shedding of snow also lead to the north side corals of that same barn also temporarily flooding. We did eventually get the drainage ditch cleared again though. That way the the thousands of gallons of water that yesterday’s rain and warm temperatures were causing to be shed off of the the mountainside could be properly routed around the barn instead of into it. In the end we decided late yesterday to play it safe and before turning off the lights last night both the Main Barn and the Arena were closed in on their north sides, both to keep everyone dry and to eliminate the wind tunnel effect that occurs when the breeze is ripping off the mountaintop from the northwest.

This morning, as you can see, we woke up to find ourselves rather iced in. Safe to say that the alpacas will be limited to corals for the next 24 to 48 hours at least until the sun comes out and makes things safe again. Nothing like a nice sprain or broken leg to get the late winter party started after all. Conveniently enough we still have to trim the toenails of the entire Arena so having that part of the herd already locked in at least saves us one step. Can you see me struggling to find the positive spin on roughly 1,200 toe nails on a day like this? I also think we’ll forgo the use of cars this morning in favor of our kid’s Gator. It has chains.