If you’ve been following along on social media, you’re fluent on some of the challenges we faced last week during SNOVID-21. We’ll, I’m happy to report that everyone is doing well and enjoying the sunshine. We were very close to losing 2 calves to hypothermia but after a bit of TLC, they pulled through just fine. We are very fortunate to have only lost 2 chickens though this whole ordeal. This is nothing compared to the many vegetable farmers that had greenhouses collapse, fruit buds freeze, and spring starts die.
There is still a lot we learned. Though we have redundant sources of electricity, heat, water, and communications, my supplies are wearing thin. I ran out of sugar, milk substitute (for human needs), colostrum (calf supplement), and diesel fuel. And though I had diesel fuel conditioner (to keep it from gelling), I failed to put it in the fuel prior to freezing temperatures - so it was ineffective. I also had a few tools that broke this last week that I had to find workarounds for. All these things are minor nuisances in the bigger picture, but they’re just one more weakness that needs shoring up.
Another thing I learned - our community is awesome. It was great seeing people helping one another. And the outpouring of support at the the Farmers Market this weekend was heartening - so many people reaching out to support local farmers. It will be a tough road for many of our veggie farming friends, but your generosity and moral support will give them the strength to preserve. After all, that’s what farmers do.
What did you learn about yourself this past week? What changes do you plan to make. Let’s keep each other honest so we don't we can all thrive together.
