Here at Pure Water Hollow we are experiencing our 4th good snow of this winter! I haven’t written anything since November, so I thought I would update a little bit about the winter of 09/10.
The first big storm hit eastern Kentucky back on December 18th and 19th when we got about 6 inches of snow and ice here at our home. During this storm we left Pure Water Hollow to visit my mother for the holidays. This was another one of those wet snows that took down trees and power lines! We were only without power for a day or so (which didn’t affect us much since we were out of town) but some of our neighbors were without power through Christmas Day! Other areas were hit even harder and there were reports of students being stranded at their school in Harlan when the snow hit so quickly and it was not possible to get out. Some of those students actually had to stay the night at school!
We got some snow on December 30th and 31st but the next big storm was on January 4th and 5th when we had 5 to 6 inches of snow. During this time was very cold, with tempertures staying below freezing for 2 consecutive weeks. We saw huge ice bergs floating in our river, so if the cold snap had lasted much longer, the river may have frozen over like it did back in 94. But the cold didn’t hold on, and the lows never got below zero like it did in 94.
During this storm, we almost got snowed in at Harlan, KY because that was where our brake line broke as we were on our way home from a fantastic vacation in the Carribean. The brake-line stranded us the night before the storm, just three hours from home! We got it fixed and drove home the next day while the snow was still accumulating! The following days saw us wind down from the trip and get things unpacked and back to normal.
We had a couple of mild, warmer weeks when the maple sap began to flow and I was able to make a couple of jars of maple syrup, but then we had a huge 6-8 inch dry snow on January 29th and 30th. I only measured 6 on the ground here, (with some 10inch drifts) but other areas of our county reported 8 inches on the ground. This was the weekend we decided to butcher one of our hogs, which was cold, but made for a pretty setting also. We did everything ourselves again in our side yard, with Matthew doing the main work. From this 360 pound pig we got several good roasts, made the tenderloin into about 62 delicious thick slices, and are curing about 50 pounds of ham. Lisa also rendered out about 30 pounds of lard which we hope to use some of to make soap. The big success this time has been the sausage, which we wanted to make a lot of if Lisa could get it tasting right. Using sage, pepper, and maple syrup she found the perfect blend! We ended up hand cranking out about 60 pounds of wonderfully delicious mild sausage for the freezer! We have already enjoyed several wonderful meals with the sausage and tenderloin! We have a couple more hogs to butcher that we may do this weekend that we hope to make into more market cuts and less sausage.
Over this past weekend of Feb. 5th – 7th a big snow had been predicted (with possible 6 – 8 inches of white for our area) but it all turned into just rain, which resulted in some minor flodding around here.
Now here we are on February 9th in the midst of our next true winter storm. So far we only have about an inch of snow/ice but the national weather service has issued a winter storm warning for us through tomorrow night with another 3 to 5 inches expected! If the temps cooperate this week, I may be able to boil down some more maple syrup. Yesterday was above freezing and today is expected to rise also as the precipitation changes to rain/freezing rain and then wind chills near zero for tonight, with another warmer day tomorrow. Will it make for a good sap flow? I love it when we can get things done in the middle of winter storms! It makes the storms so much more exciting and enjoyable! (Maybe I’m a bit strange?)
My thoughts and prayers go out to the folks in the DC area, though, who are really getting hammered. I’ve heard that they got about 3 feet of snow from that weekend system and are bracing for another 10 inches from this current system.
Here at Pure Water Hollow, God has been very good to us, and we have been enjoying our winter (more or less). God bless everyone!
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3 comments
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jrejhkids on February 9, 2010 at 8:55 am
We haven't butchered our own hogs yet. Maybe someday. We have butchered some goats and put in the freezer. It is work to do your own meat.
I enjoyed reading your entry. My son left Berea before that last big storm. He spent the week between short term and spring term with his aunt and uncle in Fort Mitchell, KY. He said when he got back that there were huge piles on snow in the parking lots.
We have been getting more snow than we usually do out here. We have had 13 1/2 inches, when we normally get 4-5 inches of snow. We have also had a lot of rain. Hopefully we get more in the mountains so that we have water to irrigate this year.
~Cheryl
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sassyfras on February 9, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Always glad to read your posts, we also have and are having snow. The good thing is around here the more snow we have in Feb. the better the mushroom hunting. I'm not sure as to why but it always happens. Hope you and your family stay well. sherry
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Schatzi on February 9, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Wow…what a crazy winter you are all having. We have had no snow this year…and it's a year for the Olympics here…just bizarre that's for sure.
Thankful you all are fine.
Blessings,
Connie
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