SNOW IN TEXAS!!

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66°f right now at almost 11pm. I had the window open here behind me till just a few minutes ago. Real damp due to the front that passed through. No heat or fire tonight :celebrate May even have the window above my pillow open tonight (did so last night). Gonna cool down just a bit tomorrow though. Back in the 50s daytime and 30's night time.
 

Girlies' Mum

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I put on every warm article of clothing I had and carried boiling water to melt ice for the animals. I broke ice and scooped it out.

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The dogs liked it.

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The garden.

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More snow!

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A fence post snow cone!

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A query I've been curious about for a while to all you guys that have very cold winters. Where I live in Scotland it goes down to freezing about 20% of winter (maybe less), I guess, so mild in comparison I am also by the sea which keeps it warmer). I break the ice on the water for my sheep religiously a couple of times a day, but is there a clever way of dealing with it? I used to use hot water, but quite honestly it didn't seem to make much difference as the ice is rarely so thick I can't break it and scoop it out. I know in the snow they will eat that. When it is very cold, like <20degrees F, it must freeze over very quickly? When I asked the sheep farmer next door he just told me sheep didn't need much water, but I am not buying that.
 

Bruce

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You might put a bubbler in the water. Moving water will freeze but at a lower temperature. It does depend on how MUCH motion there is.
 

Baymule

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A query I've been curious about for a while to all you guys that have very cold winters. Where I live in Scotland it goes down to freezing about 20% of winter (maybe less), I guess, so mild in comparison I am also by the sea which keeps it warmer). I break the ice on the water for my sheep religiously a couple of times a day, but is there a clever way of dealing with it? I used to use hot water, but quite honestly it didn't seem to make much difference as the ice is rarely so thick I can't break it and scoop it out. I know in the snow they will eat that. When it is very cold, like <20degrees F, it must freeze over very quickly? When I asked the sheep farmer next door he just told me sheep didn't need much water, but I am not buying that.
A lot of people in the colder areas have water heaters for their water. There is heat tape you can wrap around pipes and heating buckets. There is even a heated water hose on Amazon! Since we get this type of weather maybe every 3 years or so, and it doesn't last more than a few days, I don't buy all the heat accessories.
 

High Desert Cowboy

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We have what they call a frost free hose bib which generally won’t freeze. Sometimes I still put a heat tape on it just to make sure but that’s only for when it gets really cold. To keep ice out of water trough I’ll use a stock tank heater with a thermostat so it will only kick on at a certain temperature. I know lots of folks who just break the ice a couple times throughout the day but this leaves piles of ice next to the tank which will cause a muddy mess come spring. Course most years it’ll be a muddy mess anyway
 

Girlies' Mum

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We have what they call a frost free hose bib which generally won’t freeze. Sometimes I still put a heat tape on it just to make sure but that’s only for when it gets really cold. To keep ice out of water trough I’ll use a stock tank heater with a thermostat so it will only kick on at a certain temperature. I know lots of folks who just break the ice a couple times throughout the day but this leaves piles of ice next to the tank which will cause a muddy mess come spring. Course most years it’ll be a muddy mess anyway
Wow I had no idea there were so many ways to manage this problem! I will have fun looking on Amazon US and see if i can maybe justify something. Going to be freezing and snow all week this week apparently.... And you are right about the ice becoming a muddy mess!
 

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