COLD

[Boondox]

Kevin -- I work at a coffee roaster that's heavily into Fair Trade Organics. Every year we fly some of the farmers up here to northern VT to show them what we do with their crop. Last winter half a dozen flew in from Guatemala in the middle of a snowstorm. They'd never seen snow before and had a blast chasing flakes...for about one minute. Then they realized how cold they were and had to borrow about three jackets apiece!

Pete

 

[RichZ]

Re: REALLY COLD

Stew them???!!!/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I would have a hard enough time killing any critter I've raised, but one that I've had for TWO YEARS???

Nope, not for us!! When our chickens stop laying, we've got little tiny chaise lounges for them to retire to. I know we'll have LOTS of unproductive chickens, but we get attached to them. I try to stop my wife from naming them!!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Wingnut]

Kevin .... my wife is from Texas - worse yet, the gulf coast .... lived 99.9% of her life there before I moved her to Edmonton and then Michigan ....
you can just imagine the amount of whining I hear (and not from the vehicles trying to start)

For some reason, when I brought up snowmobiling last night, she didn't seem overly anxious to go with me this weekend ....

pete

 

[Wingnut]

Re: REALLY COLD

Rich
[blueI try to stop my wife from naming them!! </font color=blue>
don't! Well, as long as she gives them names like "tasty", "lunch", "kfc", etc.

Sorry ... couldn't resist ... my wife is the same .... fortunately, she hasn't caught onto the facts that all chickens are small as she goes ga-ga over anything "miniature" ... I'm now fightling a losing battle over miniature llamas.
(I will get a phone call any minute to tell me how the horses were this morning when she did the morining chores ... like it'll be any different than any other cold morning)

 

[RichZ]

Re: REALLY COLD

Pete, I have a friend who named a rabbit "Stew", so she could say..."Here's my rabbit Stew"!/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif

We also almost got into Llamas, but I didn't know there were minature llamas. Only alpacas, which are unbelievably expensive!!

We were considering getting into llamas to sell their fiber, but found the market is very limited, and extremely difficult to make a profit on alone.

 

[Wingnut]

Re: REALLY COLD

I was assured by others, Rich, that miniature llames were called alpacas .... in other words, there was no such thing .... so, <font color=blue>of course</font color=blue> my wife opens my latest issue of Farm Show up to a page wherein a Texas guy is profiled. He raises miniature llames. Made miniature, of course, just like our horses ... breeding down. He was/is 5'2" and wanted llames but the "regular" ones are too tall. The article mentions an association for these critters. There aren't a lot of them yet ... and - just like the ostrich fad - the breeding stock is quite expensive ... he just sold a pregnant female for $3300 ... and that's the lowest price he's gotten.
Carolyn used the same "we can sell the wool" argument .. but I have heard all that before with ostriches ... so I told her that after she shows me a signed long term contract, I'll consider it ... /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif.
I've got nothing against llamas .. but I am not running a pack train so I see even less use for them than the horses we now have .... you work to feed them, you work to clean away the "processed food" and, in between, you look out the window occassionally to see what they're up to.
At least chickens give you eggs ... and ... ammunition for your deep fryer (unless you name them)

 

[Boondox]

Re: REALLY COLD

Rich -- I married an accountant, so when the hens stop laying (but keep eating) she does the quarterly cost benefit analysis and the unproductive birds go into the freezer (which, by the way, is warmer than the outside air right now!).

Names tell me a lot. The wife is in charge of naming things. If it has a cute name (like Tuppence), I know it will have a long life. Likewise if it has a name related to a function (like the goats named Briggs and Stratton), it will have a long -- if not pampered -- life. But if a chicken has a name like Stew, or Fricassie...there is no doubt how it will end up.

When considering breeds of sheep, we went with Icelandics. Big time browsers that do well on brush and meadow grass. No culinary fussiness to drive up the food bill. A primitive breed less susceptible to diseases. Decent wool and excellent meat. But my bet is they'll have cute names...

Pete

 

[rancar]

Re: REALLY COLD

Thanks Pete! I'm going to look into this for sections of PVC water lines I have running in the crawlspace to my kitchen and laundry.

....Bob

 

[Boondox]

Re: REALLY COLD

Bob -- Another thing. It takes a special tool to install the stuff. Wicked expensive! My advice is to negotiate with the place you buy PEX to borrow/rent their tool.

Pete

 

[RichZ]

Re: REALLY COLD

Well, Pete, I'm not so sure that you can easily sell llama wool. We were considering getting llamas two years ago. All the breeders told us that you could get $10/ounce for the wool. Yeah, right. I asked them where, and they all just started to mumble. We checked all kinds of markets, spinner clubs, farmer markets, wool markets, we checked with the cooperative extension. You name it we checked it. We just couldn't find a market. Llamas are neat animals, we may eventually get a pair as pets, but the only way to make money is to sell the crias (babies) to other people, and that market has to eventually bottom out.

 

[rancar]

Re: REALLY COLD

OK --- thanks Pete.

 

[jsnitz]

Re: REALLY COLD

Just finished a cup of your coffee. Was a tough decision whether to drink it or pour it on my cold fingers! Windy, cold and blowing in Upstate NY.

PS - I know your coffee from years ago when I was the coffee buyer for Godiva. I probably have bought more GMCR coffee than anybody!~

 

[Wingnut]

Re: REALLY COLD

My point exactly Rich .... the market "sounds good" ... but, just as with ostriches, it is an imaginary market based on what one sale sometime in the past garnered. The only standard way to make money from exotics ... is by selling stock to newbies wanting to get into the exotics.
Fortunately, I knew when I bought her the mini horses that we were not going to recoup ANY "investment" ... so I cannot be disappointed.
So far I have resisted "hints" for miniature donkeys, miniature goats, miniature sheep and miniature cows. (The lack of additional grazing land also helps my resolve)

pete

 

[Boondox]

Re: REALLY COLD

Godiva! Wow, that goes WAY back! Thanks for sticking with us!

That wind is wicked, isn't it? I can handle 20 below in a sweatshirt long enough to get the chores done...unless there's a stiff wind. That wind chills to the bone!

Pete

 

[Bird]

Re: REALLY COLD

Pete, I spent one winter ('71-'72) in a Chicago suburb. The coldest morning we had was -16F, but no wind, and I stayed outside comfortably most of the morning; mostly helping other folks get their cars started, and taking one to buy a new battery. But the next morning it had warmed up to only -3F, with strong winds, so it was cold and this ole' southern boy didn't stay out in it long./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Knight9]

<font color=blue>when I brought up snowmobiling last night, she didn't seem overly anxious to go with me this weekend </font color=blue>

Are you actually going somewhere to do some snowmobiling?

 

[Mosey]

I usually dread Monday's, but now I can't wait for Monday! Here's the weather.com forecast for Columbus, IN:

________ THU ____ FRI _____ SAT _____ SUN ____ MON
High: ____ 13 _____ 17 ______ 27 ______ 31 ______ 37
Low: ____ -2 ______ 4 ______ 19 ______ 19 ______ 37

 

[Wingnut]

need to check the websites to ensure that there is enough Lake Effect snow on the west side of Michigan (likely around Cadillac) to make it worthwhile buying the trail permits .... but if there is, I certainly plan to. I paid almost $10k (canuck bucks) for that sucker before we left Alberta (just about 5 years ago) and I still don't have 50 miles on it .... I need to use it before it dies of old age and neglect. But ... if I need to drive to the U.P. (more than 3 hours), I'll be spending the weekend in the hottub at home.

I wasn't joking about snowmobiling in the arctic ... we would go out at 40 and 50 below .... you can dress for the cold.
Of course, I won't be able to pry the wussie spouse out of the warm house ....

 

[Knight9]

Well if you go....enjoy!!! We have been out just on our 10 acres with the kids (pulling them around on a toboggan etc). They LOVE it and never want to quit once we get out there.

Kevin

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. It's not cold at all. We are in "global warming" because you want to use CFCs to make your lives easier and you naughty boys made a "hole" in the atmosphere over the south pole. Didn't you know that? Just ask an environmental freak, or the EPA. It's not cold. It's all in your head. I don't care WHAT the thermometer says. JEH