Trying to block the west blowing winds from the coop.
Snow! We barely made it by the skin of our teeth!
Our three season porch and backyard in the first snow of the 2014 season.
Homesteaders everywhere are in the final thrust of getting land and buildings ready for the wind and snow of winter. We are no different on the Small House Homestead.
The first snow of 2014 fell on SW Michigan last night.
I have found that no matter how much time we spend preparing our land and outbuildings for winter (and we spend a lot of time getting ready here in the snow belt of Michigan) there is always more to do. Now that the leaves are mostly picked up our primary efforts turn to the rest of the chores we must do before the snow begins.
Snow on the pumpkin!
And the rub is that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan received a foot or more of snow yesterday so we know that snowfall in our own county is not far behind.
Gene is lifting a bale of straw from the barn of the local farmers we purchase them from.
Yesterday the main push was to get the two cement and mosaic garden bench tops wrapped with plastic, to put up the stakes and board protection pieces at our mailbox to protect it from the force of the plow, to find and push in the reflectors along our sidewalk and driveway as a guide for the snow blower, and staking and wrapping the bird netting around the hydrangeas to protect them from the deer eating every single bud.
The chicken coop in the cold and white landscape.
Late in the afternoon we drove to a local farm to pick up 16 bales of straw to protect the chicken coop from the winter winds. Then we built a protected “play pen” around the coop itself. I was hoping we could make a plastic run over and around the coop like the Chicken Chick does for her coops but the idea of creating a roof has stymied us and Gene is balking about any more expense related to the coop. I also hate the idea of using plastic that will eventually enter the waste stream but I’m just not sure how much the straw bales really protect the coop….I will need to do more research on this issue.
While the chickens certainly did not want to come out of their coop today, Sassy loves running in the snow!
How would we run a homestead without our truck! Notice the vanity plate…”Heat & Beat” refers to Gene’s blacksmith forge!
Small House homesteader and chicken keeper, Donna
Small House Big Sky Homestead 
You guys got all the lake effect that didn’t quite make it to Ann Arbor. We have just a light dusting. However, my sister in Marquette did get over a foot.
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Yes, it wasn’t too bad here. The UP got slammed though. We live in “the snow belt” will get our share before the winter is over. Last winter we had over 6 ft. of snow!!
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Wow! We’re planning on moving back towards Grand Rapids where I’m originally from, it snows like crazy there too!
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Yes, we get lots of snow here. The winter we moved here we had 93 inches of snow in December. I thought we had made a horrible mistake for an aging couple. But after 14 years here I’ve discovered that that happens only like every 7 years or so. GR is about an hour from me. We live in Allegan county, the last of the affordable land!! Allegan County is very rural and economically poor but very rich in the natural beauty of the land, forests, water etc. By the way, Allegan County area (esp. Saugatuck) is very gay friendly.
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