Predictions sometimes come back and haunt you. Usually, during the late summer and early fall I look at a half dozen scientific and non scientific touchstones to get a feel for the winter season here. Whereas, seasonal changes are not as important for others, when you run a farm, they indicate the difference between life and death. My predictions were for a long, hard, cold winter here in East Tennessee based upon the Wooly Worm Band Stripes and how the Oak Leaves were knotting up amongst other signs.
Many are aware that I am working on a Barn To House Conversion out here. It is the Crown Jewel of my life. It is not a jewel in the sense that it is opulent; it is a jewel in its ability to withstand natural disaster and civil strife.
We currently live in an extremely old farmhouse. The winter temperatures and my predictions finally took their toll in that the pipes froze up. This is with even the cabinet doors open and trickling water flowing out. The piping system runs through the slab and up the cinder block walls; real cinder block where they were made out of cinder slag ash left over from the coal ash, finally froze up in parts of the house. Man, what a mess when you have a girlfriend and a 4 year old son whom LOVES to explore in the dirt. 😉
I am mainly writing this to tell folks to ensure you are keeping an eye out for freezing both in your homes and when you go to do the winterizations. Simply because the winterization is holding pressure doesn’t mean anything unless you ENSURE THAT the air blows through EACH VALVE!
Wishing everyone a speedy warm up and a return to the days of shorts and muscle shirts …
