winter storms | Life on a Colorado Farm

Mom always checks the weather on the weather apps. She says it gives her an ‘idea’ of what the weather is going to be.

Then Mom goes and looks at the Uncompahgre Plateau—if there is a line of huge big black clouds over the Plateau in the west…

Then Mom knows a BIG STORM is HEADING OUR WAY!

If Mom sees a mass of clouds already in the canyons, dumping moisture then she knows in a few minutes we are going to get ‘it’.

And Mom is always right! The only thing Mom can’t predict is how COLD it’s going to get, by looking at the canyons or the Uncompahgre Plateau, but she can tell by the feel in the air, the crispness,

the look of the sun, as it shimmers through the sky, and sometimes by seeing Sun Dogs.

Then Mom starts warming up the hen house by putting in a red heat lamp. Red—because if you don’t use red the hens will start picking on each other. Something about seeing everything better, I suppose.

She makes the heat lamp turn on when the temperatures drop way down to 10* and stays on until around 9 in the morning when the birds can start taking care of themselves.

As for keeping me warm, she says I’m smart enough I can go outside if I want, or I can stay inside, or I can come and go. She says I decide since I’m not living in the hen house.