Ready for Sandy?

Hard to know whether you are ready or not. The obvious things, such as bottled water and bathroom tissue can be taken care of today. We live high on a hill, out of reach of most of the effects of flooding, although too much water interferes with our ability to green chop for the cows. During previous floods our road has closed early and often so we must plan on that happening again this time.

Loss of power is a major issue. We need to be able to extract the milk from the cows, promptly twice a day, and need to cool that milk. If the cows are not milked, best case scenario, they will dry off and stop giving milk. Worst case they will sicken and die.

Hand milking is a last ditch, bare possibility. We don't have as many cows as we used to...too many sold for taxes and such over the past few years. However even milking just one high producer by hand would be a painful experience I don't care to enjoy, especially with the acute arthritis in my thumbs. I'd do it if I had to mind you, but I don't want to have to. 


The cows wouldn't like it either. They don't like change, including change from their accustomed machines to clutching human claws.



Thus we ordered a load of diesel for today so we can keep the tractor running and use the generator if we must. We have enough hay in the mow, although we don't want to be feeding our winter supply now, and we just got a load of grain. Of course it is delivered from bin to barn by an electric auger, but the generator will take care of that, or there is a plate on the bottom of the bin for clean out from which we can extract feed if need be.

Other than that all we can do is wait. Wish the boss could get the second forage wagon fixed so he could have two loads of chopped feed ready, but I guess that is not to be.

We will hold good thoughts for our friends and neighbors in low-lying lands, who lost so much last year in the flooding. At least the canal corporation is taking action early and lowering the river, first to barely navigable levels, and then even lower. They are warning folks to get their boats out. Now if Gilboa holds and is managed for the good of the downstream folks instead of for NYC maybe the area will be okay.