Our homestead winter preparations

When we lived in our previous home near Portland, Oregon, we had one "big" snow in the 5 years we were there. It reached about a foot deep & stayed for about a week. It was exciting and a bit challenging for sure, but we still walked to the big grocery store that was 2 blocks away! LOL Now that we live about a 10 days hike from civilization, and expect far more snow, we have to be prepared.

We've always been interested in keeping canned and bulk foods around but this year we tried to be sure we had what we need to survive in the middle of nowhere should we be snowed in behind banks of snow.

One thing I stocked up more of is hearty stews and nourishing broths that I canned in our pressure canner.

My husband travels to nearby farms to purchase grains in bulk for our animals. Where we used to go down to the feed store and buy a bag of chicken feed, now we drive our pick up truck with a bed full of empty trash bins to fill with the bulk grains freshly harvested & prepared by local farmers. Purdy cool! :)

In suburbia, keeping a few dozen plastic water bottles around was sufficient. Here, with livestock that includes a dairy cow that can drink 15+ gallons of water in one day, some bottles of Arrowhead are just not enough! We have a well that relies on electricity to get the water pumped out of it & into our pipes. No electricity = no water. Or, frozen pipes = no water. OR, crazed rabid well eating zombies from the north = no water! So we stocked up on water barrels. Here are a couple plus a random squash.You never know when that fat squash might come in handy. We could throw it at the zombies!

We've been gifted an enormous quantity of apples this season! They've come from all over the place - friends, nearby abandoned apple trees (also pears from Azure Standard)... I have quite some more canning to do! In the meantime the kids have been juicing them by the dozen. Fresh apple juice is soooo good.

After snapping that cozy fruit scene, I turned and snapped a picture of the dog laying in the snow just outside the window. Crazy dog! He's prepped for winter as well, with that hefty winter coat.

The wood pile by the house, chopped by Husband & teen son. The boxes on the left are cat carriers. I wrapped one up in cardboard & plastic & put a cushy cat pillow inside. Now our kitty has a fine, protected spot facing away from the wind for her cat naps. The other carrier has her food dish in it to keep it protected from the snow and the naughty dog that prefers her food to his.

The rest of our wood is hiding out under that tarp that blows like mad in the winds. We don't heat exclusively with wood or we'd surely have more. But we have a good amount should we need it. And for playing board games in front of a flickering fireplace every time the mood strikes us.

Today's snowy landscape. About 5 inches of fluffy white fell from the sky today.

We've got a barn full of hay and alfalfa for the cow, steer (I haven't had a chance to make a post about his banding [I "neutered" him basically]. He is no longer a bull but a nice little steer thanks to me & my scary banding tool with ultra tight rubber band.), 3 sheep and smelly boy goat. Plus straw for bedding for everybody. Most of our straw was hand cut by my 13 year old from our fields.

We're stocked up on gasoline for the small snow plow we also bought in preparation, and the generator.

Full kegs of beer brewed by my husband. A necessary provision for the long winter ahead!!

My sea of bulk foods. They make me so happy. I feel secure when I look at them. We're nowhere near as prepared, food-wise, as many that live here in the wild & snowy north. Many folks are set for years & years. But we've got a good stash that I've been slowly adding to over the years through Azure Standard mostly. I feel so, so much more secure now that we've got our own dairy producer, good old Gertie. And meat producers (sheep, steer) as well. Now if only we had an orchard! ;)

I began searching the thrift stores for winter gear for our whole family before moving to Idaho. I started a fine stash of good, used snow pants, hats, etc. that way. And I found the best, most soft & cozy snow boots for myself at Goodwill the other week for just $12! I love them. Now my toes don't try to freeze off when I'm milking. That's nice. :)

We each have about 98 pounds of quilts & blankets on our beds. Okay that's a slight exagerration. Gah I can never spell that darn word. And our super duper rural people satellite internet is slllooowwwwwer than frozen molasses so I'm not going to bother going & looking it up.

We also of course have prepared ourselves with first aid books, supplies & knowledge. I gotta say, my favorite books on first aid are the "Where there is no doctor" , "Where there is no dentist", and "Where there is no animal doctor". Awesome books. So full of helpful & practical information. I found all of them on Amazon. I recommend them to anyone!


The kids have their sleds, and Grendel to pull them, so, they're all set for winter. ;)