Texas Turtles and Weather

[zigs]

Been hearing about the cold weather, power outages and rescued freezing turtles

How are our Texan members coping? @Chuck and @marlingardener ?

Thousands of turtles rescued from Texas cold

Around 4,700 cold-stunned reptiles are saved from the deadly US winter storm.

www.bbc.co.uk

Texas power outages stretch into third day as millions face freezing conditions

Anger in Texas over power outages during record winter freeze continued to mount as millions in the energy capital of the U.S. remained shivering.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[Chuck]

Been hearing about the cold weather, power outages and rescued freezing turtles

How are our Texan members coping? @Chuck and @marlingardener ?

Thousands of turtles rescued from Texas cold

Around 4,700 cold-stunned reptiles are saved from the deadly US winter storm.

www.bbc.co.uk

Texas power outages stretch into third day as millions face freezing conditions

Anger in Texas over power outages during record winter freeze continued to mount as millions in the energy capital of the U.S. remained shivering.

www.cbsnews.com

Well, I haven't frozen to death---yet. The lowest the temperature at my house was 5F. I had a hot water line burst in my house and it flooded the bath and kitchen before I could get it shut off. After that, no water except what I had saved in a bunch of containers. Had to turn the well off too. Went to the grocery store yesterday and also to get propane. I tried in the AM but couldn't get there because of ice. Finally made it in the PM. I found some propane in a different town. The grocery store had a long line waiting to get in. One basket out and one basket in. I said screw this and made it back home. Power has been going out about every 2 hours for about 40 minutes since Monday. They are supposed to have full power restored today. Today it has warmed up to 24F and has been snowing since 7AM. I have about 6 inches on the ground and at 1 PM today it started to snow less but it has started to rain and sleet which are making things really slick outside. I think my spinach will survive but from what I can tell of my swiss chard it is a green mush. Only one more day of this and then Saturday is supposed to stay above freezing and then I can start to repair all of the busted water pipes I am sure to have. And after that it will be weather a person can live in.

 

[marlingardener]

Zigs, kind of you to ask! We are doing well, coping. We lost electricity then regained it and lost it again, but it has been on for 24 hours now, so it may be really on. The cats are inside, the hens are fine, and we have plenty of firewood for the wood stove and I can make omelets in my cast iron skillet, using embers from the stove.
Just hoping this is a once in a lifetime event!

 

[zigs]

Good to hear from the both of you

Blimey, sounds like a hell of a time We had a minus 5c last week but we're used to it.

Our spinach is a bit wilted but the onions and garlic are fine Chuck.

Potato in tinfoil in the embers makes a good standby meal Marlin, used to do them in the ashpan when I lived in Wales

Hope it picks up soon....

 

[Ian]

So sorry to hear about what is happening over there... 5F (-15C), that is crazy cold and not something I ever thought I'd hear about in Texas.

I hope the cleanup of that burst pipe goes ok @Chuck, I know how much damage that can cause.

 

[Don Perry]

We live at Byng, Oklahoma and have had sub zero temps for the last two weeks. It would warm up to about 10 f and plunge back down every night. Lots of record breaking snow on top of the old snow. Currently, the snow is up to mid calf. I got outside yesterday and tried to move my pick up truck but just got stuck. Almost slipped into the pipe fence that surrounds my yard, so I left it there. No mail for the last week because the mailman cant get across the creek or up the hill this side of that.
On the upside , we are doing fine, water and electricity are holding out. Got plenty of food and heat. God has been so good to us. The snow should start to melt today, but if it doesn't, we will be fine.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

It is sad what is going on in Texas. All around with animals and humans.

 

[zigs]

Hope everyone is ok

 

[Chuck]

Hope everyone is ok

Everything is great now except there are no, zip, zero, nada, pvc or cpvc fittings or glue anyplace. My well survived with no damage but there will be no indoor water except cold water from a hose for the foreseeable future. It is 73F right now. On my spinach all it did was flatten it but it will recover. My chard, which was in 10" pots mostly survived although the outside row turned to mush. About a 70% survival rate.

 

[zigs]

Everything is great now except there are no, zip, zero, nada, pvc or cpvc fittings or glue anyplace. My well survived with no damage but there will be no indoor water except cold water from a hose for the foreseeable future. It is 73F right now. On my spinach all it did was flatten it but it will recover. My chard, which was in 10" pots mostly survived although the outside row turned to mush. About a 70% survival rate.

Can you get plumbing stuff sent from Amazon? Cold water is better than no water at all. Our potatoes in the outhouse got frosted, still got a load in the ground which I haven't checked yet.

It's warmed up a lot since last week here, gone from this...

To this....

In two weeks

 

[Chuck]

Can you get plumbing stuff sent from Amazon? Cold water is better than no water at all. Our potatoes in the outhouse got frosted, still got a load in the ground which I haven't checked yet.

It's warmed up a lot since last week here, gone from this... View attachment 75912

To this....View attachment 75913

In two weeks

I refuse to pay exorbitant prices from businesses that price gouge. I can survive just fine without them. My spinach was flattened but I watered them and they are now just like they were before the freeze. My chard, the ones that weren't mush, look like they are severely wilted. I watered the chard but so far no change. At least they aren't brown or mush. Maybe they will come out of it. This entire severe freeze/ snow /sleet event is something I have never encountered before so it is a great learning experience.

 

[zigs]

There's a lot of small traders on Amazon too I use them as I get vouchers from doing surveys

Sounds like your veg will pick up. Soon be planting stuff for the spring.

I bet it's a shock if you're not used to it, we get it a few times a year here, we get the cold air coming down from the Artic a few times a year too. This was a few weeks ago...

 

[Chuck]

There's a lot of small traders on Amazon too I use them as I get vouchers from doing surveys

Sounds like your veg will pick up. Soon be planting stuff for the spring.

I bet it's a shock if you're not used to it, we get it a few times a year here, we get the cold air coming down from the Artic a few times a year too. This was a few weeks ago...

It was a shock alright. Texas never gets as cold as it did. It snows about once every 10 years enough to cover the ground for a day, but not nearly as much as this. The power going out was the major problem.

 

[zigs]

It was a shock alright. Texas never gets as cold as it did. It snows about once every 10 years enough to cover the ground for a day, but not nearly as much as this. The power going out was the major problem.

Sounds like a scene from "Day after Tomorrow" A generator or small solar setup might be something to look into before next winter. Trouble is with these once in a century events, they tend to happen every other year as soon as someone calls it that

We're doing a small project at the moment that we're planning on putting a wood burner in as a back up in case the power goes off. We've already got a solar powered 12 volt system - post number 6 on this thread...

Tell me about Solar LED battery Shed Lights

I am gonna have to run a remote wire off to the yard because the sheds sit inside the treeline and are shaded more than half the year. I imagine line losses will be invoved. The sheds are not big, 10x20f and 12x20f. I was thinking to use 4 foot fixtures What kind of controller and other...

www.gardening-forums.com

We've got an inverter that we can plug 230 volt chargers into so with no mains we could still have some things going.

 

[Chuck]

Sounds like a scene from "Day after Tomorrow" A generator or small solar setup might be something to look into before next winter. Trouble is with these once in a century events, they tend to happen every other year as soon as someone calls it that

We're doing a small project at the moment that we're planning on putting a wood burner in as a back up in case the power goes off. We've already got a solar powered 12 volt system - post number 6 on this thread...

Tell me about Solar LED battery Shed Lights

I am gonna have to run a remote wire off to the yard because the sheds sit inside the treeline and are shaded more than half the year. I imagine line losses will be invoved. The sheds are not big, 10x20f and 12x20f. I was thinking to use 4 foot fixtures What kind of controller and other...

www.gardening-forums.com

We've got an inverter that we can plug 230 volt chargers into so with no mains we could still have some things going.

Stupid me. I have had a good wood burning heater in the house since I built it. But, the pipes rusted out on the outside of the house and since it never gets really cold here, I just bought a couple of tower heaters and a small propane heater. I am too old and decrepit to whip out my chainsaw and cut firewood I told myself. Wrong.
Solar would not have worked because it stayed cloudy. And new stove pipes will be a lot cheaper.