Storm Prep

We're due to get a lot of rain in the next few days.  It's been a fairly dry several months, but we had about 2" of rain last night, and they're calling for about 4" through Saturday.  Then Hurricane Joaquin is threatening to dump on us as well.  We could be looking at 10" of rain in the next 5 days.

This evening it wasn't raining, so we went to work getting everything ready outside.  David cleaned the gutters and made sure all the downspouts had extenders on them, and sealed up a few things that needed sealing.

I spent time out with the animals, getting them ready.  It's one thing for rain, but another with so much rain and the threat of high winds, too.

The rabbits are fairly sheltered against a hedgerow, but I added this tarp to the front to protect them from rain blowing in.  I can roll it up...

Or let it down for protection.

I also used a tarp to block off the front of the hay shelter. I need to pick up another one for one side of the shelter.  Those are the most likely areas for rain to blow in.  The chickens were pretty interested in the new tarp.

I put new straw in with the lambs, and added their large plywood front to the shelter. It was open for summer, but since it's not a very deep shelter (from the front), I wanted to give them more protection.

I put the goats in the barn, since they are divas and really hate getting wet. Plus, it frees up more space in the main shelter, so the sheep won't have to compete for space or be stuck in close quarters with the goats.

I also loaded a good bit of hay in the barn, and filled up the hay nets so I can easily feed when it's pouring out.

The sheep got fresh straw, and Darla went to work finding the best parts to eat.

A few weeks ago I over-seeded the pasture.  It is coming up really well, and should really like the rain we're getting.  The new grass is so bright green!

Now we're all ready for the rain, and hopefully we can all sit back and stay dry and warm.