01/24/2026
Caring for animals through extreme cold and deep snow is a real lesson in humility. You can prepare, reinforce shelters, haul water through ice, layer bedding until your body aches...and still feel the quiet helplessness of knowing that, in the end, nature sets the terms.
This kind of cold brings worry, exposure, exhaustion, and the persistent question every farmer carries into the night: "Did I do enough?"
Last week, we focused on the things within our control, stacking layers of donated Christmas trees around the pig hut to form a “Pigloo” once the snow came, adding deep straw for all of the animals, filling cracks, hanging tarps and blankets, and testing ventilation again and again to strike that fragile balance between warmth and moisture escape. A fire-safe seed-warming mat helped keep baby Fern and her mom Fiona warm, while the rest of our goats followed their instinct to curl up close, nesting into straw, conserving heat together.
We are grateful to report that Mr. Pig and Miss Piggy popped out at morning chores with tails wagging, seemingly unfazed by –16° temperatures. The donkeys, Wayne and Diesel, have grown thick coats, and are having their strongest winter yet without the need for blankets. The chickens are grumpy but did great, and even gave us sine beautiful eggs! (We did bring our teeny tiny bantam chicken, princess Kaia, inside due to her history of frostbite- she came to us after being found in the snow last year.) And finally of our goats, with so many different needs and challenges, also made it safely through the coldest temps we have experienced on this farm yet!
This kind of survival and care doesn't happen alone. Open Farms is sustained by our co-farmers and Board of Directors who show up in all seasons...who shovel paths before chores, make steady improvements to pens, stalls, doors, and walkways, and step in and hold down the farm without hesitation when someone is sick or stretched thin. This is why care farming matters: because showing up consistently, especially when conditions are hard, not only protects lives- it brings us together through the work, and makes room for both animals and people to care for one another. ❤️
As the next storm and continued cold approach, we will remain vigilant! Thank you for the calls and messages- we hope this update offers you some relief! We will try to post more regular stories and updates to keep you informed. (And we will keep working to open our driveway and lot as much as possible...exciting uodates coming this year!)
Most of all, we are deeply grateful... to each and every co-farmer, to those who hauled and donated Christmas trees, who donate treats and hay, those who come to share Soup-er Sundays and open hours, and all of you who offer warmth in all its many forms! 🙏🏻
P.S. Hey, Mother Nature, it would be really nice if the "red dot" indicating the worst of the snowy weather this winter could stop hovering over our hill...😬
