November Weather (Nov. 5-6)

Our new calf has been such an exciting topic, that I have ignored others--something I will now try to rectify!

It's been a terribly dry year!  We're over 12" below normal rainfall, and we've had only 0.2" from July through October.  It's also been unseasonably hot during the summer and even uncomfortably warm through much of October.  But finally November has brought us some cooler weather along with some colorful leaves to complement the mostly brown grass!  The trees are also clinging to their leaves as they seem to do during a drought.

Friday night was the first night it got down to 32°.  When I went out to feed Saturday morning, the chickens were huddled together as close as they could get to their old brooder box where we still keep a heat lamp on at night.  We run an extension cord to the barn and plug it in at dusk, and this morning they were not in any hurry to leave that warmth!

I covered the garden for the first time Friday night, hoping to spare our slightly-too-late fall garden.  I didn't bother with the peppers, which had already been touched by the chill; I had gotten a haul of 20 lbs. of peppers that I plan to try to ripen on the counter top.

It feels like we hardly had fall at all, going from hot to ice cold, but this freeze is supposed to pass after four nights.  I'm hoping November has more good weather in store for us before winter really sets in!