Spring is gorgeous. The plants are waking up, everything is turning green. The final hump of winter is gone and we can move on from those last, cold days that felt like they were dragging.
With that, though, comes spring storms and, possibly, tornadoes.
I’ve always been one of those people that frets like crazy about whatever damage might happen from an oncoming storm, which can be a good thing. I say that with the knowledge that my panicking adds a ton of stress to frazzle my nerves further. However, that fretting comes with a perk: It has given me the opportunity to look around the farm and see possible areas that need attended to prior to severely stormy weather.
So, what are some ways to prepare for spring’s storm season?
First, take a look around. That sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how much can be missed just by not using the gift of sight to assess an area. Are there buckets, sheet panels, potted plants, etc. that could easily be blown over, blown away, or damaged from strong winds? Get them inside the barn/garage or secured.
I totally went outside to take a picture of my top heavy bay as an example of a plant that needed put in the garage prior to a storm and found it already toppled over.
Second, how about the trees? Are there any limbs near any electric fences that look ready to break? Are there any trees that started to fall only to get caught by other trees or such and one strong wind could push them onto a fence line? There is nothing worse than having a herd breaking loose because a tree came down and made a hole in the fence line, all while the lightning is still dazzling the sky around us. Imagine trying to round up animals in that.
One of the thunderous booms sounded a bit different, turned out it was a huge tree falling.
Third, check the animals’ housing. Are there any boards coming loose or is the mobile lean-to facing a direction that will have the rain slanting straight in and onto the animals seeking shelter? How about the bedding? Our buck has recently been sharing his paddock and house with the calves that are being weaned. With the storms and extra rain coming, now is a great time to add more bedding to their lean-to.
Happy Harry
And, finally, consider if you should do any chores before the storm comes. Our chickens panic and crowd around the nesting boxes if there’s even a giggle of thunder, so I’m going to be collecting the eggs early to keep the number that get broken down. Otherwise, the storms will be done and gone by the time chores normally start. I’ll go ahead an add mowing to this just because I can hear about four different neighbors’ mowers running right now. I’m not a fan of mowing before a storm, but I also can understand if this is the only chance to get the grass cut before the rain adds a few more days of delay.
There are probably a lot of other items for a storm prep list on a farm. Each farm is uniquely different, but this list is usually enough for me. Take care during spring’s storm season!