ENOUGH!!!!

As soon as we managed to tunnel our way out of the snow, we were faced with an entirely new problem. The temps. have dropped drastically, with most days ranging between -24 to -30 during the day. With wind chills, its been feeling like -38 C more than once.

Late last night, I had to go in to Edmonton to pick up Chris coming back from Fort Mac. The Van wouldn't start. There was no way it was turning over. I cussed a blue streak. Then I plugged it in for about 45 minutes and crossed my fingers (that's a story in itself since it took me about 4 tries to find a extension cord that would both reach and fit the plug). I was venting on Facebook claiming I was ready to give up and move to Florida.

But honestly, the worst fight of this cold snap has been the animal water.

Cars can be coaxed to life.
Snow can be trudged through and packed down. (or in the worst case shovelled)
Hay can grudgingly be hauled.
Heat lamps can be run 24 hours in the barn to keep the goats snug.

But try as I might I can't keep the water from freezing.

We have heaters similar to this one that float in the water pail. They are supposed to keep the water thawed at the very least. With the temps. as cold as they are, these beauties are freezing solid, right in the middle of a giant bucket shaped ice cube.
I'm at the point where I just make a trip to the barn several times a day with HOT water hoping to melt the ice a bit, and give the goats enough water to drink for a few hours at a time.

I was glad when Chris came home and could break apart the ice, freeing the heater (for all the good its doing), and making the bucket able to hold a maximum amount of water. Tonight, we're going to try an experiment with 2 heaters in the same small bucket. I hope that 2 heaters will be able to keep the water above freezing.
*sigh*
I'm not sure how else to fight this battle at the moment.