Staying Well Prepared For Winter

Yes this is a picture of my old astra estate buried under a good 4ft of densely packed snow!! :o

Most of you will have already heard a little in the news or possibly online about the really bad winter we just went through here in central Italy. Some places in the region received over 6ft of snow in only a matter of days (for us the second and worst wave was 4-5ft over a 3 day period)

Needless to say this caused widespread damage to property and infrastructure, stranding many houses for days or even weeks on end. On top of this we also suffered a series of four 5+ magnitude earthquakes (following on from a fairly long line of large 6+ magnitude quakes that began back in August 2016 much to everyone's surprise and dismay)

The earthquakes on top of the sheer weight and amount of snow caused even further damage and sadly also triggered a huge avalanche which tragically took the lives of 29 people who were staying at the hotel Rigopiano in Farindola just down the road from us (only 9 of the people staying at the hotel were recovered alive) and there were a further 5 fatalities in other areas across the region.

In situations as severe as this much of what happens is truly out of your control but in this post I will discuss some of the small things that you can do for both you and your pets in order to stay as best prepared as you can when mother nature decided to throw you a curve ball (although personally I hope to never see another winter like this one as long as I live!)

Preparing For Heavy Snow

I have been through 3 heavy winters now 2 of these spent in Italy (we live up near the mountains) and thankfully only one of those with earthquakes too!! The other one was another freak winter whilst I lived up in Scotland a few years ago now back before I relocated but in comparison to this year the mere 3ft of snow and down to -16 degree temperatures looks pretty tame right now!

The main thing that you need to accept is that, in cases such as these, with several feet of snow falling in such a short time frame (no matter how much you hope that it will go away just as quickly as it came) there is a very good chance that you may find yourself unable to leave your house or drive your car even possibly for almost the entire duration that the snow is here but at the very least for a few uncomfortable days.

What this means is potentially limited or even no access at all to the places we take for granted such as shops, work and more importantly medical aid/supplies should the need arise.

For us Brits, we are so used to medical aid and other necessary services being right on the doorstep night or day, it can be quite hard to wrap your mind around the fact that even if your phone is still functioning (often phone signal will get cut off or end up severely limited - in fact ours is still not fully functional now and its the 1st March today!) no one may be able to reach you in the time that it takes for other emergency services and volunteers to struggle to, first get to and then clear the main roads of felled trees, landslides and collapses let alone the mountain of snow which everything is now buried under

(considerably longer if like us you live up in the rural foothills down a very small provincial road shared only with a couple of farms)

Scary stuff I know especially for those of us with pre existing medical conditions, those with young children and the elderly population.

On top of this especially if you live rurally, you could also most probably be left without electricity for an extended span (as we were for just over two weeks) and once the water pipes get frozen up due to the electric boiler and central heating not working maybe no water too (thankfully this time we had only a few days with no water at all and a couple of weeks more with a frozen and cracked meter and limited access once a day for half an hour before the box the meter was in would flood again forcing us to trudge back outside and get totally drenched trying to turn the water to the property back off again)

Sounds like a heap of fun doesn't it?!!

Needless to say it is not a comfortable situation for anyone, aside from possibly Bear Grylls, so here are some of the things (some glaringly obvious and others not so much so) that you can do to at least make the long days and cold nights bearable and keep you and those you love as safe as you can until the chaos retreats once again and the sun returns.

The key as always is to be prepared and this means always keeping an ample supply of food, water and medical supplies as well as other necessities close to hand (I will go into more detail on these key aspects later on)

If you are really lucky you will already own a petrol generator if you live in a place that has bad winters as a general rule or maybe even have your own gas central heating. We, however, are still waiting for our extensive house renovations to be finished before we will have the space and money free to invest in one and are currently renting an old stone cottage with no central heating and three fires that all smoke badly if they even light at all so it was a truly back to basics winter and calor gas fires to the rescue for us!!

*Be sure to read right to the end for my helpful must have lists and tips*

The Household Water Calculation

The average adult should consume at least 2 liters of water per day to stay healthy.
Water for cooking and washing dishes for the two of us is around 2 liters per day more or less.
Water for flushing the toilet (which you can add by bottle or container directly in to the cistern at the back of your toilet once you remove the lid) comes in at a minimum of around 10 liters per day if you are very conservative and have a controllable duration flush that you can stop before it empties out the whole cistern tank which we currently do thankfully.
To use as little water as possible if you don't have a controllable flow flush you can add a couple of house bricks in to the cistern, being careful of the inner workings, to take up some of the space so each full flush will use much less water.
Water for washing depends on how long you are without water for. If only for a few days then a simple sink wash can be done with as little as 500mls of water whereas if you have reached the point that you need to wash your hair or have a full body bucket shower you are looking at more like 4-5 liters.
For dogs water can be worked out by weight and is approximately 30ml per pound of weight per day (for cats the calculation is the same although they are much smaller so need far less than a dog the size of Bay)
Baylea is around 40 kilos (huge I know lifting him up to the vets table these days is a challenge and a half thats for sure!!) 40kg = 88lbs meaning that, water wise, he needs approximately 88 x 30ml = 2,640 mls or just over 2.5 liters of water per day.
For the chickens the amount also can be worked out by weight but for an average sized bantam 500mls per day is about right .
My tortoises water consumption varies from day to day but, as they also go to the bathroom in their bowl, the water needs changing daily all the same so for them I need to allow approximately 500mls per tortoise per day.
Bridget the toad also uses her small soaking pool as a bathroom so that's another 500ml daily to meet her needs too.

So for my little family one days requirement of water (to live at the minimum end of normalcy) comes in at around 8.5 liters per day per human for drinking, cooking, washing and toilet usage meaning 17 litres for the both of us plus 2.5 liters for the dog, 5 liters for the 10 chickens, 2.5 liters for the 5 tortoises and 500mls for Bridget the toad...a total of 27.5 liters per day. Its a lot more that you would think right? Now I know that if push comes to shove you can in reality manage a few weeks or more on probably half of that amount and still come out mostly ok at the end of it but it is still good to have a realistic idea of what the minimum recommended water usage looks like for your family.

Thats a lot of water to keep stored up isn't it? For a whole week we would be talking about 192.5 liters of water which comes in at something like 96 and a bit average sized 2 litre fizzy pop bottles full which would take up one heck of a lot of room. Don't worry though as your trusty old bath is waiting silently in the wings to come to the rescue!

The average sized bath can hold around 80-100 litres of water and act as a mini reservoir for you and your family as a source of washing, cooking and toilet water without taking up any extra space at all. When the snow starts coming thick and fast and the weather report looks bad run a nice full bath of cold water just in case...if the loss of water and electric never comes the most you have lost is one baths worth of water and an evening without a nice hot soak but if the worst does happen you will be sooo very glad that you ran it!

Suddenly the space needed for a weeks water is looking far more reasonable. Say the bath comes in at 100 litres that would mean keeping an extra 46 and a half 2 liter bottles or 20 of the 5 liter screw lidded (or corked) wine making demijohns which is what I tend to go for as they store easier both when full or empty and look nicer to boot! You can also buy in 6 packs of bottled tap water if you like or do a mix of the two but the glass demijohns last forever and I do like saving on all that plastic packaging wherever I can.

Ok so lets say worst comes to the worst and you are snowed in for over a week and your water supplies are getting worryingly low. Just look out of your front door! All that snow may be causing chaos with the infrastructure but at the end of the day it is also a great source of water (just be sure to boil it properly first if you plan of using it for drinking water)

The thing with snow is that unfortunately you get a lot less volume of melted water for the volume of snow that you set to melt so hauling it in to melt by the fire or on the gas stove is a bit of a time consuming pain. At the end of the day though needs must and let's face it, with no electric and nowhere to go, you've got bags of time and energy to use up and its a good way to keep warm whilst also clearing a path to the car!!

Food Supplies

The key in winter is to have far more rather than less.

For us humans make sure you have plenty of tinned/jarred/dried produce from all the food groups to keep you going for at least 2-3 weeks (more if you have the room for it) Tinned tomatoes and baked beans are a wonder as they are packed with goodness, pickled beetroot is a great antioxidant and yummy too! Sprouted lentils gives you the fresh greens you will probably be yearning for without the need for refrigeration (although washing them every other day will have to come from your cooking water weekly budget it doesn't take a lot though) Dry pasta and spaghetti store well for the carb quota and tinned fruit and local honey is perfect for those sweet cravings. Crackers, dry melba toast jam and butter makes a nice simple breakfast. And most importantly biscuits and snacks and a nice glass of wine for when you've had a hard day shoveling snow!!

Usually I only buy my store bought chicken feed for my homemade mix one 20kg sack at a time as it last me months under normal circumstances but in the winter I stock up with 2 or 3 sacks as when the electric goes so does the refrigeration shortly thereafter and along with it all of your fresh food for both you and the animals. When this happens you can resort to feeding solely on your own home grown sprouted lentils (which I also buy a big store of) and the dry high calcium feed mix to get your chucks through the hard times.

Dog food is no different. Buy in bulk at least 3-4 weeks worth of tins and a couple of large bags of rice/pasta/dry food. It wont go off and you can use it all up in the spring if you don't use it all now. Your dog will manage just fine without fresh veggies for a couple of weeks.

For the tortoises it is a bit more complicated as the bulk of their diet normally is fresh. if you have an all weather heated greenhouse then you are good to go but if not then for African leopard tortoises a good supply of dry timothy grass and hay or species specific feed is a must (you can soak this to make it more palatable if your torts are fussy about dry food like mine are!!

Also, being as without electric your uvb bulbs won't function be sure to have a good supply of a vitamin D3 (which your torts cannot make without UVB light) and calcium supplement (I prefer Zolcal-D as I can add it directly to their water ensuring they dont eat around it) and a few cuttlefish bones for them to chomp at too.

African Leopard Tortoises NEED the correct strength of UVB bulb so I want to be absolutely clear that this is not a permanent or even long term fix by any means. Without access to UVB or natural summer sunlight your tortoises WILL get sick and WILL DIE! Their bodies need UVB in order to make D3 and by doing so, properly process the calcium they need for their bones and shells and it is also essential in their digestion process. Without UVB they will starve of nutrients, if they don't stop eating totally, and with tortoises damage once done in this way is usually irreversible.

This solution is simply the only option left to someone stuck in this situation in order to provide the most rudimentary level of care for their torts until the lights come back on again.

Heat too will be an issue for your Tortoises at this time as the heat bulbs are out too so make sure you keep your room constantly above 21 degrees minimum and keep one end of their table/run/temporary shelter close to the gas heater (but not too close as hay is a real fire risk) so that they can still temperature regulate to some degree from the hot end to the cooler side and back as needed.

Bridget Toad is the kind of pet that you don't have to do much worrying about in situations like this as she is a common european toad and will do just fine at room temperature as long as her water is freshened daily and ample food provided at least every other day. I feed Bridget on mealworms from my mealworm farm with the odd dusting of calcium powder so food supply and storage is not an issue either. Toads are nocturnal and normally outside under the ground or deep leaf litter in winter so less light and heat in the house is no big deal for them. For the two or so weeks we were cut off she just sat happily under her piece of bark in her little burrow until feeding time and then back under the bark she went again without a whisper of complaint :}

Medical supplies

It is very important, not only in winter, to have a good medical supply box for both you and your pets as you never know when accidents will happen. I think we all know pretty much what needs to go into our own human medi kits but here is a basic list of what supplies I keep on hand for my animal family to help give you some ideas of what you may need to stock up on...

Pet Medi Kit

Elasticated rolls of fabric (washable) bandages x 4

Large fabric plasters

Antiseptic wound wash

Germolene

Baby wipes

Clean plastic razor (with non cut safety guard)

Butterfly stitches

Alcohol hand gel

Activated charcoal biscuits/tablets

Chalk tablets (for heartburn and indigestion)

A bottle of fresh lemon juice

Micropore tape x 3 rolls

Pet thermometer (digital and a totally different colour, shape, design than the one you put in your own mouth...trust me on this you don't want to get them mixed up!!)

Rubber gloves (one whole box)

Pet towel/s (microfibre if possible)

Bird safe wound wash

Blood stop swabs (these are an amazing bit of kit well worth the money!)

Nail clippers

Tweezers

Tick remover

Small plasters

Non adhesive fabric dressing pads (plasters stick to feathers and fur too strongly so one of these to protect the area and a bit of easy to tear easily removable micropore tape can works wonders)

Pack of plastic syringes (minus the needles)

Talcum powder (medicated and plain)

Cotton buds

Tortoise eye drops

Athletes foot cream (deals with issues like shell rot although hopefully your torts are so well cared for this will never be an issue for you)

Zolcal-D (calcium and vit D3 liquid supplement)

Nail File

Sharp scissors

Roll of clingfilm

Bottle of witch hazel

E45 Cream

Senset skin cleansing foam

Basic suture kit (tweezers, nylon thread, needles)

Roll of clean unopened paper towel

Seems like a lot doesn't it? Trust me though if you have all of that in your kit and the worst does happen you will be very glad you have it all. The elasticated roll of washable fabric bandage is especially useful when it comes to dogs as big and clumsy as mine is!!

Miscellaneous Necessities

A decent petrol generator if you can afford one!!

A nest egg of ready cash £250-500 ideally (when the electric is out even if you aren't snowed in any more things like banks, post offices and store card machines don't work any more...we found this one out the hard way!!)

Candles (slow burning pillar candles for general low lighting and faster burning brighter candlesticks for short term bursts of light almost good enough to read by!)

Matches

Lighters and gas refills

At least a months supply of spare calor gas bottles for your heaters and gas stove

Two shovels (I don't buy snow shovels any more as they only work on light powder snow and break after 10 mins use but a wide metal builders shovel in something strong but light would do nicely and it's always wise to have a spare)

Several large bags of salt and grit

A good supply of dry clothes and socks kept in the warmest room of the house

Two pairs of winter boots and a pair of wellies

A hot water bottle or two

At least two waterproof warm jackets

Keep your car with a full tank of petrol at all times

An in car/solar/battery phone charger

A selection of batteries

A Few Wise Words From The Voice Of Experience

Don' take any unnecessary risks or chances! This rule should govern over all the other decisions you make at this time.
If you have a spare car/caravan battery then buying a single plug power inverter can give you a couple of days of extra refrigeration to keep your food good for longer or another method of charging your electricals (Make sure you work out how much power you will be using vs how much is in the battery so you know how many days of use you will get from it)
Be sure to park your car right by the road instead of up next to the house. Yes its a longer trek in the snow but my first winter here I did just that and it took me 3 days to dig a big enough track from my car all the way across the yard and right down to the end of the drive...3 Days!!!
Clear paths to the parts of your property that you need to access regularly early on and maintain them daily trust me it may seem a hassle re clearing them every day but its far less backbreaking than moving 4ft high partially melted heavy snow all at once!
If your electric goes dead you can use your car charger with the engine running to charge your phone back up once each day without flattening the battery. This is important for safety's sake. As long as the engine is running and you don't turn on the stereo, internal lights or heating etc. then your car battery should last for a few weeks without going dead on you depending on its condition to begin with.
Only turn your phone on if you intend to use it. Checking the time is not important when you have nowhere to be and limiting battery use by switching it off as much as possible and using the power saving function when it is on will make it last a lot longer.
If it is safe to do so then walk over to your closest neighbours house to check if they are ok and let them know that you are in the same situation. You may find that you are able to help each other out if things get tricky further along the line or even if you are lucky get to watch a little tv and have a nice cup of coffee and a chat if, like mine who run a farm, they have a superb industrial level generator humming away!!
Porches, Garages, Pergolas, Caravans basically any light or wooden outdoor structure is at risk of collapse from this amount of snow. If pergola roofing material (bamboo/fabric) can be removed for the winter season then do it early to save the extra work, damage and inevitable cost. We lost my old caravan this year as it was up at our house (which is still a building site and was totally inaccessible for weeks until the builders dug their way back up to it and our few neighbours again from their own houses in the nearby village to come and help anyone still left stranded) By the time we managed to make it up there ourselves in the car the caravan roof had totally caved in and it was quickly on its way to becoming a mobile swimming pool instead!
Before winter arrives make doubly and triply sure that your chicken coops are totally waterproof and secure. Add extra cladding where possible for insulation leaving just enough ventilation to keep the air inside fresh but not let the wind whip through. Heap lots of fresh straw on top of that wonderful layer of heat generating manure to keep your feathered friends clean and warm throughout the bad months and add an extra layer of plastic sheeting to the roof to ensure no water at all can get inside. When its cold too much moisture inside the coop can kill quickly. Chickens are naturally vulnerable to respiratory illness at the best of times let alone when the temperature drops below freezing.
If your clothes and boots get wet change them the moment you get back inside and put them by the fire to dry. Drying things by the fire takes far longer than in a machine or a sunny day out on the washing line.
Keep your shovels and at least one bag of salt grit inside of the house. You may not be able to find them again until the spring if you leave them out in snow like this.
Contact at least one friend/family member each day just to say you are ok and give a brief short update. This will make you feel much better as well as helping them not to worry quite so much if, like with my parents, the news reports just keep getting worse day by day!!
Make yourself and your animals a 'go bag' of necessities just incase your house does become un liveable and have a plan of where you will go and how to relocate your pets there if worst comes to worst (again a close neighbour is probably your best option here)
Don't go far from the house unless totally unavoidable.
Don't try to drive out unless you know for sure the road is clear enough that you will be able to get back home again. If it starts to look bad turn back early do not push forward on hope alone.
Don't leave the house without letting someone else know where you are going and how long you will be.
Dress warmly every time you walk out the door and make sure to take your phone with you everywhere you go as well as a torch and a lighter just in case. If you require any regular medications such as Heart, Asthma or Diabetes meds take a day or two's worth of those in your jacket pocket too. You can never play things too safe.
If the water or power comes back then immediately jump up and recharge your phone at the mains. Top up your water supplies whenever you get the chance as you still don't know how long power/water will stay on.
If you are still trapped and your fridge/freezer is starting to thaw you can extend the life of your frozen/fresh goods a few more days by packing all the draws with fresh compacted snow and then changing it out or topping it up as it melts (melt water can be used to flush the toilet)
Don't take chances with weirdly thawed out of date food. Food poisoning is bad at the best of times but when you have no water to spare for the toilet or shower and no access to a pharmacy or hospital it really isn't worth the risk no matter how well you cook it first!!

The note that I will finish on is a positive one. Although this last winter was a definite challenge (and with all the structural damage and road closures is by no way done yet!) Italy is still one of the most beautiful wonderful places to live and I wouldn't swap life here amongst the beautiful landscape and friendly Italian locals for anything :}

I hope that non of you (or me for that matter!!) have to come to grips again with this severe a winter any time soon but if it does happen, at least you will by now hopefully be more than prepared to handle it in style!