Ice Storm (Part 3): Drinking Water and Melting Ice

Mom says if our drinking water isn’t clean enough that she would drink it, we don’t have to drink it either.

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by Martok

Mom says if our drinking water isn’t clean enough that she would drink it, we don’t have to drink it either.

Well, we all learned a lot about water in the next few weeks. The electricity didn’t come back on for 17 days and it takes electricity to pump water up from our well. There are 53 of us living here including Mom and Dad, and 53 animals drink a lot of water.

Meegosh and Hutch are so close they might as well be related
Foster brothers Meegosh and Hutch

When the stored water was all used up, Mom and Dad began melting ice. They hauled two big horse tanks right outside their front door, filled them with ice, and let the sun melt that. Meanwhile they melted ice on their kitchen stove.

Did you know that when birds poop on the fence it gets embedded in ice? Mom tried to pick it out but it didn’t work. We had to drink what was served. Sometimes it was yucky.

On Sunday the ice had melted somewhat and a neighbor used his big farm tractor to clear our road of fallen debris.

Mom and Dad could go to town! Mom said she was tired of Campbell’s soup and it was about time.

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She says before the next major ice storm she’ll stock the larder and she bets they’ll have wood heat in the house by then, too.

Meegosh and Hutch always have a great time playing
Playful Meegosh and Hutch

And guess what? Baby Hutch got to come out and live with his mom! My human mom and dad brought him out many times a day until he was strong enough to nurse.

Latifah was so happy; she says she never had a part-time kid before. And a day after that, Meegosh (whose legs were fixed by then) came out too.

Latifah looked from Hutch to Meegosh and back again. Then she smelled their butts (that’s how mama goats know which kids are theirs).

Mom and Dad had been feeding Latifah’s milk to Meegosh for a week, so he smelled like Hutch. At first Latifah took care of Meegosh but didn’t like to let him nurse.

Now she says he’s her kid too, so Hutch and Meegosh are foster brothers, just like me and my best friend, Uzzi.

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