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Lessons learned from UP winters In response to How are you coping with our worst weather? By Donna Rieder I have fond memories of spending my teen and young adult years in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There was a K-mart across the street from our house, and after a few snows, the plows would push the snow up to the bottom of the K-Mart sign, a good 30' off the ground! We had a sizable back yard, and Daddy would snow-blow the whole middle of it after each snow, and every night he'd let the hose run slow overnight. Then all of us kids would have fun ice-skating after school until suppertime. We'd also have fun sliding down the snowbanks on our saucers. Living in the UP taught me many practical ways of dealing with the weather, which still serve me well. Dressing in layers and having warm boots with good lugs was important, as was owning a pair of good sunglasses to avoid snow-blindness, a condition where a solid white world and bright sun can leave you unable to see when you came indoors. We had to change over to snow tires every Fall, (late September) and back to regular tires in the Spring (May) or have a set of chains that you wrapped around your tires. We knew to let the faucets trickle (not just drip) and to keep buckets of water on hand in case the pipes DID freeze, so we could at least flush the commode. The things I learned from living in the UP have served me well during the recent storm. The first thing I did was take the batteries out of my lawnmower and 4-wheeler and bring them in the house; the trickle chargers wouldn't work if I lost power. I always have plenty of food, powdered milk, snacks (fruit, seeds, nuts, peanut butter and jelly, crackers, jerky, etc.), toilet paper, cat food and litter, and feed for my chickens, goats and horse. Water bottles and empty 2-gallon kitty litter jugs are filled with water in case the power goes out, because without power, my well pump won't work. I have heated water bowls and buckets for my chickens and goats, and a tank heater for the horses' water tank. Last year I installed a 30,000 BTU propane heater in my living room as backup heat and have actually been using it as my primary heat source during the day since it's much cheaper than electricity. My neighbors on KU Utilities lost power, but my SK RECC power never went out. Taking care of my livestock has been a challenge, especially the ice. Mother Nature body-slammed me onto the driveway a few times, and at my age, I don't bounce, I just lay there sucking air for a minute before making sure nothing's broken! Thank goodness for the padding all those layers provided! I've learned a few new tricks, too. When I come in from outside and take off my boots, I set them on top of the floor heat vents, or use my blow dryer to warm them up, and before I get dressed to go outside, I put my hat, gloves, and insulated overalls and jacket in the dryer for a few minutes to warm them up. I've also been blessed to see the beauty in it all. The slow-moving parts of the creek froze over and created hundreds of little "frost flowers" in the ice. The waterfall froze into an impressive sculpture. The early-morning sun shone on fields of dazzling diamonds. The wind blowing through the ice-encased tree limbs sounded like gentle wind chimes. Last night, I sat in the barn listening to the goats munching hay and then took my time walking back to the house, enjoying the silence and how the almost-full moon lit up the landscape. The joy of living is in taking time to notice the details and appreciate the little things. This story was posted on 2026-01-31 18:21:28
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