Moving The Smithy For Winter Operations

This is supposed to be a La Nina year. Meaning "The female child" it denotes a winter influenced by a colder than average ocean temperature off the South American coast on the Pacific side. This creates weather patterns that bring wet, cold lows from the Gulf of Alaska down into the Northwest. As these waves of lows sweep over the land they dump layers of snow on the inhabitants. Last winter we came very close to tying or breaking the record for snowfall. The current record snowfall was made just last year during another La Nina winter. Heavy snow is a fact of life in the Mountain West, so we must prepare for it. A lot of activities must shut down, awaiting spring thaws to resume. My blacksmithing operation has been very much like that. Even with the smithy the cold and heavy snowfall wouldn't allow projects to be worked in winter. I have an idea to, hopefully, keep some blacksmithing operations running into the winter.

I have been making use of two chicken coops to keep a couple of flocks. The purpose for this is for breeding my chickens. I have one producing/breeding flock and one flock for egg and meat production only. My non-breeding flock has been reduced in numbers lately. When you breed chickens you will get many roosters. Since you don't need or want so many roosters, the flock will stay smaller and you won't stay so hungry. This practice has given me more space in the non-breeding coop. Enough room to forge some small projects while the chickens remain on their roosts or in their nest boxes. This will also be beneficial to the chickens, as working the forge will provide heat during the cold months.

The coop is nearly built for a forge. It is a metal building with a dirt floor. There is enough room to remove the litter in one corner and install the forge and anvil stand. Blowers and bellows along with tools and anvil will be stored in a separate shed until needed. I'll make a metal cover for the forge to keep chicken poop off it and chickens from frying themselves. It'll take longer to set up and shut down and I'll get less done, but I'll have the forge operational in the winter and provide extra heat in the coop. If I build onto this system yearly, I’ll have a very nice winter operation that, in a couple of years, will work as well in winter as my current operation does in summer. I’ll only need to move operations when the seasons change.

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