Winter III

saw this beast in the G&M:

article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-frakenblower/article1406303/

excerpt:

"It's not for everybody," Mr. Grundt says. "And I know it goes against the green initiative. But it really works. It takes the snow and blows it right back to where it came from."

Yeah, youtube has video of people who have taken, for example, 350 engines from an old car and put them on a snowblower.  

We've yet to have a winter type storm here this year, but I've been keeping an eye on a system coming up out of the States.   Right now, the leading edge of the percipitation is falling as freezing rain, and that's on a line roughly following the Ohio turnpike.   Behind it is a gap with no percipitation, then rain, and rain and rain all the way down to the Ozarks.   I've got to drive out to Skunk's Misery and back tonight, I hope it holds off arrival until tomorrow.

It's actually called Newry now, it's just west of Glencoe.   They changed the name from Skunk's Misery some years back to encourage development.  

I prefer Skunk's Misery.

Ah, I have freshly returned from Skunk's Misery-- and it's Newbury, not Newry, a little town somewhere north of here I've blinked through once, and now have a mental crossover with Newbury, which is why I prefer Skunk's Misery.  The ice part of the storm seemed to have hit lake Erie and dissolved, the remnants flowing up the Michigan peninsula instead of crossing the border.

"It's actually called Newry now, it's just west of Glencoe.   They changed the name from Skunk's Misery some years back to encourage development. "

Near Glencoe? Colonel Talbot's Scots certainly didn't want the Campbells around either! Safe sailing, TP.  

I've got a snowblower but, recently, have had two entrepreneurial 13-year old boys working on our driveway.  They made flyers and distributed them in the neighborhood, so I called them to give them some business.  They have a few things to learn about negotiation (they offered to clean our driveway of the heavy snow that had recently fallen for a total of "five or ten dollars" but the amount of work they had to do -- about two hours' worth -- and, most importantly, the superlative results they delivered merited 15 bucks each).  Good to reward personal initiative.

Oh, and another neighor saw the excellent results of their hard work and hired them as well.

A GOOD 25th TO ALL

Merry rainy Christmas (here around Toronto) to those who celebrate it.

Easy there, fella. I live in an isolated area of Quebec not connected with roads, and skidoos are our only way of getting around in the winter. The roads we do have are not cleared once the supply ship goes into drydock for the winter, usually mid-January. Skidoos offer us the opportunity to visit up and down the coast, as well as getting into the bush to cut firewood and wood for building materials. That said, city slickers who buy these things for recreation sometimes do give skidooers a bad name.

What would I (or anyone else) do with a dog team the nine months of the year we don't have snow and ice?

ETA: The care and feeding of a skidoo ain't cheap, either - I just paid $800 to get my 2003 Bombardier Touring 380 repaired and equipped with a new cover. New, it cost me $6200.00.

Definitely. I actually just use my snow machine to get around, and to get groceries. Anytime I hit a hidden bump on the trails, it aggravates my hernia. Also my lower back doesn't take well to skidoos. Most folks put 3,000 km every winter on theiir skidoos - it took me three years to reach that figure.

At the rate the snow is falling, it'll be midnight before shovelling will be worthwhile.  Your schnoogly woogly also has plans to build a stock of "improvised snowsive devices" so watch yer back!  Mwahaha.

Here on the Lower North Shore of Quebec, winter is coming later, but staying longer. All our snow from two big storms in December is gone. Today it is 4C, windy, and sunny, after a rainy and windy weekend. We have a tough winter ahead of us, when it finally comes.

Windchill here is at -39C today.

I have a bridge/veranda outside my front door, and this summer I'm goingto wall it in to make it a "mud room". The bridge collects too much snow in a normal winter, and is quite a job to move it all, especially when it drifts against the front door. So, I'll eliminate that problem by adding an extension to the house, and just leave a small space outside the entrance as a landing. I plan to add a small wood stove to keep this room warm, and also to let that heat reach into the laundry room which is just inside the current main entrance. The "mud room" will be a place to take off your boots, coats, and to sit down and have a cup of tea and conversation beside a nice warm fire. The bridge and supports are made of treated wood so it should be sturdy enough to add on. No more shovelling snow off the bridge for me (although I only had to do it once this winter so far). 

It is plus 5 here in the Rockies, as per usual for the last 2 months, though some light flakes of snow are making it to the valley floor, from the snow dropping on the mountain tops.

But was  just outside giving the morning pail of water to the wild cats in just my slippers and  long nighttime tee shirt, without even getting cold, though  their feeding station is across the back yard.

Have never ever experienced a totally mild winter like this in northern BC.

Well  Willie saw his shadow this morning so six more weeks of winter!  Not that I minded because it was gorgeous and sunny here today.  I'm enjoying the winter a lot more this year since I picked up a pair of showshoes and have been  trudging about the backroads and trails and getting some good exercise for both body and mind.   I went for a bit of a wander today and it was really beautiful and peaceful in a sort of winter wonderland sort of way. I love it when there is  fresh snow and everything just sparkles.

I wonder how the diversion of the Gulf Strean Current to Greenland instead of across the Atlantic will effect the length and severity of our winter here. We have had only one significant snowfall all winter, and that was before Christmas. We've had plenty of cold weather, though. All along the coast of the LNS, skidoos are sitting idle because there's no snow - and this is bad news foor us, because this is the only time of the year we can travel freely anywhere on the coast and beyond (we have no connecting roads except in Blanc Sablon).

No snow in our forecast for the next week - this is beyond weird.

Fifteen cords is incredible indeed , Boomer.  Face  cords, of course. But that's equivalent to five bush cords.  Time to close the windows.

So this one (from the other Winter thread) is history:

An article which explains the effect of mild winters here on Quebec's Lower North Shore with (Google) English translation: Un deuxième hiver sans neige en Basse-Côte-Nord

A friend of mine has a century-old farmhouse that's wood-heated, with a little auxilliary electric heat when it's really bitter outside.  The house was built without central heating in mind, but the woodstove in the livingroom does an amazing job of heating the entire house, which is kind of amazing, considering the unrelenting wind that sweeps across the fields in all weather (open farmland, few wind breaks).  I can't remember how many bush cords on an average year ... I think it was 3 or 4 last year - they tend to order it based on the previous year's consumption.

When I'm up there, during some of the most miserable weather, the house is generally at 55 degrees C.  Not bad at all if you dress for it.

Tommy P and I keep the house at about 67F for most of the winter, a little higher when the wind whips up.  And we have lots of blankets on the couches, for when we want to snuggle or snooze :)

Feb. 18/2011:  Ottawa breaks previous high with 10C

excerpt:

OTTAWA - The Rideau Canal remained closed Saturday after record-breaking weather Friday made it unsafe for use. The National Capital Commission was hopeful cooler weather would permit them to begin grooming the canal for opening "quickly," in time for the last Winterlude weekend.

On a message on their web site, the NCC said that all Winterlude venues were closed in the early morning, but that Confederation Park would open at 9 a.m. Jacaues-Cartier Park was to remain closed.

By noon Friday, the temperature had hit 10 C under sunny skies, shattering the previous record of 7.7 C set in 1981, according to Environment Canada.

(meanwhile, here on the Quebec coast below Labrador, the temperature is currently 0C)

We had snow a couple of days ago, and yesterday morning it was -30, so the bike ride to work had extra snort appeal.  I phoned the city to get them to plow some (main) routes, but got the brush-off.  Hopefully the roads will all be cleared before next week, since we have projected highs of only  -14 to -19.

And to think we were above freezing earlier last week.

One cool thing about Saskatchewan in February is that it can be -20 outside, and the sun is still warm enough to melt snow.  That's what's happening now.

If the shingles were dark, then no wonder.

Yup; dark surfaces suck in the sun's heat.

The river was steaming today, too, but that's for another reason.

Hydro is off today, guess Quebec Hydro is doing maintenance work. I've got my generator running, has enough power to drive my furnace motor, which means I can use the wood furnace today - it's very windy, -10C, and windchill of -17. Supposed to warm up a bit this afternoon, will be able to shut the furnace down - last night was the first time I've had the furnace on in a week, as it's been so warm lately.

Downtime is from 9am - 4 pm today.  Furnace will overheat without the fan - very dangerous. Yes, I can keep a small fire going - but have to keep checking it often. Using the generator saves me having to check the furnace except to add wood.

I'm adding a 'mud room' at the front that will have a cast iron wood stove - just to heat the upstairs, no need to keep the basement warm unless it's really cold.

The generator lets me cook, make coffee, run the computer, and a light.

We got some real, homecooked, bonafide snow yesterday for about fifteen minutes before it turned to our usual (althoug still rare) brand of sloppy slushy mess. The whole lot of it is gone now. Sunny and 4 degrees. Alright.

It's -34 now, and they say the wind chill makes it seem like -49 (wind chill warnings are in effect).  I didn't really notice much wind, and I still worked up a sweat on the ride into work, although my fingertips and feet are thawing out just now.  Another cyclist from work passed me this morning; I was grunting along, trying to push my frozen pedal crank, while this guy slipped by without any effort.  I don't know if that is because he's a triathlete (he is, really) or he has a $2100.00 winter bike (he has).

It won't have a motor, Boomer. "Winter bikes" are, basically, those that resist the rot of salt or are simply cheaper ones that can be sacrificed without too much grief...the son-in-law picked up a "commuter" version, which puts you higher in the saddle on the lookout for nutbar auto drivers, for $400.  No heating for the handlebars.

You're right, boomer.  This bike has tires like I've never seen before (I dunno, 2 1/2 to 3 in deep and 2 in wide), and the rims are so wide that the spokes are offset to one side so the chain can get past the wheel.  I'm waiting for the guy to get back to me with more info on the bike.

Wow! I've never seen one of those before. Very unlikely I'll get one for myself - I'm 61 with heart problems, I can only cycle from spring to fall, and only on a really light bike.  I'm not as fit as I used to be.

I sent an email to the address given, asking the price for a complete bike (with pedals) and taxes and shipping to Quebec.  Just for fun!  I might take up a collection online to buy one - I'd justify it by saying I need it to cycle year-round for my heart health!

Your winter travail is nearly over, Boomer.  :)  Three robins (3), showed up among the other birds this morning. Big, fat guys (dark coloouring), they were hopping about near the others, looking, with birdlike expectation, for worms and insects in the small patch of grass bordering the snowed-over garden.  This is as early as I've seen them...even ahead of the redwings, grackles and cowbirds that usually precede all others.  They will need their fat.

Yeah, ours said that the local prognosticatin' groundhog, Wiarton Willie, must have been into the alfalfa in predicting an early spring.  And I can't work up a belief that those birds know better. But they are a sight for sore eyes.

Ms. C. car got stuck after dropping youngest off. Road to school is narrow and she had to pull to the right to let school bus through. It took 4 men to push her out. Has sent email to principal to see if she can excert some pressure to get road properly cleared.

This has me thinking that one can always find information regarding food and alcohol parings, but never a seasonal/alcohol discussion.  Fodder for another thread perhaps, but if at all possible, I avoid beer completely during the winter months.

That, and the comparatively sedentary nature of the season combines to turn even vicarious six packs into 24s.

It's supposed to drop to -28 again tonight.  I don't know how much more of this I can handle.  It's March, for crying out loud.  Our daily highs have been lower than the average lows for this time of year.

My Mom, out in Nanaimo, told me today me how the flowers, etc. are doing there.  Argh!

We had a very mild winter two or three years ago here on the Quebec coast, and it looks like it will be repeated again this year. It's January 2nd,  2C, and raining, for goodness sakes.  In a normal winter we'd have three feet of snow on the ground by now, and daytime temps would be in the -10 to -20C range. Very little snow on the ground here, but lots of ice everywhere. For the first winter I can recall since I moved here in 1995, we've had a crew out sprinkling sand on the roads and in our driveways.

Yes, indeed. And no winter maintenance budget.

My entire property will turn into a skating rink overnight.

ETA: Hard to believe, but it's warming up right now. The snow is almost all gone. Temperature is supposed to drop by morning, so I'm hoping there will be a sanding crew out tomorrow, or it will be very slippery.

Had to strongly urge a merlin to find other hunting grounds on Boxing Day. It's the only raptor that entirely shuts down bird flight into feeders, and this winter was the first visit from the nastiest of the falcons. It was three days before the little guys had returned in full strength..and just in time, with the snow now growing thicker on the ground.

Also known as pigeon hawks, Boom Boom. We see them, rarely, down south here. When a pair of them showed up in the neighbourhood a few years ago, the entire bird population went silent. Even the crows held their peace. The pigeon hawks mostly just perched high on a dead tree, surveying their domain for prey. These folks are pretty scary.

No sanding crew active today, so I stayed indoors rather than risk a nasty fall on the ice.

When you do venture out, I sure hope you use "traction aids" on your boots/shoes. I have long used Yaktrax - they're great on icy steps or city sidewalks that the city hasn't bothered to sand yet, or on packed snow or ice in the country. Apparently they wear out for folks who do lots of walking, but I don't use them for long distances and have never had that problem.

Someone gave me a pair of Due North, which uses tiny replaceable spikes, but I've never cracked open the package yet. Here's some dude reviewing three of the leading products (if you can do YouTube where you are). Seems pretty objective.

Any experience out there with traction aids? Aging boomers need to know.

..big fat snowflakes coming down in vancouver. bus driver tells me to expect this for the next 4 days.

Weird winter here; since about mid-December we've had a constant cycle of cold, wind, rain, warm, snow - then it begins again. Lots of ice here, not much snow.

Closing for length.