Today we will put to bed the coldest February ever recorded here.  Temperature at -7.4 F here a half hour ago.  With the sun up it sight we are starting to warm a bit. Also claiming near the most, if not the most snowfall for the month.  I am not so sure on that one and it surely might depend where the measuring is done.  I guess we are with about half of the rest of the hemisphere with these records.  

Strange how quiet the global warming blabbers are at a time like this. Having a 50 degree below zero wind blowing over them as much as it did this year, the polar ice caps must have regained quite a share of their former size if not all of it.  This has been a very generous period of polar vortex as they call it.

I have to admit this month has been pretty to look at here.  A new blanket of fresh, bright white snow almost every day created a picture book season to look at.  More snow scheduled for tomorrow night will keep it going but we are told temp. will get above freezing for a day later next week so that may be the turning point.

A good weekend to all.

Charlie V.

Wow, Charlie, you trying to rival Ralph for the cold and snowy weather? not quite so bad here. Still getting to below zero almost every night. Snow not melting at all with high temps in the mid 20's. Snow forecast for tonight and we are right in the middle of the highest forecast area. Not a lot, maybe 4 to 6 inches. Don't know that is going to happen with the barometer as high as it is and virtually no wind.

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I posted on the Antique Tractor list of my winter project of disecting my worn out blue jeans. I salvaged some of the rear pockets to make holsters for my cell phone and camera. The picture makes me look like a 2 gun cowboy.

Gene

Gene, someone must have borrowed your "holster" idea because I saw it on facebook a few days ago. Seems like a good idea.
Charlie, I have heard the same that February has been the coldest and highest snowfall month for us too. I am optimistic though as it seems to feel better out there lately. Even at -20F on Thursday morning I was too warm most of the time rushing around getting things ready to load cattle. No wind and bright sunshine sure helps out even at those low temps. I think we saw +10F yesterday.
Here is a shot I took out my door about a half hour ago. Nice looking morning at 0 degrees here.

Hey Two Gun Gene, those holsters are all right.  Bet they will be handy.  That is one plus we bib guys have.  We are a couple of compartments ahead to begin with but still run short at times.

You are a man after my own heart with the denim thing.  Probably 15 years ago when I was doing more shooting I decided I wanted sand bags for sighting in on the bench.  I cut sections of leg out of some wore out bibs, then sewed one end closed, making a bag of sorts.  Next I filled sturdy plastic bags with very dry fine sand and sealed them closed.  This to keep the sand dry and keep it from filtering out through the denim.  Slipped the plastic bags of sand one each into my denim pant leg bags.  Just tied the last open end of the denim bags off tight like a feed bag.  that leaves the tied off neck to pick the bags up by if you wish to.  I still have them and they worked out well for the intended purpose.

That is a nice Morning shot you posted, Ralph.  I took a couple yesterday at -4 f.  I will try to get one or two up here later.

Charlie

I haven't got quite that inventive with the old blue jean pocket belt but I have always recycled old jackets and parkas into a "winter front" for the Cockshutt tractors. Just tie a piece of baler twine from each sleeve back to a headlight and it holds onto the grille to cover it up and protect the radiator from the freezing cold air.

This is the -4 deg. from view our back yesterday morning.

Charlie



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Charlie you just need to get some flavored syrup and pour on that snow on the table and have the biggest snow cone anywhere.

Ralph, that front on the 40 looks like someone didn't get out of the way fast enough. Possibly frozen on there?

Didn't get any pictures of our new snow from last night and this morning. Got about 6 inches, so I have been moving snow most of the day. This morning with a shovel opening paths around the house and to the shop. This afternoon I got the little 222 with snow blower and cleared the driveway, around the barn yard and a path to the wood shed trailer. Was relatively warm most of the day and right on the verge of melting the snow. Was getting pretty heavy for the snow blower this afternoon and pushing some ahead of the auger. Got most opened enough to get around. Managed to get the little tractor stuck out by the mailbox. Wanted to clear the slush in front of the mailbox before the county blasted my mailbox. Got a little too far over and started sliding over toward the ditch. Walked to the house and got the shovel and shoveled the snow from around the tractor and was able to back out without any trouble. Fortunately not much traffic to see my predicament.

High temperature was around 35 degrees and light snow most of the day, so no sunshine to help the melting. It is 25 right now at 8:45pm

Gene

Too late for the table top sno-cone, Gene.  I shoveled the snow from it yesterday.  Today there is a new layer there again of a scant two inches, so maybe by next week.  O.K. with me that the new layer is not the 5-6 and maybe ten inches that was promised.  Milder last night.  Dropped to about +16 F.  Off and on sunshine now.

Charlie

Took a few snow pictures today. Thermometer tried to make it above freezing, but a couple degrees short. Bright sunshine all day so some cleared areas melted to bare ground. Been expecting the snow to slide off the barn roofs, but still hold up there. Forecast for tomorrow is for winter storm warning with sleet and freezing rain starting early in the morning and turning to rain by afternoon. Hoped to let the snow melt before the rains start.


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A little different scenery tonight. Spent the day cleaning the shelves in my utility room. Cleaned my toys and hats and rearranged them to improve the appearance. Been forever since I have cleaned all the dust and decided today was the day.

Been above freezing since yesterday evening and some of the snow has melted. Turning colder tonight and back to near zero in the forecast for tonight. Snow right now is south of us, but may get some before morning.

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Sure is a fact that our collectables are great dust collectors, Gene.  Looks like yours will be good to go for now.  I think I need a visit from the Merry Maids or someone like that if I am ever to catch up.

Rec'd a couple of pics taken Sunday from my Delaware daughter today of the snow they had on the weekend.  Looks like they got six inches or more.  Nice to see plow banks along the street being so white.  Here they ALWAYS sand and salt a time or two BEFORE they plow. so when it fills the end of our driveways it is a heavy, ugly brown / black mix.  Nothing pretty about it.  

After getting home from my grocery trip this afternoon I got friendly with my ice chopper and snow shovel to clean up the side walkway some.  Then I got after the back deck.  Wanted to get that done during the narrow window of thawing going on.  Looking for 14 for the high tomorrow.  The first foot of snow on the deck was well settled and a little heavy but not real bad.  The last three inches underneath was a whole nother matter.  Enough thawing had taken place to make that stuff about 70% water.  Get a shovel full of that and it took a grunt to throw it 6 or 8 feet to get over the railing.  I was not particularly concerned about the weight on the deck.  I built that with 2 x 8 plank flooring and and 2 x 8 joists underneath.  It all sits on 16  4 x 4 legs, so it is sturdy.  The good thing about clearing the deck is that it is a little less melt water near the house.  I put a positive grade away form the foundation under the deck but water is always a concern with clay soil.

I think Ralph is staying busy getting trucks in and our hauling some of his crops.  That has to be a challenge when the farm is about half the width of the state of Rhode Island from the road and you are committed to a schedule.   I do not envy you on that job, Ralph.

Charlie

Sure is a fact that out collectables are great dust collectors, Gene.  Looks like yours will be good to go for now.  I think I need a visit from the Merry Maids or someone like that if I am ever to catch up.


I think Ralph is staying busy getting trucks in and our hauling some of his crops.  That has to be a challenge when the farm is about half the width of the state of Rhode Island from the road and you are committed to a schedule.   I do not envy you on that job, Ralph.


Charlie

Not too much activity here Charlie. It was wind chill factors in the -30s yesterday and still pretty cool today so I didn't care to sit out on the Cockshutt 40 and snow blower. Most of the snow blew away, the loose stuff anyway. What did accumulate is in one spot on my driveway. Very hard and high density snow. Maybe tomorrow. Got some good sundog pics yesterday but they are on the other camera and it is too late in the day to hook it up now.

No snow here in my neck of the woods just South of Sioux City, IA.  Cold and wind, though.  Was around zero F this morning, but the wind went to the South and now it is 23.  The forecast is for 55 F tomorrow.  That sounds nice to me, but it will be muddy.  Most of our snow is just in drifts and road ditches.  Fields and such have blown clear.

Ron

Ron I think we had nicer weather here in Sask. today than you. Very little wind, bright sun and temp up to 20 degrees made for comfortable riding on the old 40 opening my driveway. No still photos but I did shoot some video and grabbed a frame from the video to show here .

Here is that picture you wanted Gene!

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