Snow. Again.

This time of year, snow is a moot point up here. There's gonna be snow. There's gonna be lots of it, and then there's gonna be more snow. It happens. Every year, you can almost set your calendar by it.

End of year, get lots of snow.
Beginning of year, snow starts to not fall quite as hard, quite as often, this is a sign that the big lakes are frozen over (or mostly frozen over).
Middle of January, the sun (remember mr. sun?) makes his appearance again, once in awhile, you know, just for a teaser. There's no heat in this sun, it's just pretty and yellow and mostly deceiving, because it makes you think thoughts of going outside to do stuff like plant the garden (which is under 3-4 foot of snow). Deceiving.
End of January, the January Thaw! where traditionally temps rise above the average for a week or so, again, deceiving us into believing that the winter gods are done with us for yet another year.
But it's not so. Phil lets us know every Feb 2 that we are not to be deceived. If you don't believe him, ask the natives. They get deceived also, but know better. They'll tell you that the snow won't go away until August (they're mostly tired of it by now and view it as a never ending curse).

Me? bring it on. I love it. I love staying inside and looking out at it. I love being outside in it. I just love it, yup, a northern girl at heart. What can I say?

But, even though I profess my never ending love of winter every chance I get, does not mean that I invite head shots with snow shovels, ice picks or skiis. I didn't do it. I didn't make it snow, I just like that it does.
And, I look forward to the thawing of the lakes, so the great Lake Effect Snows can once again dump enough of the white stuff in 20 mins to cover a house.

So what do we do until it starts snowing again, but it's too cold? (cause snow and cold, while seemingly compatible, are not! It can comfortably be 30 degrees and still snowy, what I object to is 75 below zero with a wind chill just short of Mars).
We do as Jeff Foxworthy suggests and go sit on 18+ inches of ice, drill a hole and wait for our dinner to swim by!

Gotta Love Michigan!

Time To Get Warm

Today, will find me taking a brief respite from my real job and out slogging through the woods cutting firewood. To me, this weather is perfect for this job. No hot sun, no sweat, no bugs, cold enough to keep you cool!
Actually I should rephrase that, my saw isn't really big enough to keep up with the big boys, so I do more loading and stacking and less cutting. Whatever, it gets done and we all have free wood. It's a great deal!
Every now and then we get a tract of land to cut, either the owners want some cleared, or they've sold off the good stuff and want it cleaned out, that's how we get our firewood. It's not really free, and I'll feel how much it cost tomorrow, but it will go a long way toward heating our house this winter.

Several times we've mulled over the idea of taking out the woodstove, or of just using it to supplement another heating system. When we put our wood floors in, we talked about putting a sub floor heating system in, but I think, no. I like the stove.
Don't so much care for the mess, and it's a real bear to regulate the temperatures, sometimes on a really cold January night, we have to crack the windows in the bedroom because it's so hot, but I think the system we have works just fine. It could be better, but it's not broke, so....

My shawl is almost done, could probably finish that today if I had a notion, but it won't happen. Also, the mossi cardi that I want to wear for Thanksgiving is close to done, I really want to finish that, more than the shawl, so that one will rate higher.

On the farm, we continue to meet the weather head on. Ice is made every night, so until it gets too thick to break with a shovel in the horse and cattle tanks, that's what we do twice a day. When it gets too thick, I'll break out the tank heaters, don't like to do that, costs electricity, and they are notorious for deciding to not work.

Hubby built me a "shack" around the water pump by the barn. It's insulated and everybody! Now, 1/2 hour or so with the heat lamp and my pump will be thawed out and ready to use. I fill tanks every other day in the winter, I'll have to take a picture, it's a rare sight!

Try to stop at a neighboring farm on my home from work at night to pick up corn for the cattle, they are getting so big.
The chickens aren't crazy about the snow, but they'll get used to it and best of all, I've started to make my paths again.

Making paths in the snow rocks! Kind of like an adventure!

Your Daily Physics Lesson

In which the forces within are equal or greater to the forces without, Or in layman's terms - Bring It On!
First of all let me dispel a myth that may or may not be disturbing you. Ready? Here goes:

I am not a physicist. I'm not even sure I spelled it right. I know, it's shocking, what with my incredible insights into the world around me - or inside my head - whatever. But, no, I'm not one of those people who wear the pocket protectors. I'll just leave that to settle in for a minute.

If you've recovered enough from that statement, I'll continue.....

My particular version of "forces to be dealt with" this morning include not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 of my vehicles. Yes, I have 4 vehicles. Hey, hubby has way more than that, but around here, they each have their own special brand of usefulness. Even if they are just yard ornaments.

We can eliminate the bike, bike riding season is pretty much over, and li'l bro in Colorado who's temps still see 75 in the daytime, you don't even need to comment here, I'm not speaking to you anyway. I took the insurance off of the bike for the season. It was hard, mindbendingly hard, actually, but I did it. I am no longer a biker chick, but this is just for the winter.
Vehicle #2, My Egg (geo metro - 50 mpg - I can put up with a lot of ugly for 50 mpg!) currently is displaying issues involving the spewing of antifreeze all over the driveway. Apparantly, according to hubby, it is the heater core, or the heater line, or something not even remotely close or even connected to the actual heater.

That was yesterday, so I hopped in my favorite winter vehicle of all time, The Truck.
The Truck is a 1993 (I think) GMC Sierra Full Size Pickup on Big Tires, with a Crew Cab and , um, of course, 4 wheel drive. Oh yeah! The Truck!
The Truck rocks, it is my favorite vehicle in which I must ride in rather than on, but alas. The windshield wipers, as well as any assortment of dash, headlights, or taillights only work when they want to, which wouldn't be at night, or during a freezing rain session which is what we had last night coming home from work.
It gets dark here early. By 5 oclock when it's time to leave work, there is a definite need for headlights. Oh it's easy enough to see driving home, but not so much for people to see me, so working headlights are a great option.
And, when I have to stop every 1/2 mile to scrape the windshield (remember the wipers don't work and it's freezing rain) it's really cool if the people behind me can not only see me, but see that my intentions to pull over to the side of the road are documented by application of the brakes and taillights. Oh, and I forgot to mention, there's no plates and insurance on The Truck.
So, that was yesterday.
Today.... we are driving our "new" vehicle of choice, the assembled and altered, Izusu Rodeo, or The Clomper as I like to call it. I like this vehicle because it's different I guess. Really there's no reason not to like it, but it starts and stops without rain dances, goes forward and backwards, has 4 wheel drive, and the wipers and lights all work.
No, it's not legal for the road either, that should be remedied this morning, yeah, I'll be a bit late for work, deal with it.

And, if it weren't dark out still, I'd sooo take a picture of The Clomper for you. I know you'd find it just as alluring as I do.

And baby bro out in California who seems to have forgotten what snow looks like, give me time, daylight hours are limited and most of them find me inside, actually working. I'll get you pictures, don't you worry.

Edited to add pictures of The Clomper (who really doesn't like his/her name and we're working on that) and also snow pics for baby bro in CA.

Click to bigify, come on, you know you want to!

Last Ride Revisited!

Ok, so yesterday wasn't the last ride, but this afternoon very well may be. It was a gorgeous ride to work, I took a detour. Just cause I could!

Tomorrow is bringing rain, Saturday is bringing more rain and Sunday is bringing the "S" word and freezing temps. I know not to ride when it's snowing. Don't ask me how I know, just know that I know.
Just like I know that Indian Summer is probably officially over and the next thing we look forward to is months and months of dreary gray skies.

NOT!!

I love winter, I really do. Here in N. Mich it virtually snows every day. OK, these days that means something else to most people other than what it means to me, or something like that.
It snows every day. It is humid here. When there is humid-ness in the air and the air is freezing, well, you do the math, or meteorology, or whatever. It snows all the time. Which is cool, cause some of my favorite activities require the presence of snow and ice. Skating is fun, after the initial workout of shoveling feet and feet of snow off the ice. (do not suggest that I shovel snow off the ice as it falls, it does take awhile to freeze enough to support said snow, plus my weight, usually by that time, there is quite an accumulation). Skiing is WAY fun, the problem there being that I have been skiing my whole life so I'm not afraid of going break neck speed down a steep long hill with boards strapped to my feet. Eventually my age is gonna catch up with this. Hopefully this won't be the year that happens. And there's snow mobiling, which is awesome and how I intend to get to work some this winter, now that I have a sled that doesn't require my neice to help me start! And, the dreary gray skies usually only last until the big lakes freeze over, then the sun makes it's presence.

Logging (a really cool term cause it makes people think you're big and bad) is fun too even if it is only cutting firewood on a smaller basis than what you'd normally think of as logging.
Snowshoeing is really fun (when you don't fall off of them... just sayin'....) and cross country skiing is fun too, especially when you go backwards on the trails, at that point all bets are off.

So, Mother Nature, bring it on, I know just what to do with all of your snow, ice and freezing-ness, lake effect or otherwise. I grew up here, I've lived here pretty much my whole life, I can handle you, BRING IT!!

Let me set the every morning scene..... get up early, cause that's how I'm wired for whatever reason, have a cup of coffee while looking at the night sky, which includes a really cool pale yellow moon, watching the frost settle over everything turning the landscape into fields of diamonds glittering in the early morning darkness. The wind is usually nil and I'll go out to start my chores.
I get to make my paths out to the barn and critter houses, I like making paths. I get to have my breath taken away by the cold fresh air, I get my usual cuddles, kisses and snuggles with all of my critters and then I go inside where the dry wood heat goes right through me, wake up hubby, have another cup of coffee and then venture back outside to go to work.

Life is good!
(plus, my electric bill went down, so now I'm all happy all over again!)

My Egg Rocks!

I always do it.
Every year.
Every year I put my vehicle in the ditch.
Only happens once, but every year.

So this morning the only reason I was surprised is because THERE WAS NO SNOW AND THE ROAD WASN'T ICY!!

So why did I drive into the ditch, in the exact same spot that this happens every year?

Because I was gonna be late for work.
And I forgot to park my egg so that the windshield was facing the sun (such that it is).
And the windshield was icy
And I am out of washer fluid.
And I didn't take the time to clean off the window, I just turned on the defrosters (hey, this is huge, normally they don't work!), scraped the window a bit with my fingernails and went on my merry way.
Right into the ditch.
Where I drive every year.

This time, however, I didn't require a tow truck (thanks, Dave) to pull me out (refer back to the statement above about the lack of snow, usually there would be anywhere from 4-6 foot of snow in this particular ditch), I was able to do the reverse, forward, reverse, forward thing and drive out on my own.

And I was late for work.
But I bet I won't forget to park the egg where the sun (such that it is) hits the windshield again!

My egg rocks!!

Slippage and The Penguin Waddle

This time of year, as the slippage rate increases, we have to once again relearn the fine art of what I like to call the Penguin Waddle.

Take this morning. I went out on the deck to put out Bu-Dawgh, and what happened? Slippage. The deck was all frosty and icy and slippery.

As I looked around, I noticed that in the pale light, most everything else was frosty and icy too, and most likely slippery.

It's not really surprising, the People at the Weather Place are telling us it will snow today. Anywhere from 4-10 inches as the cold Canadian air makes its way over the "warmer than the land" lakes. This is called Lake Effect Snow. It's also cold. And there's usually a lot of it.

No matter how many times I said No, it's not time yet, it's still coming. I can feel it. My hands, elbows, wrists, hips, heck who am I kidding, my whole me can feel it. I hurt. Its "the old" thing. Remember how Grandpa used to say he could tell when it was gonna rain because his toe hurt? Well, now that's me.

Yesterday there was sleet-age, you know the rain mixed with snow, mixed with ice thing. That was fun. Of course there's not enough snow to make a snowman, or run the sleds, but it was there. Mixed with the rain and ice. And then this morning, slippage. This all leads to one thing - winter. Well, at least I have a store of firewood on the deck, at least it won't be slippery inside.

PS.... We're no longer under a snow watch, so say the People At The Weather Place, however the clouds and sky are telling me different.
We'll see!!

The Tree Out Front

My neighbor has this beautiful Sugar Maple Tree. Huge. Gorgeous. Beautiful Tree. Really pretty. And I'm going to cut it down. Once again it has betrayed me.

This really really pretty gorgeous huge tree, every year, this time of year shows it's betrayal by *gasp* turning red. It's really pretty when it turns red, it seems to go branch by branch, from the outside in. But my own personal belief, at least this year, is that it doesn't really need to advertise the fact that summer is in fact, *whisper* "over" *end of whisper*.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda, I get it. I know. Summer's over. My dead and dying garden is a testament to that. My closed windows yell it to me. The ferns in the woods shreik at me every time I ride by. The cool crispness of the air on my bike ride to work, and the colors... Well, the colors are really quite cool, everything from pale yellow to deep, dark burgandy. Salmons, oranges, reds, even purples. The air dries up, the leaves show their colors and then fall and walking anywhere produces a crinkle under foot.

Fall does have it's good points. There are the leaves, as previously pointed out, breathtaking. Peak season is in about 2-3 weeks.

The cool crisp air is perfect for getting those last minute projects done, perfect for cutting and stacking firewood. The season seems to inspire the "nesting instincts" of even highly evolved (or less highly evolved) humans. There's the "hurry" to get stuff done.

And there are the bike rides.

O.M.G. You haven't lived until you've ridden on the back roads of N. Mich during peak season. Just gorgeous. Take a break here and there to sit and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds.

Because....

it's coming......

Green... and More Stuff

Green!
One of my favorite colors. This time of year I just ache for green things. Thought I'd give you some pictures of Green things today, in honor of the upcoming St. Patricks Day. I told you I'd give you pictures but I lied. Either that or I forgot my camera - you know the one, the Awesome Camera That I Bought Myself For My Birthday Last Year camera. Oh well, work with me here.

Pine Trees (a picture of a pine tree would go here if I hadn't forgotten my camera)
My absolutely favorite kind of tree ever! The big one in the background is named "Katie" (picture a big white pine in the background). When the kids were younger they would climb up and up and up. I love the smell of pines all the time. they are beautiful just after a fresh heavy snow. And in they smell sooooo good in the spring!

Yummy Yarn (The would be a picture of all of my green yarn, which is all categorized by color, you know, green!)

I have a lot of greenery in my house. I'd show you a picture of the boughs that top all of my windows, but well, again, no camera.

Sweater I knit
I knit this cabled Aran a long time ago. Green is one of my favorite colors and this sweater is no exception. (Picture a really pretty sweater, really, it's pretty!)

Favorite Mug
Well, not the favorite, but close. (It's green, I'm sure you know what a mug looks like)

Plants
Aloe, Geraniums, and Cactus. (I would have put a picture here of the plants that I overwinter in the house, if I had remembered my camera)

More stuff.....
I went down to my craft room (formerly known as "The Mouth's" room to take a picture (you know, with the camera that I don't have)of my shelf of green yarn and found that the icemaker to the fridge directly above was leaking. A lot. We had puddles. I thought I saw a trout jump. Seriously, I thought about putting hubby's waders on! I'm no stranger to leaks in our house, I would refer you back to the Great Aquarium Bursting of Seams that happened 2 yrs ago, but I'm not over it enough yet to be objective.
So anyway, turned the water off to the fridge (not a bad thing this time of year, but I will have to investigate and fix it before I want ice in the summer).


Refresh my mind. Did I or Did I Not tell Mother Nature that I had had enough of winter for one year? I did, I know it. I always figured she liked my going out in shirtsleeves and danceing in the new snow barefoot rituals, so she kept piling it on. So naturally, when I said UNCLE, I figured she'd take the hint. Notsomuch. More Snow yesterday. Again, this is March and this is N. Mich, but come on! I have a brother who is tormenting me mercilessly because he gets to go out and ride his harley and I can't even get mine out of the barn. ENOUGH!! UNCLE!! Whatever it takes!!

It's time to do laundry. When I open my sock drawer and the only thing I can find is Santa Clause socks with Ho Ho Ho on them (picture Christmassy cute socks), it's time. That's a clue. Hubby yelling about not having any jeans is another clue. No, he doesn't do laundry. He did it once and that was enough. One of these days maybe I'll get brave and show him where we keep the washer and dryer, but it's not gonna be today.

Is Daylight Savings Time kicking any one else's butt? Seems the older I get, the more I am resistant to change. So along with my email to The Powers That Be to consider not scheduling Nascar and a Red Wings game on the same Sunday afternoon, I'll mention the Daylight Savings Time thing too. I mean, if no one complains, how will The Powers That Be know that I'm unhappy with it? And if it takes 7 complaints and they only have 6, then I can be the one who makes the difference. It's tough, but someone has to take up the cause.
Here would be another pretty picture of a pine tree.... use your imagination... you've all seen a pine tree!

Go Wings - another win last night!

Random Stuff

A few random thoughts pinging around in my little brain. You're in for a treat I tell ya.

No knitting has gone on this weekend. Not one stitch, not one knit, not one purl, and definitely no ripping. That in itself was a good thing.

I need to speak to the people who schedule sports events around the globe. How is it that Nascar and NHL both have an event going on, neither of which I can miss, on Sunday afternoon? On the good side, we (Red Wings) tromped the Predators. Well, maybe not tromped, but we did win. I always like to watch these two teams battle it out. There's a history between them and the intimidation games that take place within the Flinging Of The Puck Toward The Net game are just as much fun to watch as the actual Flinging Of The Puck. On the other side of the coin, my fantasy Nascar team needs to step it up a bit. My points are waaaaayyyyyy, well..... down.

The water in my barn is frozen again. OK. enough! There! I've said it. I'm always the last to say Enough to Mother Nature's yearly Winter Games but I've said it now. Now we can maybe climb out of the single digits at night and a bit higher than 23 during the day.

My electric bill arrived with it's always fun surprises. For some reason this month was a bit higher than the previous month. I don't know why. We heat with wood so there's no furnace that requires a fan which requires electricity. In the winter I do a lot of my cooking on the woodstove, so it's not the electric range. I suspect hubby's aquarium. That has to be it. I don't know what else it would be. Certainly none of my computer stuff, or washer and dryer, freezers, or all the little black boxes that are hooked to the tv. So, the sooner I can start slogging through the snow out to my clothesline the better. I've done this before, it's no biggie. I had at one time 2 kids in cloth diapers in the UP of Michigan with no dryer. I hung them out. All winter. I survived to tell about it, and I do regularly.

Gas prices? what's up with that??? Well, they're up, again. My truck gets about 11 miles to the gallon. Before you tsk tsk me for driving such an inefficient vehicle, this is my farm truck. I need this truck. I've not yet met a Geo that will haul critters or hay as well as my farm truck. And besides that I really love my truck, even though it only gets 11 mpg, going downhill, with the wind, on a good day. I seriously need to figure out a way to turn all of this manure we make on a daily basis into fuel. But until then, I should get to work, you know, my paying job. But, first I have to haul water out to the livestock in my 5 gal. bucket that lives by the side door. That's a log of hauling, so we're back to the water in the barn being frozen again. Let not go through that again, shall we?

Besides, once the ice is off the roads and I'm certain it will stay off for at least a few months, I'll pull my bike out of the barn. That get's lots better gas mileage!

I think I'll paint it this year. To match hubby's bike. And spruce it up a bit. But until I can get it out of the barn......