Winter

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Winter is about to make its return to my little part of the earth. Balmy 50 to 70 degree fall days are soon to make way for the 20's with lows into the single digits Fahrenheit at night. I watched a Mourning Dove pecking at the ice on my bird bath this morning and then cleared the ice and put in fresh water. Two hours later a skiff of paper thin ice has reappeared. There are no heaters in any of my eight aquariums. This is going to be my experimental winter. I will heat the room with an electric oil filled radiant heater. Last night got down to 25 degrees and my fish room , which sits over an unheated crawl space , was right at 70 this morning. I will be content with that.

 

[Koenator]

Oil is expensive. Glad you can afford it

 

[JuiceBox52]

Winter is the worst season for me

 

[Sgooosh]

Winter is the worst season for me

it's succulent killing season, and cactus rusting season!!!

 

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It hit us last night. Woke up to an inch of snow on the ground and 18 degrees F. Supposed to get down to 8 degrees tonight. I feed the House Finches and they are swarming my feeders today.

 

[Slaphppy7]

It hit us last night. Woke up to an inch of snow on the ground and 18 degrees F. Supposed to get down to 8 degrees tonight. I feed the House Finches and they are swarming my feeders today.

I got frostbite just reading this...that front is supposed to make it down here this WE, but in the meantime, warm, humid, and nasty down here

 

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You'd think a guy would get used to it but it gets harder to adapt to with every passing year. My last job before I retired was outside. I sure do like being retired now when I get up and see snow.

 

[Slaphppy7]

You'd think a guy would get used to it but it gets harder to adapt to with every passing year. My last job before I retired was outside. I sure do like being retired now when I get up and see snow.

Yeah, snow & ice is nice to look at...when you don't have to drive on it

 

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Yeah, snow & ice is nice to look at...when you don't have to drive on it

The driving ! Every year when it snows for the first time everybody drives like it's the first time they ever saw it. Rear end accidents up the wazoo and people with four wheel drives driving like its the Fourth of July. Guys driving on bald tires and people driving with fogged up windows and snow not cleared off the back window. Real Mad Max stuff. I'm glad I don't have to go out this week.

 

[Slaphppy7]

The driving ! Every year when it snows for the first time everybody drives like it's the first time they ever saw it. Rear end accidents up the wazoo and people with four wheel drives driving like its the Fourth of July. Guys driving on bald tires and people driving with fogged up windows and snow not cleared off the back window. Real Mad Max stuff. I'm glad I don't have to go out this week.

People down here drive like lunatics, regardless of the weather...add a little black ice, and it's practically suicidal to venture out...you'd think the folks up there would handle it a little better

 

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People down here drive like lunatics, regardless of the weather...add a little black ice, and it's practically suicidal to venture out...you'd think the folks up there would handle it a little better

A guy I worked with had the company send him to their San Antonio operation to help out and he marveled at how well Texas drivers handled themselves in a torrential downpour. He was flabbergasted at how much water could accumulate on a highway and how what a real danger hydro planing was. He could not heap enough praise on Texas drivers.
The very worst drivers in the United States are in Montana and the very worst of those live in my town. You'd think the population would dwindle in half before winter was over.

 

[Slaphppy7]

A guy I worked with had the company send him to their San Antonio operation to help out and he marveled at how well Texas drivers handled themselves in a torrential downpour. He was flabbergasted at how much water could accumulate on a highway and how what a real danger hydro planing was. He could not heap enough praise on Texas drivers.
The very worst drivers in the United States are in Montana and the very worst of those live in my town. You'd think the population would dwindle in half before winter was over.

Really?
That's surprising, I've lived here my whole life...for the most part, I suppose most drivers here are OK enough to deal with...but there's plenty of boneheads to deal with out there, as well.....of course, things have changed since the advent of the cell phone...you know that text or phone call is WAY more important than safe driving

When I'm President, cell phones won't work in moving vehicles, it'll be law...if it's that important, PULL OVER

And, don't get me started on the driving texters with a Big Mac in the OTHER hand...

 

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@Slaphppy7 Or the women putting on makeup in the rear view mirror while barreling along at 50 MPH !
You have my vote Mr. President.

 

[GaryE]

This is my first winter with the garage fishroom, so I should learn some things. This is the ultimate test of my planning. Did I insulate enough? Will it hold when it gets really cold?

Winter driving is a pain, and you have to be extra alert to other drivers. I'm used to it, or I'd be dead. I got my snow tires on, and in January, we'll have a new car with AWD to help on the ice. Front wheel drive was okay in a large city, but here, it's time to go back to better traction. I used to drive over an hour each way to one of my jobs, and I got good at handling bad road conditions. lesson one? Expect trouble.

This winter is like one of those old western movies where the hero says "!t's quiet. Too quiet." The wind is howling and it's coldish today (but above freezing). By Thursday, it'll be mild again , with 10-16c, about 50 to 60f. It's November. This is very weirdly warm. I have the feeling our trickster gods have a bucket of snow suspended over our heads, and they're all standing around with scissors giggling. Strange things are happening. This is still early October weather.

There is a tradition here that if you have a funeral passing in the opposite direction, you pull over to show respect to the family. I was in a line of traffic yesterday, moving at speed across a bridge, with one lane only each way due to construction. The car up front spotted a hearse and slammed his brakes, from highway speed to zero. It could have caused a 20 car chain collision, and provided work for the funeral parlour. I got stopped in time and braced for the car behind. Umm, you are not supposed to do THAT in any tradition. I couldn't even swear at the guy because it was a long funeral and I had to have my proper face on.

 

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You know what @GaryE ? It is a bad omen when they say it's too quiet. My final thoughts on winter driving are this : It can be the scariest thing you've ever encountered. When the road is so icy that it shines and you feel the car floating and you know that even thinking about the brake pedal spells doom then you will know fear. 'nuff said.