What's the weather like over there?

[Knuckles 904]

Still a very mild winter here. Had one major snow storm 2 weekends ago that dropped 8-12 inches. And that melted within days. Almost wasn't even worth shoveling/snow blowing. Heck yesterday the temp got up to 50°F. Walking around in a t-shirt at the end of January just seems weird.

[gogoblender 3,068]

Email some ee that weather o'er here Knuckles, we had kind of a mini blizzard yesterday, the roads are slush rivers!

 

 

gogo

[gogoblender 3,068]

Pretty sunny, almost blue, ran out of coffee, out to get some new!

 

 

gogo

[Stormwing 40]

Clear skies and all, but I haven't been outside, save getting the post from the locker. About -22-25C.

Ugh, I ain't a friggen polar bear, 'gdamnit! Still, I'm outta food tomorrow, so off to the shop then, hoping it's a bit warmer...

[chattius 2,520]

Night was -16 Celcius. No snow, but strong wind. Given that we had +10 Celcius 3 weeks ago and some plants already considered this as the begin of spring....

Plant killing weather. My wife reported 3 cases of second degree freezing, all in faces done by piercings.

 

We got a nice supply of Melkfett and Pferdchensalbe, udder cream and horse balsam. The funny story when our 12 year old dried to buy Melkfett in a drugstore in town rather than at farmer's supply I put here last year:

 

http://darkmatters.org/forums/index.php?/topic/17641-melkfett-milking-grease/

 

Pferdchensalbe is a gel used to relax horse muscles. First it cools and after some minutes it warms. The company is just a few kilometres away and many people rather use well known horse balsam instead of very expsinve products for humans here for decades.

 

So at this chilling wind, every part of skin exposed to the cold gets a layer of Melkfett, this incudes even our hens which prefer to be outside rather than in their stall.

 

One good thing: I watered a field some weeks ago and now we have 10 centimeres of ice with no water below. The sunonly reaches the field in afternoon after school,so it should last for some more weeks. So currently no need to drive kids to their friends in town for playing. there are around 50 here at us each afternoon now.

[gogoblender 3,068]

heh, I like the recounting of how the chickens like to stay outdoors. Amusing and warm^^ lol, the milkfett story, that one had me in stitches when you first posted it, and great hearing about that ice pond you created is making the kids happy.

 

Juha, dinna starve you..Mcd's has some good specials for 1.35 double beef burgers, about 1.60 tax in...hard to beat even for home cooking!

 

And... sky's cleared up, we have some great blue ceiling, but with the weather at -11, its definitely a hat and mittens day.

 

Let's go polar bears!

 

 

gogo

[Stormwing 40]

chattius: Good thing the cold weather's good for someone. ^^

 

Gogo: Normally I'm not too fond with Mcds, but if there was one around the corner, that might've been a quick savie for the weekend.

Well, just came back from the shops and I guess I have 3-4 day reserve of foodies now. Some easy to use incredients.

Guess I'll just camp indoors at least the weekend. This should let down a little around monday, around -10C if forecasts hit the nail.

[Epox 2]

insanely cold -20 last night uuuuuuuhhh hate the cold also hate it to warm

[gogoblender 3,068]

lol, was about to be amused by your cold weather Epox, then just glanced at my thermometer, -16 here !

 

 

gogo

[Stormwing 40]

About -24C still... Not too happy about it. Yet, it has it's uses. Seeing it rarely hails when it's this cold. So no need for snow works. :3

Peeps in southern Finland weren't so lucky. There's been heavy blizzard couple days back and them beeing not used to such climate, there's been awful lot of traffic accidents...

Kinda feel sorry for them, but then again, nearly no one there knows about safe distance 'tween cars. Sure, I don't have license, but still, it's common knowledge, not to drive so near each other with bad weather...

[chattius 2,520]

Morning was -15C, sun, strong wind and not a single bit snow around. So kids spend their time ice skating at my sunny, wind protected field which I luckily set below water weeks ago. Tomorrow 15 trees will be chopped, needed deep frozen ground to avoid damaging the soil when transporting the oak trunks.

[gogoblender 3,068]

Morning was -15C, sun, strong wind and not a single bit snow around. So kids spend their time ice skating at my sunny, wind protected field which I luckily set below water weeks ago. Tomorrow 15 trees will be chopped, needed deep frozen ground to avoid damaging the soil when transporting the oak trunks.

 

heh, your weather report sounds like a good wintery tale.

 

Do you use electric saws to cut down the tree...anyone ever use ole fashioned axe, or too slow?

 

 

gogo

[chattius 2,520]

The big oaks today, too dangerous with only an axe. Saw two cuts, direction and fall cut, and hammer a wedge with the axe in the fall cut. Only use for the axe in this part of chopping. We don't cut all trees in a certsin psrt of forest, only the big ones sold in an auction. Barrel makers, chinese temple,...

 

So we dont want damage to the trees we want to keep, so soil should be frozen, better wood quality in winter too.

[Delta! 985]

we are dying from the heat in South Affrica. yesterday my car said it was 42C and today feels even warmer. walking around the house without a shirt, and drinking lots of water. sleeping with the fan on and the covers thrown far away!

good luck for those terrible winters!

 

Delta!

[Stormwing 40]

I could swap one of those crazy heat days with one around here, Theuns.

Though it seems that the cold is letting up a little bit. Only -6C atm. A welcome change, even if only couple of days.

Around wednesday it should be around -20C again.

[gogoblender 3,068]

The big oaks today, too dangerous with only an axe. Saw two cuts, direction and fall cut, and hammer a wedge with the axe in the fall cut. Only use for the axe in this part of chopping. We don't cut all trees in a certain psrt of forest, only the big ones sold in an auction. Barrel makers, Chinese temple,...

 

So we dont want damage to the trees we want to keep, so soil should be frozen, better wood quality in winter too.

Sold in auction? So there is "prized" trees that you have in your land? Is it because they are old, and therefore more valuable?

 

 

 

 

we are dying from the heat in South Affrica. yesterday my car said it was 42C and today feels even warmer. walking around the house without a shirt, and drinking lots of water. sleeping with the fan on and the covers thrown far away!

good luck for those terrible winters!

 

Delta!

 

wow, k, that IS hot. lol 42 ..is it humid or dry though?

 

 

Around wednesday it should be around -20C again.

 

No...I almost forgot such days could exist... must... bare...February!

 

Though today, we got it lucky... 1 degree...yes 1 degree!

 

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

wh wh wh wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

 

gogo

[cider_steve 26]

Cold, but most of the snow has gone now..............that's enough for this year, thankyou !

[chattius 2,520]

Had a good idea yesterday. We finished the wood work using big flood lights. When returning home I installed them at the frozen field kids use for skating. Our oldest organized adults who will rotate next 2 weeks to look for the kids, do mass feeding with my field kitchen, ... so skating will be open till 10pm next days. The money spending box has enough money for power supply fuel, field kitchen and food for 40 people and toilet chemicals for a toilet trailer for first week, actually better than I exspected.

 

When waking up this morning: -18.4C. Which is already close to the -22C fuel stations say is safe for their Winterdiesel. Diesel will build parafin crystals without winter addons. While old diesel engines in the family Van and the Unimog can easily run with gasoline mixed to the Diesel, the BMW my company gave to me has a too modern engine and needs Diesel with special addons if going too cold.

 

GOGO: yes, most of the oak trees are around 250 years old, grewing down in valley, so in a fight for sunlight they build long long trunks. They were buyed for temple repair in around 10 years when the oak will not be 'working' anymore. So the customer has to keep them at a wood resting place meanwhile.

5 oaks were 'Hueteeichen', oaks used to spend shadow for cows and wool-pigs which used to live half wild in a gras and oak mix. So these oaks had no surrounding trees and build ball like crowns and didn't need to grow high. Mighty but low trunks, was told main usage will be bottom and tops of big oak barrels.

 

Fast growing trees are normally paid by cubic metre. Real old trees are sold at auction for special usages. One of our 8 (3 old, 5 young ones) Elsbeeren (chequer tree) would be as expensive as 30 same sized free standing oak trees. Elsbeer-wood is among the hardest woods while still being quite elastic. Fine pieces sell for 10000 euro the cubic metres, ours would still need 50 years more to have this quality. Traditional Elsbeeren was the wood used for the pipes in bagpipes. The still woodworking members of my family build nice stuff from the branches I cut from our Elsbeer-trees to form a nice crown. The 30 Elsbeeren my grandpa planted as a young boy were done in the hope that his grandgrandchildren(!!) would continue the woodworking business. 3 of the 30 survived war and after war years - 27 were worked to stuff sold on black mareket. So this really old wood is a generation thing. I did a Elsbeere for each of my kids. So perhaps at exploding wood prices, my grandgrandgrandchildren will be able to pay costs for an elite university from these trees. With global warming the normal Elsbeeren places will become too hot. Our place was one of the coldest places Elsbeeren could still grow when my Grandpa did them. Wise man, very visionary. He even had a recipe to turn cherry leaves into something like cigarettes and sell them on black market in the after war years.

 

If you want to read into the Elsbeere:

 

http://www.tree-expert.de/tree-of-the-year-2011.php

[gogoblender 3,068]

Had a good idea yesterday. We finished the wood work using big flood lights. When returning home I installed them at the frozen field kids use for skating. Our oldest organized adults who will rotate next 2 weeks to look for the kids, do mass feeding with my field kitchen, ... so skating will be open till 10pm next days. The money spending box has enough money for power supply fuel, field kitchen and food for 40 people and toilet chemicals for a toilet trailer for first week, actually better than I exspected.

 

When waking up this morning: -18.4C. Which is already close to the -22C fuel stations say is safe for their Winterdiesel. Diesel will build parafin crystals without winter addons. While old diesel engines in the family Van and the Unimog can easily run with gasoline mixed to the Diesel, the BMW my company gave to me has a too modern engine and needs Diesel with special addons if going too cold.

 

GOGO: yes, most of the oak trees are around 250 years old, grewing down in valley, so in a fight for sunlight they build long long trunks. They were buyed for temple repair in around 10 years when the oak will not be 'working' anymore. So the customer has to keep them at a wood resting place meanwhile.

5 oaks were 'Hueteeichen', oaks used to spend shadow for cows and wool-pigs which used to live half wild in a gras and oak mix. So these oaks had no surrounding trees and build ball like crowns and didn't need to grow high. Mighty but low trunks, was told main usage will be bottom and tops of big oak barrels.

 

Fast growing trees are normally paid by cubic metre. Real old trees are sold at auction for special usages. One of our 8 (3 old, 5 young ones) Elsbeeren (chequer tree) would be as expensive as 30 same sized free standing oak trees. Elsbeer-wood is among the hardest woods while still being quite elastic. Fine pieces sell for 10000 euro the cubic metres, ours would still need 50 years more to have this quality. Traditional Elsbeeren was the wood used for the pipes in bagpipes. The still woodworking members of my family build nice stuff from the branches I cut from our Elsbeer-trees to form a nice crown. The 30 Elsbeeren my grandpa planted as a young boy were done in the hope that his grandgrandchildren(!) would continue the woodworking business. 3 of the 30 survived war and after war years - 27 were worked to stuff sold on black mareket. So this really old wood is a generation thing. I did a Elsbeere for each of my kids. So perhaps at exploding wood prices, my grandgrandgrandchildren will be able to pay costs for an elite university from these trees. With global warming the normal Elsbeeren places will become too hot. Our place was one of the coldest places Elsbeeren could still grow when my Grandpa did them. Wise man, very visionary. He even had a recipe to turn cherry leaves into something like cigarettes and sell them on black market in the after war years.

 

If you want to read into the Elsbeere:

 

http://www.tree-expe...e-year-2011.php

 

An amazing read. The idea of "wood" being "aged" and having so much value astonishes and fills me with a kind of awe. That wood stock from hundreds of years ago has so much value now because it just gets harder while keeping it's "alive" qualities. Thanks for writing that all up, lol, I wonder if trees will have to be guarded in the future!

 

 

gogo

 

p.s. -6 today, bundling up

[Stormwing 40]

Aand looks like we're back on the old schedule... *Ba da bum tch!* Around -20C and clear skies. Gave us a flurry of snow today too... >_<

All the more reason to keep indoors.

[Epox 2]

lol, was about to be amused by your cold weather Epox, then just glanced at my thermometer, -16 here !

 

 

gogo

 

Yesterday I was riding the bike to work in -18 degrees I usually just fly away but that day it was going really slow like a old dude cuzz my forhead got cold pretty fact like a massive brainfreez and when I walked in the door to work 2 of my coleages had themselves a laugh I had a scarf around my nose mouth and when you breath through it water particles sets in it and mine was like a big frozen smily mouth haha wish they took a picture

[Stormwing 40]

Looks like the mean streak continues... -24C and I should be shuffling around in the city later today. Woulda been so much more comfortable with the weather we had around tuesday. That was only one day wonder...

Hopefully it isn't too windy, as that'd be like insta-freeze. And no way I'm gonna make myself a Michelin-man today...

[gogoblender 3,068]

lol, was about to be amused by your cold weather Epox, then just glanced at my thermometer, -16 here !

 

 

gogo

 

 

 

Yesterday I was riding the bike to work in -18 degrees I usually just fly away but that day it was going really slow like a old dude cuzz my forhead got cold pretty fact like a massive brainfreez and when I walked in the door to work 2 of my coleages had themselves a laugh I had a scarf around my nose mouth and when you breath through it water particles sets in it and mine was like a big frozen smily mouth haha wish they took a picture

 

LOL... classic Epox.. no pic is shame

 

Looks like the mean streak continues... -24C and I should be shuffling around in the city later today. Woulda been so much more comfortable with the weather we had around tuesday. That was only one day wonder...

Hopefully it isn't too windy, as that'd be like insta-freeze. And no way I'm gonna make myself a Michelin-man today...

 

I say Michelin man anyway just for the cozy ^^

 

And Montreal is looking downright balmy compared to what you guys have, -5!

 

 

gogo

[Epox 2]

We had -5 today also compared to the last to days were I fros like a madman today I swet like a pig

Hehe

[Stormwing 40]

Gogo: With my current winter gear that would've resulted in serious lack of flexibility. So I went with lighter gear today. Had to be inside relatively long.

And just 'cause the bus' timetables didn't quite match, "had" to stop at a nearby Irish Pub for a quick Irish coffee. Warmed somewhat, as there was around -22C again...