What's the weather like over there?

[chattius 1,462]

RAIN, enough to fill the well, the ponds, ...

No longer risk of forest fires, the potato grew more in last two days than in the 4 weeks without rain before.... mushrooms everywhere...

 

Luckily the people down in the valley didn't suffer from a flooding this time.

[gogoblender 2,373]

lol mushrooms everywhere...thats a brilliant image ...theyre mostly water right? I think thats why theyre so hard to fry

 

gogo

[chattius 1,462]

1 hour ago, gogoblender said:

lol mushrooms everywhere...thats a brilliant image ...theyre mostly water right? I think thats why theyre so hard to fry

 

gogo

Yes, easier to dry then to fry or freeze.

Without crumbing most mushrooms have not much taste when frying. And for crumbing they need a certain shape and size. Shouldn't be too small. There is one mushroom I always cut in dices and prepare like a Schnitzel: the Riesebovist/giant puffball. Last year we had a still eatable one with 19 pounds.

Most of the Steinpilze , porcini, I use to dry in our Treppengrundofen, a multi purpose staircase heat storing oven. The idea is to have an oven at ground level and force the warm air through heat storing stones building curves. So most of the heat is captured. At our house the airflow is between the steps of the close staircase . So we have warm staircases. I made small rooms closed with heat resistant doors into the staircase which can be used for drying: dried mushrooms or fruits, apple or pear chips, ...

 

In our case we have a stone staircase which does a 270 degree turn around the chimney base. The ziczac of the air is between the steps. Saves room and the steps are warm seat ;)

Got inspired by something like this below. Turned out that making my 270degree variant was easier than having it signed and allowed because the heat flow is more complicated, installing in our centuries old wooden patchwork would be totatlly different than designing it in a new house..

 

 

 

[chattius 1,462]

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus.

Quite warm for autumn, 20+ Celcius. Fog and clouds in morning and evening some sun Our oldest wanted to do a last walk to the fruit trees she planted last year before she isn't able to do it any longer. Our second walked with her and had the camera ready. Autumn, nice coloured leaves at a very old tree. It has more nests than fruits: hornets, bats, little owls, nuthachs,... Each pole left and right from the 'road' is at a new planted tree.

[Delta! 779]

We are approaching SUMMER! my heart melts with Happiness when I think about the warm, sunshiny pleasant days... my fiancé is dreading it.... we have even taken the Duvet off the bed. I just snuggle up to him a bit closer when I get cold now...

[chattius 1,462]

First night frosts. Was to be exspected because a sunny day means no clouds and no clouds in autumn means too much heat (infrared) is leaving the ground and isn't stopped by clouds.

Luckily I found the pocket ovens. A coal stick is slowing burning in an isolated box which you can place in a pocket. School is currently at opened windows and the classroom of the twins is on the north side so the air outside is icecold.

[gogoblender 2,373]

18 hours ago, Delta! said:

We are approaching SUMMER! my heart melts with Happiness when I think about the warm, sunshiny pleasant days... my fiancé is dreading it.... we have even taken the Duvet off the bed. I just snuggle up to him a bit closer when I get cold now...

That's the spirit of summer... im always amused how there are friends I talk to here who live opposite weather... wonderful!

gogo

[gogoblender 2,373]

3 hours ago, chattius said:

First night frosts. Was to be exspected because a sunny day means no clouds and no clouds in autumn means too much heat (infrared) is leaving the ground and isn't stopped by clouds.

Luckily I found the pocket ovens. A coal stick is slowing burning in an isolated box which you can place in a pocket. School is currently at opened windows and the classroom of the twins is on the north side so the air outside is icecold.

I could use a coal stick or two on the way down to the depanneur (our word for a corner store) to get sundry...

lol *sigh*  ...guess its time to pull out the airconbox from my window

gogo

[gogoblender 2,373]

Its actually starting to get a might cold these days... and nights after when going out to get some groceries has got us going deep into the closets looking for the feather coats.

Here's a nice pic of st josephs's oratory on my street.  It was interesting weather... I guess some humidity in the air, mix of moisture and ice? The oratory seems to look different everytime I see it at night...but last night was one of my favorites...that molten light pouring out of its windows ...

 

 

[gogoblender 2,373]

Minus 20 with wind chill here yesterday...

yah its cold

 

gogo

[chattius 1,462]

We are above zero but with terrible cold fog for days. Put a second power generator to the kid's winter camp because the lights eat nearly all the power of the first because of the fog.

[gogoblender 2,373]

We're starting to break into the cold weather... layer up fam!

 

gogo

[chattius 1,462]

The watered field is frozen. But skating is not the same. There used to come near 100 kids each day...

[gogoblender 2,373]

A lot of our out door rinks are pitted because of wild swings in weather

gogo

[gogoblender 2,373]

we're cruising around minus one to zero last few days.. .lots of walks outside near the oratory...i can feel the fitup!

 

gogo

 

 

[gogoblender 2,373]

We had an absolutely huge big soft powdery dump all-day yesterday... I did some OvertTime so was in for most of the morning but going out after into this weather is always a treat... the snow transforms the landscape and adds the best effects... plus its warm around the zero degree level... having lots of winter clothes is a must.. this is the street two streets over going up and over the hill.. land of the cloud people

 

 

gogo

[gogoblender 2,373]

 -7  here in Montreal!  Its that descent towards the chill we all hate after a loooooooooooong beautiful storm...i feel icyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

 

gogo

 

[gogoblender 2,373]

we were minus 26 with wind chill... all our friends down south and on other warm continents... yah exactly!

 

[chattius 1,462]

Snowing for some days, kids can do skiing and sledging....

Problem is that friday there is a low pressure system coming from northeast from scandinavia, while a high pressure system moves the opposite from mediterran. Weather predicts say that they collide at our mid mountain range with tons and tons of rain and melting snow. So valleys have a flooding warning. Our house is save, the village should be save, but the bigger neighbour village was created after WW2 for homeless people and is not natural grown with centuries. It was build at a large open place and has 1 river and 5 rivelets running through it. Nice at normal times, but when all the water and snow comes down the hills at once it can get nasty. So tomorrow we will prepare the big water pumps from firefighters to help if needed.

[gogoblender 2,373]

16 hours ago, chattius said:

Snowing for some days, kids can do skiing and sledging....

Problem is that friday there is a low pressure system coming from northeast from scandinavia, while a high pressure system moves the opposite from mediterran. Weather predicts say that they collide at our mid mountain range with tons and tons of rain and melting snow. So valleys have a flooding warning. Our house is save, the village should be save, but the bigger neighbour village was created after WW2 for homeless people and is not natural grown with centuries. It was build at a large open place and has 1 river and 5 rivelets running through it. Nice at normal times, but when all the water and snow comes down the hills at once it can get nasty. So tomorrow we will prepare the big water pumps from firefighters to help if needed.

Outside activities are awesome! I love the more temperate warmer weather...when it was - 26 because of wind chill ... that was a bit too much for me...but last few days of - 10 is just about right.. i love trekking up hill... though my hands got cold last few days... ordered some new mittens... i think theyre a bit of a rip of (hell WAY rip off!) but lets see how they hold up

 

gogo

[chattius 1,462]

I think I buy new 'hunter gloves' each year. They are like mittens, but you can fold up the cover for the fingertips turning them into gloves. The main reason I have to buy new ones each year: kids and wife like them because they are also practical for dog or horse work at frozen temperatures.

 

[chattius 1,462]

Snow is melting away, Time to secure an interrupted wooden patchwork repair at the house of a friend. Tons of predicted rain for friday on an open patchwork is not good. Still some snow on the roof, but not the big amount from yesterday. Will come with the Unimog and a crane mounted, just in case.

All was covered with weather protecting slates. They had to be removed because of rotten wood below. You can see the repairs done in the last centuries. Baken stones were used at wartime because no carpenters available. The wooven beech and willows are 200+ years old.

[Hooyaah 2,149]

Here in East Texas where I live the ice and snow storm was so severe that it knocked out the power and water for tens of thousands for nearly a week now. My home is still without electricity and has been since last Tuesday morning. I’m only able to post here with my cell phone, it having been charged by my car’s battery. I’m fine, but it was a bit rough when the temperature at night was only 8 degrees Fahrenheit and there was no way to heat my home, as it has no fireplace. I just wanted to check in, y’all.

 

 

[chattius 1,462]

Ouch

Know the feeling from 8-20 years back. Living mid in forest and power was via cables on masts through a narrow path through the forest. At heavy snow or ice trees or big branches fell on the cables and it could take weeks to repair.

But I was lucky: 250+ year old house had of cause open fireplaces and was build half into the hill, so cool in summer and never extreme cold in winter. In old times heating was done by caddle and horses because the nowaday living and sport rooms were stalls. The animals produced enough heat in winter.

Upgrades last years

I bought a 30hp diesel driven power generator at an auction.

Then made an steel pipe into the old chimney to allow 3 more emergency fireplaces.

One more power generator

Changed the staircase in my house having a buildin heat storing oven which can be used to dry fruits as a site effect

New heating system: wood gas driving a generator (half of the costs I could reduce from my taxes, one third from the maker to allow people to see it in action before buying. Only 3 people before covid19 watching it. And in 12 month the time is over.

In winter I earn(!) money because I produce more electricity with the heating system then we need .

 

[Hooyaah 2,149]

Update: Power restored! Finally, I was able to take a shower and get warm. I had a powerful generator, but there was no gasoline available at retailers because of people buying what they could. The grocery stores had empty shelves to boot. Overall, it wasn't as bad as a bivouac during a Saskatoon winter.