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whats the weather where you are?

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    • rhjanes wrote:

      Yep, zero traction on ice, 2WD or 4.

      There's often a little because the ice is rough...not smooth. But it's not much.
      I've gone out and driven around carefully on neighborhood roads coated in 1" thk ice after ice storm...in 4wd...at 10-15 mph. Dash of snow on top makes much more driveable ....done my share of slipping around too on slick stuff that are really smooth......that's when put one tire in grass

      Truckers used to pour bleach on tires....softened the rubber surface enough to grip better for a while or something. Semi trucks are amazing in winter weather....they hardly stop until they have too.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Muddywaters ().

    • Muddywaters wrote:

      Iced road has almost no traction. A 4wd can drive in it on flat ground if keep speed very low..20-25. I've had to put one wheel in grass before off road to go around slightly inclined curve on iced road before.
      That is the other danger here in the burbs. All the people with their AWD vehicles that have the traction to pass me by and drive the speed limit in a storm. They don't seem to understand that once they slam on the brakes they are in the same boat as the rest of us.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • Over the years we have driven countless times to see my parents in IL for Christmas. The drive follows the east and south side the Lake so we've seen it all. One memorable event had a full sized pickup fly past us through heavy lake effect snow. My wife yells "see you in the ditch". Sure enough, about 30 seconds later we came around a curve and there he was in the ditch. He went off the road sideways so the side of the truck acted like a snow plow, pushing a giant pile of snow ahead of it so it was like it landed on a big pillow, with no damage but completely buried in snow. As we went by we could see the driver crawling out of the truck, apparently uninjured but very angry. The police was already pulling up.
    • Some seriously cold weather, but luckily we're not getting any of it here in Jacksonville, Fl.; it's all about the Jet Stream, I've come to realize, as long as it doesn't dip down here our weather is just fine. If it does dip down here, it's always associated with a bitter cold northwest wind.

      I've started seeing robins showing up here, which means that the worst of the winter is over... for this area; we'll see if that holds true for this year. I've started my warm-weather crops.
    • roadrunner wrote:

      Some seriously cold weather, but luckily we're not getting any of it here in Jacksonville, Fl.; it's all about the Jet Stream, I've come to realize, as long as it doesn't dip down here our weather is just fine. If it does dip down here, it's always associated with a bitter cold northwest wind.

      I've started seeing robins showing up here, which means that the worst of the winter is over... for this area; we'll see if that holds true for this year. I've started my warm-weather crops.
      ummmm, I have Robins on the feeders this weekend! We were in the teens saturday!
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • Actually, the "first robin of spring" idea is a myth for most of us. Even as far north as SW Michigan ( where I am), some robins will stay the entire winter, although we are at the northern edge of their overwintering territory. So to determine if the robin you see is a sign of spring our not, you need to ask it if it is an all year resident or if it migrated from down south. Unfortunately, I don't speak Robin, so I never get an answer to that question.
    • CoachLou wrote:

      roadrunner wrote:

      Some seriously cold weather, but luckily we're not getting any of it here in Jacksonville, Fl.; it's all about the Jet Stream, I've come to realize, as long as it doesn't dip down here our weather is just fine. If it does dip down here, it's always associated with a bitter cold northwest wind.

      I've started seeing robins showing up here, which means that the worst of the winter is over... for this area; we'll see if that holds true for this year. I've started my warm-weather crops.
      ummmm, I have Robins on the feeders this weekend! We were in the teens saturday!
      I don't know, must be some kind of quirky thing for my area. BTW, what do you have in your feeders to attract the Robins? Robins are not attracted to my feeders, which only contain seed, but I know some people put other things in there. The Robins are super-attracted to my heavily mulched yard, scratching around, much like chickens and eating the bugs/worms found in the mulch; I've never seen them attracted to seeds, but have seen them go for some berries on various plants in my yard.

      The other thing they do is drink up all the water in about five bird baths I have around the yard and they do love to take a bath, almost all of them. After the large group of Robins leave, I always have to go out and replenish all my bird baths. I'm glad I don't see them for the rest of the year :D :thumbsup:
    • Texas has been hammered. It was 1 degree today at 6 when our dog needed out. The state has been below freezing for a few days now. ERCOT, the Texas power grid, was NOT prepared (25 percent of our power is now wind.....the windmills froze). There have been "rolling" blackouts for a day and a half now. Rolling is BS. Our daughter's power went out yesterday at 10 AM. Came on around 5, for about an hour. Was off all night. Their house is down to 50 degrees, just with a gas fire running. Her in-laws, power went on and off something like 12 times yesterday. Ton's of issues due to no power. Over a million homes with now power. We had 3 to 4 inches of snow. People have driven on it, compacted it and it is now ice. Today is supposed to get into the mid-20's. But more snow is due.

      ERCOT and the other power generator companies are doing briefings to CYA.

      I've used the time to be working on our taxes......Since we've been fortunate to have power, I click "Save" about every page on TurboTax!!!
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork
    • CoachLou wrote:

      You know, I actually did not see them feed. And of course they skate on our baths! But, Sunday up in the trees around the feeders , 5 male Robins. They would have to scratch threw 6" on snow to get the worms.
      My wife bought a bird feeder a week ago and then a second one during our winter let up on Saturday. The second was so the Cardinals would have more of a ledge to stand on. We have had some Robins, but mostly recognize Finch and of course the beautiful Cardinals and Blue Jays. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • In winter Robins will congregate around open water. You can buy dried meal worms at the bird seed store. They like those. Place them on a tray on the ground. They are ground feeders.

      We have mostly finches (house and gold), cardinals, doves, woodpeckers (downy, hairy, red bellied), sparrows ( can't I'd), chickadees, nuthatch, junco at our feeders.
    • odd man out wrote:

      In winter Robins will congregate around open water. You can buy dried meal worms at the bird seed store. They like those. Place them on a tray on the ground. They are ground feeders.

      We have mostly finches (house and gold), cardinals, doves, woodpeckers (downy, hairy, red bellied), sparrows ( can't I'd), chickadees, nuthatch, junco at our feeders.
      Meal worms, that's what I was trying to think of...I've never bought them, but I've heard this before, for the birds that love insects. Luckily for the insect-loving birds around here, they have access to all the insects in my deep leaf mulch I have spread all over the yard.
    • Mealworms. Wife's work had a courtyard in the middle of the place, open to the sky. With coi fish. A duck moved in and had babies. With and others were feeding the ducks mealworms. Some went into the coi pond and they went NUTS for them also.
      Pirating – Corporate Takeover without the paperwork
    • About 1/4 of our area been without power a day. Fortunately we are good.

      25 yrs ago when our daughter was 5 mo old the heat shorted out in our new house....on a weekend where it was 19-21 degrees 2 nights in a row, 30 in day. I slept on floor in front of fireplace with baby....3 ft from the fire it was 42F. Rest of house was really cold.

      Yup, glad we got power. I got a generator but the one little electric heater I got probably wouldn't do much unless we huddled in a closet
    • odd man out wrote:

      Went to the pier at Grand Haven to see the ice.






      Impressive. :thumbup:

      And I thought I had it bad today shoveling 6 inches of snow in front of my garage and paths for my tires on my driveway (almost .1 mile long). :rolleyes:
      Although we are supposed to get another 6-10 inches on Wednesday, so we will see.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • IMScotty wrote:

      OMO,

      Those photos are beautiful. I hope you wore your micro spikes. Looks like a slip and splash would be pretty cold!
      my wife had her Yaktracks, but I don't have any. I did have my trekking poles and we didn't go too far out and I stayed away from the edge. Plus the lake was not too rough so there was no wash up on the deck. They rebuilt the pier last year so it's better than it used to be.
    • Muddywaters wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      It's winter. We haven't had a good one in a number of years.
      I remarked to wife in dec after a week of cool temps......last yr the grass in our yard never turned brown. This yr it did. Grass used to always be completely brown in winter.
      My yard is white with 10 inches by morning on top of the 6 inches earlier this week. Looking forward to rising temperatures and sunshine so I can drive around again. My follow up vaccine is scheduled for Saturday morning (originally was tomorrow/Thursday). Who knows, I may be walking the 5 miles to work to get it. :S
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • max.patch wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Sun finally out, but only 7*. Supposed to get to 33* today.
      Would be nice if it melted the roads down enough that I could drive instead of walk 5 miles (one way) for my vaccine tomorrow. :)
      and...it was uphill both ways.
      usatoday.com/story/news/nation…n-walked-snow/6798557002/
      I will consider her my Grandma Gatewood inspiration. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I guess I should be glad I married a Yankee. We took a test run today and she made it to both places where we get our vaccines tomorrow. Based on the shape of our neighborhood, I would have felt safer walking.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • After being gone almost a week to Florida, the daffodils have sprung up all over my yard. I guess Spring is here.
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      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General