How's the weather

williet · February 04, 2008, 02:54:26 PM

65 and rain today...70's and tornados tomorrow.....

tanya · February 05, 2008, 10:12:44 AM

Still freezing cold here and more snow on the way. Brrrr I think I will plan to spend next winter in the tropics. My feet are still frozen even withthe heater directly onthem. Definately not human habitat.

February 05, 2008, 11:37:44 AM

Sunny and brisk at 54 degrees. I checked out my bike last night and it's all set to go tomorrow after work!

ScottA · February 05, 2008, 11:46:35 AM

Pouring rain and thunder today.

Sassy · February 05, 2008, 12:58:26 PM

Bright blue skies so far & 43 degrees!

February 05, 2008, 08:55:53 PM

Hi Folks, Working near Savannah, Ga. for a while. Was 83F here today! Beats the heck out of 25F at home.

ScottA · February 06, 2008, 10:25:34 AM

27 and snow today. Was 76 two days ago.

Drew · February 06, 2008, 11:09:26 AM

It's good enough. I have my bike and I'm riding after work. Watch out, turtleheads! Drew's passing on your left!

glenn kangiser · February 06, 2008, 12:09:14 PM

Cummins diesel with no muffler and exhaust on the right, Drew . Watch out if I pass. No one fingered salute like the other guy gave me, please.

February 06, 2008, 05:36:23 PM

Started about 45F this am and climbed to near 60F when I finished working. Rained most of the day but hey "I'm inside now". It it wasn't for the mud I wouldn't have a care in the world. The NFS road has thawed out and it is like driving on a sponge.

tanya · February 06, 2008, 05:43:29 PM

Well it is still freezing here, zero againt his morning but it was sunny for awhile an the garden room got up to 102. I am trying to heat it up with a heater too because we have tomatoes now and my hortorculturist friend insists they have to be between 70 and 80 degrees. I tried telling her that there is no way any tomatoes in this town are ever sprouted between 70 and 80 we jsut don't get those kind of temps until late inthe summer and then not for very long, but as I said she insists and she is paying that electric bill too!!!

Homegrown Tomatoes · February 07, 2008, 11:56:11 PM

We got dumped on with snow yesterday. Today, the snow was up over the tops of the little decorative solar lights that DH has down the front walk... I think they're around 2' tall.

Redoverfarm · February 08, 2008, 07:46:53 AM

Well yesterday it started out at 23F and rose to 36F by afternoon. A bit nippy. Today is suppose to be about the same. Worked in the cabin but I finally got my windows and doors in so the wind wasn't a factor. Actually I shed my coat because I can't stand to work with gloves or coats. My toolbelt doesn't fit with a coat on.

Homegrown Tomatoes · February 08, 2008, 08:10:34 AM

Ug. I just looked at the forecast. I should quit doing that. Too depressing. The high Sunday is 8 degrees.

February 08, 2008, 09:54:24 AM

It's gonna be a beautiful day here....just a little cool...sunny and up to 52 today

Drew · February 08, 2008, 11:33:25 AM

Tomorrow is digging weather. The ground should be moist but not muddy. It's supposed to be 60 degrees and mostly sunny. Perfect.

Dave, Dan, and I will be at the farm and I think we can finish up the trench in one day. I'll be glad to lay the pipe and test the system. Once that's done we can go back to work on the straw bale lodge. I guess I need to call it the "field shed" for government purposes.

We've got some seasons of soil prep ahead of us. Not because the soil is weak. While I still want to get it tested it grows grasses and oaks like gangbusters. We just have 2 more years until we'll be there full time and feel we can put the time to good use. The geek in me wants to lay drip lines to spell out Yahoo! for the benefit of the Google Maps people.

glenn kangiser · February 08, 2008, 11:47:56 AM

Cool idea, Drew.

Clays tend to pack hard with foot traffic. Things stay alive but sometimes don't do much. Compost helps. Lime may help. You'll likely be growing cover crops etc to modify the soil? Check on horse manure sources also -- free straw - ruined hay -- ashes -- all good. Sounds like similar to here. The horse manure compost really changed things. Needs more work though.

Drew · February 08, 2008, 12:00:43 PM

That's good stuff, Glenn. I just posted a more verbose question in the Garden Thread about preparing the soil in our field.

DavetotheSouth has horses, a donkey and a mule he corrals, so the manure is easy to collect. RobertototheNorth pastures stocker cattle with no barn, so the manure is all over and harder to collect. MarytotheNorth also raises horses. I'm the only guy who's thinking of growing anything out there. My manure needs would certainly be met. I was thinking briefly of growing hay on the undeveloped parts of my field and selling to to my neighbors, but my early research indicated it would involve more capital and labor than I can afford at this point. One neighbor said he was driving out 30 miles to get hay at $9 a bale. That's got to hurt his margin on his stocker cattle.

Heh. Even if I could collect and bale my forage grass and put it into a hoop house until January...

glenn kangiser · February 08, 2008, 12:03:21 PM

I'll copy the above to the garden thread and reply there.

Redoverfarm · February 08, 2008, 01:16:14 PM

Drew if you have any sizeable acerage some farmers will bale it shares. The cost of the needed equipment in a small operation is not economical. Some will even fertilize the field one a year is they know they will get it for next 5-10 years. Even $1 a bale to you is better than letting it go.

When you use horse manure make sure where you are going to put it as there is a bunch of inert grasses that usually appear from it. If it is pasture then I wouldn't worry about it.

February 08, 2008, 01:27:41 PM

Today it is warm outside YEAH 30. IT feels so great and the sun is shinning and it is beautifu on all the snow. The snow is melting though and it will be spring soon and there are birds and chipmunks all over the place.

lonelytree · February 08, 2008, 11:47:03 PM

Cold, cold and cold with wind chill. I drove to Soldotna yesterday and it had "warmed" to -21. Today I went to Wasilla and it started at -12 and got to 3 above, add in 20-40 MPH winds and you understand why I still have the chills.

Was supposed to go verify a couple things on the lot tomorrow, but the weather is not cooperating. This is not ice fishing weather/land walking:

Tonight: Bitterly cold. Generally clear. Low -32F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow: Bitterly cold. Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High -11F. Winds light and variable.
Tomorrow night: Bitterly cold. Partly cloudy skies. Low -28F. Winds light and variable.
Sunday: Bitterly cold. Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High near -10F. Winds light and variable.

Maybe in 2 weeks.

glenn kangiser · February 08, 2008, 11:51:56 PM

I just couldn't live like that. Seems I recognize gold rush town names there though. Maybe...

Homegrown Tomatoes · February 10, 2008, 09:15:39 PM

It is so bitterly cold today. I don't think it ever got above 0, even though it was sunny. I heard earlier that the windchill was -30 degrees. I'm surprised it isn't colder than that...Even with the heater cranked up, it is cold in the house.

tanya · February 10, 2008, 09:56:43 PM

I know what cold weather feels like but I am real thankful it wasn't any -30 here. Today it was actually 40 here!!! Here is a secret keep a little electric heater in the bathroom then at least there is one room that is warm. If you have a hair dryer you can put it under the blankets and make a tent and heat upt he bed quick too I used to keep mine right by the bed so that if I got chilled I could warm up quick and a heating pad at the foot of the bed is good too but I burnt both those out in one winter. I used to have an electric blanket way long time ago now that is real living. I don't think you can use those when you are pregnant though but maybe there is an exception when it is -30?