Hows the weather?

[MushCreek]

Even here in SC, it is cold (for us). I had really wanted to get the ceiling drywall and attic insulation done before winter, but that isn't gonna happen now. I've been trying to get a drywall quote for a couple months now- most of them don't even respond. We're hunkered down in the basement, riding out the winter, and getting a little work done when the weather cooperates.

[Windpower]

It is only -14 this morning but they are predicting -24 later on Sunday/monday with -30 to 40 windchills

furnace is cycling at about 30 %   -- glad we went with the R21 walls and R60 lid

[rick91351]

It is only -14 this morning but they are predicting -24 later on Sunday/monday with -30 to 40 windchills

furnace is cycling at about 30 %   -- glad we went with the R21 walls and R60 lid

That is great news -  not the cold.  I mean your R21 - R60 is helping a lot.....

[Redoverfarm]

Doesn't do much for the water table.  This morning it was 9F with the wind the chill was -15.  About 1" of snow with more to the west of us.  Seems like the mountains sort of shield us from the Noreastern storms. We get the cold from the North West but the percip from the Gulf and coast don't seem to meet each other  Suppose to warm a little then back down close to 0F Monday and Tuesday. 

[flyingvan]

78 F.  We're going for a bike ride down in Brawley today.

[MountainDon]

We had more snow on the ground 7 - 8 weeks ago than we do now. 

FR to our place is still open.

[rick91351]

I talked to some friends that have cabins and house up at Silver City, Idaho today they say they are still driving in and out.  If normal it would be snowed in and snowmobiling in.  Town closes down then except for a caretaker.  But they are still open....

http://www.historicsilvercityidaho.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_City,_Idaho

[firefox]

 Hey flyingvan, for some strange reason,
the following came to mind: 

Re: Fauxtos
« Reply #925 on: Yesterday at 07:06:36 AM »

[rick91351]

Hey flyingvan, for some strange reason,
the following came to mind: 

Re: Fauxtos
« Reply #925 on: Yesterday at 07:06:36 AM »

Oh Bruce you would not be referring to this would it - and which cat would our bicycling buddy remind you of?   

[rick91351]

Oh BTW just checked and Brawley is a awful 70 degrees today.  If it were me I would stop in at El Centro for some out of this world Mexican Food we found there last year.     Cant even remember where it was at only we were on a Costco run from Yuma.....  Temp that day while Idaho shivered and shook 70 degrees.   

[Redoverfarm]

Speaking of Bicycling.  Who was it that was building a straw bale house that used to bicycle all the time?  Enjoyed his build but haven't heard from him in ages.  I think he was starting an orchard as well.  I believe it was in CA that he was doing this.  Does "Drew" ring a bell to anyone?

Never mind.  I found it.  I even amaze myself sometimes with memory.  His last post was 2011.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3681

[rick91351]

Ding Dong Used rice straw and even had photos of it on the road.  I think the tread went dead. 

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3681.0

[UperJoe]

Funny when we start to think of anything above 10F as warm.

I guess most of the country needs to maybe have some firewood around this weekend.
Well - some live in them warm spots where they don't know what cold is now. 
Stay warm all --- it shall pass

[Redoverfarm]

Ding Dong Used rice straw and even had photos of it on the road.  I think the tread went dead. 

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=3681.0

Yep believe it went to a shallow grave somewhere.  Would like to know how it was finished and how his effort in the orchard went with his drip pipes and the like. 

[flyingvan]

  OK, OK....Guilty as charged......It WAS 78 degrees down in the desert, maybe an hour drive from the Cuyamacas.  My son's mountain bike team is half kids from the mountains and half from the desert.  Too hot in the summer, the desert kids come up; this time of year it's too cold to ride in our neighborhood so we headed down to the desert, just like the Kumeyaay used to.   
   Sure, it was warm.  But man did I pay for it---15 miles through sandy washes trying to keep up with real riders.  I can handle the fatigue but I was being really careful not to get hurt---my son Patrick took a pretty good spill but immediately rode the drop off again to get it right.


    This is what the start of the ride looked like, heading for those mud hills.  This is all an ancient lake bed that used to be fed by the Colorado river, maybe as recently as 500 years ago.  There are shells all over the place, both bivalve and bombing range types.

     

    This is where the Blue Angels do their training, and it's an active bombing range just to the south.  The mountain in the distance is La Cienega, also called Signal Hill, south of the border in Mexico.

   

      You can get land out here in Imperial Valley pretty cheap.  Summers are miserable, but quite a few snowbirds spend the worst winter months out here.  A guy I talked to that purchased a condo in Borrego Springs for 50K claims his payments for the year on it are less than his heating bill if he wintered over in Minnesota.

[rick91351]

Hey if you were out there with a bunch of athletic kids you sir are excused in my book. 

We were down that way last year.  Ellen absolutely hated it.  Says she will never go back.  Warm temps can not lure that mountain gal back down there.  She said she might if we did southern Ca. because of the flora but never back to the desert.  She also says east Texas and Louisiana she would return to - but not the deserts of Az. 

[flyingvan]

   Yeah...AnnaMarie's the same way.  I thought it would be cool to have beach, mountain, and desert properties all in the same county but she has zero interest in the desert (though she loves the occasional hotel stay in Palm Springs for some reason)   so I guess desert properties are out.
   There are these interesting condos in Borrego Springs.  Rohr Corporation was dabbling in prefab steel structures in the '50s.  The walls and roof are two layers of sheet steel with room for insulation.  They'll probably last forever in the desert dryness. 


    You can pick one up for around 50K.  Right now there are two of them going to tax default auction with the county, 25K for opening bid.  There are pools, tennis courts, very nice landscaping, and they border a golf course-----but here's the buzzkill.  Association fees of $434 a month, and who knows how much those will go up over time

[MountainDon]

I love the SW deserts. Three seasons of the year.   

[Windpower]

Minus 24 this morning

wind chill minus 45

A few pops and bangs from the house

I think I will go out side to check it out later --- this will be the coldest I have experienced (Or ever hope to in the future !)

[UperJoe]

I get the feeling (or lack of  ) that when it hits -20 or below it matters little. lol
Neighbor claims an unofficial -44 Sunday and since the best I saw was only -41 I believe the stinker fibbed
Balmy -31 early morning - but the wind chills had to have been -60.
Had bucket of water I was hauling to horses but filled up bird feeders enroute so maybe 20 minute delay.
That bucket was frozen on top and sides like cement. If I had not seen it I would not believe it could freeze up that fast. I pity all the critters out there in the woods and trees. This has to take it's toll on them

[rick91351]

WOW we may get some snow finally.  We should have about three feet by now we have zero.  Started out good but those easterners took it from us.  Looks like over the next couple days we will get about  THREE     inches.................

[MountainDon]

Chances of snow here is about nil. Thurs/Fri maybe a 10-20% chance in the mtns that are our most immediate concern.

Bright skies and cold for here; 20 F for a low here at home & 18 F at the cabin. High of 36 both places today. Could be worse. Our record low for the day is -15 F (1971)

[Redoverfarm]

Make you a deal Rick.  I will give back the snow if you take the cold air with it.  Temperature started at 5:30 A.M. @ 34F and has dropped to 0F some 14 hours later.  Predicted low now revised to -5 to -15 with a wind chill of -45F. 

I think I will keep this fired up tonight.  Well I have since mid October so why change.

[rick91351]

Actually it looks like this storm is a little more than they first predicted.  Actually several fronts are heading our way.  We may not need your snow after all especially with the cold attached.  We might do so after we get some insulation on the ground however.  Now if I can just get OlJarhead to steer it this way rather than he taking it all for himself.....

[rick91351]

Updating some bookmarks.  Just checked with Boise Inter-agency Fire Center.  No major fires to report........

http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/ 

Southern California is huge dry as is most of the west....