Monday, February 02, 2009, 07:28
The January Thaw That Almost Wasn't. . .
The weather forecasters around here have been bemoaning the fact that only for the fourth time since they started keeping weather records in the 1800s, we did not have a January thaw.
Four times in 150 years or so without a January thaw is not very many times. That's only about once every 35 to 40 years.
Well -- we managed to sneak in a January thaw on Saturday, the last possible day that there could be a January thaw. The temperature got up to 38 degrees in the afternoon. I could hardly believe it -- 38 degrees. The sun was shining too.
Randy went out with the little electric space heater and plugged it and set it underneath the tractor to thaw out the hydraulics. The old 460 Farmall, which was my Dad's "big tractor" and appears from time to time in my books, does not appreciate subzero temperatures day after day, and when it gets very cold, the hydraulics freeze up.
After the space heater had been sitting under the tractor for a few hours, the hydraulic pump thawed out. Randy started tractor and then got it out to scrape some of the snow off the driveway, but mostly to get rid of the big bump at the end of the driveway from the snowplow plowing snow off the road. We haven't had very much snow, but it has been enough to leave a fairly sizable hump at the end of the driveway.
It's kind of a funny thing, too. After they paved the road last summer, and spent the summer before that hauling in fill and gravel, the road is now substantially higher than the driveway. It's bad enough getting out of the driveway in the winter without going uphill more than necessary. So the snowplow bump had to go.
The temperature was also in the 30s on Sunday.
Unfortunately, just as I knew would happen, as soon as the temperature warmed up a little bit, the ice that was underneath is starting to be exposed. I'm glad I ordered a pair of YakTracks to put on my shoes! I've been wearing them to feed the horses, and they work great. I even tested them out on a patch of glare ice that had a light layer of water on it. Glare ice with a skim of water is generally the last place I want to step. I ventured out on my YakTracks, and they actually gripped quite well. Even if I were to wear out a pair of YakTracks every month, it would still be far cheaper than a hospital bill. . .
The birds have been appreciating the warmer weather, too. The bird feeders were busy with birds all day Saturday and Sunday -- juncoes and chickadees and blue jays and goldfinches (not very gold now, more of an olive drab) and tree sparrows and nuthatches. Every time I looked, there were birds in the feeders and bunch more waiting in the trees behind the feeders so they could get their turn, too.
This winter I have been dumping Kajun's grain out on the ground for him. I increased the amount of grain I am feeding him. At 27, his teeth aren't quite what they used to be, and even if I give him more hay, he won't eat all of it. So I'm giving him more grain so he can get more of his calories that way. If I dump the grain in his box in the barn, he ends up wasting a certain amount because he likes to look around while he's chewing, and instead of taking a nice manageable mouthful, he likes to take bites that are too big. The next thing you know, he is dribbling grain all over the place. If I dump his grain out in the snow, then he gets all of it. Takes him quite a while. But he eats it all. I have watched him spend a half an hour licking up the last little bits of grain that he dribbled all over while looking around as he was chewing.
Anyway, I have noticed, too, that the juncoes seem to appreciate Kajun eating his grain outside. I see quite a lot of little bird tracks in the snow, hopping around, looking for the stray piece of grain that Kajun might have missed in spite of his best efforts.
Sunday afternoon, I noticed that both horses seemed to be really enjoying the sunshine. They were both standing with their heads head low, one hind foot cocked. When horses stand like that, it means they are asleep standing up. Horses only need about 15 or 20 minutes of REM sleep a day, which they get lying down. The rest of the time they sleep standing up -- and are ready to take off at a moment's notice if they feel threatened.
I enjoyed the warmer weather and sunshine too. My little shetland Sheepdog, Pixie, and I went for a walk Sunday afternoon. Some of the paved road south and west of our place has thawed off. There is ice in certain places, but if we step carefully, we can avoid most of it. The wind was blowing at a good clip out of the west, but the sun was warm, and it was good to get out and walk. I haven't been taking Pixie out for walks when it's been so cold. I can tell the cold bothers her feet because she keeps trying to walk around on one foot while holding up the other three.
The weather forecast says the temperature will below zero again this coming week with highs in the teens again. But at least it is February -- and as far as I am concerned, the longest and hardest and coldest month of the year is over. Yippee!
LeAnn R. Ralph
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Friday, January 30, 2009, 07:38
Waiting. . .
I heard a chickadee singing its mating call Tuesday morning. The temperature was 8 degrees below zero, so I don't think the chickadees will be building nests any time soon. Still, they must be anticipating spring if they are singing their mating calls.
The flowering ornamental kale I planted in the garden last year is waiting, too -- for spring to arrive so it can thaw out and start rotting into the ground. I was amazed at how fast the kale grew last summer. It was supposed to get colored heads that looked like roses, but the things only got some color to them when it was very nearly time to freeze.
This chunk of snow rolled over onto the shoulder by the snowplow right near our driveway also is waiting for warmer temperatures so it can melt. The chunk is huge, and I am glad it did not end up in our driveway.
I managed to catch Isabelle napping Tuesday morning while I had the camera outside, too. She had eaten her fill of hay and wanted to settle down for a while to relax.
The horses are looking forward to spring, I think. And so am I. They have been eating quite a lot of grain and hay -- an indication of how cold it has been.
I made the mistake of looking back in my weather records to find out how much cold weather we've had. I mean, I know it seems like it has been very cold, but I wondered if that was just a perception of mine or if it has really and truly been quite cold.
My weather records confirm that it has been very cold.
So far this year, we have been at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below zero 25 times (and mostly below 0 with only a few mornings right at 0). The last time it was 40 degrees was on November 14. The last time it was above freezing (at 34 degrees) was December 27. The time before that when it was above freezing was November 28 (at 35 degrees).
We have had 14 mornings when it has been 10 degrees below zero or colder, with the coldest being 26 below and the next coldest 22 below. We have had teens below zero 9 times and in the single digits below zero six times.
We have had six days when the "high" has been below zero.
We have had 18 days when the high has been in the single digits but not above 10 degrees. And we have had 25 days when the high has been in the teens but not above 20 degrees.
So yes, so far it has been a very cold winter. And we've still got two months to go. . .
But one thing about the cold weather is that we often have spectacular sunsets.
Floor update
Randy finished the middle of the living room floor Tuesday night. We have a narrow area along the west wall to do and another narrow area along the south wall, and then the living room will be finished.
Unfortunately, many of the tiles are starting to pull up already. The ones that don't want to stick are all the same of the brown pattern and they are "not sticking" in the same exact spot on all of them, which leads me to believe that it may be due to a manufacturing flaw. It can't be the way the tiles were installed because the gray tiles are all staying down quite well. The floor was primed, too, before the tiles were put down.
Great. If it's not one thing, it's something else.
Which reminds me. A while back I heard a guy on public radio who said he wanted this put on his tombstone -- "It's always something. And now this."
LeAnn R. Ralph