Good morning!!!!

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good morning from Houston. Well for us southerners it is Cold 29* sleet and snow. Second time this winter. All the overpasses are freezing over and traffic is getting crazy. I could not get up to the ranch today if I needed to. So I値l just hunker down and try to recover form a sinus infection.

Welcome kittyhawk. It's cold all over. My friend in Victoria says 30F and ice on his grass.

 

[sodamo]

62°F and only .01 inches rain.

Off to vets this morning. Time for the pups to get check up and shots updated.

Back into town later to swap out empty 5 g keg at brewery.

Hmmmm may have forgotten to hit send

 

[rswyan]

We have an Energy Choice program here as well. We were on it at one point quite a while ago for the gas, don't think electric was available at the time.

In fact, there was a guy that stopped by a few months ago from IPS - the company we used for gas previously - telling me he could save us all kinds of money on our gas bill ... until I told him our gas was free. Didn't slow him down a bit ... he went straight for the electric, asking "What are you paying ... XX cents per KWH ?, quoting some number. I was on the way out to an appointment and running late, but told him I thought that sounded high ... told him I'd really need to check into it.

At that point he wanted to keep talking - after I had just explained that I was running late - pretty much killing any chance of getting my business. Nonetheless I took his card ... mainly just to get him to shut up and go away.

Turned out the number he gave me was several cents higher per KWH.

This past month it was 5.75 cents per KWH, down from 5.76 cents the month before.

 

[sodamo]

65°F and .02 inches rain

Piddle around getting ready for trip Friday

Be safe
Have a great day

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Here's a pic of the freezing fog still left on the mountain. Most of it all gone already down here.

 

[toppop52]

Toppop.

This is what we use between flock. Housekeeper Dump-Body Model 2 LP | Lewis Brothers Mfg.

Now remember I have 80,000 sqft. under roof. We use a service for total clean outs once a year. They use skid steers.

I imagine something like that is what they use here now. Use to be a couple of 300’ houses was normal, now the smallest one I know is 5-500’ houses, some are 15-20 houses.

 

[toppop52]

24F, hazy sun with light snow falling. An easy day planned moving some firewood, feeding the wood stove, harassing the squirrels at the bird feeders, and prepping for my anticipated 7" of snow tonight/tomorrow. No big deal. It usually takes me about the same amount of time to move snow (~2 hours) if it's 4" (minimum) or +2'.

We had 6 male (probably overwintering) robins in our Russian/Autumn olive trees going after the berries this AM. Those berries are nasty bitter. They are some of the last "native" fruits to be eaten by the birds around here during the Winter.

"..... I'm going to save this small useful piece of 'whatever' because I might need it later for something" has to stop."- LS_mt125_owner. I wish you the best. I can not stop. I get anxious thinking about getting rid of all my "stuff." If there is an Hoarders Anonymous Program I should join. Wifey would see my membership as a needed household expense.

CWB- your anticipated snow may become my rain early next week.

I have whole flock of robins that rolled in here Sunday, there are probably over a thousand birds. Also had a flock of blackbirds come in Sunday and a large flock of starlings today. All three are around a month early, no idea if it means anything.

 

[toppop52]

Toppop, pics of the tractor please. What model?

It’s a little Kubota B7100HST-D, perfect size for my needs and will fit between the trees in my holly grove.

 

[newbury]

This month's electric bill was $193.99 ... but it was only an estimated bill.

Their estimate was that we used 1,922 KWH ... vs 1,745 KWH last year (an actual reading)
<snip>

What's it going to be like when you start warming and lighting your expanded tropical fish exposition?

I suspect all the "Co-op" electric companies are about as good a price as you can get; maybe better service, too, in many cases because they are owned by the customers and controlled by local residents. We used to have the Navarro County Electric Cooperative.<snip>

Co-op can be good and bad.
Some turn into local fiefdoms.

We've our Mississippi water coop - Over the last few years -
They discovered the guy "testing" the water at umpteen sites had been sending in multiple samples from his own tap, saved him travel time.
Several thousand dollars embezzled.
For a while the water had been so terrible that a lot of local property owners had deep wells drilled their own money.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

31° overcast, snow starts later.

Having some pain today, so working from home. Having problems with my program im working on.
Already told work I'll be home tomorrow.
Cat wants to lay on me, i won't let it. So its been sleeping in front of pellet stove. It just got up, gave me a nasty look, and jumped on the other layzboy.
Other cat sleeping on couch, it will not lay on people.

 

[jbrumberg]

toppop52- That's interesting about appearances of an early migration. One of my Buds who is one of the most knowledgeable woodsmen that I have ever been privileged to befriend called me two days ago and reported seeing snow geese V'd up and flying north. That would be about a month early as well.

I've seen small flocks of male robins around here in the lowland swamps and waterways that have a good supply of available fruits/berries all Winter. I am assuming today's sighting is probably overwintering males. I have been planting bird attracting plants and improving the natural habitat around here for the past 30 years. I now plant only truly native NE species of animal attracting plants It was a big mistake for me to have planted these invasive autumn/Russian olives when we bought this place. They really are not native to the area, they are invasive, but the birds find them attractive as a food source and nesting sites.

 

[txdon]

Still 25 and getting a winter mix of ice and snow. Good thing they canceled school today. My gate and mailbox were frozen shut. Paver drive is iced over, very slippery.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Last week dad's car got iced over so much he couldn't open the door. Used a hair dryer to melt it.

 

[farmer2009]

I imagine something like that is what they use here now. Use to be a couple of 300’ houses was normal, now the smallest one I know is 5-500’ houses, some are 15-20 houses.

We are 4-500’ houses.

Have a good friend that has 6-510’ & 4-600’ houses.

We are probably an average size farm for this area. He is a large farm. We are both Perdue growers but Tyson is also in the area.

 

[farmer2009]

I suspect all the "Co-op" electric companies are about as good a price as you can get; maybe better service, too, in many cases because they are owned by the customers and controlled by local residents. We used to have the Navarro County Electric Cooperative.

Navarro County Electric Cooperative, Inc. | Welcome!

Each month, when we got the bill, there was a place on it to write in the current meter reading when you returned that portion of the bill. In other words, we read our own meters. I asked, and was told that they were supposed to send someone to check each meter twice a year, but in reality didn't get around to it even once a year. And in 6 years, I never saw anyone check a meter.:laughing: And when I wanted to replace the pole my meter was on, and replace the master breaker with a different one, I called before breaking the seal on the meter to see if they wanted to come check it, and they did not; told me to just go ahead with whatever I needed to do. So I did.

Actually WRECC is the highest priced. With medium reliability. But I’ve always had great service from them. Like you said. They don’t care about busted seals. (Don’t make it a habit). Most outages run under 2 hours. And I’m 30 minutes from the office. But only about 3 miles from a major sub station.

Kenergy is a touchstone energy co-op and medium priced with worst reliability.

Kentucky Utilities is the cheapest and best reliability.

Have all three in county. But all have their own regions. KU and Kenergy are pickier about there meters though.

 

[Bird]

Still 25 and getting a winter mix of ice and snow. Good thing they canceled school today. My gate and mailbox were frozen shut. Paver drive is iced over, very slippery.View attachment 536057

24 degrees here, but clear, sunny, and dry and forecast to possibly go on up to 26.:laughing: NWS forecast is for 8 tonight.

 

[Thomas]

replace it[/B]... we'll see.
You do know that some things just outlive their usefulness. Besides, if you replace it, then you will have an excuse to tinker to get the old one running for a backup to the new one.

................................
Very true but this has gotten personal and if I could it purrrring like kitten maybe Mrs. will give me $800.oo for replace generator... maybe.

 

[toppop52]

toppop52- That's interesting about appearances of an early migration. One of my Buds who is one of the most knowledgeable woodsmen that I have ever been privileged to befriend called me two days ago and reported seeing snow geese V'd up and flying north. That would be about a month early as well.

I've seen small flocks of male robins around here in the lowland swamps and waterways that have a good supply of available fruits/berries all Winter. I am assuming today's sighting is probably overwintering males. I have been planting bird attracting plants and improving the natural habitat around here for the past 30 years. I now plant only truly native NE species of animal attracting plants It was a big mistake for me to have planted these invasive autumn/Russian olives when we bought this place. They really are not native to the area, they are invasive, but the birds find them attractive as a food source and nesting sites.

Mine are mostly male robins.

 

[jbrumberg]

Randy- As far as I understand the birds and the bees that is natural, but a month early. I believe that I see a similar bird migration pattern as you only later. If I spot any turkey vultures soaring overhead soon then I'll really start wondering. They're early arrivals around here. I saw only one red squirrel so far this year being a bird feeder pest. No wild turkeys either; that is really strange. They are historically very plentiful around here (especially if I mix some corn in the mix).

It looks like I already have an early 1" of snow from this pending weather system(s).

Firewood is in with additional wood by the slider and the tractor is already hooked up to the power cord ready to get warmed up.

Plenty of food in the house, the wood stove is warm, and soon I'll make like an old dog by the fire. Life is good; I am thankful for all I have, knowing that I/we are some of the lucky ones.

I hope everyone had a decent or at least a tolerable day today.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

No snow yet, radar shows it over us.