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Jam Lady

Overnight Low

Well it did not go sub-zero last night. The overnight low temperature was 1 degree Fahrenheit. Which is, I believe, minus 17 Centigrade.

I woke up at 3:00 a.m. local time and came downstairs. Good quantity of hot red coals in the wood burning stove which was operating at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stuffed it full of wood and back to bed. Wind roaring over the house.

Up at 7:30 a.m. Repeat.

It is now 10:30 a.m. local time on a sunny day. Wind reduced to breezes. Have not yet reached double digit temperatures (it is 9 degrees Fahrenheit) but I have hope.

We're going through firewood at a phenomenal rate but then, this is what it is for. House has an open floor plan. There's a wonderful ceiling fan too. It is a Haiku from - don't laugh now - Australia's Big Ass Fan Company, which he installed summer 2013.

Hope all of you and all your beasts are staying safe and comfortable too.
vegplot

What you need is a straw bale house.
Jam Lady

House is framed with 2" by 6" lumber. Insulation in walls and ceiling. All glazing is thermopane. Windows on coldest side of house have winter night curtains of fleece. On days like today we won't open them.

Vermont Casting stove has a 2-story internal double wall chimney with slits at top of each section for heat release. It is appreciated by all members of the family.


dpack

has puss got a flat top hairdo?

my half wolf decided it was worth a scorching to eat the food keeping warm close to the burner Laughing
Jam Lady

There's a heat shield under the bottom of the stove. Domino self-regulates his temperature by laying underneath or out from underneath and behind the stove.

The other two cats do not go under / behind. They each prefer a basket under a nearby table.

More snow anticipated tomorrow.
Lorrainelovesplants

Kieran is off to Toronto on Friday with the college. Its MINUS 21.

ha ha ha ha . Laughing
vegplot

Toronto is 10 degrees latitude lower then here in North Wales but 21C colder.
Jam Lady

19 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. Three more inches of snow last night. Himself out plowing driveway. I filled upstairs wood rack. Enough already!
vegplot

19 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. Three more inches of snow last night. Himself out plowing driveway. I filled upstairs wood rack. Enough already!


Here, have some Welsh weather.

Jam Lady

Here's our views, front and back.






Mistress Rose

Aren't we lucky having the North Atlantic Drift.
Jam Lady

It was last night that it went to minus 1 Fahrenheit.

Deceptively attractive today, sunny with next to no wind but only mid-20s Fahrenheit.

I need to get a picture of where snow fencing had been installed in fields. Big drifts pile up, a gap, then the fencing.
Shan

What you need is a straw bale house.


Americans are far more advanced in terms of insulation and creative building techniques than Britain could ever hope to be!
Shan

House is framed with 2" by 6" lumber. Insulation in walls and ceiling. All glazing is thermopane. Windows on coldest side of house have winter night curtains of fleece. On days like today we won't open them.

Vermont Casting stove has a 2-story internal double wall chimney with slits at top of each section for heat release. It is appreciated by all members of the family.




Your kitty-cat looks remarkably similar to mine and seems to share the same wood burner hogging characteristics!
dpack

chilly

i want to play on that with crampons and hooks and tings Laughing
dpack

the second photo looks like there is a route on the right of the snap ,

to walk in and go up the ice might be possible on the right flank of the drop ,the closer to the middle route looks a bit iffy to get to but fairly easy to climb at the mo .

if it gets a bit colder and stays cold there might be a choice of routes

better than down in a bucket Laughing Laughing Laughing
Jam Lady

Boston has so much snow that people (read "young male people") are hurling themselves out of 2nd floor windows into snowbanks. Mayor of Boston is not pleased with this. Edit - I think that would be first floor windows for you. Whatever. Upper floor.

Our son lives in the Boston area. He has been climbing onto their roof to shovel off snow to prevent collapsing. Unable to make a path on the ground around the perimeter of the house as it is too deep, piled 6 feet high in one place.
dpack

a snow bank is a fine pillow ,a pillow with a no parking sign inside might sting a bit Rolling Eyes

re deep snow and getting outside ,tunnel and scrabble works ,but in soft stuff stay in side is cosy
Jam Lady

Escape from snowmageddon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu9VC1MyAEU&feature=youtu.be

Not my cat.
dpack

Laughing the wee critter understands Wink

dig n climb will work fine
always remember the cornice rhyme

my best advice is stay dry and dont lose a glove
Jam Lady

Today sunny and bright and high temperature in only mid-teens Fahrenheit. Down to single digits by dinner time so tonight will - again - be bitter cold.

Shucks, if this were Holland we could be skating on the canals. Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates anyone?
Jam Lady

It is 9:30 p.m. local time in New Jersey. Husband came into my study and thoughtfully informed me that the outside air temperature is 2/3 of what it was before. Yup. Currently 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Getting very fed up with this global warming. Would be happy to share local temperatures with the overheated places.
Jam Lady

It is 10:39 p.m. local time. Temperature is 2/3 of what I'd previously reported. It is now 4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wonder if the groundhog has room in his tunnel for more of us to hibernate . . . .
sean

We've just had a bit of hail. 4C here though so a bit warmer. Woo

It does look beautiful. but must be hard when it is so thick and deeply cold. Sending you warm thoughts.
Spring isn't far away now!
dpack

cold has disadvantages but so does hot

i would rather have cold/dry or hot/dry than wet of any sort

are the trees bursting yet ? a couple of times i have come across very cold trees "exploding" like a frozen water pipe
Jam Lady

It was - again - minus 1 degree Fahrenheit last night. Maple syrup season will be delayed - not much sun, too cold, and the sap is not rising.

Snowing today, about 5 cm so far. At times it looks almost foggy, snow whirling down so heavily.
Cathryn

How do you get out in that? Have you got loads of stores in the house? Jam Lady

@Cathryn, it all depends on what the driveway and roads are like. In the worst weather we park both cars at the bottom of the driveway (they are down there right now), and we walk up and down. That can be an issue with heavy groceries. Sometimes the ATV can safely shuttle up and down.

About 4 inches / 10 cm yesterday and overnight. Somewhat sunny today.

When another storm is forecast the locusts (nervous shoppers) descend on the stores and strip shelves of bread and milk and other items. My concern is usually fresh fruit and vegetables - I can always bake bread. We do have a well stocked freezer, dried food such as pasta, rice, dry beans, flour for baking bread and cookies, homemade soup in freezer, canned soup too. Make sure there's sufficient canned cat food for at least a week. Getting low on bird seed for the small feathered friends. Firewood - going through it at a good clip but we have enough.

Clothing - we layer up - cotton T-shirt, flannel shirt, fleece vest, windbreaker. Scarf. Hat, gloves. Still air not so much of a problem as when it is windy. We have silk undershirts if we need to be outside for an extended period.

We'll catch a break today, with temperatures above freezing. Cold again tonight and the next several days and nights.
Cathryn

I suppose I have sometimes felt the need to do this but on a much smaller scale. Smile

(Nowadays I am always running out of things, I do not like shopping!)
Jam Lady

We're O.K. but there are numerous reports of frozen pipes -even in public buildings such as a library, for one.

And there's a Coast Guard ice breaker going up and down the Hudson River keeping a channel free - and freeing two ice-locked vessels - so deliveries of heating oil and other supplies can be maintained.

Yesterday it got above freezing. Not today, and not for the next few days.
Jam Lady

Baby, it's cold outside. Last night's low was minus 20.5 Centigrade / minus 5 Fahrenheit. dpack

at about -20c quite a few plastics are very brittle,summer diesel is getting a bit gloopy and exposed humans will freeze quite quickly especially if damp (bits that breathe ,eyelashes etc are rather prone to icing up and freezing one's beard to one's balaclava is always good for a giggle )

be careful if you are going out ,that sort of temp is getting towards extreme cold which is to be taken very seriously ,a lost glove can be lost fingers in half an hour Wink

inside by the fire is my best advice once it is in the - 20s but well fed and well dressed it can be ok outside.
sean

Baby, it's cold outside. Last night's low was minus 20.5 Centigrade / minus 5 Fahrenheit.

Oooer.

We had a proper thunder-and-lightning hail storm last night. That was exciting.
I was quite impressed by the way that the orchestra kept playing when the lights went out in the auditorium.
Woo

Baby, it's cold outside. Last night's low was minus 20.5 Centigrade / minus 5 Fahrenheit.

Oooer.

We had a proper thunder-and-lightning hail storm last night. That was exciting.
I was quite impressed by the way that the orchestra kept playing when the lights went out in the auditorium.

We got that storm about 18.00 local time. It was bizarre. They have been talking about thunder snow on the radio recently and there it was.
I had to do a mad dash about disconnecting things. we lost some valuable equipment to static early last summer, and was caught out by crash bang in February Shocked
Jam Lady, I hope you are snug by the wood burner?
Dpack,I am building quite a picture of you and what you have been up to thus far in your existence!
vegplot

We've got some rain. Jam Lady

This is the winter that just won't quit. Tuesday night we got an inch or so of snow. Then rain that turned it to slush. Managed to clear the driveway yesterday before it could freeze.

Today we got 6 inches / 15 + cm of snow. Guy who plows our driveway when himself cannot manage with the ATV, well, he couldn't manage either. Big pickup, aggressive tires, still couldn't make it up around the curve at the top.

In fact at one point himself was out there, truck of man who plows somewhat sideways across driveway, neighbor with big tractor with very big plow (who clears neighbor's driveway across street from us), a winch . . . .

Everyone is safe, no damage to vehicles, and man who plows will be back tomorrow morning. Himself cleared the top of the driveway in front of house where it is level.

We bought Ice Trekkers to go over our shoes in snowy, icy conditions. Himself says he was the only one not slipping.

I've started Spring cleaning. If Spring ever does arrive - and I'm beginning to have serious doubts about this - if it does there is no way I'll be staying indoors to clean.
Graham Hyde

Windiest winter in living memory with 4 typhoons in January alone.
Spring arrived middle of Feb with daytime temps now around 30 degrees.
Brought back strawberry plantlets from the UK in December which initially flourished but the damp conditions caused rot and eventually I lost them all. The nasturtium seeds from my sisters garden did succeed and have been flowering this past week.
I bought lots of seeds of plants that are unavailable here; the broad beans are two foot tall, cherry toms a foot and a half and we've already eaten some of the lettuce!
Hopefully the spring will soon reach you in the UK
Behemoth

dull, grey, mild, light breeze. Treacodactyl

dull, grey, mild, light breeze.

Enough about you, what's the weather like?
dpack

bright whitish less windy than it has been

the weather is ok as well Laughing
Jam Lady

1 degree Fahrenheit last night and there is leakage from roof into garage Jam Lady

First day of Spring. It is snowing like all get out. Three to 6 inches predicted.

Imagine what I would be saying if I were Jeremy Clarkson. As it is bah humbug will suffice.
vegplot

That's still very cold.

Managed to site outside without a coat watching the partial solar eclipse this morning it was pleasantly warm.
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