The Weather 2021

[woodroe]

Up to the freezing point today. Was boiling sap at this time 2 years ago.
Looks like it will be March before any good sap runs here this year if the 10 day temp
prediction holds true.
.

[firefighter ontheside]

It was -1 this morning, but it got up to 34deg in the sun.  I think officially we were still below freezing, but it was 34 in the sun!  Tomorrow it will legitimately get above freezing for the first time in 18 days I think.  That's a long stretch for MO.  We have at least one day in the 50s coming this week.  Cleaned up around the mill today and realized the mill is out of level.  The concrete has heaved due to the frozen ground.  I may have to wait for the ground to thaw some before I can mill again.  Otherwise I need to re-adjust all the feet and then do it again later when the frost leaves the ground.  

[thecfarm]

Looks like just about 32° tomorrow. We are in for some warmer temps. Have not been above freezing here for a while. But at night some still cooler temps.

[SwampDonkey]

18F here this morning. They are saying upper 30's in a couple days. I'll bet we hardly see a 40+'s day until May. That seems to be the trend up here of late, mostly mild winter, but cold spring. Then boom...90's. Last spring, 8" fresh snow mid May, followed by a week of 90's, first week of June leaf/bloom killing frost first 4 days. Previous 3 years, 90's hit first week of June. When we were digging foundation June 3, 2018 for the new house was hot/humid like south Florida. Forget about a green lawn anymore. :

[thecfarm]

You are right about the boom part. Seem like the cold weather was the same here last year. One week 70's than the boom 30's.  ;D
I remember the apple blossoms got hit with a frost.
Heatwave at 20° this morning.

[dgdrls]

Lake Effect machine back up and running this morning.
Dry light snow

D

[sawguy21]

Last week it was -19C (-1F) during the day, now the weather guru says +8 for Monday which is close to 50F. Still a lot of snow in the high country, the river could be getting high in a hurry which won't be good.

[Old Greenhorn]

This is the time of winter where it has been cold enough long enough that I am used to it and it's no bother to go out when its in the single digits. These days I walk out to the shop at 10 each night across the snow in my house moccasins to feed the stove for the overnight. a month ago it was hard shoes, coat hat gloves, etc.  That same weather in the fall or early winter makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, this is also the time that I look at my remaining wood piles and wonder if we will make it. This year I have the shop and the house I am both concerned about both,  and the house pile looks a tad lower than I'd like, but I have never been a very good guesser of this because I don't what what weather will come or what the temp trends will be. Every time I walk past the woodpile I worry a little. 
 So tonight I went and looked at the temp charts from last year and was pleased to see that by March 5th last year we had daytime highs in the 50's or more and nighttime lows in the mid 30's. Mild and workable for sure. But then I checked 2019 for similar dates and found highs in the low 40's and lows in the tens and teens. Jumping to 2017 was even worse for March. So I guess we will just have to see, but I have hope that in just 2-3 weeks things will look a lot different. We get what we get and it is what it is, I guess. Every year I fret on the same thing and only one year did I run out (I had some issues and could not produce the wood I needed that year) and had to buy wood, but only used a half cord to finish the season.
 I went out tonight to feed the shop stove and the stars were just blazing. I love clear cold nights like this in February. I hate running out of wood. :D ;D

[SwampDonkey]

The old timers up here based the wood pile on the living space of the house, and the woodsheds was as big as the first floor square footage. As a kid, I remember by dad cut wood all year around and had to farm besides. He was filling two big old farm house wood sheds, ours and grandmother's, two big piles to heat around the doors of 2 potato sheds. Besides cutting logs for $$ in winter months in between milking cows and processing potatoes. I laughed at the neighbor who has a small dairy, said no time to cut wood. Good grief, can't cut 5 cords? 2 boys living there, what they gonna do, play? :

[thecfarm]

You are right about the temps. Gets down to freezing in Sept and everyone is saying how cold it is and running around with heavy cloths on. Come Jan it's 32° and everyone is saying how warm it is and running around in just a sweat shirt.  ;D
For once my wood is holding out. I am kinda slack on the wood part. I play in the woods all winter, well most years I do, this year I did not. I have a OWB so I can burn dead wood in it. I am clearing more land, so I have a bunch of hardwood to cut. I hauled a bunch of it, tree length. up by the house. I have a bunch more to cut too. I want a better view of the meadow going down and a better view of the field coming up.
15° and maybe 30 for a high. Might see some 40° temps. Still cool at night. But it's not May here either.  ;D

[chevytaHOE5674]

Our temps have moderated to more "normal" levels with yesterdays low of -16 but a high of near 20°. This morning only -8 and forecast to reach the 20s. Much better weather for working on things and farming.

Moved last fall to another farm that we fixed up the house on, and don't have wood heat for the first time in forever. Can't say I love paying for propane but I do love not having to find time to cut firewood anymore.

[Old Greenhorn]

Not to get too far off topic, but this does relate at least for me because I have been a life long 'observer' and lately there has been a lot to observe. This could probably be a thread on it's own for the woodcutters, I bet they have stories and I have read a few here on the forum and hear a lot more around town here, almost daily.
 Since the virus hit, this area has been flooded with second home owners moving in full-time and declaring themselves 'locals' (While still maintaining jobs in the city and going down regularly for 'things you people don't have here'). As such, they are experiencing their first full winter season mostly in person. Now these folks would usually order 'their cord of wood' sometime in late summer to late fall ignoring all the suppliers telling them to 'order early before I am out'. They they scramble and beg. They run mostly ambiance fires on weekends and a cord goes a long way.  They pay $250 and up for a cord delivered, not stacked. Some pay almost as much to have somebody stack it for them (while they are in the house on their treadmill  :D) . 
 Now they are burning more full time or at least several days or nights a week, and during the cold snaps they freak out and start shoving wood in out of fear of power failure. The predictable scramble has been very real. The ones I know and like I advised back in July to 'think' about a wood plan, and would gently mention it again around August when it came up. Mostly I got the 'deer in the headlights' response. One guy told me "Oh, I am not worried. If I run out I will just order more". I tried to explaining  the wood supply business and soon realized he didn't have the basis to understand it in real terms. Another guy I visited and mentioned he only had a couple of days wood left said "Yeah. I'll be out by the weekend, so I'll probably call the guy tomorrow and have him drop a load in the next day or two." I laughed so hard I almost fell over (BTW, this was on a Tuesday). After many phone calls and paying a 20% premium and getting one of his regular handy-man guys to make calls for him he got a load in about 2 weeks. (Then paid somebody to stack it.)
 Out of all the new full-timers I only know of one household that has a firm clue, cuts their own wood and had a plan without needing to consult anyone which they started on back in the summer. I suppose it's no coincidence that this is a forum member, who is now running 2 stoves and doing it quite well without fear of running out. Of course their is always the learning curve every one of us went through for the first few season's but this is part of the game and they are doing just fine. It is fun to watch them succeed too and seemingly without much effort beyond common sense and a little bit of exercise. Which is why I view the folks that are baffled when it comes to heating with wood on any level, with such interest and probably too much amusement.
 Now it may seem a bit cruel to some, but I am getting older now and this issue has supplied an abundant source of amusement and gratification to me through this past year. These are the same folks who see me spending a lot of time cutting hauling, bucking, splitting, stacking, and making my (to them) HUGE stacks of wood and ask 'why do you work so hard, can't you just buy that?" Then they wonder why I smile so hard I can't answer.
 As a bonus I get to hear a lot of the detailed experiences of these firewood cutters and the clients they have and what those clients think and do. Some stories are just gut-busting funny and some of the questions the actual locals get from the 'new neighbors' who are seeing their firewood in an entirely different light now, are quite precious. I have one neighbor who still won't go to bed until the entire woodstove is completely dark and burned out because of fire risk. He asks questions about putting it out with water and if that's what I do? "No", I tell him, " I start my stove in November and I let it burn out in April, unless something goes wrong." He looks at me and gives an uneasy chuckle as if he thinks I am kidding. I have to turn my head away sometimes during these conversations because it is hard to keep a straight face. But they really are nice folks, just not aware of what is going on around them and trying, with different levels of success, to learn new skills. Bless their hearts. I mean no harm, and am not poking fun (well, maybe a little), but it is really interesting to watch.
  :D ;D
 

[SwampDonkey]

I love cutting firewood and don't mind stacking either. I figure I'll be at it until I'm almost 80. My grandfather who lived to 87 years, was no stranger to cutting firewood for the house up until he was 80, still ran a chainsaw. In his day, it was hauling by sled and horse to town and to church on the reservation across the road. He knew at least the priest would have his pay, never knew if anyone in town was going to pay, after it was all stacked for them. Remember one lady customer in town he told about, who opened an upstairs window to say: "That $@$# Sewell, he stole every cent I had". He knew he wasn't going to get pay for that load. :D :D My grandfather ran a firewood charity for a few loads. :D :D We all laughed at his stories, but he laughed too, so I guess it wasn't too tough a loss. :D :D He always said, if you don't want anything more to do with a certain individual, have them owe you money. They won't be around again. :D :D

No such thing as cheap gas in these parts for heat, and don't want any part of it. You don't own the tank, have to pay maintenance on it, rent on it, distribution fee, top up fee....and any other scam they can tack on. Mother even was charged for 2 patio squares she already owned and had to provide a shovel to the two dig dongs the company sent out to square up the tank. She got the money back on the patio stones. But those same ding dongs made 3 trips to replace a part on the fireplace, 130 miles one way trip to be exact. And of course that is spread out over 2 weeks. You going to sit around in wool blankets for 2 weeks in the winter for ding dong service? : Wood stove eliminates all that crap. ;D

[woodroe]

  You going to sit around in wool blankets for 2 weeks in the winter for ding dong service? : Wood stove eliminates all that crap. ;D

True that, just look whats been going on in TX and other parts of the south. An unfortunate reality 
of being dependent on others for heat especially. Can get by w/o electricity for awhile in winter but not heat.
Never burned a lick of petroleum products here in 30 years, never even put in a oil furnace or other type of 
gas heater. Wood rules ! So does the sun when it shines..

[Nebraska]

Tom good luck with all those new folks, some of them may never get a clue. Firewood is going to be nip and tuck for me, I've got two dead elm trunks in reserve by the splitter, just thought I'd slab a little for benches 1st  out of them. That being said they are poised to go up in smoke if need be. Got 4 inches of new snow  3 inches more than I thought they were calling for yesterday also suppose to be above freezing this afternoon for a while. Hope so..

Just an add... this snow is really wet heavy stuff didn't push worth a darn. It was closer to six inches. 

[trapper]

Put up a few face cords and half face cords.  Put them on facebook and was sold out in 5 days.  Guess I sold them too cheap.  Yesterday even sold what I keep for myself and friends for fireplace and campfire wood that I keep under the roof of my polebarn.  I have enough for myself for 2 years  in my owb.

[SwampDonkey]

34F Here this afternoon, bright sun, windows open ;D and the ice is melting off the road and driveway and snow melting off the porch....... 

[SwampDonkey]

I figure there is 3.5 cords left in the basement right now and a cord out under the porch that is seasoned for this winter. Plus 6 more, of which 2-1/2 is already stacked under the porch, the rest under snow about 15 feet from the basement door. ;D

[thecfarm]

Not much melting at my place. I don't think it got above freezing. But the sun was out all day. Had some wind too, that made it feel on the cold side. Went for a ride and had to walk the dog. I put my stocking hat on. 

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah, I was surprised to see it get that warm because at noon it was only 22F. But the road was slush and the driveway was getting soft, like my foot print sunk in the gravel 1/4" This morning it was like concrete. :D

[SwampDonkey]

15F this morning, moon was shining in my face in north bedroom window. So got up a little early and put a pot of coffee on and later built up the fire. Looks like a sunny day ahead, so once that fire burns out, won't need another until 7:00 tonight. ;D

[51cub]

11° going up to low 30s today with a little snow maybe this afternoon. high 30s tomorrow and downright warm on Wed in the mid 40s and some sun

[thecfarm]

I am glad I looked outside. A very red sunrise. Did not last long.
14° and snow is coming. The warm temps are too. Days are almost 3 minutes longer!!

[SwampDonkey]

It actually dropped to 12F by day break here. It went overcast here by daylight to, but no wind. A flurry maybe tomorrow and a spring day on Wednesday I believe. 

[Nebraska]

43 degrees!  8) sunshine 8) melting snow 8) a few days like this, then.....

Mud  :  

Still beats minus 30.