Hey August..

Enjoying our early foray into winter?
I imagine your weather is pretty close to mine here..

Today when I went down to the bay to get water I was able to
walk on top of the ice and it didn't crack even on the way back
in carrying an extra 50 pounds of water pails.

Shopping day tomorrow and it's snowing and blowing at the moment
on top of the 12 inches or so of snow we got over the past few
days so I'm just hoping I can drive out. My first half mile out
of here is not being plowed yet, and there are a couple of pretty
good hills on it..

I should have gotten 4WD..

---
* SLMR Rob * What this country needs is a good five-cent nickel
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1)

Hello Rob!

** On Tuesday 02.12.25 - 07:37, you wrote to me:

Enjoying our early foray into winter?
I imagine your weather is pretty close to mine here..

Enjoying.. NOT! We got about 1' of snow. I'll send you some
pics.

Forturnately, my neighbour across the lake, came over with is
Massey-Ferguson 65 (purchased for a bout $4000 a few years ago)
..and runs like a charm. Only one broad blade attached on the
back 3-point mount hydraulic, but managed to clean a fair bit
in about an hour.

Today when I went down to the bay to get water I was able to
walk on top of the ice and it didn't crack even on the way back
in carrying an extra 50 pounds of water pails.

I would NOT imagine the ice would be safe yet. Even my shallow
lake has areas where the spring-fed water is still pooling near
the surface.

Shopping day tomorrow and it's snowing and blowing at the moment
on top of the 12 inches or so of snow we got over the past few
days so I'm just hoping I can drive out. My first half mile out
of here is not being plowed yet, and there are a couple of pretty
good hills on it..

TODAY (Tuesday) was noticeably calmer, sunny and nice - here.
You are probably more exposed to the wind-blasts of oncoming
weather-fronts being right at the shores of the bay. I'm much
further inland, and a bit south of Algonquin Park.

I should have gotten 4WD..

No kidding. I've been driving a 4WD since 1999 - (not the same
vehicle, but a 4WD nevertheless). I wouldn't have it any other
way. Generally, there is atleast 7" clearance and that has
allowed me to "plow" through up to a foot of snow without
issues.



--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (618:400/23.10)

Enjoying our early foray into winter?
I imagine your weather is pretty close to mine here..

Enjoying.. NOT! We got about 1' of snow. I'll send you some

>pics.

Yes, you did get quite a bit of snow there. As I mentioned in reply
to that eMail, they were closing Highway 400 in my area on Tuesday
which virtually never happens.. And it's still early December!

I'll bet we get a thaw before the end of the month, maybe rain..

Today when I went down to the bay to get water I was able to
walk on top of the ice and it didn't crack even on the way back
in carrying an extra 50 pounds of water pails.

I would NOT imagine the ice would be safe yet. Even my shallow

>lake has areas where the spring-fed water is still pooling near
>the surface.

No, definitely not safe. I was only walking where the water
was a foot deep or so so, if I went through, worst case I'd get
a soaker over my boots. It's supposed to be a lot colder the next
several days so, if it doesn't warm up, the ice should be solid
enough to walk on over deeper water. My permanent water access
hole has to be where there's about 4 feet of water so it won't
freeze to the bottom over the winter.. Bin there.. Then you
have to cut a new hole further out through 3 feet of ice..
(In recent years it hasn't gotten much more than 2 feet thick.)

TODAY (Tuesday) was noticeably calmer, sunny and nice - here.

>You are probably more exposed to the wind-blasts of oncoming
>weather-fronts being right at the shores of the bay. I'm much
>further inland, and a bit south of Algonquin Park.

We got some sun that day too but storms kept moving through
messing up the roads. At least it was relatively nice in town
while I was visiting stores..

Not sure what to expect tomorrow (Thursday). It's going to be
a lot colder and we've had some freezing rain a few times which
may make all the snow super hard and maybe slippery, and any deep
footprints I left in it treacherous to walk on, and a lot of my
paths are up and down fairly steep hills.. I haven't yet started
shovelling the 400 ft or so of paths I normally do for the winter..

It's too darned early for this!!

---
* SLMR Rob * Likelihoods are 90 percent against you
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1)

Hello Rob!

** On Thursday 04.12.25 - 09:22, you wrote to me:

I'll bet we get a thaw before the end of the month, maybe rain..

See..

https://www.almanac.com/winter-forecast-canada

They claim mostly wet and mild.

Not sure what to expect tomorrow (Thursday). It's going to be

It was -26C by 11p and dropped to -27C at it's lowest between
3a and 6a the following morning.

a lot colder and we've had some freezing rain a few times which
may make all the snow super hard and maybe slippery, and any deep footprints I left in it treacherous to walk on, and a lot of my
paths are up and down fairly steep hills.. I haven't yet started shovelling the 400 ft or so of paths I normally do for the winter..

You probably had a chance to chip away at some of your pathways
by now when it got a lot closer to 0C and 1C yesterday?

It's too darned early for this!!

I would concur.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (618:400/23.10)

I'll bet we get a thaw before the end of the month, maybe rain..

See.. https://www.almanac.com/winter-forecast-canada

They claim mostly wet and mild.

Yes.. Hopefully it will be milder. It seems cold to me these days
and, although it's early, the temps are no as cold as we'd normally
get in mid winter. Maybe I'm just getting old and feeling it more. B(

Not sure what to expect tomorrow (Thursday). It's going to be

It was -26C by 11p and dropped to -27C at it's lowest between

>3a and 6a the following morning.

Maybe the weather predictions were not showing it would be as
cold as it got. My outdoor thermometer broke couple of years ago
and I never replaced it. I just assume that what my phone says
it is is correct..

a lot colder and we've had some freezing rain a few times which
may make all the snow super hard and maybe slippery, and any deep footprints I left in it treacherous to walk on

You probably had a chance to chip away at some of your pathways

>by now when it got a lot closer to 0C and 1C yesterday?

The snow didn't get all that hard so over the past 3 days I was
shovelling the 400 feet or so of pathways I need around here.
I still think we'll get a real thaw before the end of the month.

I finally sorted out the snow plowing with the new neighbours.
The old neighbours had to have the road plowed out and they didn't
care if I contributed or not (and I did some) but I figured the
new owners would expect to split the cost 50/50 or something even
though they have more to do on their property than I do, since I
just park at the very end of my driveway. Anyways, the bad news
was the guy plowing it raised his price from $75 to $100 per time
but the neighbours were pretty reasonable saying, to be fair, I
should really only pay 35% of the cost.

It could still end up being over $3000 total for the winter
though but, although I didn't like the increase, I hear the
price is still pretty low to plow about 1/2 mile of private
road plus turn arounds and parking on our properties here..

---
* SLMR Rob * We are not alone... And THEY are NOT amused!
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (618:250/1)

Hello Rob!

** On Tuesday 09.12.25 - 08:19, you wrote..

I finally sorted out the snow plowing with the new
neighbours. The old neighbours had to have the road plowed

[...]

the guy plowing it raised his price from $75 to $100 per
time but the neighbours were pretty reasonable saying, to
be fair, I should really only pay 35% of the cost.

It could still end up being over $3000 total for the winter

$3000 being your 35%? That's a lot of plow visits at $100 ea!
I doubt that it would take 100 visits for this season!

though but, although I didn't like the increase, I hear
the price is still pretty low to plow about 1/2 mile of
private road plus turn arounds and parking on our
properties here..

Yeah.. with fuel/maintenance/parts costs being up quite a bit,
not surprised that plowers are raising their rates anywhere
between 25% to 50%.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (618:400/23.10)

the guy plowing it raised his price from $75 to $100 per
time but the neighbours were pretty reasonable saying, to
be fair, I should really only pay 35% of the cost.

It could still end up being over $3000 total for the winter

$3000 being your 35%? That's a lot of plow visits at $100 ea!

>I doubt that it would take 100 visits for this season!

No, that was the estimated total number of visits (30).
Could be more or less. They say last winter was worse than
most and the $75 plows came to about $2200 last year.

So we're finally getting that bit of a warming spell but it's too
little and too late to help much I think unless we get another.
The odd year we've had a January thaw. Not enough to get rid of
much snow but it can warm up above freezing for a few days.

Right now I almost wish it were colder because the weather system
bringing in the warm temperatures, a few days at +4c to +6c (~40f),
is brought in by really strong South winds making for drifting snow
and a very hard time heating the house with my old windows and log
walls that are about 80 years old..

It would be easier to heat if it were -20c (-4f) and calm..

'Crash' I just heard.. Big ice chunk melting and falling off the roof..
The windows are still rattling in the wind.. B(

---
* SLMR Rob * Remember when gun control meant a steady hand?
* Origin: Capitol City Online (618:250/1)

Hello Rob!

** On Wednesday 17.12.25 - 08:25, you wrote to me:

So we're finally getting that bit of a warming spell but it's too
little and too late to help much I think unless we get another.
The odd year we've had a January thaw. Not enough to get rid of
much snow but it can warm up above freezing for a few days.

How did you fare through that? Not long after that, we had that
flash-freeze. I heard that it was more extreme out your way at
the Bay.

And.. last night we had some pretty wild gusty winds for most
of the night. Is your cottage still unmoved on its pillars/
foundation? :D

Right now I almost wish it were colder because the weather system
bringing in the warm temperatures, a few days at +4c to +6c (~40f),
is brought in by really strong South winds making for drifting snow
and a very hard time heating the house with my old windows and log
walls that are about 80 years old..

Methinks you could insulate the building from the outside, and
make it look quite nice.

There was an old building in my town that looked quite worn on
its plastered facing. Renovation on the interior walls to
insulate that was a discouragement to the owner. After the
building was sold, and the new business owner simply insulated
from the outside. I'll try to find the BEFORE and AFTER pics
and email them to you.

It would be easier to heat if it were -20c (-4f) and calm..

Yes.. the wind causes much more heat loss in my 50yr+ home. I
have old cottage-style "seemless" wood-frame windows. 14
windows just on the "upper" level of the split-level design -
the locking clips on most of them are broken or loose, the bug-
screens no-longer seal properly, and the wood frames
[especially for the 2 sliding doors] are rotting in places.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (618:400/23.10)

So we're finally getting that bit of a warming spell but it's too
little and too late to help much I think unless we get another.

How did you fare through that? Not long after that, we had that

>flash-freeze. I heard that it was more extreme out your way at
>the Bay.

We had some fun days. My last shopping day there was a warning
on the car radio - I pick the worst days to shop it seems -
and they were saying flash freeze.. and it droppd from +2c (35f)
at 1:30pm to -7c (19f) by 5:30pm. I didn't have too much trouble
getting home though.

But it warmed up well above freezing and then we got heavy rain
a few days ago and we lost about 80% of the snow we had.

The next day it dropped below freezing again and the surface
of the bay was like polished glass and it was quite tricky to
be carrying pails of water in without losing your balance.

And.. last night we had some pretty wild gusty winds for most

>of the night. Is your cottage still unmoved on its pillars/
>foundation? :D

Yes, it was howling pretty good and I was just happy the power
didn't go out. 3 mornings I woke up and it was under (43f) in
the livingroom when I came out and it took hours to get it up
to something reasonable. As I think I've mentioned, overnight
I only run one baseboard heater and I hide under my electric
blanket until morning. Usually I expect it to be about 15c (60f)
by morning since the one heater isn't enough on cold nights but
it's a lot worse when the wind gets howling.

Methinks you could insulate the building from the outside, and

>make it look quite nice.

Years ago I put 3 inches of fiberglass insulation on the outside
and covered it all with aluminum siding and it looked great and
worked well enough for a lot of years, but it really wasn't
expected to be used all winter at the time I did that.
I put better windows in, but single glazed so I put plastic
on the inside of the window frames over the winter now, and
I did that work back around 1983 and time has taken a toll on
some of it making it not work as well as it originally did.

If I knew, or planned/expected to be wintering here for a lot
more years I'd re-do the whole thing. I could afford it but
I'm a bit too practical to spend possibly $30,000 to winterize
a place I may only use for one or two more winters.

And most days are not bad. It's the unusual weather that
causes problems. I've already woken up to more super cold
mornings this year than I did ALL of last winter.

Oh, BTW.. Those Bucket Mouse traps we talked about earlier..
With most of the snow gone I went to check out the two that
my sister put in her 2 cottages and there were 3 mice in
one and 4 in the other, so they are working pretty well.. B)

---
* SLMR Rob * I'm an Apathetic Sociopath...I'd kill you if I cared.
* Origin: Capitol City Online (618:250/1)

Merry Christmas! This is the day after as I'm typing...

Three days in a row and I've been wearing short sleeve
shirst. :-)

Rob Mccart wrote to AUGUST ABOLINS <=-

Enjoying our early foray into winter?
I imagine your weather is pretty close to mine here..

Enjoying.. NOT! We got about 1' of snow. I'll send you some

>pics.

Yes, you did get quite a bit of snow there. As I mentioned in reply
to that eMail, they were closing Highway 400 in my area on Tuesday
which virtually never happens.. And it's still early December!

... Shell to DOS... Come in DOS... Do you copy DOS?... Over...
=== MultiMail/Mac v0.52
--- SBBSecho 3.32-Linux
* Origin: Palantir * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL * (618:250/24)

Merry Christmas! This is the day after as I'm typing...

Three days in a row and I've been wearing short sleeve

>shirts. :-)

We had a couple of fairly warm sunny days right around Christmas
as well. We got some rain one evening, and then it dropped to
well below freezing that night, and the bay ended up with a
polished ice surface and a few people up for a Christmas holday
were out playing hockey on the bay..

But it won't last long.. Monday Dec 29th will be a few degrees
above freezing but for the next few days at least we will have
a high of about -12c (10F).

---
* SLMR Rob * Nuke Barney from orbit. Its the only way to be sure!
* Origin: Capitol City Online (618:250/1)

Hello Rob!

** On Tuesday 23.12.25 - 08:19, you wrote:

Yes, it was howling pretty good and I was just happy the
power didn't go out. 3 mornings I woke up and it was under
(43f) in the livingroom when I came out and it took hours
to get it up to something reasonable. As I think I've
mentioned, overnight I only run one baseboard heater and I
hide under my electric blanket until morning. Usually I
expect it to be about 15c (60f) by morning since the one
heater isn't enough on cold nights but it's a lot worse
when the wind gets howling.

Are those portable baseboard heaters? ..or are they the kind
installed in wall along the floor. I have the latter.

I keep a small oil-based heater operating under the table where
I usually work with my computers. The added heat at the table
for my legs takes the edge off the cold air. And.. if there is
power interrruption, the heat from the device lasts muh longer
than from the electric baseboards.

Maybe consider a medium-sized oil-based heater?

I recently bought a new larger one [stands about mid-thigh] to
replace the much smaller one [which only stood about mid-calf]
that I used under the table.

I put better windows in, but single glazed so I put
plastic on the inside of the window frames over the winter
now, and

My house has inexpense double sashless woodframe "cottage"
windows. Most of them are in terrible shape since they were
installed in 1972. They are not that great in insulating from
the cold or heat outside.

Oh, BTW.. Those Bucket Mouse traps we talked about
earlier.. With most of the snow gone I went to check out
the two that my sister put in her 2 cottages and there
were 3 mice in one and 4 in the other, so they are working
pretty well.. B)

7 mice is not necessarily a high haul. They breed pretty fast.

But glad to hear that something works.

I stick to the traditional mouse trap, with a drop or two of mouse-attractant.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.64
* Origin: (618:400/23.10)

overnight I only run one baseboard heater and I
hide under my electric blanket until morning. Usually I
expect it to be about 15c (60f) by morning since the one
heater isn't enough on cold nights but it's a lot worse
when the wind gets howling.

Are those portable baseboard heaters? ..or are they the kind

>installed in wall along the floor. I have the latter.

The big ones on the wall, about 7 feet long, 220v 2000 Watts.

I keep a small oil-based heater operating under the table where

>I usually work with my computers. The added heat at the table
>for my legs takes the edge off the cold air. And.. if there is
>power interrruption, the heat from the device lasts muh longer
>than from the electric baseboards.

I assume you are talking about those oil filled ones that look
like an old steam radiator? I have a small one of those in my
bedroom, but only about 700 Watts. I use it when I'm in there
reading late at night as the house is cooling down but I rarely
leave it on after I turn out the lights to sleep.

Oh, BTW.. Those Bucket Mouse traps we talked about
the two that my sister put in her 2 cottages and there
were 3 mice in one and 4 in the other, so they are working
pretty well.. B)

7 mice is not necessarily a high haul. They breed pretty fast.

True, they say most mouse colonies have between 80 and 120 mice.

I stick to the traditional mouse trap, with a drop or two of

>mouse-attractant.

That's what I use in my place, with peanut butter as bait.
Last year I caught about 15 mice over about 3 weeks, but this
year there don't seem to be as many around. I've only caught
4 or 5 over the last 2 months.

I've found those new plastic snap-traps work a lot better than
the old type wooden ones though..

---
* SLMR Rob * My mother in law moved in. Now I've got DUAL air bags!
* Origin: Capitol City Online (618:250/1)