Blizzard or 2021 (Day 4)

Three or four blackouts in the night - not sure exactly.  I supposed I am starting to get a bit more used to it.  At 6:30 am the power was on so I got the coffee pot on while we had power to drip it.  If worse came to worse, cowboy coffee could have been the next best thing.

It is warmer this morning, and while the weather radar shows wintery mix over us in the night I could not see any evidence when I went to the porch to fetch the scuttle to get some of the ash from the stove.  

Folks are desperate with the energy issues, understandably.  We bought a dual fuel generator for the RV to do some boondocking with but it isn't yet set up but could be soon if needed.  We haven't as yet needed to use it though since out blackouts have been typically an hour or less.  On the other hand Dad has a generator that is much too heavy for him that he has been trying to sell.  He advertised it on a buy, sale, and trade DB page and had 10 inquiries.  One lady from Dallas wanted to drive down last night.  But Dad told her this morning.  This is a mess, but I call ourselves relatively lucky.

As for farm work we got the generator working and started to wait for the person buying the generator.  A local man needed it and was a sure thing.  Then we busted more ice.  It was about 4 inches thick today.  The flamethrower either did not have the power or my propane tank was too low and will need to be refilled when the supplies are replenished.

By midmorning it started to drop freezing rain, but not as much came down as predicted.  Aside from some farm work, it was a calm day.  After lunch we watched a couple of Keep Your Daydream videos on YouTube.  It has become mine and Sadie's favorite program!

Chili for supper, which is a Texas cold snap staple and after that, a board game for some good ole family time.  Tonight's game:  Ticket to Ride: Rails and Sails.

This "snow day" is starting to feel like Spring Break 2020!

Blizzard of 2021 (Day 3)

We woke up to blackouts again.  Power went down at 5:30 am and remained off for about 45 minutes.  It went down again 2 hours later.  The scam that is wind generation has been making the news and scandals seem to be brewing everywhere.  Sometimes you have to walk through the darkness before you can see the light, it would seem.  

It was colder this morning with the weather app showing 1 degree.  At around 7:15 it had risen to 2 degrees.

 

At this point we are luckier than some friends we know.  One family locally posted this morning that they had been out of electricity for 28 hours and they have livestock that need warming.  I am not sure when, or if, if came back on.

One of our blackouts hit just as it was time to cook breakfast so it took some creativity.  Sometimes it is a good thing to be a historical reenactor!

Mid-morning farm work needed to be done so it was breaking the ice again.  About 3 inches thick today I would guess.  Then hay, and an attempt to boost the tractor whose battery had died.  No luck since the diesel glowplugs had no power.  And home to more blackouts.

Lunch. Then my brother called to say they were sledding again.  Today was much more pleasant since the wind has laid.  The calm before the storm it would seem.

With more weather coming we watered birds, filled the wild bird feeders, and hauled more firewood inside.  We are fortunate that our outages have been limited.  

So tonight we will finish the movie we started last night: Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End.  And we wait for yet more snow in the night.

Blizzard of 2021 (Day 2)

The power went out at 4:45 am.  Thank you so much Green Energy people!  And it's 11 degrees outside.It came back on 20 minutes later. It went down again at 7 am.

Apparently these are controlled blackouts/brown outs due to the fact that much of the energy comes from West Texas windmills (frozen) and solar panels (covered with snow and/or overcast skies). In fact, 1/3 of our power is coming from wind and solar and the energy consumption is through the roof.  So stupid!

Fortunately our house is heated with a combination of natural gas and a Vermont Castings wood stove.  It won't take long to go through that half-cord at this rate.

9:35, and it went down again.  Two hour intervals, it would seem. It stayed off 30 minutes this time.

I would guess that 3 - 5 inches came down in the night and more predicted on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.  The tank was frozen this morning. We went out with axes and pick axes to break the water in places for the cows to drink.  I remember doing that when I was a kid, but that was at least 35 years ago.

Breaking the ice!

View from the Water Tank to the barn.

The ice was solid to the bottom at this inlet.

It did not stay broken up long.

Poor cows!

Thank goodness for non-electric entertainment.

By lunch it was a balmy 12 degrees and the woodstove was getting a workout.  The tractor would not start - cold diesel - so Mom and Dad went to town for square bales.  Eight was all they could get but at least it got some feed in addition to this morning's cubes into the cows.  And this weather's to last all week!

On another note, the internet is down.  Our provider isn't getting a signal from their provider.  So much for virtual learning right now.

In the middle of the afternoon the wind calmed, and the kids went sledding.  Cold, but nice.

It will continue to be cold tonight and over the next few days.  This is crazy!!!

The Blizzard of 2021 (Day 1)

Whoever said that 2021 would be a much more predictable year than 2020 didn't know what they were asking for!

Another impeachment along with appropriate acquittal, in part, but the topic of this post is the weather!

One month ago (Jan. 10) we saw the first snow in 10 years in this part of Texas.  The pictures below were from that earlier storm.

The weather started to come in on Thursday, and traffic accidents in the area made the national news.   Friday was relatively clear, but Saturday morning it started to ice again.  We had hoped to visit family (Valerie and Michael) yesterday for her birthday, but as we were loading the car we started feeling ice, so we changed plans there.    We had a pot of Mexican pulled pork that we were taking with us, so we invited Mom and Dad up to share it.  

It started to snow overnight with a light dusting, but the temperatures began to drop.

As I write this, it is Valentine's Day and snowing again.  The temperatures dropped below freezing on Friday with predicted snows overnight.  Both our employers have shuttered until the winter storm has ended, but the predictions are for freezing temperatures until Friday (today is Sunday!).  Even church was canceled.

I remember stories of when I was a toddler of 11 inches of snow, but rarely have we had even a dusting since, although ice is far more frequent.  Predictions have as much as 18 inches possible over the next few days.  

This is historic, and over the next few days it looks like another event that needs to be documented.  Sadie is glad for the snow, but we are worried about the animals.  This is an unusual cold with windchills in the negatives at times.  It was warmer today in Juneau, Alaska!  Perhaps some pictures will be in order in the coming days.

Winter Update

It has been a while since my last posting, but TBH it has been a while since we have been able to travel.  Christmas, the 'rona, and work, as well as weather, have made travel tough.  On several occasions I have tried to make reservations at a local Corps of Engineers park but site have been booked regularly on weekends.  So no-go.  

We go have some sites booked soon, so hopefully the spring travel season is upon us and plans are being made for summer outings.  

Hopefully the price of fuel will not become cost prohibitive.  

End of an Era - Or a New Cell Phone.

 So after 25+ years, I am changing cell phone providers.  I have always had AT&T and the service has always been good.  In fact, for the last dozen years or so I could see one of their towers from my house.

But around the first of the year, the signal just got bad.  Dropped calls, poor quality, dead spots particularly on the northern side of the house became the norm.  At one point I called them and they said all was well but perhaps the tower needed adjusting.  The recommendation was to use wi-fi calling.  That worked, sort of.

After no less than three dropped calls while I was sitting in one place today, I decided it was time to call.  My LG phone was having trouble anyway, and what I heard, I liked. The price was right (with direct-pay discounts) and more data to boot.  Josh, the Verizon rep, discussed the options and discussed why AT&T just doesn't cut it anymore.  It seems that of all their towers, there are only 3 towers that carry the network still in our county.  That not only explains it, but it also calls in to question what I was told on the call mid-summer.  

My first cellphone was with Cingular, which was later bought out by AT&T.  It was a bag phone that looked for all the world like I was ready to call in an airstrike - A brick of a battery, push-button dialer in the handset, and pig-tail cord connecting it all, and to top it off, a cigarette-charger plug and cord.  It worked fine except you always had to watch to make sure you were not "roaming" and that you did not go over your minutes.  Texts cost extra, but texting on that thing was next to impossible anyway.  And to add insult to injury, someone broke into my red 1992 Pontiac Grand Am during an out of town football game while it was parked beside the Band Hall.  Good luck and good riddance in hindsight, but at the time it, along with the broken glass and stolen CD player, was troubling.  

Back to now so much has changed.  We gave up our home phone years ago and the cellphone has replaced the landline in most places.  I suppose we shall see how, and if, Verizon has truly dethroned Alexander Graham Bell as king and stolen his kingdom. 

If nothing else I have heard that Verizon works better in the West, so that could work out on the next long-distance trip!

UPDATE:  The new phone is a Samsung A51.  We shall see how it measures up!

East Texas Arboretum's Fall Festival (and Birthday celebrations!)

 Sunday, October 11, 2020

We had another weekend outing to East Texas yesterday, but it was simply the busiest day out of a good weekend!

After 6 months of Covid-19 shutdowns, we have seen so many festivals canceled, and anyone that knows us knows that festivals make up a lot of Stephanie's business income;  And that hasn't happened.  For those new around here, Stephanie sells Lila Rose Hair Accessories and Color Street nail polish strips.  You can find the links to her stores HERE and HERE.

So when we heard that the East Texas Arboretum was doing a fall festival we signed up!

I was done at work around noon and set out Stephanie's birthday gifts.  Then I loaded the truck so that we could hit the road soon after she and Sadie got home from work/school.  

Friday was hot and humid since Hurricane Delta was coming ashore near Lake Charles, LA, and all of the tropical air was being pushed north and west.  I was soaked by the time the truck was finished.  Fergus enjoyed his run outside while I worked.  

The girls got home around 4:30, Stephanie opened her gifts, and we went out for supper with Michael and Valerie.  We visited, she opened more gifts, and we visited some more.  Then to bed to get some rest for a busy day!

Saturday was cool in the morning, and we were at the arboretum at 7:30 as required.  The line was long into the vendor village, so we had to wait a while to unload the truck.  We were still setting up when the festival opened at 9:00 am.  

Since we have not done this festival before we didn't know what to expect.  The crowds were good, which I predicted after so many weeks and months of shutdowns and restrictions.  Sales were pretty good!

The East Texas Arboretum is really pretty!  I did not get to tour it all, but I did find some neat little corners.  Fergus liked it too!

The festival ended at 3:00, and we were loaded and back in Athens by 4:00.  Burgers for supper, more visiting (with Kathleen this time), and another round of birthday gifts, then home by 9:00 pm.  

Today (Sunday) is more relaxing.  Church in the morning and then we unloaded the truck.  It was a good weekend!