Guess I'll try again.

[Icu4dzs]

The cold just won't quit. I am still on the road a lot. I get a few hours at home and back to the road. This is getting old.
Cattle are OK though. Chicken is alive. I need to start the seeds this month and the incubator is waiting to be repaired. (got a re-call on it but have been too busy to do anything about it.)
Dog's foot is healing OK. Doesn't seem to stop him in the least though.
No news is good news out here on the high prairie.
Saepe Expertus, Semper Fidelis, Fratres Aeterni
Trim sends
//BT//

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Sounds like you need a vacation, doc!

 

[hqueen13]

Glad you're hanging in there. Sounds about like us...

 

[Icu4dzs]

You know, there are things that set records. Somehow, there are records which I would prefer NOT to have experienced. This winter has been one of them. I am told this is the coldest winter "on record" for which my response is, "Tell me something I DON'T KNOW!"
It seems that it gets so cold that EVERYTHING breaks. Nothing made of any form of rubber or plastic has even a chance of surviving this cold. I don't know what to say about it. This morning the grill of my VW began to come apart. I had to get out of the car twice with the wind coming from the south at 30 kts and pick up pieces of my car made of plastic. If I don't plug the thing in somewhere for any length of time, it will NOT start.
So, as I said, there are records I'd prefer NOT to break and the cold is at the top of the list.
What I find interesting is that it appears that I have "acclimated" to the cold much better than I ever imagined. I find that if I dress appropriately, I am able to do things that I would never have thought possible.

Yesterday, I watched a video about a 70 y/o Russian woman named Agafia whose parents were among the "old believers" who fled Josef Stalin in the late 1930's. They ran away and started a small farm in the mountains of Siberia where she continues to live alone to this day. There is an old geologist living in a cabin near by so she is not completely "alone" and apparently there was some "less than desirable activity" for her on three "occasions" but this woman has lived by herself for the past 25 years since the death of her 3 sisters and parents. I was so moved by this story. I think about how she does it without all the amenities we have in this country. You don't live in Siberia for very long without some real ability. She obviously has it.

If you have not seen this video, I'd recommend it. It will change how you feel about yourself and your surroundings.

The cold out here on the Prairie isn't anything like it must be out in Siberia and she has NO way of obtaining the polar fleece materials and things we currently take for granted.

Now, I guess things just don't seem so bad by comparison.

Looking forward to a spring when I can DO some things outside.

 

[hqueen13]

I agree with you completely on the records issue. Not my cup of tea! We're headed for a low of 4 again tonight. Nothing like you're dealing with but much more than what we are used to!
Siberia and Patagonia are two places I don't know if I could ever stand to even visit.
I have also adapted more than I thought I would. 35 and any felt balmy a few days ago.
Stay safe and warm!

 

[Denim Deb]

It only got up to 30 today, and I was actually comfortable w/just my jeans and a ski jacket on when I went to my appointments. 2 weeks ago, I had that on as well as a vest, and was cold.

 

[Icu4dzs]

Polar fleece lined pants and shirts.
Add long johns if it gets really cold.
Then if it gets even worse, put on a coat!

 

[hqueen13]

You don't even want to hear my dress code per the weather. You would laugh...

 

[Icu4dzs]

Guess I've been working way too much. Haven't been here for a while. Not much has changed, but the temperatures have risen only a bit. They have however come up above the zero mark most days now.
I started working on stick welding a couple of weekends ago. I guess the reason was multiple. I have an old Lincoln "Tombstone" 225 amp that I wanted to try and see if it worked, and it did. I had bought a barrel of 1/4" thick steel bars 1.5" wide and about 20" long so I decided play with them and see if I could lay a bead. Well, it took me a while to stop getting the sticks "stuck" to the metal while trying to strike an arc. Finally, I got the clever idea to turn up the amperage and that seemed to do the trick. After fooling with that for a while, I went back to my Airco 225 and tried that. Same thing...so I learned that 1/8" sticks need at least 135 amps to light. Hurray, I learned something...I guess I am trainable...

After a while of actually getting some welding done, I grabbed my wire welder and tried to use that. NOPE...I had left the gas valve on and the gas leaked out. AT $70/bottle, that isn't going to happen again. I had used it to build a holder for the barbed wire spool when I am fencing and it was easy to use but now that I am able to stick weld a little better I can be choosy about how i do it.

I build a nice little table for welding with those bars and it came out pretty nice. It actually sat plumb/level on the table and the floor!

The work area is now able to warm up enough between the rocket stove and the old Reznor in the ceiling that I can work in there without needing a coat, hat and gloves. FINALLY!

The critters are all OK. Getting some biddies soon. Got my incubator ""recalled" so they sent me the new parts. I now have that thermostat set and ready for the first hatch this year. We'll see how that goes.

In all, things are going better now that the motors will start on the machines.
Hope all are well and happy.
Cheers

 

[Denim Deb]

So, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

It all sounds good. Hope it finally warms up for you and stays warm. We're actually supposed to get up close to 70* on Wednesday.