Next year, on 2/2

[MissMillie]

I'm going to unleash my rat terriers on that overgrown rodent.

(That probably won't work. Our dogs are too wimpy and well-fed to have any motivation to hunt vermin.)


46 more sunrises until the official start of spring.

Oh and today is 2/2/22

[Emile]

1. I know I'm ready for spring. Anyone know what

the groundhog is saying? It"s supposedly cloudy there.

[AngryOldDem]

2. Six more weeks of winter is what I saw.

[Emile]

3. Now that's BS

He sees his shadow on a cloudy day?? They need a better groundhog.

[AngryOldDem]

7. Here is the sad report.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/02/us/groundhog-day-punxsutawney-phil-trnd/index.html

[Emile]

10. Damn, I heard he is right only about 50% of the time.

Fingers crossed he is wrong this year.

[MissMillie]

4. weather.com said it was clear in Punxsutawney at 7:00 am

So shadow and 6 more weeks of winter.

[Emile]

5. Jonathan Lemire on MSMBC Way Too Early said it was cloudy.

Damn the sun must have popped out.

[PJMcK]

6. We don't really get Spring in the Catskills

It stays cold in the mountains until June or so. The local joke is that we get two seasons: Winter and the Fourth of July!

We've had sub-zero temperatures all week in the mornings. Today it's a balmy 27º F going up to 44º F. It'll be back down in the teens by the weekend.

[Emile]

8. Here behind the Hoosier Iron Curtain the winter storm

just started. We're predicting 12 to 18 inches of snow before we send it east.

[PJMcK]

9. Stay safe and warm

Hope you've stocked up on essentials!

Good luck.

[Emile]

11. Bathtub full of water in case we lose power. We live

out in the country. Bathtub water for flushing the toilet. Plenty of food.

[PJMcK]

12. Do you have a generator?

A number of years ago, we lost power in the Winter and it took about a week for it to be restored. We had to winterize the house so we wouldn't have and pipes burst. We camped in the living rood where we have a highly efficient Jodal fireplace/stove which kept us reasonably safe and warm.

After that experience, I bought a 4,000-watt gasoline generator. In the following 5 years, we only needed it once but we were able to run a space heater, keep the refrigerator running and have some lights. It was a little noisy and required constant attention. Since it was gasoline powered, it had to be outside and the 2-gallon gas tank had to be re-filled every few hours. Still, we were more comfortable than the previous experience.

Last year, during the pandemic, I bit the bullet and bought an automatic standby generator that runs off our propane tank. It's rated at 12,500 watts. If the power goes out for more than 5 seconds, the machine automatically starts up and powers the whole house. When the power returns, it automatically disconnects. It was very expensive but has given us great peace of mind. There have been two occasions when it was needed and it worked flawlessly.

Since the generator can power everything, we don't have to worry about the pipes or anything as long as we keep fuel in the propane tank! By the way, I gave the gasoline powered machine to my nephew who lives in the Berkshires. He's needed it 4 or 5 times.

[Emile]

13. I do have a small Coleman generator for my

camper. What you got is really nice. I have a friend who has one of those propane units. We lose power here from time to time, but never out more than a few hours. Back in the 80s we lost power once for two days. We camped out in the living room where the fireplace wood stove insert kept us from freezing. I have 7 ricks of wood and a big pot of chili to put on top of the wood stove.