God forsaken in the best of times

[us56456712]

We are at -25 again. Been inside all day. Just ventured out to charge a frozen battery so the wife could go shopping. Then back to hibernation. They're predicting about 2 feet of snow in the forecast, really hoping those jerks are wrong.

I wish we would get two feet of snow. Its been two
years since that occurred.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I wish we would get two feet of snow. Its been two
years since that occurred.

I pay someone to clear most of my driveway. They have been having an easy time this year. Only really needed to do it once.
"When I was a kid..." Lol have I reached the golden years? Feel like we should be sitting around the cast iron stove at the general store sharing these nuggets of bygone weather. "...Uphill and into the wind both ways"

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Very cool, no pun intended

She's my Homey and has been since the day we met and she fell asleep on my foot.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

-32°c. Wind chill to -40°.
You guys ever get ice fog?
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...QQFnoECEYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Uanphr7CYvCiKDtgeromZ

 

[us56456712]

-32°c. Wind chill to -40°.
You guys ever get ice fog?
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...QQFnoECEYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2Uanphr7CYvCiKDtgeromZ

I’ve never known about it, I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled. It was -27 yesterday when I got up but we had a heat wave, by 2 pm it got to -12 before it started dropping again. For the last few days it’s been down to -40 two hundred km west of here in Amasa. This was the coldest place in the lower 48 USA States. Amasa is in the center of the UP but far enough west that is not warmed by Lake Michigan or Lake Superior. We live on the northern border of what’s referred to as the banana belt so we don’t get much below -30 and we get less snow than some other UP places. We have almost no snow again this winter. No avalanches off my roof. In fact, as you can see, there is no snow on my barn roof. A normal winter would have snow on my walk at least shoulder deep. No snow for the second winter in a row. Winds were gusting to 60 km/hr last night but it passed quickly. 100 km west the gusts along Lake Superior were up to 85 km/hr last night. I have no idea what the wind chill was but yesterday but I went outside 5 times in the snow to bring in wood in my bare feet and skivvies. Your feet are ok at first but suddenly they start to burn like crazy and by the time you get inside it takes 5 minutes to warm them up. I’m too lazy to get dressed or to struggle into snow boots for 5 minutes outside. I spend most cold days inside by the fire in skivvies, too much info. I’m pretty well acclimated by now. I’m comfortable now I’m use to it outside for regular winter weather here in a light flannel shirt, long underwater and a light windbreaker, but not when it’s real cold like now, I need heavy wool.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

so much nope.

 

[Cyclist]

Back in the early 70's I lived catty cornered to this lighthouse in Munising. We would park the car where that car is parked. Our house was just to the left.
This is 2 blocks interior from the Lake shore lighthouse. You can see the brown house in the summer photo. But it was grey and the upstairs window towards the lake I was able to see the lake. But no bikes for me at that time.
But I had to jump in when I saw the UP mentioned. (I worked in Marquette for several months and drove the 42 miles back and forth along M28, Lake Superior each day. But not in winter).

 

[MattiThundrrr]

but yesterday but I went outside 5 times in the snow to bring in wood in my bare feet and skivvies. Your feet are ok at first but suddenly they start to burn like crazy and by the time you get inside it takes 5 minutes to warm them up. I’m too lazy to get dressed or to struggle into snow boots

Lol high test grain alcohol has brought me there. Was sitting on a curb in boxers and flip flops. Could see my skin turning red, but couldn't feel a thing. Friends dragged me back in.
More seriously, almost lost a friend one night when he had too much and tried to wander home 25km through the bushes one New Year Eve. We found him asleep in the snow, -20.

 

[us56456712]

Back in the early 70's I lived catty cornered to this lighthouse in Munising. We would park the car where that car is parked. Our house was just to the left.
This is 2 blocks interior from the Lake shore lighthouse. You can see the brown house in the summer photo. But it was grey and the upstairs window towards the lake I was able to see the lake. But no bikes for me at that time.
But I had to jump in when I saw the UP mentioned. (I worked in Marquette for several months and drove the 42 miles back and forth along M28, Lake Superior each day. But not in winter).

View attachment 184586

View attachment 184587

I live 20 miles south and east of this. That’s the west channel range light. The local mountain bike club has made a trail head 2 blocks west of the light. It climbs the steep face of the morraine and at the top there is a mountain bike park. Short but really good for skills. I drive to marquette about twice a week. It’s almost always bad each trip in the winter. I visit my grand son there who is 19 months old. I let him sit on my lap and play with bike parts. I’ll have him skiing next winter. All my kids learned to ski when they were two. That’s way more snow than this winter. His other grandpa is a mountain biker and he already got him a stride bike. I just pushed my kids downhill on grass and told them to pedal. They fell on soft grass.

 

[us56456712]

Lol high test grain alcohol has brought me there. Was sitting on a curb in boxers and flip flops. Could see my skin turning red, but couldn't feel a thing. Friends dragged me back in.
More seriously, almost lost a friend one night when he had too much and tried to wander home 25km through the bushes one New Year Eve. We found him asleep in the snow, -20.

Two years in a row the same guy passed out in the snow on his way from the sauna to deer camp, about 20 yards. Both times I noticed he was missing and hauled him inside. It’s the same 75 year old trouble maker that keeps trying to organize the trip from camp to Big Bon’s strip club when everyone can hardly walk. in 1970 I had my wisdom teeth extracted and it hurt so much I took the whole bottle of pain killers while I was bar hopping. I didn’t pass out but crawled two miles home. I would wait for there to be no headlight reflections in the driveway cuts in the four foot snow banks before crawling across. I didn’t want to go to jail and was hiding. I lost my glasses but made it. When I would stand I would stagger badly and fall on the snow banks and roll onto the sidewalk. I didn’t want the cops to see that either so I used my army training and crawled from downtown to my apartment. That was the worst. I only had 3 - 4 beers before I knew I had to leave before I couldn’t. I only made it out the door before I fell so I crawled down the hill from downtown to the neighborhood along Lake Superior. I snow swam this section as it was poorly lit and had port like industry. I could dig my toes in, push from a knee bend and slide on the slippery sidewalk. At 23 you don’t realize what a bottle full of pain killers can do to you. All I did was every time it hurt I took one till they were gone, a few hours. The next day was epic.

 

[us56456712]

Double digits below zero at home, again today, -10 F. It’s not as cold as it usually gets here, no -20F so far this year. The coldest at home here was January 26, which was -14F. West of here, in a low spot away from the Great Lakes, it got to -40F for two nights. It should warm up and start to melt next week if it’s normal. Even if it’s ten degrees below freezing (22) and the sun is shining it will melt, which is weird but the sun angle is then high enough that it melts the snow on the surface, if it gets sunny, which it seldom does. Right now it’s an icy shut in. Lake Superior currently only has less than10% ice cover.

 

[us56456712]

Still no snow, two years in a row. Today’s lack of any significant snow as seen below. In a normal winter the planter base and bench are burred with no trace there there. The bird feeder hooks are usually buried to the base of the feeders from snow avalanching from our roof. I’ve used my snowblower twice, it’s easier to occasionally shovel. I go outside in flip flops to go to the fire pit, get wood, feed birds or to dump ashes or compost.

Two days ago it was -7F in the morning but got up to 33F by 2pm. Yesterday it was -18F in the early morning and got up to 10F. Today it was pretty much -10F most places in the UP this morning and now it’s +18F down from 19F. It’s 4 pm so its dropping off. We’re not doing much. Weird as there has been a south wind for three days, which usually makes it mild. It should be getting warm enough to melt. Hopefully soon.

The snow isn’t even over my Canadian boots.

 

[RustyGold]

I got to experience 10°F this weekend...but, I had to travel to Indiana for that . My wife and I coined it 'dry cold' as it was the wispiest most powdery snow I've ever seen and the 10°F didn't feel that cold (we hardly ever get down that low back home... maybe a couple times in the last 20years).

 

[us56456712]

Single digits for the high and snowing all day. Tonight there are going to be 50 mph winds and heavy snow. Tomorrow high +10, 30 mph winds. Can’t wait.

Wreck on the road today. I had to turn around. Looked like 4 cars

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Yesterday: plus 8 and raining cats and dogs. Today: minus 8 and we're buried under 15 inches of snow with a healthy layer of ice underneath.

 

[us56456712]

Yesterday: plus 8 and raining cats and dogs. Today: minus 8 and we're buried under 15 inches of snow with a healthy layer of ice underneath.

It’s thinking it could be spring sometime soon. -16C now, 30 k/hr north winds, but we didn’t get any more snow last night, so no blizzard. +0C tomorrow. We are in town with the famIy, all 7 of us at a bed and breakfast so we can look at different snow banks. Scenic morning window views.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Scenic morning window views.

More blessings from heaven...

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I just finished shoveling and it's dumping again

 

[Tallbikeman]

I wish that I had saved a picture or two of my snowy winters but I didn't. So now I'm stuck in the great central valley of California where it was 70F today. No rain, no snow, no water later but we'll be sure to share our wildfire smoke with everyone.

 

[Couch tater]

We had blizzard conditions Thursday and high winds causing drifting on Friday. I was out in both during the evening with my job and the roads were treacherous. Forties and fifties the next few days and then back to the cold. I do my winter bike building during down time at the end of my shift but this winter has been hard on the truck fleet I maintain so bike building has come to a stop. Winter is 2/3's over so hopefully the severe weather is going to lighten up and I can get back to what really matters.