October 2020

Saturday 10/17/2020

Snow & Cold Update

We had snow Friday morning that covered the grass at sunrise. Later in the day we drove to Antigo. That ride was a mix of big ugly dark clouds, and when we got under them, fairly heavy snow driven by very strong winds. It was not enough to accumulate on the roads, but some collected on roofs and grassy areas.

The snow squalls must have moved north or northeast, because once we got back to Silver Cliff there wasn’t much going on and no accumulations.

This morning we had snow again. Big goose down flakes added up to an inch or just a little more before it was over. Roads got a little slushy, and in shaded areas, they got a little white. The gravel driveway held snow. Now at 1:30pm it is 40 degrees and the snow on the grass is going away.

Winterizing-

I went out to the well hose today and set up a heater. I was nervous about the last couple of nights. Everything was fine, but the unheated well house had an inside temperature of 36 degrees. That isn’t anything that will damage plumbing, but I am always nervous about it. Anyway, the NWS is predicting a low of 23 and a high of 41 for Sunday and Monday. Once we are past that we are out of the woods for a while as far as freezing plumbing.

Everyone’s spot is a little different as far as winterizing plumbing. Most people will be ok. If the pipes are right out in the open a low of 23 might be getting a little risky. You know your situation better than I do.

Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Friday 10-16-2020

Greetings and welcome!

This morning finds me just a wee bit annoyed. I have a ton of fall work to do before winter comes. The last month has been insanely busy for me and I have managed less than 10 hours of outside work. This morning I was up early and I look outside and find this.Winter is here, and it is here to stay for a while.

Friends reported a few flurries in Florence County yesterday. I would call that the first visible snow flakes and this morning’s snow the first accumulating snow. The next benchmark is the first significant accumulation, snow of an inch or more that might need a shovel. That is likely to come tomorrow morning. Depending on where the rain/snow line lands we could see an inch or two tomorrow morning.

Here is a graphic from the Green Bay news channel 26 last night showing recent past first snow in Green Bay/Fox Valley.

I am not sure if this morning’s snow will survive the day or not. It is expected to be cloudy, and our high temperature is only expected to get to 42. Saturday’s high could hit 46, but it is downhill from there. Sunday and Monday could see a high near 38.

One reason that this annoys me so much is that today’s normal high temperature in Green Bay is 57, and our normal high temperature does not go below 50 until the beginning of November. Normally a 50 degree fall day sounds pretty decent to cut firewood and work on winterizing stuff. Today’s forecast of 42 and windy is a far cry from that. Right now at 8am it is 28 degrees. The other reason that this annoys me is that I am (very foolishly) crabby about the weather, one thing that I can’t do anything about.

It is time to worry about winterizing water systems. Last night had me nervous, but it only got down to 26. Sunday night’s low temperature is expected to be about 20, with Monday night’s low temperature about 24. Most of the (21) years that I have lived here I got away with not starting the heater in the well house until about gun deer season in the end of November. Last year that got crushed and it looks like this year is close behind. I will be working on the well house and the camper water system today as a high priority.

Looking at the 16 day GFS forecast model the early push of cold Arctic air is going to be with us right through the end of the month. There are several more chances of snow and a near zero chance of a high temperature over 55 degrees. It is showing a brief warm-up about the 30th, but that is for one day in advance of a storm.

This week was not a nice one for weather. We had several rain storms and a lot of really windy days. I don’t recall if it was yesterday or the day before, but there were reports of 45mph wind gusts. That whole mess has not been nice to the fall colors. There is still some color with the aspen and oaks, but any vulnerable leaves were stripped this week. We are past peak.

There is live music at the Rustic Inn Saturday from 5-9pm. That is the only event that I have at the moment.

That is all for me this morning. I am off to get some breakfast and get to work. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Saturday 10-10-20

A couple of quick updates..

There are a couple of events that I missed.

First up is a brat fry and flea market today at the Evergreen Mall in Crivitz just north of the Chevy dealer.

There is also a craft, vendor and horse show in Wausaukee..

Here is a quick pic of some of the aspen and oaks turning color yesterday. It was taken near Boat Landing 10 Rd (Fisher’s Camp) and Parkway Rd.

The day was windy yesterday but not too out of hand for the leaves.

The Asian lady beetles were out in force as were some gnats.

Have a great weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Friday October 9th, 2020

Greetings and welcome!

Last weekend brought some disappointment for people expecting beautiful leaves. A late week rain and wind storm completely stripped the early maples of their color. Before that  the colors were spectacular. It seems to happen every October. The early colors get really prime and a wind and rain storm strips them. One tree in my front yard (maybe an ash) went from just coming into full color to completely bare in one day.

The next wave of color is here. A lot of the aspen is turning yellow and a lot of other species are getting in on the act. there were some great fall color pix on FaceBook this morning. Annnnddd.. Yup you guessed it. We are not expecting a rain storm but we are expecting 15-20mph winds gusting to 33 today. This color show will hopefully be more durable in the wind because it is just coming into color, but I make no promises.

We do have a nice weekend ahead. Today we could hit 75, and Saturday and Sunday look to be about 60. The NWS has the next chance for rain Sunday night and Monday.

Normally this would be the weekend of the Crooked Lake Octoberfest. That has been canceled.

I do have one event for the weekend. The Near North Riders snowmobile/ATV club is having a brat fry at the Firelane Bar Saturday from 11-4. They will also be raffling off some meat and other prizes.

I did not see any other events for this weekend. That is unusual, but 2020 has been an unusual year.

Someone suggested that a trip to the Mountain fire tower would be a good weekend activity. I have been there at peak fall color and it is an amazing view. From what I have heard it is open.

There were a lot of bar and restaurant closures due to a recent surge in covid cases in the area. Most of those have re-opened.

That is about it for today. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB