East Coast Storm

[Julie Bove]

I am not getting too much info. on this on Facebook. Hope all the folks
here are fine and have plenty of food! I wanted to bake bread today but am
holding off on that and really any cooking because somebody in the house is
on a clear liquids diet so I am trying not to be cruel. It's 63 degrees
here. Weird weather all over I guess.

[Ed Pawlowski]

The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.

[Julie Bove]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message
news:HoadnQDT7_hrdlvJ...@giganews.com...

Ah. Well that is not good.

[Janet Wilder]

Stay safe. Stay warm. Make soup.

--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-26 20:37, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.

I was at the dog park today and we were expressing our sympathy for the
people in NY getting the horrible storm we were hearing about. Then I
watch the news and heard about the horrible road conditions, and they
showed them..... slush on the streets. We had worse here and thought
it was just normal.

If they were so upset about it then I don't know what they are going to
be like when the storm actually hits.

[Nancy Young]

You've never seen more disappointed people as all the news and
weather people out of NY realizing they have to fill the show with
covering this little snow. Oh how hopeful they sound when they
say it's not over yet!

nancy

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/27/2015 8:20 AM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> On Mon, 26 Jan 2015 20:37:58 -0500, Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> wrote:
>>
>> The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.
>

> I guess it has left the USA now because it is here. I am just keeping
> my fingers crossed that the power does not go down :( The wind is
> due to gust at 100km around lunchtime.
>

It may have moved into Canada, but it has not left the USA. Still
coming down heavy and will for a few more hours. Expecting another 6" or
so on the 14 we have now. It is supposed to start tapering off at noon.

[jmcquown]

Did everyone stock up on "white food"? ;)

Jill

[Nancy Young]

You got a good amount. Did you get a lot of wind? Naturally
I slept most of the night, but I didn't hear any wind and there's
no drifting. Pretty much a non-event, and I'm not complaining about
that.

nancy

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/27/2015 9:40 AM, Nancy Young wrote:

>>
>> It may have moved into Canada, but it has not left the USA. Still
>> coming down heavy and will for a few more hours. Expecting another 6" or
>> so on the 14 we have now. It is supposed to start tapering off at noon.
>
> You got a good amount. Did you get a lot of wind? Naturally
> I slept most of the night, but I didn't hear any wind and there's
> no drifting. Pretty much a non-event, and I'm not complaining about
> that.
>
> nancy
>

The winds were about 35 mph, less than the predicted 45 mph.

It was hyped as a storm of "historic proportions" but it is not in the
top five from what I can tell. But it has some hours to go. Plenty of
drifting around my house and yard. The garage roof has one at least 3
feet high on it. Minimal power outages.

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-27 8:36 AM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> I just remarked the same to a friend and reminded her about when
> Lastman said he was calling out the military :) Toranna's never lived
> that one down.


I do not live in Toronto but didn't see a problem with calling in the
military to help out with a natural disaster. It wasn't like they called
them in to use the streets. They needed them and their all terrain
vehicles that went on emergency calls in areas ambulances could not get
too. We spend a lot of money on the military, buying the equipment and
training them to use it. It makes perfect sense to put them to use, to
give them a chance to get some practical experience and make use of
their logistical skills.

I don't understand why people try to make such an issue of Toronto
asking for assistance from the military in that situation but not about
them being called in to help with the ice storm damage in eastern
Ontario and Quebec. There were only 400 troops called in to help in
Toronto. There were 16,000 sent to deal with the ice storm.


The only issue I had about the ice storm was guys like a couple of
reservists I worked with how wouldn't go when their unit was sent. They
whined about work commitments. Those two were always talking about their
reserve work and all the neat equipment they, their winter camping
experiences etc. I expressed my feelings about the rest of us paying
taxes to buy their equipment and paying them while they were trained,
and how they had let us all down, that they should have been kicked out
and replaced by someone useful.

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-27 8:20 AM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Jan 2015 20:37:58 -0500, Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> wrote:
>>

>> The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.
>

> I guess it has left the USA now because it is here. I am just keeping
> my fingers crossed that the power does not go down :( The wind is
> due to gust at 100km around lunchtime.
>

Good luck. Our east coast is famous for it's lovely winter weather.

I have been looking out my window. It is snowing. We have at least twice
as much snow as I saw on the ground int he video coverage of NYC last
night. No one is alarmed. The schools are opened. People are driving.

I guess it wasn't really crying wolf. When there was warnings of a
weather disaster it makes good sense to be prepared for the first. The
governor was right about how just a few vehicles can screw things up for
millions of people.

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-27 9:04 AM, Nancy Young wrote:

>> If they were so upset about it then I don't know what they are going to
>> be like when the storm actually hits.
>
> You've never seen more disappointed people as all the news and
> weather people out of NY realizing they have to fill the show with
> covering this little snow. Oh how hopeful they sound when they
> say it's not over yet!

On a related note..... I am pretty disappointed with CNN these days. Are
they suffering from some sort of budgetary cuts that they can only
handle one news story at a time. Last month it was the Air Malaysia
crash. They had almost non stop coverage for two weeks until the Charlie
Hebdo killings and the manhunt for the shooters. Then the snowmageddon
.... nonstop all last night.

[jmcquown]

Early warning (even if crying wolf) is a good thing. Try living in the
mid-South US where they have never heard of (okay, I exaggerate, but
they don't have) snow plows and have no idea how to handle snow, much
less ice. When I lived in the Memphis area, at the slightest hint of
snow everything shut down. Toilet paper flew off the store shelves. It
was pretty comical.

I went to work one morning when there was about 2 inches of snow on the
ground. No big deal but the roads were pretty much sheets of ice. I
dressed prepared for possible road/car problems: I wore a pair of black
jeans. I got to work just fine. Sure enough, half the staff didn't
show up. Rather than worry about that, my idiot manager chided me for
wearing *jeans*. "You know that's not allowed." I looked around at the
empty cubicles, then looked at her and said, "You're lucky I showed up."

Most people who don't live where it snows every year don't have any idea
how to drive in it. I don't know why but I do know how to drive in snow
and icy road conditions. First rule, don't hit the brakes! ;) I don't
miss having to deal with it.

Jill

[Ophelia]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message

news:nLudnU_XUPlLAlrJ...@giganews.com...

Reports we got was that you were going to have 3ft of snow!! Do report
back?


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[jmcquown]

The "news" is a joke. After the State of the Union address the talking
heads seemed more interested in what Michelle Obama was wearing. Oh
look, it's the same top that actress Juliana Margulies wore on the TV
show 'The Good Wife'! Who the hell cares?! I don't know if they
commented on all the men wearing trendy purple ties.

Jill

[Tom Del Rosso]

Several times in my life we got more than 24" and they didn't arrest people
for being on the street. This time the Sandinistas declared marshall law
and we got 7".

--

[notbob]

On 2015-01-27, jmcquown <j_mc...@comcast.net> wrote:

> they don't have) snow plows and have no idea how to handle snow, much
> less ice.

Not jes The South. I was in a blizzard in Buffalo NY and those ppl
couldn't drive fer spit. Icy streets reduced traffic to pray and
spray driving. Took me 3 hrs to go 6 blocks.

nb

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-27 11:36 AM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 10:13:39 -0500, Dave Smith
> <adavid...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I do not live in Toronto but didn't see a problem with calling in the
>> military to help out with a natural disaster. It wasn't like they called
>> them in to use the streets.
>

> The problem was that it was a very minor storm :)

It wasn't exactly minor. They had had a series of storms and over a
period of two weeks they had 114 cm of snow... about 3 feet. That is
not minor in a city. In a rural area you can plow it over to the
shoulders, but you can''t do that on narrow city streets. The city was
struggling to keep major routes cleared but there lots of smaller
streets that they were unable to get to. They used the military and its
Bisons to provide emergency services when other vehicles could not get
to them.

>
>> I don't understand why people try to make such an issue of Toronto
>> asking for assistance from the military in that situation but not about
>> them being called in to help with the ice storm damage in eastern
>> Ontario and Quebec. There were only 400 troops called in to help in
>> Toronto. There were 16,000 sent to deal with the ice storm.
>

> The ice storm blanketed four provinces, nobody had power, it was
> urgent urgent to get round the houses and get elderly people out
> before they died of cold. That was just the beginning of the urgency.
> I know in Halifax apart from all the ice there were so many old, huge
> trees brought down, across roads or worse yet through houses. The
> whole thing was a terrible mess. Many died here one way and another.

Toronto is not entitled to 400 troops in an emergency situation, but a
smaller number of people over a larger area are entitled to 40 times
that number? I think that the millions of taxpayers in Toronto are
entitled to something for their money.




> Anyway, so far so good here. They were correct the winds are just
> beginning to really zoom, snow is flying horizontally past my window.
> Now what it is going to be like up in Cheticamp, I can't imagine :)
> They reckoned their gusts would run 120+.

Ouch. I would imagine that Cheticamp would be desolate enough at any
time in the winter, never mind a blizzard.
>

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Jan 2015 20:37:58 -0500, Ed Pawlowski <e...@snet.net> wrote:
>>

>> The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.
>

> I guess it has left the USA now because it is here. I am just keeping
> my fingers crossed that the power does not go down :( The wind is
> due to gust at 100km around lunchtime.
>

It is still snowing here. When I awoke, late (I obviously was going
nowhere) and looked out the window, the snow looked quite innocent, with
tiny flakes flakes drifting... I was going to say down, but they were
dancing all over the place. For a moment, I thought this must be a good
sign, that there couldn't be that much snow on the ground. But when I
got to the point where I could gaze out at the bird feeders and toward
the road, I was greeted by the appalling sight of A LOT of the dreadful
white stuff. I had decided NOT to start dealing with this at a time
that would guarantee that I would get soaking wet, so I haven't explored
yet. Instead I am pondering the most-logical approach. At least it
looks like the thoughtful plowing contractor has been on the job,
because we don't have a lot of compacted snow at the end of the driveway.

I will add that my main preparations were to get two more bird feeders
and a lot of bird food and suet, so my birds would be happy even if I
couldn't get to the feeders for a couple of days. Some idiot at one of
the places where I bought bird food told me I should take in my feeders
because the birds wouldn't be out. I am glad I was skeptical, because
the birds are very much in evidence.

[Jean B.]

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> It may have moved into Canada, but it has not left the USA. Still
> coming down heavy and will for a few more hours. Expecting another 6" or
> so on the 14 we have now. It is supposed to start tapering off at noon.

It looks like we have the predicted 2-3 feet of snow. Ugh. I am short.
I am going to have to dig forward. At least it looks like the drifts
are not against the door.

[Jean B.]

jmcquown wrote:
> Did everyone stock up on "white food"? ;)
>
> Jill

We always have that "white food". I did my normal shopping for people
food, but did get a few more bars "just in case". However, the range in
my daughter's area is gas and can be lit even if the electricity is off,
so bars weren't even necessary. I baked a bit last night and plan to
bake banana-something (dunno what LC "starch" approach I will take) and
corn (or "corn") bread today, the latter to go with chili. Chili, of
course, is a perfect dish for a day like today.

(LC possibilities are hazelnut, almond, or pecan bread, or a combination
thereof.)

[sockmo...@comcast.net]

It's 2:15 pm in Southern NH, so far we've had over two feet of powdery snow and it's still blowing hard. Because it's so light and powdery, it isn't heavy enough to take down tree limbs and power lines, at least not yet. Big storms without power outages are kind of nice once in a while. My husband's work actually called off work today, first time since he started working there in 1968. Even though I'm enjoying a nice quiet day inside with hubby and pets, in a few hours we will start the clean up of an 80' long driveway and digging out our vehicles. We will be pulling out the heating pads and Bengay tonight.

Denise in NH

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/27/2015 10:36 AM, Ophelia wrote:
>
>
> "Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message


>>

>> It may have moved into Canada, but it has not left the USA. Still coming
>> down heavy and will for a few more hours. Expecting another 6" or so on
>> the 14 we have now. It is supposed to start tapering off at noon.
>
> Reports we got was that you were going to have 3ft of snow!! Do report
> back?

Just came in from clearing some of the snow. We have about 20" and it
is still coming down a little bit. Supposed to be light snow for
another couple of hours. We'll probably get another inch or two. I've
not heard of anyone with 3 feet yet.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/27/2015 11:41 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:

>>
>> The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.
>
> Several times in my life we got more than 24" and they didn't arrest people
> for being on the street. This time the Sandinistas declared marshall law
> and we got 7".
>

The state said no driving from 9PM yesterday. Opened it up at 2PM
today. If you got caught, it was a $92 fine.

[sf]

On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 09:04:15 -0500, Nancy Young
<rjynlyo...@verizon.net> wrote:
>
> You've never seen more disappointed people as all the news and
> weather people out of NY realizing they have to fill the show with
> covering this little snow. Oh how hopeful they sound when they
> say it's not over yet!
>

It seemed like it was 24/7 gloom and doom is on the way type coverage.
Wasn't there any other news (besides Charlie Hebdo, of course)?

Then according to what I heard on the car radio last night, the
European weather model had put the storm farther out at sea, so they
predicted the East coast wouldn't be as walloped as our weather model
thought. That news was coupled with the news of a huge upgrade in
American weather predicting computers, so oopsies like this one will
be less likely to happen again.


--
A kitchen without a cook is just a room

[Jean B.]

I will try to get out and measure ere it settles too much, although,
with drifing, it'll be hard to find a representative area.

[Ophelia]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message

news:3-adncEKgLW_clrJ...@giganews.com...

Let us hope not!!!


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> I have feeders on my balcony and there has been a lineup nearly all
> day with squatters on the rail and feeders occupied! Ground feeding
> birds find snow very difficult and need the extra. I put out lots of
> suet to try and keep them warm.
>
Same here. They really NEED to have their food. I can't imagine why
this guy said what he did. I sure hope he didn't convince anyone to put
away their feeders.

I do have a question, which someone might be able to answer. One is
often told (or reads) that birds need water in the winter. BUT how on
earth did the birds survive before man started putting out water for
them? Obviously the birds DID survive without man putting it out. What
am I missing here?

(And I do view food differently because I have been feeding the birds
and figure they make their nest near sources of food and thus become
reliant on those sources.)

[Becca EmaNymton]

Our high today was 79 degrees (F), and I got recipes via email from
Taste of Southern, and they said, "Whether you're covered in snow or
not, this weeks recipe will warm you up on a cold, brisk, winter day."
They write as if the entire country is covered in snow.

Becca

[jmcquown]

On 1/27/2015 6:00 PM, Becca EmaNymton wrote:
>
> Our high today was 79 degrees (F), and I got recipes via email from
> Taste of Southern, and they said, "Whether you're covered in snow or
> not, this weeks recipe will warm you up on a cold, brisk, winter day."
> They write as if the entire country is covered in snow.
>
> Becca

The weather people here talk as if 60°F is freezing. Bundle up! Make a
pot of soup! Uh, I make soup in the summer, too. But just to let
everyone know, it's not cold!

Jill

[Bryan-TGWWW]

On Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 10:36:53 AM UTC-6, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:
>
>
> When things were back to normal I saw the story of a Quebec small town
> that was heart breaking. I sent a cheque to the mayor and I guess
> many others did too. I had a lovely letter many months later saying
> how touched they were to find non-Quebeckers would try to help.

I had never seen Quebeckers spelled with a "k" before, so I looked it up,
and it seems that is perfectly proper when referring to English speakers.
Somehow I had gotten it into my head that these days it was politically
correct to call all Quebecers, "Quebecois," which in Midwestern vernacular
would be pronounced Kuh-beck'-ees (I know it's keh-beck-kwah').

St. Louis has French roots, being named after King Louis IX, and there is
a large creek near here called the Courtois Creek. It is pronounced,
coat'-away. It's funny, the corruptions of names. There is Rolla, MO,
named after Raleigh, NC. Some settlers were from Raleigh, and they
pronounced the name, roll'-uh, so...

Cabool, MO is named after Kabul, Afghanistan, and is pronounced, kuh-bool',
and Cairo, IL is pronounced like the corn syrup, care'-oh.

--Bryan

[Julie Bove]

"Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote in message
news:ciqisr...@mid.individual.net...

Before we built roads and houses like we have now, there were likely not
only more natural sources of food but sources of water too! Things like a
fallen log could hold water in the cracks of the bark. And naturally shady
areas tend to hold moisture.

I see now not only why we got that rat under our house but why my neighbor
has a mud slide in front of his house. He did clean up the mud on Sunday
only to have it come right back. Not only did he remove every bit of
vegetation from his back yard but he totally leveled the land as well. The
entire back yard is mud now. And it is on higher ground than the front yard
that slopes towards the street. I also think there still is a broken pipe
there that needs to be fixed because I had that problem as did the person on
the other side of me. And we had over 24 hours of dry weather, yet the mud
slide came back.

[Tom Del Rosso]

In NY City it was $300. And it's even more ludicrous because the snow was
only a few inches at that time. They wouldn't have pardoned anyone when the
forecast was proven wrong.

We had a blizzard once with almost 3 feet on the day before my brother's
wedding. During the storm we went out to dig out the cars and move them in
preparation for the next morning. These Sandinistas would have had the
wedding party arrested. The basis of their philosophy is that people can't
take care of themselves and make their own decisions.

--

[Bryan-TGWWW]

On Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 6:20:08 PM UTC-6, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> My French is Parisian French, so I don't have a lot in common with
> Quebec French, which IMO is more a patois.
>
> The one that really got to me when we first came here was people, in
> referring driving to the USA, would suggest crossing at Callus.
> Finally after combing the map I realised they meant Calais.

If they were being totally honest, I think even most Mainers themselves
would agree that they talk funny.

--Bryan

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-28 9:06 AM, Tom Del Rosso wrote:

> In NY City it was $300. And it's even more ludicrous because the snow was
> only a few inches at that time. They wouldn't have pardoned anyone when the
> forecast was proven wrong.

As it turned out, there was only a fraction of the amount of snow that
had been forecast. It was a good idea to be proactive.

>
> We had a blizzard once with almost 3 feet on the day before my brother's
> wedding. During the storm we went out to dig out the cars and move them in
> preparation for the next morning. These Sandinistas would have had the
> wedding party arrested. The basis of their philosophy is that people can't
> take care of themselves and make their own decisions.

Some people can't. It takes just a few of those to screw things up for
those who may have had a chance of getting through if the others had not
got stuck and blocked the roads for everyone else. The government has a
responsibility to keep roads clear enough for emergency vehicles to get
through.

[Tom Del Rosso]

Some people can't make their own decisions, so no one can be permitted to do
so. That's a great campaign slogan. I wish you would run on that, but the
left never explicitely says what they really think in a political campaign.

You don't seem to understand that we've had _actual_ 24-36 inch snow
accumulation without punitive action, when people were less inclined to
tolerate being told that they don't know how to take care of themselves.

The only thing that _actually_ prevented anyone from getting anywhere,
including ambulances, was unions. That was in the storm of 3 or 4 years ago
when the NYC sanitation men were threatening strike and they flexed their
muscles by driving around in their trucks with the plows raised, and
paramedics had to pull stretchers over the snow like sleds.

So eliminating government unions, which even FDR refused to allow and didn't
exist until JFK, would save lives in the world of reality. Outlawing all
unions, as other forms of monopoly already have been, would have increased
our GDP by 60 trillion over the past century, but one thing at a time.

--

[Ophelia]

This is the news we are receiving ...

Massachusetts, Connecticut and Long Island had 3 feet of snow and icy floods

Plenty more here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2929967/New-England-left-dig-Juno-three-feet-snow-icy-floods-pummel-Massachusetts-Connecticut-Long-Island-way.html


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Nunya Bidnits]

"Nancy Young" wrote in message news:DVMxw.443485$8R7.1...@fx12.am4...

On 1/26/2015 10:20 PM, Dave Smith wrote:

> On 2015-01-26 20:37, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> The big snow starts after midnight. Expecting 24", maybe more.
>
>

> I was at the dog park today and we were expressing our sympathy for the
> people in NY getting the horrible storm we were hearing about. Then I
> watch the news and heard about the horrible road conditions, and they
> showed them..... slush on the streets. We had worse here and thought
> it was just normal.
>
> If they were so upset about it then I don't know what they are going to
> be like when the storm actually hits.

You've never seen more disappointed people as all the news and
weather people out of NY realizing they have to fill the show with
covering this little snow. Oh how hopeful they sound when they
say it's not over yet!

nancy

==================

It was the usual news reporter abuse-fest. Producers in any area affected by
major bad weather like to force their reporters outside to stand in the
middle of the crap and tell us all about it. Same thing if it's too hot...
they go fry an egg on the sidewalk or some other stunt. My father was a
newsman, radio host, and editorial writer and he loved to make fun of this
driving need news program producers have to make their reporters look
totally stupid while totally miserable.

MartyB

[Nunya Bidnits]

"Dave Smith" wrote in message news:Bx8yw.613465$Mq4.1...@fx25.iad...

----------------------------================--------------------------

I've always wanted a big rubber truck for those occasions where incompetent
drivers who should be at home render themselves helpless at everyone's
expense. I figure I could just push them into a snowdrift with no body
damage to the truck. ;-)

MartyB

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/28/2015 1:44 PM, Ophelia wrote:
> This is the news we are receiving ...
>
> Massachusetts, Connecticut and Long Island had 3 feet of snow and icy
> floods
>
> Plenty more here:
>
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2929967/New-England-left-dig-Juno-three-feet-snow-icy-floods-pummel-Massachusetts-Connecticut-Long-Island-way.html
>
>
>

You got better coverage than our paper here. They mentioned Auburn MA
getting 36". That is about 20 miles north of me, a palce I go to
frequently. We eded up with 26". I got the rest of my driveway and
cars cleared this moening.

I closed our work today too. A few people would not have made it and
the plowing was not completed yet. We have our own pickup with plow and
this was just too much to keep up with.

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-28 2:58 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> I closed our work today too. A few people would not have made it and
> the plowing was not completed yet. We have our own pickup with plow and
> this was just too much to keep up with.

Buffalo often gets that much and the the residents don't even blink.
When it gets up to 36" they think of it as a significant snowfall.

[jmcquown]

My occasional neighbors (they're seasonal residents) arrived in South
Carolina from wherever MA a couple of days ahead of the storm. It sure
sounds to me like they just didn't want to deal with it. Then again,
they're in their 80's.

Jill

[Ophelia]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message

news:atGdnUuaVOfholTJ...@giganews.com...

Are you in one of the the affected areas mentioned in that report? The
pictures are horrific!

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/28/2015 3:06 PM, jmcquown wrote:

> My occasional neighbors (they're seasonal residents) arrived in South
> Carolina from wherever MA a couple of days ahead of the storm. It sure
> sounds to me like they just didn't want to deal with it. Then again,
> they're in their 80's.
>
> Jill

Good for them. I have a 20' walk in front of the house from the
driveway, then a couple of steps to the door. It will take me 20
minutes to clear it. I figured if a kid going by wanted to do it, I'd
pay 20 bucks. Not easy work, but still a good hourly rate. A bit
later. there was a knock at the door. Two teenagers offered to shovel
it for me. I asked how much and they wanted $25 apiece. No thanks.
I'll do it later. I clear it for safety as we never use that door
anyway.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Just deep snow, no damage here.

[Ophelia]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message

news:roOdnS1yGo6j21TJ...@giganews.com...

Good! Hard work to clear it though, eh?

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-28 3:21 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> Good for them. I have a 20' walk in front of the house from the
> driveway, then a couple of steps to the door. It will take me 20
> minutes to clear it. I figured if a kid going by wanted to do it, I'd
> pay 20 bucks. Not easy work, but still a good hourly rate. A bit
> later. there was a knock at the door. Two teenagers offered to shovel
> it for me. I asked how much and they wanted $25 apiece. No thanks.
> I'll do it later. I clear it for safety as we never use that door anyway.

You gotta love the predatorial supply and demand price gouging. When I
was a kid you would be lucky to get 50 cents to shovel a double drive
and the sidewalk.

I have about 25 feet of sidewalk and a parking area that will fit 6 cars
and we are on an unopened road allowance that goes past us to the
neighbour's place which is about 100 yards further from the road. With
the old neighbour, I would get out some time in the morning and shovel
my drive, parking are and the lane up to the road. I used a shovel if it
was light or the snow blower if there was enough snow to warrant it. He
had a tractor mounted snow blower and he would do the rest. If he was
out before me he would to the lane and part of the parking area, staying
clear of the cars to avoid accidental damage.

The new neighbour has a friend with a plow who comes by and does the
lane and his circular driveway. The times we have had snow at night the
lane was plowed before I was up for breakfast.

[Nancy Young]

On 1/28/2015 3:21 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> Good for them. I have a 20' walk in front of the house from the
> driveway, then a couple of steps to the door. It will take me 20
> minutes to clear it. I figured if a kid going by wanted to do it, I'd
> pay 20 bucks. Not easy work, but still a good hourly rate. A bit
> later. there was a knock at the door. Two teenagers offered to shovel
> it for me. I asked how much and they wanted $25 apiece. No thanks.
> I'll do it later. I clear it for safety as we never use that door anyway.

We park our car at the end of the driveway, then shovel a path down
the sidewalk path over to the car. If I can get to the car, I don't
see any point to clearing the whole driveway. I also try to make
a path across the grass on both sides for the mail carrier to go
house to house.

nancy, lazy

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-01-28 5:17 PM, Nancy Young wrote:

>
> We park our car at the end of the driveway, then shovel a path down
> the sidewalk path over to the car. If I can get to the car, I don't
> see any point to clearing the whole driveway. I also try to make
> a path across the grass on both sides for the mail carrier to go
> house to house.
>

Why? I once saw the post office doing a time and motion study. The mail
carrier was doing his regular route while someone with a stop watch was
timing him. Rather than walking along at a brisk rate and walking
across people's lawns, he was dawdling along and going up and down
driveways. If their routes are established based on those studies, just
clean the driveway and sidewalk.

[Nancy Young]

I don't have to, and it's not as if my neighbors connect my path,
but if I can make their walk a little easier, why not. They
walk house to house through the snow unless it's really deep, not
up and down the driveways.

They already walk miles a day, they don't go up and down the
driveways if they can cut across.

nancy

[Ophelia]

"Nancy Young" <rjynlyo...@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:jedyw.1701041$_31.9...@fx13.fr7...

Is your area suffering such large snowfalls?


--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/28/2015 5:17 PM, Nancy Young wrote:

>
> We park our car at the end of the driveway, then shovel a path down
> the sidewalk path over to the car. If I can get to the car, I don't
> see any point to clearing the whole driveway. I also try to make
> a path across the grass on both sides for the mail carrier to go
> house to house.
>
> nancy, lazy

I clear it all. One reason, I can park 8' from the house using the
family room door. I don't see any reason to schlep a dozen bags of
groceries returning from our monthly shopping trip. I also want it
clear for any emergency, delivery, whatever. I have a remote starter
so the car is warming up when I get to it.

We used to do it all by hand, but now it is machine done. I'm very glad
we did that a few years back.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 1/28/2015 5:51 PM, Dave Smith wrote:

> Why? I once saw the post office doing a time and motion study. The mail
> carrier was doing his regular route while someone with a stop watch was
> timing him. Rather than walking along at a brisk rate and walking
> across people's lawns, he was dawdling along and going up and down
> driveways. If their routes are established based on those studies, just
> clean the driveway and sidewalk.
>
>

Kind of funny watching those studies following the carrier. They follow
the rules exactly. Now they keep tabs on them electronically. My
mailbox lid has a bar code label inside and the carrier must scan it
whether we have mail or not. My box is the first on that section of the
route.

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:47:38 -0500, "Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote:
>
>
>>>
>> Same here. They really NEED to have their food. I can't imagine why
>> this guy said what he did. I sure hope he didn't convince anyone to put
>> away their feeders.
>>
>> I do have a question, which someone might be able to answer. One is
>> often told (or reads) that birds need water in the winter. BUT how on
>> earth did the birds survive before man started putting out water for
>> them? Obviously the birds DID survive without man putting it out. What
>> am I missing here?
>

> They drink from puddles, I have seen them doing that and I think they
> get moisture off blades of grass as well when times are hard.

But in the winter, puddles are apt to be laced with salt. And the
grass, at least now, is covered with snow. Obviously birds did survive
the winter. Hmmm. Maybe the salt complicates things?

>>
>> (And I do view food differently because I have been feeding the birds
>> and figure they make their nest near sources of food and thus become
>> reliant on those sources.)
>

> I am certain the old trees near me get more woodpeckers because I feed
> during the summer as well and it's a short flight between my balcony
> and the trees. The woodpeckers are probably my favourite, they become
> the most friendly and by mid-summer do not fly off just because I go
> out there.

I love my woodpeckers! I have two feeders and foods that they
particularly like: blueberry pellets (which never attracted
blueberries) and a fruit-nut blend. Both of these are in peanut
feeders. Now I can't find more of those feeders. The ones I DO see are
just wire mesh. The ones I have are metal with round holes in it.

[Jean B.]

That's gross.

Re the birds and water, sure. But the moist areas are covered with
snow. I don't know what the birds are doing, but they survive. (Or
maybe I just don't see how many don't survive, which I am sure is the
case in general.)

[Jean B.]

Ophelia wrote:
> This is the news we are receiving ...
>
> Massachusetts, Connecticut and Long Island had 3 feet of snow and icy
> floods
>
> Plenty more here:
>
> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2929967/New-England-left-dig-Juno-three-feet-snow-icy-floods-pummel-Massachusetts-Connecticut-Long-Island-way.html
>
>

We are inland, so we didn't get floods, although coastal areas did.

I can attest to having A LOT of snow. I was afraid we would not be
capable of shoveling what needed to be cleared, but somehow we did. I
was glad to see that I could shovel for 5+ hours straight and not have a
heart attack. I did vary my approaches whenever I got tired, and that
seemed to work.

Tomorrow, I will hack away at some of the peaks, widen some paths, etc.
because more snow is coming on Friday and again... I don't even want to
think about it.

I will say that at first I was alternating between a walkway and making
a path to my front birdfeeders. (Someone else made the path to the back
ones.) I could see that one of the front feeders was low and knew that
one of the back feeders must be on the verge of emptiness.

[Nancy Young]

On 1/28/2015 8:57 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 1/28/2015 5:17 PM, Nancy Young wrote:
>
>>
>> We park our car at the end of the driveway, then shovel a path down
>> the sidewalk path over to the car. If I can get to the car, I don't
>> see any point to clearing the whole driveway. I also try to make
>> a path across the grass on both sides for the mail carrier to go
>> house to house.
>>
>> nancy, lazy
>
> I clear it all. One reason, I can park 8' from the house using the
> family room door. I don't see any reason to schlep a dozen bags of
> groceries returning from our monthly shopping trip.

For whatever reason, that doesn't bother me at all. Still,
I got a pop up bag from Costco last month, it's amazing how
much stuff fits in that if I'm trying to save a trip to the
car. Used it today, as a matter of fact.

> I also want it
> clear for any emergency, delivery, whatever. I have a remote starter
> so the car is warming up when I get to it.
>
> We used to do it all by hand, but now it is machine done. I'm very glad
> we did that a few years back.

You do have more wintery weather than I do, for sure. We sometimes
get a lot of snow but many years, not much.

nancy

[Julie Bove]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message

news:lK6dnZa6IMEKDlTJ...@giganews.com...

We don't often get snow here but it is necessary to clear it all. If we
don't then whatever is left there will melt during the day, then as the sun
sets, form ice. I suppose if you did little bits you could just put down
ice melt but removing it all is the best thing to do.

I was rather amazed when we lived in NY, MA and PA that we didn't get that
melting like we do here. We could actually clear a path there and it would
remain clear until the big melt occurred. Our temps. just fluctuate too
much here. Has been in the 60's during the day. Is 38 right now which I
think is the coldest it will be for a week or so.

[Julie Bove]

"Ed Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote in message

news:Ib-dnVhep8GiPVTJ...@giganews.com...

Our street is apparently one where they take their lunch break. The mail
truck will pull over and stay in the same spot for about an hour. You can
see the mail person eating in there.

When I lived in what was at the time referred to as North Seattle, the mail
man would at times go into my neighbor's house. And he would stay in there
for a while. We timed him once. 20 minutes. We had no clue why but you
can imagine the stories that circulated. That neighbor was a really odd
duck. She once complained about my sun bathing. This was many years ago
when people still commonly did this. We had a tall, wood fence separating
our properties and you couldn't really see through it unless you put your
eye close to the cracks between the boards and concentrated on trying to see
through. Still, she claimed that I might be turning on her husband if he
were to see me. That was also the area where I put in a small vegetable
garden and she complained when I watered the vegetables if so much as a few
drops of water went through to fence to her side.

[Julie Bove]

"Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote in message

news:citmbe...@mid.individual.net...

> lucreti...@fl.it wrote:
>> On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:47:38 -0500, "Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>
>>> Same here. They really NEED to have their food. I can't imagine why
>>> this guy said what he did. I sure hope he didn't convince anyone to put
>>> away their feeders.
>>>
>>> I do have a question, which someone might be able to answer. One is
>>> often told (or reads) that birds need water in the winter. BUT how on
>>> earth did the birds survive before man started putting out water for
>>> them? Obviously the birds DID survive without man putting it out. What
>>> am I missing here?
>>
>> They drink from puddles, I have seen them doing that and I think they
>> get moisture off blades of grass as well when times are hard.
>
> But in the winter, puddles are apt to be laced with salt. And the grass,
> at least now, is covered with snow. Obviously birds did survive the
> winter. Hmmm. Maybe the salt complicates things?

Not here where salt is never used. And did they use salt in the old days?
I don't really know. I just either read this or saw it on TV. Can't
remember now as I saw things about ponds in several places. But they were
talking about man made ponds in your back yard and they said that the trick
to keeping them free of ice in the winter was to put tennis balls in the
water. They claimed that the balls would move around and help prevent ice
from forming at the top. I suppose this might only work if you lived in an
area where you didn't get an extended deep freeze and perhaps if the water
was deep enough.

>>>
>>> (And I do view food differently because I have been feeding the birds
>>> and figure they make their nest near sources of food and thus become
>>> reliant on those sources.)
>>
>> I am certain the old trees near me get more woodpeckers because I feed
>> during the summer as well and it's a short flight between my balcony
>> and the trees. The woodpeckers are probably my favourite, they become
>> the most friendly and by mid-summer do not fly off just because I go
>> out there.
>
> I love my woodpeckers! I have two feeders and foods that they
> particularly like: blueberry pellets (which never attracted blueberries)
> and a fruit-nut blend. Both of these are in peanut feeders. Now I can't
> find more of those feeders. The ones I DO see are just wire mesh. The
> ones I have are metal with round holes in it.

Oh man. I have wood siding so I do not like them at all. I had one peck
on. I spoke sharply to it and told it to go elsewhere. It did! But I
still hear them around here.

My parents were not so lucky. Their house was targeted several times by
woodpeckers and they did a lot of damage to it. In the end they had to hire
a company to put stuff on the house to scare them off. The things that my
dad bought and tried did not work. What they eventually put up were some
bright, silver things that spun in the wind. They had to be put on every
corner of the house and more in the areas where the woodpeckers often
pecked, which was outside what used to be my bedroom window.

[Jean B.]

I wouldn't like that either, but my woodpeckers are busy at my feeders!

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> It was still snowing off and on yesterday, today is lovely but more
> forecast for tomorrow evening.
>
Yes. And here, more Sunday night and Monday.

[Ed Pawlowski]

On 2/1/2015 8:03 AM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> I just heard that forecast - urrrggghh
>

Not just the amount, but the timing. Heaviest will be drive time in the
morning for us and will stop a couple of hours after the drive home. My
solution is to stay home tomorrow. I take a day a week off anyway so
tomorrow will be it.

[Dave Smith]

On 2015-02-01 12:43 PM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> Good plan! I pride myself on being an excellent driver, I also have
> snow tires but you meet people without snow tires and idiots on side
> streets who pull out forcing you to apply the brakes in a stupid
> manner to avoid them. One thing they have just done that should
> sharpen up the younger idiots, fine for being on a cell phone or
> texting went up to $250 and three demerit points on your licence.
> Three is a lot when five will have you off the road :)
>


One night last year I was out snowblowing the driveway. It was quite
late at night. I live on a dark country road. A car booting along. The
guy was speeding and had the interior lights on so that he could text
while driving, though I just caught a brief glimpse of it because he had
only cleaned a little bit of the snow and ice off his windshield and
side windows.

[Pico Rico]

"Dave Smith" <adavid...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:3qwzw.1588584$yK.5...@fx14.iad...

He didn't need to clean much snow and ice off his windshield and side
windows, because he wasn't looking anyway.

[sockmo...@comcast.net]

For bird water I use a heated birdbath mounted on the rail of my back porch and an electric dog water bowl on the ground for ground birds and squirrels. We've had single digit temps for quite a while, with wind chill of -25° predicted for tomorrow along with another 12-18" of snow to go with the 30" from last week. It's a tough winter for birds this year. I keep 4 feeders of suet filled at all times for my woodpeckers, Downy, Hairy, Pileated, Flickers, Red-Bellied, etc. and 4 feeder of sunflower seeds too.

Denise in NH

[jmcquown]

On 2/1/2015 7:52 PM, lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> I don't have any power out on the balcony with which to heat water for
> the birds and it would be disastrous to leave the door open enough to
> run a lead out. I was amazed this afternoon to see a Pileated
> Woodpecker fly in, he looked so huge compared to my regular Downy
> Woodpeckers.
>
Pileated woodpeckers are big! They're so pretty. I usually see and
hear them in the spring.

Jill

[Ophelia]

<sockmo...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:0435bc30-51cc-4443...@googlegroups.com...

We don't have the same birds, but we keep our feeders full too. Just now we
have dried mealyworms out too because some of the birds are beginning
to nest.

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Thomas]

On Sunday, February 1, 2015 at 7:47:28 PM UTC-5, sockmo...@comcast.net wrote:
> For bird water I use a heated birdbath mounted on the rail of my back porch and an electric dog water bowl on the ground for ground birds and squirrels.

I never thought about water. I get 35 pound bags of seed from Tractor Supply for ten bucks. I have some shrubs that are semi protected from the snow. I always toss a few scoops there for the squirrels and such.
8-10 inches overnight, a few more to go. Going down to 5f later.

Pennsylvania

[Brooklyn1]

On Mon, 2 Feb 2015 07:45:31 -0800 (PST), Thomas <cano...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

In winter I put out a second heated pet water bowl away from my feral
cat heated water bowl, in warm weather there are plenty of ponds,
creeks, and streams here. I make up a 50/50 mix of premium bird seed
and cracked corn, I go through several hundred pounds a year. I also
put out in-shell peanuts that I buy in 50# sacks for $40, the blue
jays love them. I get squirrels but not a lot. I get possums too,
and all kinds of critters, many I rarely see as most all critters are
nocternal, but they all need to eat... much better than giving
donations to so called charities, those ALL steal, critters have no
pockets. I offer lots of snacks to the deer, the Canada geese, wild
turkeys, mallards, crows too... nothing edible goes in my trash. I
used to have very nice bird feeders but the black bears wrecked them,
so now I feed birds directly on a wooden table on my deck. I do put
out suet blocks on fence posts, and in summer I put out a hummingbird
feeder.

Catskills

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:
> On Sat, 31 Jan 2015 23:21:02 -0500, "Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote:
>

> I just heard that forecast - urrrggghh
>

Someone here said we were having snow from Saturday through Tuesday
(!!!), but that is not what I am hearing from other sources. Thank
goodness the snow tonight and tomorrow morning will only be 3 or so
inches. BUT good luck to everyone here who is experiencing all this snow.

[Jean B.]

I hope that strategy continues to work for you!

[Jean B.]

Idiot!

[Jean B.]

Oh! I will have to hunt for such a dog water bowl. I have so many
birds, including many types of woodpeckers. I was getting yet more seed
today. Unfortunately they are out of the REALLY big bags of one of my
mainstays.

The holes in my newest sunflower feeder are too large for the seeds I
can find closeby. I need to switch feeders or find yet another one. In
the meantime, other critters get the spillage.

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Feb 2015 16:47:20 -0800 (PST), sockmo...@comcast.net
> wrote:
>

> I don't have any power out on the balcony with which to heat water for
> the birds and it would be disastrous to leave the door open enough to
> run a lead out. I was amazed this afternoon to see a Pileated
> Woodpecker fly in, he looked so huge compared to my regular Downy
> Woodpeckers.
>

Neat!

[Jean B.]

Ophelia wrote:
> We don't have the same birds, but we keep our feeders full too. Just
> now we
> have dried mealyworms out too because some of the birds are beginning
> to nest.
>

I put those out last year, and no one was interested in them. :-(

[Jean B.]

I've started mixing seeds and other materials. I don't like the
so-called supreme bird food, which contains a lot of filler. So I mix
better stuff into that. I also put a tiny bit of the supreme into my
really good mix, mainly because I gather some of the ground feeders do
like millet, which I otherwise think of as waste.

[Julie Bove]

"Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote in message

news:cjghfa...@mid.individual.net...

> I've started mixing seeds and other materials. I don't like the so-called
> supreme bird food, which contains a lot of filler. So I mix better stuff
> into that. I also put a tiny bit of the supreme into my really good mix,
> mainly because I gather some of the ground feeders do like millet, which I
> otherwise think of as waste.

When I did feed birds, I always made my own mix. None of the birds here
seem to eat millet.

[Ophelia]

<lucreti...@fl.it> wrote in message
news:veo6da5821sdivtgu...@4ax.com...

> Raining here at the moment, creating dangerous puddles as many drains
> are deep under snow, going to change to freezing rain then when the
> workers commence their evening run it is going to change back into
> snow. Days like today I am thankful to be retired :( It has
> followed that pattern every other day now for a week.

Oh:( Ours has calmed down not but it is very cold. Between -1 and -4 this
week at night. We still have snow lying from last week. It isn't shifting
at all.



--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

[Brooklyn1]

On Thu, 05 Feb 2015 01:33:42 -0500, "Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote:

>sockmo...@comcast.net wrote:
>> For bird water I use a heated birdbath mounted on the rail of my back
>> porch and an electric dog water bowl on the ground for ground birds
>> and squirrels. We've had single digit temps for quite a while, with
>> wind chill of -25° predicted for tomorrow along with another 12-18"
>> of snow to go with the 30" from last week. It's a tough winter for
>> birds this year. I keep 4 feeders of suet filled at all times for my
>> woodpeckers, Downy, Hairy, Pileated, Flickers, Red-Bellied, etc. and
>> 4 feeder of sunflower seeds too.
>>
>> Denise in NH
>
>Oh! I will have to hunt for such a dog water bowl. I have so many
>birds, including many types of woodpeckers.

I have several. Lots of stores sell heated pet bowls, but Amazon has
the best prices. Don't get a bird bath heater, the bowls are far
easier to clean than a half frozen bird bath in freezing weather. Make
sure to use outdoor extension cords. Rather than on the ground place
the bowl on a table or a chair, makes it easy to sweep snow away.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=heated+pet+water+bowl&sprefix=heated+pet%2Caps%2C459

>I was getting yet more seed
>today. Unfortunately they are out of the REALLY big bags of one of my
>mainstays.
>
>The holes in my newest sunflower feeder are too large for the seeds I
>can find closeby. I need to switch feeders or find yet another one. In
>the meantime, other critters get the spillage.

I found bird feeders to be a pain having to constantly keep them
filled especially in inclement weather... so I just put seeds on a
table on my deck.

[Jean B.]

I asked about that and gather doves and some other birds do avail
themselves of it. I was going to stop using anything that contained it,
but decided to cut way down on it instead.

[Jean B.]

lucreti...@fl.it wrote:

> Raining here at the moment, creating dangerous puddles as many drains
> are deep under snow, going to change to freezing rain then when the
> workers commence their evening run it is going to change back into
> snow. Days like today I am thankful to be retired :( It has
> followed that pattern every other day now for a week.
>

Oh! I absolutely detest whether like that. I hope you don't suffer any
calamities.

[Jean B.]

Terrific advice re the water bowls. Thanks! I can't have the seed on a
table (at least in better weather) because of neighboring cats. Now,
though, I can't see any cats getting through all the snow.