I wish I had updated this sooner...but I was TOO BUSY SNOWMOBILING! We got the snow they were calling for...with some to spare! We were in the 1-3" range for a good portion of the day last Friday. Around 1:30 PM the snow started falling at a pretty good clip. It continued all the way through Saturday morning...leaving us with about 13" of new snow at the house. I have pictures to prove it...I will save those for later though. We took a 50+ mile trip through the HSSC trails on Saturday afternoon. Pretty sweet riding! It continued to snow through a good portion of the day...and through Sunday at a lighter rate. So on Sunday we had around 16" of new snow that had fallen...16" atleast 24 hours settled when I checked. Last night we received about another 3" of new powder. So I would guess that would have close to 18" of new snow since Friday. It was, in most spots, up to or past my knees back in the woods.
Currently we are under a LES advisory. It does not soundl ike anything too crazy...but we will surely see some more snow. This is all leading up to the possibility of a far above average temperature week starting around the 10th of January. There have been a few indications that temps COULD approach 50 on some of those days. How miserable! We get all of this snow...just in time for it all to melt.
Anyway, I will post more pictures possibly in the next day or so.
Oh! There is also potential for a winter camping event in the UP with a friend and some of this buddies from suvival.com. I am not sure if I will be able to make it to a trip in the UP...but certainly if I get some gear I will be game for something a bit more local.
If you are reading...please leave a comment! I take suggestions. ;)
Derek
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Heavy Snow Warning!
Now, as usual, I am probably getting my hopes up. We are currently under a heavy snow warning issued by NWS. The largest amounts of snow are still to hit south of here. Probably in a line from Ludington to Alpena. That seems to be the trend. HOWEVER, we are supposed to get 1-2 inches during the day today. 2-4 inches overnight. Additional snow showers on Saturday. We'll take a break on Sunday, but Sunday night fires up the snow again into the new year. We MIGHT get some good snowmobiling in afterall before the.....well.....I hate to say it...severe continuous thaw. Some of the extended forecasts are showing that by mid-January we will see temps NEARING 50 degrees. That is a long way out and no one should take it to heart...but that is what the models are showing right now. Doh!
We did some riding on Wednesday. I forgot my camera again...but the trails were miserable. Most of them were layered in ice and earth. Not a good time. With my new slides put on...I believe without the lubrication from the snow they were melting a bit and causing my track to stick mildly. There was absolutely no snow to kick up onto the cooling system...so my sled got a bit a couple times. It was also nearing 40 degrees. 40 degrees+no new snow+icy trails = overheating sled. BUT I packed my foot wells full of snow and we got some more riding in. I'm curious whether or not I should have someone check the cooling system to ensure it is pumping properly...and also check out the sensor that determines whether it is overheating or not. It would probably also be good to have the jets calibrated again to make sure they are where they need to be.
If anyone around knows of a good Yamaha guy...please let me know!
As always, if you are reading this, please leave a comment! I would love to know what people think about my ramblings...include things you would like to see too!
Good morning from Northern Michigan!
Derek
We did some riding on Wednesday. I forgot my camera again...but the trails were miserable. Most of them were layered in ice and earth. Not a good time. With my new slides put on...I believe without the lubrication from the snow they were melting a bit and causing my track to stick mildly. There was absolutely no snow to kick up onto the cooling system...so my sled got a bit a couple times. It was also nearing 40 degrees. 40 degrees+no new snow+icy trails = overheating sled. BUT I packed my foot wells full of snow and we got some more riding in. I'm curious whether or not I should have someone check the cooling system to ensure it is pumping properly...and also check out the sensor that determines whether it is overheating or not. It would probably also be good to have the jets calibrated again to make sure they are where they need to be.
If anyone around knows of a good Yamaha guy...please let me know!
As always, if you are reading this, please leave a comment! I would love to know what people think about my ramblings...include things you would like to see too!
Good morning from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Sunday, December 23, 2007
I hate to say I told you so...
I nailed this one right on the head. All of our local weather people were saying we were going to be impacted...we were even under a winter storm watch. Potential for 6 to 9 of new snow. Haha! We are now in the range for lucky if we see 3 inches. Boy am I good! I should be a weather man! ;)
I even put new slides on my sled yesterday in preparation of the storm. Sadly, they probably will not get much use. The upside is maybe I can get little more greasing done on it before we actually do get some more snow. A somewhat (not extremely) reliable source for weather information indicates that we may see a good arctic wave trend come through and stay for a while. That would be great considering we're down to about an average of 5-6" of snow...compared to last weeks 10-12" of snow. The rain and warm over the past few days killed our accumulation...and ruined the snowmobile trails.
Anyway...enough griping for now.
Good morning from Northern Michigan!
Derek
I even put new slides on my sled yesterday in preparation of the storm. Sadly, they probably will not get much use. The upside is maybe I can get little more greasing done on it before we actually do get some more snow. A somewhat (not extremely) reliable source for weather information indicates that we may see a good arctic wave trend come through and stay for a while. That would be great considering we're down to about an average of 5-6" of snow...compared to last weeks 10-12" of snow. The rain and warm over the past few days killed our accumulation...and ruined the snowmobile trails.
Anyway...enough griping for now.
Good morning from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
A snow storm?
It really depends on who you talk to when it comes to the snow storm that is possibly headed our way beginning next week. There are SO many different stories. Some say we will be in the direct path...others are saying it will head north of us. Who do you believe? I am not really sure. Like most big storms that run around here...I would say the bulk of it will miss us. The news channels hype up the weather to try to promote tourism up here. If news guys are saying 12+ inches of snow...people come up here with their sleds and skis. They get here and suddenly the forecast has changed. "Oh...did we say 12+ inches? We meant 1+2...around 3 inches...if we are lucky."
It does look like snowmobiling through the remainder of the week and weekend will probably be shot though. The trails were already thin over last weekend...imagine if we get rain. Yuck!
This post is starting to lose focus...it is getting too late to be writing. :P I will try again tomorrow with some good content...possibly something intellectual! :)
Good night from Northern Michigan!
Derek
It does look like snowmobiling through the remainder of the week and weekend will probably be shot though. The trails were already thin over last weekend...imagine if we get rain. Yuck!
This post is starting to lose focus...it is getting too late to be writing. :P I will try again tomorrow with some good content...possibly something intellectual! :)
Good night from Northern Michigan!
Derek
A warm up...to Christmas.
Well crap. Even though we have a bunch of snow right now, about 16 inches at the house, it looks like it is going to warm up for the rest of the week. The NWS is saying that we'll see above freezing temps, ice, and rain today (the "wintry mix") and further toward Friday/Saturday. The rest of the time cloudy and warmer. The ONLY good thing about the weather is the clouds. It should keep the sun at a minimum and our snow should be minimally affected. So for the rest of the week, as I mentioned, we will see mid-30s and cloud. Tonight there is a possibility of some ice...tomorrow some snow...and then on Friday night into Saturday some snow/rain mix. Whoo!
After that...there is some chance of a decent winter storm popping up into our neck of the woods. Most are predicting that it will track north of here. We can always be hopeful that they are wrong correct? :P There would be absolutely nothing wrong with a bit more snow, I do know that. I am really interested to see what January holds for us. There is usually the "January Thaw"...but this year it seems it is happening in the end of the December. We had been below freezing for a number of days...and even got a cold spell earlier in November...so maybe this warm up will be the last for a while.
This new work schedule is really odd. I do not have any time for outdoor activities...because it is dark when I get home. However, on Wednesdays when I get out at noon, things look up. I was really hestitant about keeping this schedule...and I was going to to make it a hot topic at my review...but I think it will grow on me. ANYTHING beats working in a kitchen until 1 AM again! *laugh*
Anyway, I need to get ready for work...and hopefully a good review. (It should be today!) Have a good one!
Good morning from Northern Michigan!
Derek
After that...there is some chance of a decent winter storm popping up into our neck of the woods. Most are predicting that it will track north of here. We can always be hopeful that they are wrong correct? :P There would be absolutely nothing wrong with a bit more snow, I do know that. I am really interested to see what January holds for us. There is usually the "January Thaw"...but this year it seems it is happening in the end of the December. We had been below freezing for a number of days...and even got a cold spell earlier in November...so maybe this warm up will be the last for a while.
This new work schedule is really odd. I do not have any time for outdoor activities...because it is dark when I get home. However, on Wednesdays when I get out at noon, things look up. I was really hestitant about keeping this schedule...and I was going to to make it a hot topic at my review...but I think it will grow on me. ANYTHING beats working in a kitchen until 1 AM again! *laugh*
Anyway, I need to get ready for work...and hopefully a good review. (It should be today!) Have a good one!
Good morning from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Finally some riding pictures!
Well, we finally made it out an about on the trails during day time and got some pictures! Not too many...and certainly not anything extraordinary...but they atleast show the trail condition. You can find the latest trail conditions in my neighborhood at http://www.harborspringssnowmobileclub.com/. They do a pretty good job of keeping the page up to date with the latest events dealing with the club...and also posting trail conditions throughout their grooming area. I did read that they picked up Trail 7 from Alanson to Mackinaw...that means they will be getting another groomer! Hopefully anyway.
I got the wife to go out with me this trip...we took a loop from along trail 71 up toward Pellston and onto Stutsmanville Rd. and back home. It was a nice little ride. The trail west of N. Conway Rd. was probably the best. Before that there was a bit of dirt and quite a few leaves. That is the worst part of the first couple times grooming...the machine kicks up all the crap. Then you have the high rev sleds that screw everything up.
Within the first half mile along the road I decided to hit some of the powder...and got an eight foot chunk of tree stuck in my ski and under the track. This kept me from steering and I rolled it over. Doh! First wipe out of the season. ;) Luckily the was easy to pull out and we were back on our way. So I am going to end with this since it is fairly early and I want to get back outside. If you are reading this please leave a comment! I am interested in any group rides up this way...or even just riding with others...in a group or not. If you ride sober and safe I would love to go along!
Derek
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sweet riding today!
I have been on nice trails before. I have been on VERY nice trails before. The trail to Pellston (until N. Ayr Rd.) today was AWESOME. It was freshly groomed...and it had VERY little snowmobile traffic. It was smooth and easy to steer. I was actually finding it very difficult to go slow! My hat goes off to the HSSC grooming team...they are doing a great job for the first few times grooming on the somewhat little amount of snow we have received.
I discussed my hours at work again...and the story now gets worse. I work 8-6 on M,F...8-12 on W...and 8-5 on T,Th. Now...some of you would say "Wow! What an excellent schedule!" I say "Boy that sucks." Not only do my hours change DRASTICALLY from where they were...I now get two hours per week LESS than I was getting before. In my book that is a lot of money out the window. Unless there is something I am missing out on...(and I doubt there is) I got hosed with this migration that we just went through. It is very hard to tell your boss that though. That eight hours a month is a full credit card payment for me...so hopefully we will come to an arrangement that will benefit us both.
Back to the purpose of this blog. The outdoors! I know it is much better with pictures...I feel bad I did not take my camera with me on the ride today. There were some great shots waiting to be taken. At one point on the trail...the snow had melted and formed icicles handing down in front of some exposed earth. Then the empty woods on a sled on a freshly groomed trail. That always makes a great picture. BUT I did not bring the camera. There is good news through the next week that will hopefully overturn all of the pent up emotions about my hours. It is going to stay COLD!
The forecase for the remainder of the week and into next week looks to stay below freezing. With highs in the mid 20s and lows in the 10s...there should be plenty of snow that sticks around. The colder temperatures are bringing along some snow! Tomorrow is our best shot...but there are small chances of snow throughout the rest of the week and weekend. Nothing huge but it can help keep the snowmobile trails passable.
I guess it would be good to talk about something survival related as well. As soon as we get some snow I will start to build some shelters...but for now there just is not enough to do anything worthwhile. Especially if the snow decides to melt toward the end of the month. (My winter forecast has been the complete opposite of what has occurred...so if that trend continues we will see a warm up at the end of December and cold/snow into January. I sure hope that is not the case!)
I think that about covers it for now...I will post pictures soon...and hopefully have a bit more interesting content. It is just kind of a boring time of year until the big snows start flying. :P
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
I discussed my hours at work again...and the story now gets worse. I work 8-6 on M,F...8-12 on W...and 8-5 on T,Th. Now...some of you would say "Wow! What an excellent schedule!" I say "Boy that sucks." Not only do my hours change DRASTICALLY from where they were...I now get two hours per week LESS than I was getting before. In my book that is a lot of money out the window. Unless there is something I am missing out on...(and I doubt there is) I got hosed with this migration that we just went through. It is very hard to tell your boss that though. That eight hours a month is a full credit card payment for me...so hopefully we will come to an arrangement that will benefit us both.
Back to the purpose of this blog. The outdoors! I know it is much better with pictures...I feel bad I did not take my camera with me on the ride today. There were some great shots waiting to be taken. At one point on the trail...the snow had melted and formed icicles handing down in front of some exposed earth. Then the empty woods on a sled on a freshly groomed trail. That always makes a great picture. BUT I did not bring the camera. There is good news through the next week that will hopefully overturn all of the pent up emotions about my hours. It is going to stay COLD!
The forecase for the remainder of the week and into next week looks to stay below freezing. With highs in the mid 20s and lows in the 10s...there should be plenty of snow that sticks around. The colder temperatures are bringing along some snow! Tomorrow is our best shot...but there are small chances of snow throughout the rest of the week and weekend. Nothing huge but it can help keep the snowmobile trails passable.
I guess it would be good to talk about something survival related as well. As soon as we get some snow I will start to build some shelters...but for now there just is not enough to do anything worthwhile. Especially if the snow decides to melt toward the end of the month. (My winter forecast has been the complete opposite of what has occurred...so if that trend continues we will see a warm up at the end of December and cold/snow into January. I sure hope that is not the case!)
I think that about covers it for now...I will post pictures soon...and hopefully have a bit more interesting content. It is just kind of a boring time of year until the big snows start flying. :P
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A brief warm up...then snow and cold again!
Geez. This time it is even worse! I have not written in over a week. I have been keeping busy! My hours at work changed so I now work from 8 AM to 5 PM. That is something I do not care for...but I like because I will not have to wake up so early from now on! Whoo hoo!
So not much new is going on. We got to ride the sleds over the weekend...but did not venture out too far. The CU Christmas party was on Saturday...so that ate up a good portion of the day. The trails were PERFECT though! A little thin on a few spots...but that is from all the fools gunning their sleds around corners. Groomers can only do so much!
It has warmed up considerably since Sunday and Monday morning. When I left for work yesterday the temperature was eight degrees! Today we hit 35 degrees at work. That, unfortunately, was warm enough to get some snow melting action. It packed down nicely though...so hopefully after the end of the week snowfall we will have some fresh snow to ride on. It looks to snow for a better part of the week...but nothing significant.
I promise I will have some pictures by the end of the week.
If anyone is reading this yet...please leave your comments! I am looking for a helmet cam to wear while I am riding the sled. If you know of any that are cheap and do the job...I am all ears.
Until next time, goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
So not much new is going on. We got to ride the sleds over the weekend...but did not venture out too far. The CU Christmas party was on Saturday...so that ate up a good portion of the day. The trails were PERFECT though! A little thin on a few spots...but that is from all the fools gunning their sleds around corners. Groomers can only do so much!
It has warmed up considerably since Sunday and Monday morning. When I left for work yesterday the temperature was eight degrees! Today we hit 35 degrees at work. That, unfortunately, was warm enough to get some snow melting action. It packed down nicely though...so hopefully after the end of the week snowfall we will have some fresh snow to ride on. It looks to snow for a better part of the week...but nothing significant.
I promise I will have some pictures by the end of the week.
If anyone is reading this yet...please leave your comments! I am looking for a helmet cam to wear while I am riding the sled. If you know of any that are cheap and do the job...I am all ears.
Until next time, goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Winter Storm Strikes Northern Michigan!
I am really sorry it has been so long since I have written! I doubt anyone truly knows of my blog yet...so honestly I imagine no one really cares but myself. If you DO read my blog...please leave a comment! I was working late all week last week and I have worked all weekend through our DP migration at work. Good times that was! Everything turned out great...and all the work put into the project paid off. Nearly everything went off without a hitch. A few minor issues...but nothing that we could not get past.
So over this weekend...we received just under a foot a new snow. The weather station out in the yard is measuring around 14" of snow...the ruler on the deck says 11". I am going to wait until tomorrow to post a picture of the measurements because we are in the midst of yet another Winter Storm Warning! Three to five more inches of snow tonight into Monday morning. This snow has brought great pain...since I have been working all weekend. The first time in a few years that opening day of snowmobile season actually had snow to ride on...and I got stuck doing a DP migration. What luck! This snow looks to stay around for now though! I would honestly say this is more snow than what we had at the Pickerel Lake house all winter last year. We had a few storms out that way...but nothing like this. Actually...the only snows we had like this were in the fall and in the late spring!
I plan to buy my trail sticker tomorrow afternoon sometime. There has not been much talk of the cost going up...so I will assume they are still $25. The talk last spring was an increase of up to $20 per sticker. I would gladly pay that though...for the right to have groomed trails to ride. This fall was really busy so I did not have much time to get involved in a snowmobile club...with the move and work I kept myself very occupied. Watch out though...I am back trail 71! That is my stomping ground for the most part. I like to be on the quiet less used trails so I get more clean snow. If you want trail conditions and some realistic snow reports visit http://www.harborspringssnowmobileclub.com/. You can also donate or leave messages on the board. Maybe someday I will volunteer some time...possibly even this winter. When work slows down and I get some spare time.
So over this weekend...we received just under a foot a new snow. The weather station out in the yard is measuring around 14" of snow...the ruler on the deck says 11". I am going to wait until tomorrow to post a picture of the measurements because we are in the midst of yet another Winter Storm Warning! Three to five more inches of snow tonight into Monday morning. This snow has brought great pain...since I have been working all weekend. The first time in a few years that opening day of snowmobile season actually had snow to ride on...and I got stuck doing a DP migration. What luck! This snow looks to stay around for now though! I would honestly say this is more snow than what we had at the Pickerel Lake house all winter last year. We had a few storms out that way...but nothing like this. Actually...the only snows we had like this were in the fall and in the late spring!
I plan to buy my trail sticker tomorrow afternoon sometime. There has not been much talk of the cost going up...so I will assume they are still $25. The talk last spring was an increase of up to $20 per sticker. I would gladly pay that though...for the right to have groomed trails to ride. This fall was really busy so I did not have much time to get involved in a snowmobile club...with the move and work I kept myself very occupied. Watch out though...I am back trail 71! That is my stomping ground for the most part. I like to be on the quiet less used trails so I get more clean snow. If you want trail conditions and some realistic snow reports visit http://www.harborspringssnowmobileclub.com/. You can also donate or leave messages on the board. Maybe someday I will volunteer some time...possibly even this winter. When work slows down and I get some spare time.I have rambled on for a length now...so I will put a close to this post. I will post more when I have had some snowmobile trips! Including pictures!
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
-Derek
Sunday, November 25, 2007
We had snow!
So...Friday night and Saturday afternoon...we received a few more inches of snow. The total I had on my weather station was darn close to 5 inches. THAT my friends...was enough to snowmobile on! We packed the trails around the property...and even took a quick glimpse at the trail system around the area! Not far...just down a two track that leads into the trail running by the house. That was exciting!
Unfortunately, we had a warm up today. It took much of our snow...but we still have some ground cover. It looks to stay a bit warmer over the next couple days as well...but then...WOW! Some COLD air is going to move down from Canada. This will bring us the temps that I spoke of a post or so ago. Struggling to make it into the high 20s. Hopefully this could fire up the LES guns and bring in some more snow to cover the base we have already started. Maybe the chance of some system snow too? I sure would hope so. We shall see. I have not looked at any forecasts or models today...so I am out of the loop. :P
We did a bit of Christmas shopping in Traverse City today. The mall was very kind to me...but not so kind on the wallet. I had one pair of pants that were not work pants yesterday. They had a hole in the back pocket...no button...and a rip in the side. Even with mending they are still only one pair of pants. So we picked up some pants and a couple shirts...then got home and fixed a bunch of clothes that needed some sewing. I have not TOUCHED a needle and thread in I do not know how long. I only stabbed myself a few times! The pants are in good shape now.
Now that I have bored you with that...if you are reading...please leave a comment. I am always looking to hear from visitors of the blog. I will post some survival stuff in the near future. Trying to manage the house, work, and spare time (for blogging) has become a bit difficult. :P After the 1st of the year it should get a bit easier.
That is it for now!
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Unfortunately, we had a warm up today. It took much of our snow...but we still have some ground cover. It looks to stay a bit warmer over the next couple days as well...but then...WOW! Some COLD air is going to move down from Canada. This will bring us the temps that I spoke of a post or so ago. Struggling to make it into the high 20s. Hopefully this could fire up the LES guns and bring in some more snow to cover the base we have already started. Maybe the chance of some system snow too? I sure would hope so. We shall see. I have not looked at any forecasts or models today...so I am out of the loop. :P
We did a bit of Christmas shopping in Traverse City today. The mall was very kind to me...but not so kind on the wallet. I had one pair of pants that were not work pants yesterday. They had a hole in the back pocket...no button...and a rip in the side. Even with mending they are still only one pair of pants. So we picked up some pants and a couple shirts...then got home and fixed a bunch of clothes that needed some sewing. I have not TOUCHED a needle and thread in I do not know how long. I only stabbed myself a few times! The pants are in good shape now.
Now that I have bored you with that...if you are reading...please leave a comment. I am always looking to hear from visitors of the blog. I will post some survival stuff in the near future. Trying to manage the house, work, and spare time (for blogging) has become a bit difficult. :P After the 1st of the year it should get a bit easier.
That is it for now!
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Friday, November 23, 2007
Brrrrrrrrr!
Now your widgets can say what they want...but we had 10 degrees this morning. I believe that is quite a bit colder than what was expected. Whoo! The next best sound to stepping on frozen ground...is the sound of the ski hills across the valley making snow! I visisted www.nubsnob.com this morning and found that they are making snow and hope to have two runs open by this weekend! If I remember correctly that is quite a bit earlier than the last few years.
It is absolutely beautiful outside here...the sun is popping up and the clouds are big and gray. It is creating a red hue over everything. I spoke to my better half a few minutes ago and she said that the big lake was actually forming some ice over the top of it! WOW! The first big lake ice of the year! (That I am aware of anyway.) We did receive close to half an inch of fresh snow over the holiday. Nothing to snowmobile on...but I heard that someone up the road actually was out riding on the thin layer of powder. (Usually that would be me but I have some sense this year!) I do need to hurry this along so I will get into the quick forecast and what should be happening over the next few days.
The weekend looks to warm up...but not significantly. A big change tfrom the last couple days though. We will near 40 degrees in most areas. That should change running into next weekend when temperatures will struggle to make it up freezing! THEN...I reiterate...THEN...when December 1st rolls around...the weather appears to be changing. We will continue the struggle to even make it near the thaw point. The snows look to start falling around that time too! Obviously that is a long way out yet...but the possibility is there for some VERY cold temperatures and snows to go along with them. Hopefully that will also turn the lake effect machines on and get us a good pounding for snowmobiling. Our snow belt has been relatively quiet for the past few years. Everything seems to hit south of it. Certainly that cannot continue...the ski hills were built where they are for a reason...so it will come sooner or later. :)
That is all for now, good morning!
Derek
It is absolutely beautiful outside here...the sun is popping up and the clouds are big and gray. It is creating a red hue over everything. I spoke to my better half a few minutes ago and she said that the big lake was actually forming some ice over the top of it! WOW! The first big lake ice of the year! (That I am aware of anyway.) We did receive close to half an inch of fresh snow over the holiday. Nothing to snowmobile on...but I heard that someone up the road actually was out riding on the thin layer of powder. (Usually that would be me but I have some sense this year!) I do need to hurry this along so I will get into the quick forecast and what should be happening over the next few days.
The weekend looks to warm up...but not significantly. A big change tfrom the last couple days though. We will near 40 degrees in most areas. That should change running into next weekend when temperatures will struggle to make it up freezing! THEN...I reiterate...THEN...when December 1st rolls around...the weather appears to be changing. We will continue the struggle to even make it near the thaw point. The snows look to start falling around that time too! Obviously that is a long way out yet...but the possibility is there for some VERY cold temperatures and snows to go along with them. Hopefully that will also turn the lake effect machines on and get us a good pounding for snowmobiling. Our snow belt has been relatively quiet for the past few years. Everything seems to hit south of it. Certainly that cannot continue...the ski hills were built where they are for a reason...so it will come sooner or later. :)
That is all for now, good morning!
Derek
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today is Thanksgiving...the entire family is coming to OUR house for the food and festivities. I was really pushing for everyone to go out for dinner this year. It is so much work getting the house ready, and the food is so expensive (thankfully my parents bought it!) that it really puts a hurting on the family that has to provide it. This year we are doing things a LITTLE bit different by having everyone else bring a dish to pass...but when people are given the option they will choose the cheapest possible dish they can think of. So pardon me for being a little bit negative about the whole forced family fun thing. Family now days does not mean much to people anyway. The only time you ever see anyone is on a holiday...the only time anyone ever calls is when they need something. It is sad. I have to admit I am guilty. It is not just me though. It is everyone.
Now that I have my little rant out of the way...we did pick up about half an inch of snow last night. I am getting REALLY sick and tired of people predicting snow when we are not going to get it. Granted, I do the same thing, and I get myself all excited about the possibilities of snow and different winter acitivities. I am not a meteorologist though. I am just a guy looking at maps and extended forecasts and coming up with my own predictions. My forecasts do not affect the lives of others. As a true meteorologist...my assumption is that they would try a bit harder to get it right on the nose. Every day when I look at the weather, on TV or on the internet, every single forecast is calling for something different. I guess that could be due to the drastic changes in weather we are having...but my guess is that the inaccuracies are coming from the emotions of others. Those who hope it will snow, forecast snow. Those who hope it stays away, say it is going to stay away.
Wow, two rants in one post! I am getting good at this! :P Once I get some snow...possibly even after I get some turkey in me...I will act like a reasonable adult again. Now I am just being a whiner again because I got my hopes up for snowmobiling this week and weekend. Even if it was just through our private trails! Oh well.
It was about 20 degrees when I woke up this morning and partly cloudy. There was a very light breeze. Currently, it is starting to turn over to most cloudy with temps in the mid 20s. We just need some precipitation!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Derek
Now that I have my little rant out of the way...we did pick up about half an inch of snow last night. I am getting REALLY sick and tired of people predicting snow when we are not going to get it. Granted, I do the same thing, and I get myself all excited about the possibilities of snow and different winter acitivities. I am not a meteorologist though. I am just a guy looking at maps and extended forecasts and coming up with my own predictions. My forecasts do not affect the lives of others. As a true meteorologist...my assumption is that they would try a bit harder to get it right on the nose. Every day when I look at the weather, on TV or on the internet, every single forecast is calling for something different. I guess that could be due to the drastic changes in weather we are having...but my guess is that the inaccuracies are coming from the emotions of others. Those who hope it will snow, forecast snow. Those who hope it stays away, say it is going to stay away.
Wow, two rants in one post! I am getting good at this! :P Once I get some snow...possibly even after I get some turkey in me...I will act like a reasonable adult again. Now I am just being a whiner again because I got my hopes up for snowmobiling this week and weekend. Even if it was just through our private trails! Oh well.
It was about 20 degrees when I woke up this morning and partly cloudy. There was a very light breeze. Currently, it is starting to turn over to most cloudy with temps in the mid 20s. We just need some precipitation!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Derek
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Maybe next time...
Well everyone seems to have been wrong. The chances for snow have quickly dwindled. The temperatures for the remainder of the week and weekend are looking to stay on the warmer side. We still could see some snow...but not what everyone was thinking. I do have my own personal winter prediction but I left it on the refrigerator door...so it may not be 100% word for word what I came up with. It says something like..."We will not receive our first significant snow until the last two weeks of December. Early January will lean toward a thawing point until nearing February. February may hold a significant snow fall but only for the first few weeks. The end of February will again hold a thaw straight into March. March will hold a few light snows but nothing significant." It is pretty bold predicting weather...as not even seasoned meteorologists can do it. I could be completely wrong in my prediction. I would also say that we will receive less than 100" of snow. How depressing is that?
Now that I have been so incredibly negative...the good news is we are supposed to see up to 4" of snow through the week and weekend....and then in the next 5-10 days...possibly up to another 4". Temperatures will not stay consistent enough for the snow to stick. I always say 4" on a clean trail is enough to snowmobile on. (That is why I clean out our trails every year!)
If we do get some snow I will post some more pictures. As I mentioned the other day...it is tough to get into the woods since it is deer season.
Today we are to have a rain/snow mix and highs in the upper 30s. We will see light snow tonight and lows in the high 20s to low 30s. Thursday and Friday will bring some light snow and a bit cooler temps. The weekend warms up again. Doh!
More information as we enter Thanksgiving I am sure!
Good morning!
Derek
Now that I have been so incredibly negative...the good news is we are supposed to see up to 4" of snow through the week and weekend....and then in the next 5-10 days...possibly up to another 4". Temperatures will not stay consistent enough for the snow to stick. I always say 4" on a clean trail is enough to snowmobile on. (That is why I clean out our trails every year!)
If we do get some snow I will post some more pictures. As I mentioned the other day...it is tough to get into the woods since it is deer season.
Today we are to have a rain/snow mix and highs in the upper 30s. We will see light snow tonight and lows in the high 20s to low 30s. Thursday and Friday will bring some light snow and a bit cooler temps. The weekend warms up again. Doh!
More information as we enter Thanksgiving I am sure!
Good morning!
Derek
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Snow is on the way!
I believe I have said it before, but this time, it is a real possibility! To top it off, there may be a chance of it actually staying! I felt GREAT things this morning while walking outside. The top layer of ground was FROZEN! I looked at a few of the temperature maps from last night and it looks like we may have been VERY close to single digits in our neck of the woods. I will have to look at the daily information to verify. Back to the snow. It looks to snow for a good portion of the week! I am not sure of any true predictions for amounts yet...but it could be enough to get us out on the sleds. Mid-week looks to warm a bit...but toward Wednesday night and Thursday...into Friday...bring on the white stuff!
We have been keeping the house nice and toasty for the last week or so. The wood furnace, as much as I hate it, is about the best heat in the world! It is almost like having in floor heat. The wood furnace is in the basement...which causes all of the floors to get warm. PLUS...the cement walls get warm...keeping the house warm even when the fire dies down.
The Christmas lights are up! (Pictures will follow soon...I know it is a bit early...but I am trying EVERYTHING in my power to get excited about the holidays. Right now, my main concern is getting snow and snowmobiling. I went through the woods this evening and cleared out a few old trails that we used when I was little. They were primarily wood hauling trails...but they are easily going to double as snowmobile trails. I just need some snow to try them out!
I am going to end my day with a gripe. We have an '04 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. It is a beautiful car. You do not really think of Pontiacs as being a sweet ride...but this one is. 17" wheels...completely black...dark tinted windows...and best of all it is SUPERCHARGED. Now here is my gripe. The way the license plate area is designed...the plate rubs directly on the paint of the car. (Something I did not know until I took it off when I had to replace the plate a week or so ago...) So I have two spots on the back of the car that have no paint...and a nice line all the way across, between the spots, that the black has turned into a nice white. Good lord. This comes just after I dump $650 into new tires and brakes for the front. The lowest quote so far is $350. For TWO TINY SPOTS. I wish it was a piece of crap so I could just touch it up myself...but since it is my vehicular pride and joy...it must be perfect. Doh!
Time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get out of the house! A McDonald's ice cream cone sounds awesome right now. ;)
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
We have been keeping the house nice and toasty for the last week or so. The wood furnace, as much as I hate it, is about the best heat in the world! It is almost like having in floor heat. The wood furnace is in the basement...which causes all of the floors to get warm. PLUS...the cement walls get warm...keeping the house warm even when the fire dies down.
The Christmas lights are up! (Pictures will follow soon...I know it is a bit early...but I am trying EVERYTHING in my power to get excited about the holidays. Right now, my main concern is getting snow and snowmobiling. I went through the woods this evening and cleared out a few old trails that we used when I was little. They were primarily wood hauling trails...but they are easily going to double as snowmobile trails. I just need some snow to try them out!
I am going to end my day with a gripe. We have an '04 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. It is a beautiful car. You do not really think of Pontiacs as being a sweet ride...but this one is. 17" wheels...completely black...dark tinted windows...and best of all it is SUPERCHARGED. Now here is my gripe. The way the license plate area is designed...the plate rubs directly on the paint of the car. (Something I did not know until I took it off when I had to replace the plate a week or so ago...) So I have two spots on the back of the car that have no paint...and a nice line all the way across, between the spots, that the black has turned into a nice white. Good lord. This comes just after I dump $650 into new tires and brakes for the front. The lowest quote so far is $350. For TWO TINY SPOTS. I wish it was a piece of crap so I could just touch it up myself...but since it is my vehicular pride and joy...it must be perfect. Doh!
Time to stop feeling sorry for myself and get out of the house! A McDonald's ice cream cone sounds awesome right now. ;)
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Sunday morning photos...
I woke up a bit early today, so I decided to go out and about through the woods to take some pictures. It is a beautiful day out, starting at 21.5 degrees at 9 AM with no breeze. Nothing but blue sky has dominated the day thus far. I had initially had woken up around 4 AM. Our power went out and the battery on the clock was beeping at us. I ended up turning the battery off, but glanced out the window prior to laying back down. Absolutely clear out. You could see every single star in the sky! I wish I had not been so tired, I would have taken the telescope outside.Anyway, back to the pictures from this morning! I was most interested in finding whether or not the deer were still traveling through our property or not. I found some pretty significant trails running through the back half as seen above. I found three or four
different trails that run through the back. There were even a few tracks on the trail that I just plowed. It is an exciting time of year since all of the animals are rapidly trying to prepare for winter. The woods were extremely quiet though. I imagine it has to do alot with how cold it was, how early it was, and the hunters rummaging through the state lands around the area. I recon they are all trying to stay pretty quiet. Who knows.Other than the trails from deer, there were some fairly pretty scenes to be seen. Some snow,
lots of sunlight, and the woods. It really does not get better than that. Unfortunately, I have to drape myself in orange just to walk the property...but it is a small price to pay for walking through this time of year. The fresh crisp air, the frozen solid ground, the snaps of trees swaying, a fresh dusting of snow, and nothing else. Nothing to bother me, no phones, no internet, no work, just the outdoors in the best form it can possibly be in. (Some more snow would be excellent so I could go snowmobiling...but for now I will gladly accept what we have!)I spent last night burning brush in the back yard. It was a great night for it too! The snow started falling the second we walked outdoors. The fire started without a hitch and the whole pile was burned. I think the fire itself probably finished burning around 9 PM last night. The
coals burned long after that I assure you. I went outdoors after watching the MSU vs. Penn State game (GO GREEN!!!!) and it was still warm enough near the fire to stand in a t-shirt and pants. The bed of coals spread about five feet in diameter. It was very nice since it was so cold outside!Anyway, I think it is time to get Sunday going...so I will stop for now. I always appreciate comments that you leave...so feel free!
Derek
Friday, November 16, 2007
It's FRIDAY!
Another week has gone by. This is not a bad thing! We are coming up on a data processing migration at work. It will be VERY nice just to have that done and out of the way so I can focus on other aspects of my job. Keeping us compliant is going to be my next big eventure I believe.
Not much new in the way of weather. It is very cold tonight! At this second it is 25.3 degrees outside. 81% humidity with no breeze and clear. I believe we saw a planet toward the eastern sky tonight...but it could have been a far off jet. It had a orange tint to it whatever it was. Anyway, tonight is the last night for the rain guage. It is getting too cold out for it to sit outside. (The batteries are dying too quickly!) So for my records, since October 18th when I reset it, we have receive 3.82 inches of liquid precipitation. This does not include snows that we may have received. So from here on I will be making estimates...or measuring snow out at the weather station. I have to build a daily snowfall stand still...but everything thus farhas been just a trace...so no measuring to be done...with the exception of the two inches we received last week.
The deer hunting season has begun. Unfortunately, I want to write about survival, but I do not hunt. How does that work? I am sure it would somehow or another. I did not hear any gun shots around the house this morning or after getting home from work...so hopefully my deer friends are doing just fine in our safe haven! ;)
Being that winter is on the way very quickly...I am going to equip both cars with a safety/survival kit. I have not decided 100% on the contents of these kits...but I will post exactly what goes into them as I get the items. The same will go for my snowmobile kit. I did not have one of those for the last two years...never really thinking about it. I think it would make a great addition to my sledding experience. Especially if something bad did happen!
Hopefully, after tomorrow, I will have some more photos to share and something a tad more exciting to talk about. Maybe a more solid idea of where a winter snow storm might be! Unfortunately things are not looking to good for us in Northern Lower Michigan. We will see.
Good night from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Not much new in the way of weather. It is very cold tonight! At this second it is 25.3 degrees outside. 81% humidity with no breeze and clear. I believe we saw a planet toward the eastern sky tonight...but it could have been a far off jet. It had a orange tint to it whatever it was. Anyway, tonight is the last night for the rain guage. It is getting too cold out for it to sit outside. (The batteries are dying too quickly!) So for my records, since October 18th when I reset it, we have receive 3.82 inches of liquid precipitation. This does not include snows that we may have received. So from here on I will be making estimates...or measuring snow out at the weather station. I have to build a daily snowfall stand still...but everything thus farhas been just a trace...so no measuring to be done...with the exception of the two inches we received last week.
The deer hunting season has begun. Unfortunately, I want to write about survival, but I do not hunt. How does that work? I am sure it would somehow or another. I did not hear any gun shots around the house this morning or after getting home from work...so hopefully my deer friends are doing just fine in our safe haven! ;)
Being that winter is on the way very quickly...I am going to equip both cars with a safety/survival kit. I have not decided 100% on the contents of these kits...but I will post exactly what goes into them as I get the items. The same will go for my snowmobile kit. I did not have one of those for the last two years...never really thinking about it. I think it would make a great addition to my sledding experience. Especially if something bad did happen!
Hopefully, after tomorrow, I will have some more photos to share and something a tad more exciting to talk about. Maybe a more solid idea of where a winter snow storm might be! Unfortunately things are not looking to good for us in Northern Lower Michigan. We will see.
Good night from Northern Michigan!
Derek
A trace of snow...
Yesterday, it snowed for a good portion of the day. It was fairly warm and very little stuck to the ground...and add in the rain...and things did not shape up like I was hoping. It is to be expected though. However, between other meteorologists, and myself as an amateur, we came pretty close to nailing the later part of this week on the head. That I am proud of!
Currently it is 30.2 degrees at the house...with light snow and no breeze. Overnight, we received maybe a 1/4" of snow. Nothing to get excited over, but it is still snow. I think I may have hinted at it in my last post...but there is talk of a fairly sizable storm headed our way toward the middle of next week. This would leave us blanketed with snow for Thanksgiving. I would recon that if it actually does snow, with the temps being low like they have, it might stick. That IS something to get excited about.
So this weekend I will be cleaning out the rest of the garage and getting the sleds turned around. I still want to have some maintenance done on them so we do not get abandoned on the trail system up here. They are 97s, which compared to our old snowmobiles is brand new, but at 10 years I start to get a bit nervous if no one has looked at them for a while. This will be my third winter with mine...and second winter for the sled my dad bought. They are 99.9% identical aside from mine being a 600 and his being a 500. It makes you feel like you belong when you are driving down the trail and you have matching sleds. Even when they are 30 years old...if you have two of them...it just feels better. :P
Anyway, I will avoid getting too excited about the snowfall next week. Usually snow does not happen when I actually want it. So I am going to pretend it is not even going to happen. Maybe I will even go as far as getting some of the yard tools back out...I know how mother nature absolutely LOVES to snow on yard tools!
I will hopefully have a bit more to share soon as we roll this the weekend and into the early part of next week. I will also try to have a few more pictures available by tonight. Like I said though, there just is not that much to take pictures of around here right now unless you like seeing leafless trees. Maybe some of the breakwall in Petoskey? If you would like a photo posted, and you are reading my blog, please send requests! Anything in the area is game.
Good morning!
Derek
Currently it is 30.2 degrees at the house...with light snow and no breeze. Overnight, we received maybe a 1/4" of snow. Nothing to get excited over, but it is still snow. I think I may have hinted at it in my last post...but there is talk of a fairly sizable storm headed our way toward the middle of next week. This would leave us blanketed with snow for Thanksgiving. I would recon that if it actually does snow, with the temps being low like they have, it might stick. That IS something to get excited about.
So this weekend I will be cleaning out the rest of the garage and getting the sleds turned around. I still want to have some maintenance done on them so we do not get abandoned on the trail system up here. They are 97s, which compared to our old snowmobiles is brand new, but at 10 years I start to get a bit nervous if no one has looked at them for a while. This will be my third winter with mine...and second winter for the sled my dad bought. They are 99.9% identical aside from mine being a 600 and his being a 500. It makes you feel like you belong when you are driving down the trail and you have matching sleds. Even when they are 30 years old...if you have two of them...it just feels better. :P
Anyway, I will avoid getting too excited about the snowfall next week. Usually snow does not happen when I actually want it. So I am going to pretend it is not even going to happen. Maybe I will even go as far as getting some of the yard tools back out...I know how mother nature absolutely LOVES to snow on yard tools!
I will hopefully have a bit more to share soon as we roll this the weekend and into the early part of next week. I will also try to have a few more pictures available by tonight. Like I said though, there just is not that much to take pictures of around here right now unless you like seeing leafless trees. Maybe some of the breakwall in Petoskey? If you would like a photo posted, and you are reading my blog, please send requests! Anything in the area is game.
Good morning!
Derek
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
A change in the weather is brewing...
Hopefully this post will cooperate a little better than the last. This interace to post these message is absolutely terrible. I will seriously be considering hosting my own blog site soon since I am having such trouble. Now to the good news!
It looks to snow for a good portion of this week...or for what is left of it. Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday are all looking to squeeze out a bit of winter! I have seen estimates of 3-6" of lake effect and system snow by Friday night in our area and parts of the UP. Unfortunately it is tough to predict lake effect snow amounts....especially this time of year. I personally will keep my fingers crossed! Some other models are indicating a bit bigger storm toward Thanksgiving. That is nearly a week away...so the accuracy of that is certainly not set in stone.
Through the remainder of the week we are looking to stay in the mid to upper 30s during the day and the low 30s to upper 20s at night. That might get some freeze action going.
Outside of the weather...things are starting to come together around the house for winter. I have a bunch of kindling split up, the wood is stacked and covered, the trails have been plowed to remove all the leaves and debris, all the leaves are picked up, etc. The next step will be getting the snowmobiles ready for their first voyage of the season! Last year I ended up fouling a spark plug about a mile into my first trip...with no spare. I was able to limp the sled back and got everything back into working order.
This will be a short post being that nothing much new has happened...I am waiting on the snow. Once the snow falls there will be all sorts of good stuff to talk about. For now though...you are stuck with me babbling on and on about the most boring and tedious time of year. Fall. :P
Hopefully within the next few days I will have a bit more to discuss with the snowfalls and different weather occurances.
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
It looks to snow for a good portion of this week...or for what is left of it. Wednesday night, Thursday, and Friday are all looking to squeeze out a bit of winter! I have seen estimates of 3-6" of lake effect and system snow by Friday night in our area and parts of the UP. Unfortunately it is tough to predict lake effect snow amounts....especially this time of year. I personally will keep my fingers crossed! Some other models are indicating a bit bigger storm toward Thanksgiving. That is nearly a week away...so the accuracy of that is certainly not set in stone.
Through the remainder of the week we are looking to stay in the mid to upper 30s during the day and the low 30s to upper 20s at night. That might get some freeze action going.
Outside of the weather...things are starting to come together around the house for winter. I have a bunch of kindling split up, the wood is stacked and covered, the trails have been plowed to remove all the leaves and debris, all the leaves are picked up, etc. The next step will be getting the snowmobiles ready for their first voyage of the season! Last year I ended up fouling a spark plug about a mile into my first trip...with no spare. I was able to limp the sled back and got everything back into working order.
This will be a short post being that nothing much new has happened...I am waiting on the snow. Once the snow falls there will be all sorts of good stuff to talk about. For now though...you are stuck with me babbling on and on about the most boring and tedious time of year. Fall. :P
Hopefully within the next few days I will have a bit more to discuss with the snowfalls and different weather occurances.
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Potassium Permanganate and Glycerin Pictures
I apologize for the length of time it has taken for me to get these pictures posted! In this post you will find the pictures of the process...along with the basic process again so that you do not have to go to the old post.
The first step is to pour your Potassium Permanganate out...a pile
about the size of a fifty cent piece will work just fine. For this example I simply pour it onto a rock that I pulled from the woods. Ordinarily you would probably want to pour it onto a location that would be suitable for your fire pit...or even onto whatever it is you are trying to light.
You then pour a small dob of Glycerin onto that Potassium Permanganate...about the size of a quarter. You can always add more Glycerin once the flames are starting...but to get it going you do not want to drown the Potassium Permanganate in Glycerin. I found that temperature or humidity plays a big part in how quickly the chemical reaction takes place. For this particular reaction, it took about four minutes for the smoke to start pouring off of it, and then the flames shot up.
If you follow my posts at all you have heard of my hatred toward the interface they have you use to create them. The organization of the pictures in this post is terrible...but you will get the idea. I hope you can find this useful and will try it out yourself.
The first step is to pour your Potassium Permanganate out...a pileabout the size of a fifty cent piece will work just fine. For this example I simply pour it onto a rock that I pulled from the woods. Ordinarily you would probably want to pour it onto a location that would be suitable for your fire pit...or even onto whatever it is you are trying to light.
You then pour a small dob of Glycerin onto that Potassium Permanganate...about the size of a quarter. You can always add more Glycerin once the flames are starting...but to get it going you do not want to drown the Potassium Permanganate in Glycerin. I found that temperature or humidity plays a big part in how quickly the chemical reaction takes place. For this particular reaction, it took about four minutes for the smoke to start pouring off of it, and then the flames shot up.
If you follow my posts at all you have heard of my hatred toward the interface they have you use to create them. The organization of the pictures in this post is terrible...but you will get the idea. I hope you can find this useful and will try it out yourself.
Friday, November 9, 2007
What a week...
Wow! I cannot believe it has already been a business week since I last wrote anything on here! I have kept myself extremely busy. Between work and trying to finish up last minute yard work...I lost track of time.
I still do not have any decent pictures to share...I recon it is probably more laziness than anything. I suppose I could grab the camera really quick and show a couple pictures over the past few days. We will see!
We got the first ground sticking snow over the weekend...and since then it has been nothing but a rain/snow mix. Yuck. It does not look much better for the rest of atleast the next week for snow. This weekend looks to be in the low 50s! The strange part...is I cannot really say it is any different than other years in the past. I remember we would not see snow until the end of November when I was little. So I am not too worried about the snowmobile season yet. ;)
I found a pair of snow shoes at Wal-Mart. Who would have thought! I did not buy them...I considered it but I am just not sure if I will use them. I would love to get outside and do some serious winter activities this year aside from snowmobiling. There are SO many place to go around here during the winter months. Tahquamenon Falls in the U.P. is a great winter destination if you actually get some snow and freezing temperatures. There are probably hundreds of miles of skiing trails throughout Northern Michigan. I would guess that a number of these trails travel along state land which could be used for a nice winter survival camp out. I would also like to visit one of the ice fishing communities that pops up on any of the inland lakes. I have been ice fishing a few times but not in any of these little "villages." The list goes on and on!
I think I have probably bored you long enough with this post...I will post pictures and some more interesting content later. I am rather distracted by the long day at work!
Derek
I still do not have any decent pictures to share...I recon it is probably more laziness than anything. I suppose I could grab the camera really quick and show a couple pictures over the past few days. We will see!
We got the first ground sticking snow over the weekend...and since then it has been nothing but a rain/snow mix. Yuck. It does not look much better for the rest of atleast the next week for snow. This weekend looks to be in the low 50s! The strange part...is I cannot really say it is any different than other years in the past. I remember we would not see snow until the end of November when I was little. So I am not too worried about the snowmobile season yet. ;)
I found a pair of snow shoes at Wal-Mart. Who would have thought! I did not buy them...I considered it but I am just not sure if I will use them. I would love to get outside and do some serious winter activities this year aside from snowmobiling. There are SO many place to go around here during the winter months. Tahquamenon Falls in the U.P. is a great winter destination if you actually get some snow and freezing temperatures. There are probably hundreds of miles of skiing trails throughout Northern Michigan. I would guess that a number of these trails travel along state land which could be used for a nice winter survival camp out. I would also like to visit one of the ice fishing communities that pops up on any of the inland lakes. I have been ice fishing a few times but not in any of these little "villages." The list goes on and on!
I think I have probably bored you long enough with this post...I will post pictures and some more interesting content later. I am rather distracted by the long day at work!
Derek
Monday, November 5, 2007
Quick weather update...
The forecast has changed again. It looks like this week we will not see many highs over 39F. That is a good thing for snow. There are still a couple days that indicate rain/snow mix. I might actually have to start cleaning the garage out so I can get the sleds out! It would be REALLY nice to be able to park the cars inside during the first rain/snow/sleet storm we get. Nothing is worse than scraping ice off of your windshield at 6:30 AM while the wind is blowing and the sleet is coming down.
I will update more regularly with weather forecasts once the snow starts falling. I will also provide more pictures. I might set up a webcam of our yard for everyone to view. That would cost money though...and so far this site is not the busiest on the net. Hopefully with more content I will start to see some comments and visitors. I do know there is a way to stop SPAM comments...but I have to look it up on google. If you are interested in sponsoring a SnowCam in Harbor Springs please let me know. We are in the same snow band that Nubs Nob and Boyne Highlands are in.
Have a great Monday!
Derek
I will update more regularly with weather forecasts once the snow starts falling. I will also provide more pictures. I might set up a webcam of our yard for everyone to view. That would cost money though...and so far this site is not the busiest on the net. Hopefully with more content I will start to see some comments and visitors. I do know there is a way to stop SPAM comments...but I have to look it up on google. If you are interested in sponsoring a SnowCam in Harbor Springs please let me know. We are in the same snow band that Nubs Nob and Boyne Highlands are in.
Have a great Monday!
Derek
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Blurry photos...
After looking at a couple of my pictures in the last post...I think there must be some adjusting I need to do on focus. They all look a bit blurred. I will check it out and hopefully have some better pictures to post in the near future. I have a heck of a time getting them to do what I want them to do on this blog anyway...I am looking into creating a blog that will be hosted on my own site so that I can possibly have some more tools at my disposal.
I apologize for the blurred pictures! BUT they do give you an idea of what I am talking about...so they will work for now. ;)
Derek
I apologize for the blurred pictures! BUT they do give you an idea of what I am talking about...so they will work for now. ;)
Derek
The first REAL hail of the season...
Another DST has gone and past. I love standard time. The nights get dark sooner...I have a chance to make it to work in the daylight...it is great. There is just something about it that means winter is on the way.
I would say 99% of our leaves have fallen. The only leaves left are on those pesky popple trees and bass wood trees. Hideous trees that A. Make you look at them. and B. Keep their leaves until
snow starts falling. You can plan on having your yard clean...but wait until the first good snow with wind. Those leaves will be falling down into your yard for your raking enjoyment next spring! The woods is fairly barren this time of year. We have not seen many squirrels or chipmunks since we have been back up at the house. The deer that we saw the other day have not returned while we have been available to watch for them. 
My wood pile took a fall the other day...it could have been MUCH worse than what it ended up being. I still need to work on picking that up before it snows this week. (I am saying that as if it truly will snow!)
With that I will say goodnight from Northern Michigan!
The forecasts have been fairly rocky since my last post. They outlook for this week has been changing dramatically. Now, rather than snow, we are supposed to get snow and rain mixed. Instead of highs in the low 30s we are supposed to see highs in the upper 40s. Unfortunately we will probably find that NONE of them are correct. Especially this time of year. It is so easy for the weather to go one way or the other...meteorologists in Northern Michigan may as well just take November thru mid-January off.
I got some work done around the house today...building an open closet for the upstairs of the house, picking up the computer room, and getting the outside ready for snow. With the exception of a few miscellaneous flower pots hanging around...we are pretty well set. While I was typing that and trying to get the picture to upload we actually saw some hail! It melted very quickly due to the somewhat warm temperatures...but I would say it was our first TRUE frozen precipitation that stayed more than five minutes. So I 
went out and got a few pictures of it...and of course got a bit wet. All in the name of photography and showing the world what I feel is important. :P It was not much but it brought on a winter-ish feeling watching it come down. Hopefully next time it will be in the form of flakes!
went out and got a few pictures of it...and of course got a bit wet. All in the name of photography and showing the world what I feel is important. :P It was not much but it brought on a winter-ish feeling watching it come down. Hopefully next time it will be in the form of flakes!I would say 99% of our leaves have fallen. The only leaves left are on those pesky popple trees and bass wood trees. Hideous trees that A. Make you look at them. and B. Keep their leaves until
snow starts falling. You can plan on having your yard clean...but wait until the first good snow with wind. Those leaves will be falling down into your yard for your raking enjoyment next spring! The woods is fairly barren this time of year. We have not seen many squirrels or chipmunks since we have been back up at the house. The deer that we saw the other day have not returned while we have been available to watch for them. 
My wood pile took a fall the other day...it could have been MUCH worse than what it ended up being. I still need to work on picking that up before it snows this week. (I am saying that as if it truly will snow!) Keep your fingers crossed for some signs of winter over the next few weeks, for a great opening weekend of snowmobile season! (December 1st) I heard from the Harbor Springs Snowmobile Club (http://www.harborspringssnowmobileclub.com/) that we are not getting any trail grooming done by the DNR this year. What a disappointment that our state, in the miserable shape it is in due to the auto industry, takes away some of the only good left. From this point forward tourism is our only hope. Hopefully the snowmobile clubs get some decent funding or we may be left riding on the tracks of the people before us. I would absolutely LOVE to know where the funds for DNR grooming are going. If you have an answer to that I am all ears.
Sorry there are not more pictures...I am having some issues with the uploading of them. I promise there will be more to come...as there are still some pictures of the potassium permangante process that I owe to you. Stayed tuned over the next few days for those.
With that I will say goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
It's getting COLD!
The forecast was pretty much right on today. I saw about 10 snow flakes on my way to work this morning and it ended up being cloudy all day. By most, today was probably the mark for their FIRST flakes...but as I mentioned before we had a few drops of snow-ish precipitation. I would venture to guess more than we had today. As we speak...my weather station is reporting 31 degrees. Brrrrr! With nearing 80 percent humidity I would guess there will be frost on the pumpkins tonight. It would be an excellent night to get the wood furnace up and running...but it is still pretty dry out. We either need to fire it up when it is raining or wait until snow. Luckily, it looks as if we may see some snow toward the 6th. I always wanted it to snow on my birthday so I may just get my wish this year.
I do have a gripe with Discovery channel. Les has pretty much disappeared. Why is that? Maybe it is his off season? The only channel I can see Survivorman on now is some science channel that we do not get. How disappointing!
I did mention a shelter we were starting to work on the other day. Here is a picture of the base of it. I think we may change the design at some point. There is no way to create a shelter like this in the fall when the trees are cold and brittle. The shelter will get better. It has to. There will not be any winter survival outings without it unless they are planned well in advance. It is nice to have a shelter to go to so you are not starting from scratch every time you want to go out. That is the hard part during the winter. Especially when you are working most of the time. So I would anticipate a good weekend of building coming up shortly if we are looking to use this spot. Otherwise we may do some winter camping in the woods behind the house. Winter camping is winter camping in my opinion. As long as you do not go running home every time you get cold!
The leaves have been raked and the grass is mowed. I finished the winterizing of the lawn last Sunday. It had been neglected all summer until we moved back to the house in September. We were living in Petoskey for a good portion of last winter and through the summer. We found a better deal renting this house so we took it. I have been trying to clean up some of the messes I left when we first left this house last January. I could argue that it was a mistake leaving in the first place...but it was a very good experience. We bought a LOT of equipment that will come in handy when we move on from here. The other advantage to coming back...is the bulk of last year's fire wood was still here. There was a malfunction in the wood furnace blower last spring which left us one row of wood left. I still cut about three rows worth this fall with my new Poulan Pro 18" 42CC saw. Not a huge saw...but it cuts through the trees very nicely. Combine the new saw with a new attachment for my Dremel to sharpen the chain and I was in pretty good shape!
Typically I would go on for a while yet...but we have a little bit of cleaning up inside the house to do yet. So I will stop while I am ahead. :)
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
I do have a gripe with Discovery channel. Les has pretty much disappeared. Why is that? Maybe it is his off season? The only channel I can see Survivorman on now is some science channel that we do not get. How disappointing!
I did mention a shelter we were starting to work on the other day. Here is a picture of the base of it. I think we may change the design at some point. There is no way to create a shelter like this in the fall when the trees are cold and brittle. The shelter will get better. It has to. There will not be any winter survival outings without it unless they are planned well in advance. It is nice to have a shelter to go to so you are not starting from scratch every time you want to go out. That is the hard part during the winter. Especially when you are working most of the time. So I would anticipate a good weekend of building coming up shortly if we are looking to use this spot. Otherwise we may do some winter camping in the woods behind the house. Winter camping is winter camping in my opinion. As long as you do not go running home every time you get cold!The leaves have been raked and the grass is mowed. I finished the winterizing of the lawn last Sunday. It had been neglected all summer until we moved back to the house in September. We were living in Petoskey for a good portion of last winter and through the summer. We found a better deal renting this house so we took it. I have been trying to clean up some of the messes I left when we first left this house last January. I could argue that it was a mistake leaving in the first place...but it was a very good experience. We bought a LOT of equipment that will come in handy when we move on from here. The other advantage to coming back...is the bulk of last year's fire wood was still here. There was a malfunction in the wood furnace blower last spring which left us one row of wood left. I still cut about three rows worth this fall with my new Poulan Pro 18" 42CC saw. Not a huge saw...but it cuts through the trees very nicely. Combine the new saw with a new attachment for my Dremel to sharpen the chain and I was in pretty good shape!
Typically I would go on for a while yet...but we have a little bit of cleaning up inside the house to do yet. So I will stop while I am ahead. :)
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Monday, October 29, 2007
Potassium Permanganate, Glycerin, and Surviving in the Wild
Since part of this blog is suvival...it is time to discuss a technique. I hope to provide you with a decent amount of my own material and techniques...but a bit of the information will come from other sources like Les Stroud.
Since it is late I will just discuss one of the most recent cool survival techniques I saw on Survivorman. It is extremely simple and can be done with off the shelf products from your local hardware and drug store. I will provide pictures of the ingredients and the process in an update to this post.
The first ingredient can be found at your local hardware store (unless you live in Petoskey...then it is impossible to find) is Potassium Permanganate. Often times it is used in cleaning bacteria from fish ponds. The second ingredient is Glycerin. This can be found at your local drug store in the antiseptic area. My bottle of it says you can use it to treat wind burn and chapped lips along with a few other minor symptoms. It is handy since it can serve a couple purposes outdoors.
Now, you ask, what on earth would you do with these? Clean fish ponds and treat wind burn? Nope. I say you start a quick fire in a survival situation. When the Potassium Permanganate is covered in Glycerin (just pour a quarter size dob of Glycerin onto a 50 cent piece size pile of Potassium Permanganate) it will slowly react and cause an intense fairly long lasting flame. You can continue to add Glycerin until the Potassium Permanganate has all burned.
I suppose in many cases you might not have these two chemicals on hand. Les had them in a small first aid kit. The Potassium Permangante as an antiseptic (http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002045.html) and the Glycerin for various stomach issues (possibly in suppository form http://www.medicinenet.com/glycerin_suppository-rectal/article.htm) So it may be something you wish to add to your first aid kit just in case. There are many uses!
Give it a try. If nothing else it is a fun experiment! However it is dangerous. These chemicals should be handled with care and should NOT be used by children. Only perform this if you know what you are dealing with. I do not accept any responsibility for your actions.
The serious part is over! I will continue to add more techniques as I learn them and try them. We are working on a survival shelter in the woods. I am starting to doubt it will be finished for winter camping since life is so busy these days...but I will try to post info and take pictures of our progress.
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Since it is late I will just discuss one of the most recent cool survival techniques I saw on Survivorman. It is extremely simple and can be done with off the shelf products from your local hardware and drug store. I will provide pictures of the ingredients and the process in an update to this post.
The first ingredient can be found at your local hardware store (unless you live in Petoskey...then it is impossible to find) is Potassium Permanganate. Often times it is used in cleaning bacteria from fish ponds. The second ingredient is Glycerin. This can be found at your local drug store in the antiseptic area. My bottle of it says you can use it to treat wind burn and chapped lips along with a few other minor symptoms. It is handy since it can serve a couple purposes outdoors.
Now, you ask, what on earth would you do with these? Clean fish ponds and treat wind burn? Nope. I say you start a quick fire in a survival situation. When the Potassium Permanganate is covered in Glycerin (just pour a quarter size dob of Glycerin onto a 50 cent piece size pile of Potassium Permanganate) it will slowly react and cause an intense fairly long lasting flame. You can continue to add Glycerin until the Potassium Permanganate has all burned.
I suppose in many cases you might not have these two chemicals on hand. Les had them in a small first aid kit. The Potassium Permangante as an antiseptic (http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002045.html) and the Glycerin for various stomach issues (possibly in suppository form http://www.medicinenet.com/glycerin_suppository-rectal/article.htm) So it may be something you wish to add to your first aid kit just in case. There are many uses!
Give it a try. If nothing else it is a fun experiment! However it is dangerous. These chemicals should be handled with care and should NOT be used by children. Only perform this if you know what you are dealing with. I do not accept any responsibility for your actions.
The serious part is over! I will continue to add more techniques as I learn them and try them. We are working on a survival shelter in the woods. I am starting to doubt it will be finished for winter camping since life is so busy these days...but I will try to post info and take pictures of our progress.
Goodnight from Northern Michigan!
Derek
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Fall is in the air...
No kidding! I slept in today, which is fairly unusual, but when I woke up the temperature was 39! No indication of any frozen precipitation over night though. I'm not 100% ready because I've got a bunch of yard work to do yet. It looks as if we may get a peak of sun today with a high of around 49...and tonight should be mostly cloudy with a low of 39. Currently 39 degrees with a very calm breeze. No rain though!I have my weather station all set for winter now. I believe the rain guage will be brought in by the end of next week. I would hate for rain to freeze inside of it and cause something to break. I am holding off as long as I can since October has been a very wet month. I did forget to mention that we saw a couple snow flakes last week as we were heading out to dinner. I believe it was probably Wednesday. I do not know if they would truly be considered flakes or hail though. They were white, they were not icy, but they did bounce off the hood of the truck.
I decided yesterday that I am going to try to make some apple cider. Unfortunately, we do not have a good blend of apples yet...and I have no idea what all is involved. I may end up changing my mind and making some chunky apple sauce. Everyone seemed to like that when we made it when I was a kid. Now the challenge is finding the recipe for it. :P The rest of our apples will be deer feed so I can get some good photos in the back yard before the snow starts falling. I do not hunt (more like I can not hunt because I would not be able to stand ripping a deer's guts out) so hopefully they'll find a safe haven in our area.
Anyway, I am finding myself getting a little bit random here so I will be done for now. If you like what you're reading and appreciate anything on here please leave a comment so I can tell if anyone is dropping by.
Friday, October 26, 2007
I might be overdoing it...
BUT...this is my first blog...and the first day I have written in it...so stick with me. :P I ended up leaving work about half an hour early today due to a quick spell of head cold. I am not sure what caused it, or if it even is a cold, but with the weather changing so dramatically lately it would not suprise me.
Last week we saw temperatures nearing 80 degrees. Yesterday morning it was 28 degrees when I left for work with the high of the day topping out at around 45. Today stuck to the forecast and was mostly cloudy for a better part of the day and has turned cloudy. Temperatures have stuck right around 58 at the house. It really does not look like snow in the near term which is mildly disappointing because this time last year I had already been riding the snowmobiles. I always figure the longer it waits to snow the better it'll be when we get it. :)
The leaves have peaked and most trees are starting to drop them if they have not already fallen. It was a beautiful fall this year. The yellows waited until the reds and oranges were about done before they started popping out. The yellows are my least favorite...but they all make for good picture taking. All of my recent pictures are on my laptop so I can not share them right now. However you CAN visit my Picasa page to view some of my most recent photos. http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding. Some of the photos there may be published in a book that my friend is writing about the North Country Trail in Michigan.
On a side note...a cat has been trying to make our home, it's home. We adopted a cat a few years ago...the situation was very similar. Toward the beginning of November and the nights start getting cold...how do you say no to a kitten? BUT I believe that we'll be taking it to the shelter on Monday or Tuesday. Meanwhile, it will be using our cat's house out on the porch.
Last week we saw temperatures nearing 80 degrees. Yesterday morning it was 28 degrees when I left for work with the high of the day topping out at around 45. Today stuck to the forecast and was mostly cloudy for a better part of the day and has turned cloudy. Temperatures have stuck right around 58 at the house. It really does not look like snow in the near term which is mildly disappointing because this time last year I had already been riding the snowmobiles. I always figure the longer it waits to snow the better it'll be when we get it. :)
The leaves have peaked and most trees are starting to drop them if they have not already fallen. It was a beautiful fall this year. The yellows waited until the reds and oranges were about done before they started popping out. The yellows are my least favorite...but they all make for good picture taking. All of my recent pictures are on my laptop so I can not share them right now. However you CAN visit my Picasa page to view some of my most recent photos. http://picasaweb.google.com/dallerding. Some of the photos there may be published in a book that my friend is writing about the North Country Trail in Michigan.
On a side note...a cat has been trying to make our home, it's home. We adopted a cat a few years ago...the situation was very similar. Toward the beginning of November and the nights start getting cold...how do you say no to a kitten? BUT I believe that we'll be taking it to the shelter on Monday or Tuesday. Meanwhile, it will be using our cat's house out on the porch.
10/26/07 Northern Michigan Weather
This Afternoon: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 55. Calm wind.
Tonight: Showers likely, mainly after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 45. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tonight: Showers likely, mainly after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 45. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
The beginnings of a blog....
So this is my blog. It may eventually be updated by a couple people....but for now it's just me.I live in Northern Michigan. It is a PERFECT area for discussion of survival techniques, outdoor activities, weather, photography, and other subjects pertaining to the culture of the area. (Occasionally topics pertaining to coins, cigars (rarely...I'm not a smoker), and work.)
A little about myself so you can get to know me up close and personal. I am married to a wonderful woman. We're almost done with the first year already! I work in Information Technologies for roughly eight hours a day. I have an affection for numismatics, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, meteorology, photography, enjoying a good cigar with friends, and most of all being with my wife. (She did not force me to type that!) This is just a little blurb about me. There will be more to come I am sure.
I am hoping you'll find my blog to be informational, entertaining, and culturally profitable.
Check back soon!
Derek
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