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5 degrees forecast for middle Tn tomorrow night.
The forecast temperature for here gets lower and lower. Through the day it has gone 16 °F ==> 13 °F ==> 11 °F ==>9 °F
I am getting worried about my baby goats. We will check on them at around 2AM
Taking care of the Kids eh? Just like a human the young need special attention.
They will probably be moving on their own before much longer.
I wonder if we will see a snowy owl here again this year.
The Arctic was so hot last January, that they had them in Florida.
They stopped for the night a bit of a rest and a snack at my farm on their way to Florida. BIG suckers!
Birds do love my farm. I have red tail hawks hunting the fields right now for rats and mice.
I am a raptor fan too, this time of year we get Bald Eagles congregating in the hundreds, looking for a mate. But my favorite predator flying over my fields, is the Northern Harrier. They are so systematic in their pursuit of prey, and hang in the air just feet off the ground, like no other large bird I have ever seen.
Gator, I do not think I have seen a Northern Harrier since we only have about ten acres cleared and our beaver pond is a quarter mile down hill with woods in between. Not quite the correct habitat. On the other hand we do get quite a variety of wild life around here. The red fox sitting on the front porch waiting with the cats to be fed was a bit much though. I had seen her around the farm several time before that but never from three feet away. (And yes she was a she since I saw her teaching her kits to hunt.)
Foxes can be funny that way. A friend of mine had a female with young that would come into his garage while he worked on his car. She would sleep on the concrete in the sun and I never once saw her flinch, even when we were using pneumatic impacts wrenches.
And now we know how Man managed to domesticate dogs…. Or was it the dog that domesticated man. With cats it certainly was cats domesticating man, just ask my two.
…..
A cousin’s cousin (no direct relation) raised foxes and said that through the generations they became more docile and dog like. The nose became more blunt and the ‘puppy’ behavior started lasting into adulthood.
Russian fox breeders found domestication could be accomplished in less time than originally thought, and could produce new physical traits. This all started by breeding the less aggressive, to reduce the number of bites the handlers were receiving.
“The result of this breeding program conducted over more than 40 generations of silver foxes was a group of friendly, domesticated foxes. These domesticated foxes, which were bred on the basis of a single selection criteria, displayed behavioral, physiological, and anatomical characteristics that were not found in the wild population, or were found in wild foxes but with much lower frequency. One of the reasons that these findings were so compelling was that the criterion used to determine whether an individual fox would be allowed to breed was simply how they reacted upon the approach of a human. Would they back away, hissing and snarling, and try to bite the experimenter? Or would they approach the human and attempt to interact?
The domesticated foxes were more eager to hang out with humans, whimpered to attract attention, and sniffed and licked their caretakers. They wagged their tails when they were happy or excited. (Does that sound at all like your pet dog?) Further, their fear response to new people or objects was reduced, and they were more eager to explore new situations. Many of the domesticated foxes had floppy ears, short or curly tails, extended reproductive seasons, changes in fur coloration, and changes in the shape of their skulls, jaws, and teeth. They also lost their “musky fox smell.”
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2010/09/06/mans-new-best-friend-a-forgotten-russian-experiment-in-fox-domestication/
Not sure where we went wrong with cats.
Thanks gator that must of been what the cousin was talking about.
I once did a study about rabbits: how to breed for violent rabbits. This was way back in 1960. The test for rabbit aggression breeding was very simple: every baby was placed on a table and I would flick my thumb at their noses. The ones that jumped back the least were bred.
By 1972, I had bred Killer Rabbit.
As a baby, he didn’t merely not flinch, he attacked my thumb! He grew up to be our guard rabbit. He had a rabbit warren in my backyard at the University of Arizona in Tucson. When anyone snuck into my backyard to rob my home, they were bitten by him.
One day, I was chasing a crook down the alley with Killer Rabbit and the cops came around the corner to see the rabbit chasing this huge man who was screaming. They laughed hard.
Well, Killer Rabbit bit the mailman and the law is, you have to put the attack animal down. There were petitions to spare Killer Rabbit. We ate him, by the way. Poor thing. Still am fond of him.
Wanted him badly when living in NYC two years later!
Sorry about the gutsy fellow.
If I were the maimed postal worker, I would have never told a living soul about the attack. I’d would have covered it up and blamed extraterrestrials or something equally plausible. Killer Rabbits have destroyed the public image of men more powerful than your mailman or the huge crook in your alley:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4p6_G4gQpk
I hope Boulder Progressives never find out about your reckless experiments. We have enough petitions for further regulations of Pit Bulls and Assault Chihuahuas. We don’t need an anti-Killer Rabbit campaign.
That reminds me – emsnews – did one of your bunnies escape and go after Jimmah Cawtaw? 😉
I have no idea if you are pulling our legs or not, but it is a very funny story. Thanks for sharing it.
Sorry to hear about your rabbit. Sounds like Monty Python ripped you off, they have a killer rabbit that also attacked a mail man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6AnUeC25VE
emsnews, That is a riot. I am making Hubby read the killer rabbit story. May send it to his brother too.
Cheers from Minnesota where the high today is -3 deg F. Wind Chill much colder, but sunny.
We had a family of snowy owls last year. 🙂
Here are some creatures that are here in southern MN that were not here when I was young. — they were all much farther to the north.
White Tail deer. nesting Canada Geese, they are a nuisance and a mess. They walk across my lawn and their droppings are everywhere. Also other smaller creatures.
‘
In Taxachusetts we had moose moving down from the north. If you think hitting a deer is a problem…
Hitting a moose is not a problem – for the moose.
Depends on the size and speed of the vehicle I guess. Though an Elk is not a Moose the Elk Cow I hit on I-40 in AZ very early on morning probably went 700 lbs or so. There is a reason they call them Bulls and Cows instead of Bucks and Does. Took her head on. Knocked her about 30′ in front of me and then rolled over her. She had had it. Limped the 13 miles into the Little America truck stop in Flagstaff. The Century class FreightLiner I was driving had the plastic grill busted, the AC condenser wiped out, a couple of thumb sized holes in the radiator, and the metal bumper was bent in about 3″ in the middle.
You just don’t dodge an animal that big in a big truck at highway speeds. To do so is to ask for a violent roll over if the unweighted wheels roll over their body. And I was limited to how hard I could brake because my team partner was in the bunk without the security net. So brake to slow down as much as possible without hurting him and square up and take her straight on was the best course. That is what I trained to do and that is what I did.
The same would go for a Moose if, God Forbid, I ran into a situation like that with one of them. And yes I know a Moose is bigger than an Elk.
The bottom of the hour news clip today stated that 2014 was well below average with respect to temperatures here in Central Illinois. Towards the end of the clip the report had to emphasize that this anomaly was uhique only to the Midwest. Everywhere else 2014 was a record year for heat. If I would have had a pie on my desk I would have planted my face in it. Who writes and then reads / broadcasts this kind of crap?
Excellent idea.
Plenty of slow moving prey in Chicago for Polar Bears to catch!
Drove to the yard and started the big truck. Will sit there idling all night and tomorrow until I take off for Bolton, ON. at about 11:00 tomorrow. Only way to try and prevent the diesel fuel from gelling. Volvo D-13 diesel engines just don’t take kindly to using any kind of fuel treatment. Sometimes I wish I had a good ole Detroit 60 during the winter.
No fuel treatment? Not even kerosene? Bummer. I use the stuff all the time on my two cummins esp. now that they have the ultra low sulfur diesel.
The way the injection cups are now with the pollution control stuff is the problem I guess. We were using fuel treatment until 2008 and then they did away with it. Warranty voided on Volvo’s with D-13 if you use it. I like the Detroit 60 in the winter. Just dump a pint of alcohol in each 100 gal saddle tank and you were good to go. And the Alcohol served double duty for drying out the air lines too. A little in the glad hands and your worries about airlines freezing up were over.
Well looks like I could be contending with lake effect snow coming off Huron with a possible whiteout along the 401 on my way up to Bolton, ON. if I take off at the normal time. http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/winter-weather
Think I’ll scoot out of here a little early if possible to try and stay ahead of that Alberta Clipper. Can’t vary my route much because I have to go over the Ambassador bridge between Detroit and Windsor for customs. So I’ll change my timing if the loaded trailer coming up from Mexico via Laredo is here early enough.
These loads of wiring harnesses for new automobiles are generally only 27,000 lb or so and loaded on 53′ dry van trailers with skirts. So they’re heavy enough to provide for good traction on slick roads and stability in winds but light enough they don’t slow me down much on the hills.
Those skirts one sees that help keep the airflow from going under the trailer improve mileage but as far as I’m concerned their greatest benefit is they provide greater stability for the trailer in high winds. Most rigs get blown over because of the air actually getting under the trailer and lifting it some allowing it to be more susceptible to be blown over.
Sometimes there is a very fine line between hardcore and stupid. A few years ago while driving west on I-80 in Wyoming on slick pavement a cross wind picked up my trailer and blew my whole rig from the right lane to the left lane. Not a damned thing I could do about it. Just hold on. Thankfully the gust abated before it pushed me far enough for my left steer wheel to catch the deep snow though my left side trailer tandems got into it. The momentum just pulled those tires right out of that 2′ deep snow and I was able to keep going. It did wake my team partner that was in the sleeper though. When he laid back down he locked himself into the bunk with the safety net for the rest of my driving shift. Passed several blow overs and even more run offs and jackknifes on that transit across I-80. Though it wasn’t snowing the wind was blowing so hard that there was a 6″ layer of blowing snow right down on the road surface and with clear skies and the sun shinning it masked the lines on the road a lot of the time so drivers were having a great deal of trouble just keeping between the lines and some got into the snow on the shoulders and were dragged off. If it had been dark I would have found a place to park it until conditions changed but in daylight I judged it doable and made it. Probably would do the same if I ran across the same conditions today.
rah,
Here is wishing you a very safe trip. Take care of yourself and hope that load arrives early.
Thank you Gail and I’m back safe and sound. A little bit of a rough trip though. As is sometimes the case with weather forecasts it was right on concerning location and effect but was way off concerning the timing. The thing hit early and I arrived long after it had gone through but did not avoid the effects.
The section of the 401 where the lake effect blizzard hit was closed from 13:00 till 22:15 on Wed. due to multiple accidents including two involving at total of 8 big trucks plus some others involving 4-wheelers. I got lucky and just as I reached the exit where they were detouring the traffic they opened the interstate. I guess I was about the 10th vehicle through. But the road was terrible! 50 Km of three lane road completely covered with a glazed layer of packed snow. No lines or rumble strips visible. It was interesting to say the least. The road slowly improved after Woodstock but wasn’t really decent until I reached the Niagara escarpment going down into Mississauga.
On the way back ran into more bad weather with sustained winds 30 mph and gusts at places reaching 50 so besides some snow coming down there was a lot blowing over the roads too. US-23 from I-94 to the Toledo area was the worst of it.
When I got back I found that I’m the only salary driver back in and there are a whole lot of shipments waiting. Supposed to go off duty at 06:00 Friday but it looks like there is a good chance I will get my first overtime of the new year and get called to work. It’s the nature of my job. When the weather gets bad drivers call off and outside carriers also drop shipments so we who’s job it is to pick up the ball and run with it have to go. One things for sure. Ole Man winter is making up for lost time. Notice while passing over the Ambassador bridge that the western half of the Detroit River is iced over. Anyway, I earned my pay this time.
I’m happy to hear you are back–I was thinking of you knowing it was going to be a tough trip.
I enjoy your insights into this difficult job the road.
Colorado, I often wish that everyone had the chance to go for a ride in a big truck for some distance. If they did many would treat big trucks differently when they’re on the road. Personally I think it would great if such a thing were added to drivers education at the schools. But of course the lawyers would never allow anything like that to happen. But at least my Grandaughter got the education. So now she knows because she rode with me and it happened to be a time when we hit some serious snow.
At 59 y/o and in seemingly good health I can still take the hours of concentration but recovery afterwards takes a little longer than it used to. In a way sitting here typing this stuff is therapy.
I never rode long distance in a big truck in the U.S. but I’ve done medium truck driving in Europe, plus I have years of experience with heavy trailers.
I always look out for the guys with long and heavy vehicles and try to predict what they need to do. It is great when I sense the driver knows what and why I did because I knew what he needed to do. Sometimes there is even a chance for an acknowledgment. I assume that it is commonplace among the professionals.
Your granddaughter is lucky to have you, and I’m not talking about professional driver’s ed only.
—
P.S. I know a little about the changing recovery times …
Got a call from one of the big wigs at my company. She asked me to move from my 2012 Volvo into a brand new 2015 FreightLiner. I reluctantly agreed. Their motivation is to give my tractor to one of the newer drivers because they are retiring the 2007 Volvo trucks from the fleet. The Volvo I’m driving has over 399,000 mi on it so it’s just well broken in now but a good bit of the portion of the warranty will expire this year.
Though the Volvo has a smaller sleeper, less storage and a smaller less comfortable mattress compared to the FrightLiner there a many things I prefer on it. I like the dash and instrument layout. I like the “econo roll” function on the cruise control and it has a great Jake brake. And the Volvo has a little tighter turning radius that comes in handy sometimes in very tight places. I know the differences because at times I have been called to fill in on team runs with drivers that FreightlLners and I also did a Vehicle recovery driving a Penski rental FreightLiner out to Fredrick Maryland and bringing back a Company Volvo tractor from there.
So it’s out of truck 21216 and into truck 21533 at my leisure within the next 10 days or so. On the bright side the FreightLiner has an APU so I get A/C without idling the truck.
rah,
I am very glad you made it back safe and sound. Take care for the rest of the winter.
I had two big rigs (with hired drivers) and I have ridden in one but I never dove one except in school (Insurance regs. said I had to work for someone else for two years.)
I do not envy you. A dually with a 33 foot stock trailer is plenty of rig for me.
I will say I am very glad I took a good truck driver training course. It makes hauling a livestock trailer much easier. Some of that course should be mandatory for the idiot sixteen year olds.. like the movie of the trailer tires going right up and over a car with ease… I cringe when I see the stupid stunts pulled by the brain dead drivers who cut off a truck expecting him to get out of their way. You might have the right of way but it doesn’t do you much good if you are dead.
That may be why you never drove one. Owners hate it when their rigs are put into dives. 😉
You know Gail if I didn’t like it and couldn’t take pride in doing it right, I wouldn’t be doing it. There are other options for me but I really like this job. I did the sit behind the desk responsible for a business thing for 15 years and was glad when I got out. And the thing is as long as I can pass the physical I can do this job for as long as so inclined. Eventually this on-call stuff will become too much but there are plenty of other driving jobs including working part time for this company or another anywhere we end up deciding to go.
BTW last night driving home from the yard I had a little fun in our Toyota FJ Cruiser. Plowed through the blowing snow drifts and stuff. That thing is solid as a rock with minimal steering input required even when hitting 2′ drifts at 30-40 mph. If I’d tried that in my 3/4 ton Chevy Pickup I’d been in the ditch or worse in no time.
This is supposed to be good stuff:
Amsoil Diesel Cold Flow
A performance concentrate that delivers maximum results
Formulated with an advanced deicer to enhance fuel flow and help prevent fuel filter plugging in cold temperatures. AMSOIL Cold Flow Improver is formulated for a broad range of diesel fuels, including #1 diesel, #2 diesel, biodiesel and ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD).
Google Amsoil Cold Flow for complete specs.
Disclaimer, not associated with company. I have only used their oils and sold my cargo van with 596,000 and ran perfect.
Diesel Recovery Emergency Fuel Treatment
AMSOIL Diesel Recovery quickly dissolves gelled fuel, thaws frozen fuel filters and reduces the need for a new filter, saving both money and an inconvenient trip to a parts store. Performs well in all diesel fuels, including ULSD, off-road and biodiesel. Cheap insurance against frozen fuel.
Have to look into them. Thanks
Yes, my Ford 350 diesel would also jell up at sub zero temperatures. I kept it in a garage that I could heat as the only solution but when out snowplowing, I, too, had to keep it running at all times such as when I stop to eat, etc.
And yes, the pollution controls made all of this much harder to deal with. I used to use a product called ‘Sea Foam’ to keep it from jelling up in winter. But it wasn’t any good if the vehicle was parked outside overnight in the open.
This is the stuff I use in winter, however my trucks are 1991 and 1992 and I now live in North Carolina. Of course it is still going down to 16 °F… oops, they just revised it to a low of 11 °F. Jeff Masters always has the forecast temps higher than we actually see.
The record was 9 °F (2014) for today and 7 °F (1970) for tomorrow.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Gi16jdSjL._SY450_.jpg
Power Service 1080-06 +Cetane Boost Diesel Fuel Supplement Anti-Freezer
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/glcfs.php?lake=l&ext=ice&type=N&hr=00
It’s starting again.
yes, There is some ice in most of Superior.
http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/anim.php?lake=s¶m=icecon&type=f