What a morning!

[GunnyMack]

The weather forecast was for rain this morning so I decided to wait and head to the club later than I should have and go look for a deer with my muzzle loader.
I get there and 3 chunks of dead ash trees are in the driveway.
Having learned my lesson I had a chainsaw in the truck. One of the club members lives across the street and I called him for backup. Half hour later I open the gun case and see I left my ramrod at home! Fortunately I had loaded it in the basement so I had 1 shot if I saw a deer- I didn't see any.
Another member was meeting me so we could shoot some clay birds. Then it poured for half an hour. Finally start shooting and the battery goes dead. And more rain.
That's it, I've had enough fun for the day! Pack up and head out. Oh look the ash trees are now laying across the driveway with a large cherry tree!
My little Stihl 017 with 14" bar wasn't enough to get through the cherry. Another call to the other member and he showed up with his saw. So we cut up the 3 trees and cleared the road.
I'm glad to have found the mess this morning instead of tomorrow morning when we are supposed to be bird hunting.

[gamekeeper]

Some days plans just don't work out.... I hope someone gets some use out of all that Ash and Cherry wood.

[GunnyMack]

Yes, the neighbor member probably has it cleaned up and split by now!

[.45colt]

I heated with Ash for the last month , the bugs from china killed them all. nothing around here split as easy or dried faster than the Ash Tree. switched the stove upstairs to Anthracite Coal yesterday as it's going to be in the 20's all week.

[Bill in Oregon]

That's a memorable day all right, Will!

[6pt-sika]

I’ve about had it with my local Gunclub . They saw fit to DOUBLE the dues for next year . So I sent my share of stock in the other day to be reimbursed and I’ll not renew in October . Been a member at that club for forty years . We’ve had an influx of white collar younger shooters that wanna build this and add this etc etc and the easiest way to fund this is by doubling the dues . I honestly don’t care to be around most of them anymore . Besides the only thing I use the club for anymore is sighting in at 100 and 200 yards . Have enough actual friends that are members I can go with should the need arise .

[marlinman93]

Sounds better than my morning yesterday!
We woke up to 12 degrees here, snowing, and 50 mph winds! Worst weather in my 73 years here! We stayed inside and decided nothing needed to be done outside.....until power went off just after noon! I had to go out to the shed and drag our 9500 watt generator out, then set it up to feed the house, but realized my generator cord had the wrong plug on the generator end! Darn!
So off to the big box store which luckily is only a half mile away to buy a cord end! Got back and rewired the cord, and got power back. Then filled it with gas and started it up. Ran to the gas station for a gas can refill, and sat it aside.
We shut it off last night, and bundled up with extra blankets. Got restarted this morning and made a run for coffee and more gas, just in case. We've got 3 propane tanks also as our generator is dual fuel and can run off propane if need be. Waiting to see when power comes back, but nothing scheduled yet. Meantime we're cozy and warm, but looks like we're the only ones with power in our area.

[GunnyMack]

Nothing worse than power outages! I think we still have some poles from the telegraph days around here, the grid isn't much better!
Nice having duel fuel - good thinking on your part.

[marlinman93]

Nothing worse than power outages! I think we still have some poles from the telegraph days around here, the grid isn't much better!
Nice having duel fuel - good thinking on your part.

We went 25 years without any outage longer than a couple minutes, and those were rare! Then after that it seems like whether it get way too hot, or way too cold, we have outages, and they last all day, or more. I personally think our power company knows a transformer is undersized for this area but refuses to replace it.
I can look down the block to the South one block and see they have power, East 4 blocks has power, and North 5 blocks has power. Yet somehow our little area gets outages.

[GunnyMack]

Sounds like our grid here Val. That's how it was before hurricane Sandy. So much was destroyed from Sandy that poles, transformers and wire was replaced. Worst part of the power company is they are short staffed and union, so 1 truck / crew will only run wire, 1 will set poles,1 will make connections, 1 will set fuses and NONE of the crews work out of the same location so it could take hours to pop in a fuse!

[Bill in Oregon]

Vall, I hope you are back on the grid soon! Been some nasty weather in good old Oregon this winter.

[marlinman93]

Vall, I hope you are back on the grid soon! Been some nasty weather in good old Oregon this winter.

Power came back last night after 36 hours out. But our 9500 watt generator let us function almost as normal. Only thing we didn't do was laundry as the dryer is a big amp draw. But we can keep the lights, plugs, internet, heat and whatever else we needed. Shut down at night to save fuel, and just put extra blankets on the bed.
It's a balmy 17 degrees now, but winds back up to 40 mph, so leaving the generator out and ready, just in case!

[Griff]

Woke up this morning up north of Ft Worth to deliver... temp gauge in outside mirror said 9º, and with the heat turned all the way up, the sleeper heater blew slightly below room temp air... front cab heater was doing all it could to keep stuff from freezing, (if I'm low on coolant, neither works very well)... too cold to get out & check. Supposed to warm up by Thursday to mid 50s, it'll wait till then! They off loaded their stuff and I commenced to ease my way back across the Metroplex to where I keep my trailer, (big manufacturing concern that I usually haul for)... they were closed due to temps, but they have a big outside the fence area where I can drop my trailer or pick up after hours... they'll move it inside when they return to work. Great folks to work with, if they ask, I do, it always comes back as good karma!

Roads were not too slick, but somehow, some folks just can't get the concept that "freezing temps, roads may be icy"... means you drive cautiously, slowing down as icy conditions can be treacherous. Yep, there were accidents... none of which I witnessed, but... I'd bet my paycheck the folks involved were speeding. Four wheel drive can help you move, doesn't do squat for helping you stop!

[marlinman93]

Just spoke with my brother in Oklahoma and he said they're at 5 degrees, and he's got maybe 3-4 days left of propane to run the furnace! And to make matters worse his propane supplier told him they can't get propane anywhere in any states around. Said the places they buy from are all frozen up and no propane available! He's hoping things get warmer, or the propane somehow becomes available before they completely run out!