winter came with a bang.

[Lloyd Smale]

no snow 3 days ago now there is  about 2 feet on the flat. spent half the day yesterday trying to straighten the auger on my blower after sucking up a big rock. that sucked but it was still easier than breaking out the walk behind blower. snow blowing is just so much eaiser in a heated cab on the tractor. this old bod just doesnt do good wrestling in the cold with a walk behind. years ago id have been in 7th heaven after a storm like this. biting at the bit to break out the snowmobiles. it used to be my favorite time of year. now i hate it. bought 2 new snowmobiles in 2018 and there isnt a 1000 miles on them. give me 70s and my harley!!

[Land_Owner]

What is all that white stuff? Cannot say I understand. Been a florida native all my life. Bring modern technology to bear In the heated cab.

My wife is from upstate new york. She was describing to me five feet of snow outsideOf the house door And digging a u shaped tunnel through that to get to the barn. Does not sound like a pleasant morning.

Everyday Is shoveling the stairs and the driveway. Guess it comes with the territory. How the indians with practically no clothes Lived through that I'll never K n o w.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup have talked about that too. cant imagine living in a teepee with a fire burning inside when its 20 below and a blizzard outside!! must have been strange making babies with the whole family huddled together to try to stay warm!! real tough in this part of the county that did have alot of indians is that after the first snow even the deer get out of here till spring. all the could do is wait till the bay froze and ice fish. im sure the ran their asses off all winter just getting wood to keep that open fire going!! id bet when they shot a bear in the summer that hide was more valuable than the meat!! i think one winter up here in a teepee and id be falling on an arrow!!! guess it shows how soft weve really gotten and how hopeless it would be in a major shtf scenario. half of them would die when their phone lost signal because thinking for yourself ended 10 years ago!

[moamonkey]

Natives back then probably stayed fairly local (within 100 miles), and weren’t knowledgeable enough to realize they could move farther south and not have to deal with that. Any brave enough to explore farther south probably liked it, stayed and didn’t report back.

[ironglow]

yup have talked about that too. cant imagine living in a teepee with a fire burning inside when its 20 below and a blizzard outside!! must have been strange making babies with the whole family huddled together to try to stay warm!! Perhaps that is why gheir fecundity seems to have been high,staying warm by making babies..

real tough in this part of the county that did have alot of indians is that after the first snow even the deer get out of here till spring. all the could do is wait till the bay froze and ice fish. im sure the ran their asses off all winter just getting wood to keep that open fire going!! id bet when they shot a bear in the summer that hide was more valuable than the meat!! i think one winter up here in a teepee and id be falling on an arrow!!! Well, I can iunderstand how you feel.  Being a 21st century American, we would be hard pressed to take a winter as they did !
   
  guess it shows how soft weve really gotten and how hopeless it would be in a major shtf scenario. half of them would die when their phone lost signal because thinking for yourself ended 10 years ago!  You're right of course, we are a far softer people than our forefathers were.
 .

  Here in our atrea, the Iroquois Indians did not deal with teepees, but built themselves longhouses..until they were introduced to log cabins. Some of the longhouses were quite large, with bunks along each wall..family groups each had a section..usually with it's own fire.

  https://www.magzter.com/stories/culture/All-About-History-UK/IROQUOIS-LONGHOUSE

   I once helped a grandson build a model longhouse as a school project for him.  That would have been back in the 1980s..and to my surprise, I
  found he still has that model.
   Next grandson, was assisted in building a model of Columbus's third ship..the "Pinta"...  ..Don't know if he still has it !

  Privacy as we know it must have only been obtained out in the bush . 

     https://www.hhhistory.com/2016/05/the-interior-of-iroquois-longhouse-and.html

[ironglow]

Natives back then probably stayed fairly local (within 100 miles), and weren’t knowledgeable enough to realize they could move farther south and not have to deal with that. Any brave enough to explore farther south probably liked it, stayed and didn’t report back.

  I believe you will find that native American tribes perhaps travelled more than many think.  We find that around the world nations developed when
  people share a common geography, customs and language.

  An indigenous language map demonstrates how far a language spread in ancient times..and sharing a language meant travel could be effected
   more easily for the breadth of their shared tongue..

  During the revolutionary war, tribal members from the north went as far as the Carolinas and perhaps to Florida..
 
  A language map shows how far certain languages travelled in anciient timess.  Note especially the Algonquin (bright green) spread.

    http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/41/048.html

 

[Lloyd Smale]

we were stii getting nailed yesterday and not light and fluffy snow. it settled on the ground like wet concrete. i blew snow for the third time yesterday and just cutting through that heavy snow broke 3 sheer pins on the blower and when i thought i did a 4th ran it into the barn and found the drive chain for the blower had snapped and was gone. now im praying for a let up because im down to my ariens snowblower till next Wednesday because kubota didnt have one in stock. i finished up abot the last 1/10 of what a blow with the ariens and i can barely walk this morning. if the storm hits again and i have to di it all with that (censored word) walk behind ill probably end up in the hospital!!

[ironglow]

we were stii getting nailed yesterday and not light and fluffy snow. it settled on the ground like wet concrete. i blew snow for the third time yesterday and just cutting through that heavy snow broke 3 sheer pins on the blower and when i thought i did a 4th ran it into the barn and found the drive chain for the blower had snapped and was gone. now im praying for a let up because im down to my ariens snowblower till next Wednesday because kubota didnt have one in stock. i finished up abot the last 1/10 of what a blow with the ariens and i can barely walk this morning. if the storm hits again and i have to di it all with that (censored word) walk behind ill probably end up in the hospital!!

   Much like our experience here.  This snow was unusual, in that it came so close to the freezing point, trhat much turned to crusty Ice/snow..real tough on snow blowers.
  My son ran the snow blower...and it sure made a lot of click~clack noise, but  no sheared pins so far..

  I am a bit surprised to hear you had to get Kubota specific shear pins, since most use just grade 5 cap screws..hardened just enough to snap,
    rather than mush over when they hit a snag.

[Lloyd Smale]

its got a 5 year warantee so i have to use their crap for another year

[Drilling Man]

  Lloyd, all those years I spent in Alaska, I got my fill of that chit weather and that's why I don't live in the UP.

  DM

[Lloyd Smale]

used to love it. back years ago a storm like this would have  me rolling out the new cross country race sled and getting some miles on the saddle. of all the things ive done and toys i owned snowmobiles were my biggest obsession. now i own two that are 8 years old and neither has a thousand miles on it. its went from my favorite time of year to a time i dread. to late in life to move and both the wife and i have kids, grandkids and great grandkids here. thought about a winter home. but between taxes, utilities and the high prices of homes it would suck up most of my extra money.  So i put up with the winter because there's no place ive been that's a nicer place to live for the other 3 season. but even that is changing now. every summer were being invaded worse from the south. its to the
 point i wont even go to town in the summer. seems my secret paradise is no longer a secret. i think theres more texas, FL, and AZ plates on cars in town than MI plates. if i wa 55 again and it was like this id probably be packing up and moving to WY or southern MT. only other places ive  been that i could see myself happy living there. few states in the south too. like NC, SC, GE, or AL but honestly i do better in the could than in that hot humid air in the summer that you can cut with a knife. so ill put up with blowing snow and the cold. aint to many years before my bod stays cold till they turn it to ash.

  Lloyd, all those years I spent in Alaska, I got my fill of that chit weather and that's why I don't live in the UP.

  DM

[ironglow]

 Although I still get into the woods now and then...and enjoy it, I don't do it near as often in cold, winter weather as I used to ....

  Now, when a lake effect is buffeting my home with high winds and many tons of snow, I can usually be found before my crackling fireplace,
  In my lounge chair, warming my fingers with a cup of Earl Gray tea in one hand and a good book (usually a history book) in the other!