cold, snow, closed schools

Today is november 19, 2014.  Yesterday evening the temperature at the farm was 13 degrees F at 10:00 pm, this morning it was 10 degrees F.  

We have had small amounts of snow already on a couple of occasions, yesterday it caused the schools to be closed here.  

Yesterday the temperature did not rise above 30 degrees F.  Those days can be difficult because you need to make sure that all of the animals on the farm have access to nice clean water, not a block of ice.

Over the weekend I rescued one of our fourteen baby ducklings.  Ducks absolutely love water, even baby ducks.  However, if a baby duck jumps into a water pan and then lays down on a frozen surface, it will freeze to that surface.  Not good.  The ducklings are all doing well.

My journey to cast my vote with a real paper ballot in the mid term election on November 4, 2014

I exercised my right to vote today in the November 4, 2014 mid term election.  I was successful in casting my vote with a real paper ballot and placing it into a real ballot box.  

It was not an easy process however.  I requested a paper ballot in the August 2014 primary election and was told by the precinct worker who checked with the local supervisor that I could not vote using a paper ballot and that I must vote using an electronic black box voting machine.

A few days later I contacted the TN division of elections and asked directly if I could vote using a paper ballot.  I received a response from an election attorney in the secretary of state office a few weeks later, however the reply was not clear.  I followed up and waited.  I followed up again and received a clear response to my question.  The state was rather reluctant to provide a timely and clear answer to the simple voting question I had posed.

Here is the answer from the state election attorney:  The state prefers that voters use electronic black box voting machines if they are available.  However, the state will not deny someone the right to vote if they request a paper ballot.

Today as I checked in at the voting precinct I showed my photo ID, I signed my name several times, and I requested a paper ballot from the precinct worker.  The precinct worker told me no that I could not vote with a paper ballot.  I told the precinct worker that I had checked with the state and that I did have the right to vote in the election using a paper ballot.  The precinct worker called the local supervisor and he again said that I could not vote using a paper ballot.

I provided them with the name of the election attorney in the election division in the TN secretary of state office.   The supervisor tried to call the attorney but could not get through, imagine that happening on election day.  They asked me to wait and I did.  After about ten minutes the precinct worker took a call from the supervisor and then apologized to me and said that yes I could vote using a paper ballot and that my vote would count in the election. 

It took about 30 seconds for me to fill out the paper ballot.  Then the precinct worker had to get instructions on how to complete the process.  After a few more minutes I folded my ballot and placed it into an envelope and sealed it, and dropped it into the ballot box.

Success! 

Now why would anyone want to cast their vote using a hand counted paper ballot system?  The precinct worker thought that paper ballots were a terrible idea and that a lot of smart people had figured out the electronic black box voting machine system and that she placed her trust in it and in them.

I on the other hand prefer a simple system that does not require me to place my trust in a few smart clever people.

The simple fact is that you cannot verify a vote that is cast using an electronic black box voting machine.   Ronald Reagan once said "Trust but verify".

There are other good reasons to cast your vote with a paper ballot but this blog entry is already long enough. 

First frost of season Oct 5

Yesterday morning it was 38 degrees here, today it dipped briefly under 32 degrees F (31.5 F) a little before 7am.

At 9pm as I write this the temp is 47.9 F.  It was a nice day here, a family of deer has been hanging out.  I did some bush hogging in the upper pasture in the afternoon, broke two shear bolts and called it quits.

Fall has arrived

Beautiful fall weather here.  Yesterday morning it was 48 degrees at the farm, this morning it was 42.5 degrees at 6am.  Delightful weather. 

49 degrees F at the farm July 30, 2014

This morning it was 49 degrees F at the farm with a little bit of fog.  Yesterday morning it was 56 degrees.  Knoxville set record low temperatures for these dates yesterday and today. 

Fiber to the Farm

Highland Telephone Cooperative installed a corning fiber optic line up to the house yesterday.  They had a big crew, perhaps 10 men, equipment ranged from a 4 wheeler to pickup trucks, trailers, a trencher/plow, and a bucket truck.  It is possible that we will have high speed internet sometime in the next year. 

We presently have a DSL connection with a maximum speed of 1150 kbps, actual bandwidth is often much less.

49 degrees at the Farm July 17, 2014

Yesterday morning it was 53 degreees F, today it was 49 degrees F at the farm when I woke up.  Beautiful and refreshing weather for the middle of July.

Sleet, Snow, Wind, Cold (24 degrees F) and Beautiful Spring Blossoms

Yesterday we had snow, sleet, and wind, it looked briefly like a blizzard, and it coated our decks.  The air temp was about 40 degrees F so it quickly melted.

This morning on Wednesday April 16 it was cold and clear, 24 degrees F, I had to scrape ice off of the car windows.

Last week one day it almost hit 80 degrees F, a lot of trees are flowering and it is very beautiful right now. 

White stuff on the driveway yesterday, not snow this time

Came home yesterday and found a few large "LOC ->" messages spray painted in white on our gravel driveway.   Apparently the local telecom is preparing to install fiber optic cables in our area. 

We have lived on the farm now for 7 years and we have had a DSL internet connection the whole time.  Our internet speed has never exceeded a maximum of 1150 KBPS (that is just a little over one mega bit per second) and it goes down from there.  

It would be nice to have a better internet connection, however our main concern is the reliability of the system and actual bandwidth during peak usage times.

Snow Flurries yesterday, 16 degrees F this morning

Yesterday we had snow flurries and brisk winds, this morning it was 16 degrees F on the farm.  Yes, today is March 26, 2014.

9 degrees F February 27, 2014

Very clear night skies caused the temp to drop to 9 degrees F this morning on the farm.  Beautiful clear and sunny day. 

Minus 5 degrees F January 29, 2014

This morning it was -1 degree F in Knoxville.  It was -5 degrees F here on the farm this morning.  We had a couple inches of snow in the storm yesterday, Knox county schools released early yesterday and are closed today and tomorrow. 

The Emory river is covered in ice topped with snow. 

Fortunately is was clear and sunny today with little wind.  

Another below zero morning temp Jan 24, 2014

The temperature hit -0.9 degrees F at the farm this morning. 

Hopefully all of this cold weather will put a dent in certain insect populations such as the hemlock woolly adelgids. 

Another cold snap, 5 degrees F January 22, 2014

We had about 1/2" of snow and the temperature was 5 degrees F this morning.  Big wind gusts yesterday afternoon, enough to overturn a fairly heavy "peacock" house (made from OSB and 2x4's, 4'x4'x4' and sitting on the ground) and our basketball goal which had 300 lbs of sand in the base.  More cold forecast for the next few days.

Minus 6 degrees F on the farm January 7, 2014

Yesterday morning the temperature at the farm hit a low of -6 degrees F.  Definitely the coldest temp we have experienced in a while. 

The temperature has remained below 20 F for last two days. 

We worked very hard around the farm and all of the animals have come through the cold spell in good shape. 

Yesterday morning the sun was shining and the temperature was still -3 degrees F and and I saw a group of about 20 pigeons flying laps above their loft, enjoying their morning flight, apparently oblivious to the cold.

We had about 1" of snow on Sunday night and it may start to melt today.

One of our dogs came in the house yesterday afternoon with icicles on her fur.