This morning the temperature just barely dropped below 20 degrees F, the reading was 19.6 degrees F. Lot's of frost. Much needed rain in the forecast this week.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
22 degrees F yesterday
The morning lows for the last three days were 23 degrees F, 21.6 degrees F, and 23 degrees F.
Rain in the forecast for tomorrow.
Spike greeted me yesterday on the driveway with a jack rabbit in her mouth, the cats brought a small blue jay type bird into the house.
Horses are in good condition for the winter, basically fat, grazing at night in the upper pasture.
Tractor front right tire has gone flat, again.
White suburban needs a new transmission.
Rain in the forecast for tomorrow.
Spike greeted me yesterday on the driveway with a jack rabbit in her mouth, the cats brought a small blue jay type bird into the house.
Horses are in good condition for the winter, basically fat, grazing at night in the upper pasture.
Tractor front right tire has gone flat, again.
White suburban needs a new transmission.
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Brief rain November 19, 2016
At 4:47 am today we were hit with a brief thunderstorm, complete with thunder booms and lightning and wind and rain for about 10 - 15 minutes. The storm passed, a cold front came in, and it has been very windy all day.
Monday, November 14, 2016
28 degrees F, playful deer, stuck tractor, drought and fires
We have had morning low temperatures of 28 degrees F for the last two or three days.
This morning there was a deer family / small herd that were very happy and playing and running around and jumping up on their hind legs out in the pasture, nice to see. The deer and the dogs have worked things out, the dogs won't bother them as long as they stay at least 100 yards or so from the house.
I'm not sure if I have written about the drought yet, but we are in a serious drought. This is the driest it has been since I have lived in TN (since 2001) and the driest according to the news for perhaps 30 or 40 years.
Today is an air quality alert day, smoky haze from various wildfires, we have had these air quality alerts now for about a week.
I took advantage of the dry weather to continue work on a wildlife pond on the farm, over a few decades it had filled up with a lot of dirt. I am in the process of draining and cleaning out this pond. About two weeks ago I got my tractor stuck in this pond, it was the first time I have ever gotten my tractor stuck. I thought that it was too dry and I would not get stuck but I was wrong. The tractor is an 85 HP tractor, 4wd, with ag tires, so it got stuck pretty good. I left the tractor overnight and thought that freezing temperatures would stiffen up the mud enough so I could get out but it did not work.
Here is what did work. Tractor in 4wd, first gear, about 1400 rpm, locked rear differential (front differential is limited slip and works well), forward direction on the hydraulic shuttle (rocking back and forth did not work), continuously steer the front tires back and forth left and right, and finally, for me to bounce up and down (weighting and un-weighting) on the seat of the tractor. This technique, slowly but surely, inch by inch, allowed the tractor to crawl out of the muck and escape the pond.
Back to the drought, we have water in a few locations on the farm, upper pond, a little bit still left in the wildlife pond that I'm working on, and the creek. Normally the springs would be flowing nicely at this time of year but now there is just a very slow seep.
There has been no rain I think since the summer, forest fires are a problem, and there is no pasture or local hay. Farmers are having to sell cattle and / or purchase expensive hay from outside our region.
Our pasture should be good to get us through the winter, we typically just graze and don't feed hay, but we really need some rain.
It might be a good idea to try to measure the water level in the well, just to see where things are at this point of the drought.
This morning there was a deer family / small herd that were very happy and playing and running around and jumping up on their hind legs out in the pasture, nice to see. The deer and the dogs have worked things out, the dogs won't bother them as long as they stay at least 100 yards or so from the house.
I'm not sure if I have written about the drought yet, but we are in a serious drought. This is the driest it has been since I have lived in TN (since 2001) and the driest according to the news for perhaps 30 or 40 years.
Today is an air quality alert day, smoky haze from various wildfires, we have had these air quality alerts now for about a week.
I took advantage of the dry weather to continue work on a wildlife pond on the farm, over a few decades it had filled up with a lot of dirt. I am in the process of draining and cleaning out this pond. About two weeks ago I got my tractor stuck in this pond, it was the first time I have ever gotten my tractor stuck. I thought that it was too dry and I would not get stuck but I was wrong. The tractor is an 85 HP tractor, 4wd, with ag tires, so it got stuck pretty good. I left the tractor overnight and thought that freezing temperatures would stiffen up the mud enough so I could get out but it did not work.
Here is what did work. Tractor in 4wd, first gear, about 1400 rpm, locked rear differential (front differential is limited slip and works well), forward direction on the hydraulic shuttle (rocking back and forth did not work), continuously steer the front tires back and forth left and right, and finally, for me to bounce up and down (weighting and un-weighting) on the seat of the tractor. This technique, slowly but surely, inch by inch, allowed the tractor to crawl out of the muck and escape the pond.
Back to the drought, we have water in a few locations on the farm, upper pond, a little bit still left in the wildlife pond that I'm working on, and the creek. Normally the springs would be flowing nicely at this time of year but now there is just a very slow seep.
There has been no rain I think since the summer, forest fires are a problem, and there is no pasture or local hay. Farmers are having to sell cattle and / or purchase expensive hay from outside our region.
Our pasture should be good to get us through the winter, we typically just graze and don't feed hay, but we really need some rain.
It might be a good idea to try to measure the water level in the well, just to see where things are at this point of the drought.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Record White Tail Deer killed in TN
A farmer killed a state record setting white tail deer in Sumner county TN during muzzle loader hunting season last Saturday. The deer rack had 47 points and will set a record for the state of TN. The rack will be dried for 60 days and then scored and will possibly be a new world record.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2016/11/08/state-world-record-deer-killed-sumner-county-tennessee/93492744/
http://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/2016/11/08/state-world-record-deer-killed-sumner-county-tennessee/93492744/
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Voted with real paper ballot today
Today I voted using a real paper ballot which I placed in a real ballot box.
At my local voting precinct things were a little busy when I arrived this morning, there were about 8 people in line to get to the check in table and then there was a line with about 10 people who were waiting to use one of the three electronic black box voting machines.
Behind the line of people waiting to use the electronic voting machines was a small table with a ballot box and a place for a voter to fill out a paper ballot. There was no line for the paper ballot / ballot box voting station.
When I reached the check in table with election workers, they handed me a paper form and asked me to write my name, address, and to sign this paper form using a black ink pen.
Then the election workers wanted to see my voter registration card and driver's license, both of which also happen to be ink printed on paper.
Next, I moved to the worker who had the voter registration book, they found my information in the book, the pages again were ink printed on paper, and I was asked to sign my name in black ink next to my name on the page.
Now, instead of moving to the end of the line for the electronic black box voting machines I requested and received a paper ballot, it was just one page with four races;
1) US presidential race
2) US house of representatives race
3) TN state senate race
4) TN state house of representatives race.
Using a black pen, I filled in the box next to the candidates name I was voting for in each of the four races, this took approximately 10 seconds. Next, I removed the stub section from the bottom of the ballot, handed that to the election worker. Next, I folded my ballot, placed it in an envelope and sealed the envelope. Finally, I dropped the envelope with my ballot into the slot at the top of the ballot box.
The voters who are using electronic black box voting machines are separated from their vote by a complex layer of electronics, software, firmware, and hardware. It is not possible to verify a vote with an electronic black box voting machine.
To make people feel better about the black box electronic voting machines, some claim to have a paper trail. The term "paper trail" is used to make people feel more comfortable about using these electronic devices. The problem is that there is still a complex layer of electronics and software and hardware and firmware placed in between the voter and this so called paper trail, and therefore the vote still cannot be verified and is susceptible to manipulation, errors, and hacking.
A hand counted paper ballot system is fast, simple, secure. It is straightforward, simple, and easy to verify a vote with a paper ballot.
At my local voting precinct things were a little busy when I arrived this morning, there were about 8 people in line to get to the check in table and then there was a line with about 10 people who were waiting to use one of the three electronic black box voting machines.
Behind the line of people waiting to use the electronic voting machines was a small table with a ballot box and a place for a voter to fill out a paper ballot. There was no line for the paper ballot / ballot box voting station.
When I reached the check in table with election workers, they handed me a paper form and asked me to write my name, address, and to sign this paper form using a black ink pen.
Then the election workers wanted to see my voter registration card and driver's license, both of which also happen to be ink printed on paper.
Next, I moved to the worker who had the voter registration book, they found my information in the book, the pages again were ink printed on paper, and I was asked to sign my name in black ink next to my name on the page.
Now, instead of moving to the end of the line for the electronic black box voting machines I requested and received a paper ballot, it was just one page with four races;
1) US presidential race
2) US house of representatives race
3) TN state senate race
4) TN state house of representatives race.
Using a black pen, I filled in the box next to the candidates name I was voting for in each of the four races, this took approximately 10 seconds. Next, I removed the stub section from the bottom of the ballot, handed that to the election worker. Next, I folded my ballot, placed it in an envelope and sealed the envelope. Finally, I dropped the envelope with my ballot into the slot at the top of the ballot box.
The voters who are using electronic black box voting machines are separated from their vote by a complex layer of electronics, software, firmware, and hardware. It is not possible to verify a vote with an electronic black box voting machine.
To make people feel better about the black box electronic voting machines, some claim to have a paper trail. The term "paper trail" is used to make people feel more comfortable about using these electronic devices. The problem is that there is still a complex layer of electronics and software and hardware and firmware placed in between the voter and this so called paper trail, and therefore the vote still cannot be verified and is susceptible to manipulation, errors, and hacking.
A hand counted paper ballot system is fast, simple, secure. It is straightforward, simple, and easy to verify a vote with a paper ballot.
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