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. 

17 degrees F on Thanksgiving Day morning

I think that is the coldest so far here this year, 17 degrees F on Nov 28, 2013.

Snowy Nov 27, 2013

We had a little snow here last night, only about 1.5".  Flurries throughout the day.  Tonight will be cold with a low in the teens. 

20 degrees F here Nov 13, 2013

Coolest morning of the season so far, 20 degrees F. 

22 degrees F on the farm Saturday October 26, 2013

Yesterday morning it was 22 degrees here on the farm in Oakdale.  This year has been cool and wet, I wonder what the winter will be like.

27 degrees this morning October 25, 2013

This morning it was 27 degrees F here on the farm.  We are expecting another cold morning tomorrow. 

52 degrees F at the farm July 29, 2013

I put on my fleece to go out and do chores this morning.  We dipped down below 60 degrees a couple of times in the last week but this morning was the coolest yet at 52 degrees.  We have only hit 90 degrees a couple of times so far this year.
Beautiful weather.

We have also had a lot of rain this year, all of the springs and creeks are flowing, it looks like they might not stop at all this year. 

Blog update

It's been a while since I've updated the blog.  July 16th seems like a good day.  Just did some farm chores, early, just before sunrise.  A beautiful time of day.  Time to make some coffee.

Letting the horses out shortly, roosters are crowing.  Super pup is not feeling well, not sure what happened to him, may take him to the vet.  His birthday is not for a few months, he is acting older than my 50 years though at the moment.  He seems very happy however as long as he stays near me.  Go figure. 

As the sun is coming up there is a light layer of fog outside.  Received a call yesterday from a woman named Julie inquiring about black homing pigeons for sale.  In the dark this morning I loaded a crate with about a dozen birds, I'll take them out on a short training toss after the fog clears. 

Recently had an interesting bird show up at the loft, sort of a red fancy hen, with a custom blue plastic leg band that says Jennings loft and has the number 1963 but no other information.  I have had no luck tracking down the owner so far.  

First 2012 fall frost

Yesterday I checked the weather forecast and it showed a low of 41 degrees for us this morning.  We have been enjoying the wonderful weather lately and have not used any heat or air conditioning for the last week or two, just opened the windows as desired.  Last night we closed up the house and set the heat to come on if necessary. 

It was necessary.  I woke up this morning and it was 36 degrees outside.  There was frost on the grass and a thin layer of ice on the trampoline.   I used the hose to start filling a pigeon drinker and the water flow slowed because of ice buildup behind the valve.   There was an ice slush mixture in the drinker bowl. 

The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately, however I would not mind if we got a little bit of rain.