Go ahead, laugh at us Southerners

[zephyrhillsusan]

Go ahead, Northerners, Westerners and Midwesterners, laugh at us down here, but we got 2" of snow today, and it was beautiful!  It's half gone by now, so I'm really glad we got out and enjoyed it while we could.  By the way, when you're knee-deep in mud after all your snow melts at once, who'll be laughing then?    

[ssimons]

Funny how different geographical areas react to different conditions. We all saw how Atlanta reacted a couple of weeks ago to only a couple of inches of snow. In Utah 2 inches of snow isn't of much concern. If the valleys get a couple of inches, then the mountains get a couple of feet, and the avalanche conditions are very dangerous. 2 inches of snow around the Great Lakes and farther north probably doesn't even warrant a jacket. We all adapt to our own circumstances as best we can. I was having a conversation with a gentleman in Minnesota the other day about Dexters , and he mentioned it was -35 at the moment at his place and I was in my overalls feeding cows at about 38 degrees. His " flip side" is lush , green ,knee deep pastures in summer , and mine is 100 degree days with parcels of land that really stretch the the meaning of  the word pasture, unless they are flood irrigated at least once a week.Good thing our Dexters are very adaptable as well. God bless all you folks that have experienced weather way outside the norms and hope you come through it best as possible. Especially the folks in North and South Dakota.

[lakeportfarms]

Yes, we Northerners snicker at you sometimes over the hysteria when you get a couple of inches, but what we don't tell you is that it is actually pretty tough to drive in snow when its 25 F or so and above, which is what you mostly get down South. I'd rather drive on the roads when it is 0 F out. It's like driving on bare pavement in comparison, the snow crunches under your tires and feet, and has a lot more traction.  And there is no point in having hundreds of thousands of dollars for snow removal equipment, when it gets to 60 degrees a couple of days later.  

One year in college I went with a couple of friends on spring break to go train in Florida, and on the way down in Kentucky they had a big snowstorm for them.  We pulled up to a roadblock on I-75 with State Troopers, who advised us the road was closed for 60 miles or so because of the snow, I think they had nearly 10-12".  We pleaded and persuaded them to let us through, because we were from Michigan and the snow was no big deal to us.  Somehow they agreed to let us go as long as we checked in the the troopers on the other end.  A little less than an hour later we did...lol, and this was when the speed limit was 55 mph. They had been notified we were coming through and the look on their faces when we pulled up was priceless as he checked his watch.  I made a joke about giving us a speeding ticket since we were obviously going faster.  They just smiled and said have a safe trip to Florida.

I'd also happily take 24" of snow over the 1/2" or so of ice some of you may be getting. I hope they're wrong about the forecast that I've heard for some of you, as the ice can be pretty devastating to your trees and of course the power lines.

You can also keep the 100 degree stuff, the rattlesnakes and the big thunderstorms and other things you encounter down there 

[zephyrhillsusan]

Hans, you mean you don't have rattlesnakes? No copperheads, either? Hmm, I might have to move north! I wonder if I could convince DH to take the cows north for the summer and south for the winter? It's true that there's a flip side to everything, and thank heaven our little cows are so adaptable, as you say, ssimons.

[stephanie]

This is the patch of concrete at the bottom of my drive in Wales UK, we have to date had 50 days of rain and the most rain in January for over 240 years! In summer the concrete is dry and usually in winter just and inch or 2 of water going over but its been like this most of the time since Christmas.

I like to keep my Dexter bulls out, I think the exercise is good for keeping them calm but the old stock bull has started to look miserable the last few days and I may have to think about a way to house him for the first time ever.



Stephanie

[hdrockn]

Hey Susan,
I don't think they have fire ants either.

[Olga]

Wow, Stephanie, that's a lot of water!

[zephyrhillsusan]

No kidding, that's a LOT of rain, Stephanie! How miserable! Don't you wish we could have a weather exchange so you and California could trade some of your rain and their sun?

Diane, I'd be glad to do without fire ants, too. If several bite me at once I get fever and chills. Between fire ants, rattlesnakes and copperheads, I'm trying to remember why we moved down here--oh yes, because three of our kids were living in the area! And now that our only three GKs are here, I guess the ants and snakes are stuck with us!   

[lakeportfarms]

No fire ants here either! Stephanie I love the little flap at the spot in your fence that the water runs through! I hope everybody gets through their bout of bad weather ok. Cold here this morning...-19F

[stephanie]

Thanks for the comments...at the moment the little flap is riding quite a bit higher and we are getting high winds - gusts up to 100mph, my son just rang to say that his chicken house just shot across his field end over end, fortunately there was only one chicken in it, could have been worse!Poor chicken....

As long as everyone is safe!!!

Stephanie

[zephyrhillsusan]

Scrambled eggs for supper! Poor chicken! That's a lot of wind! I like the flap, too--looks like it would be handy in our creek bed that we can't fence. It would let the water and debris through, but keep calves from getting out.

[wvdexters]

Don't worry Susan. No laughing today, in fact I'm thinking of moving in Tonight!! Lock, stock and barrel.

It's funny Northerners consider us West Virginians as southerners. They say we have the hot summer weather and of course the accent.

Southerners though consider us Northerners because we have the cold winters and all the snow. And as for the critters you all mentioned. That would be a yes on the snakes, both rattlers and copperheads but a definite no on the fire ants. Thank goodness because those guys sound like nothing you want to mess with. I have heard though that they are moving north a little every year, hopefully not too quickly.

Hans is right about winter driving. Slush is so slippery and ice can be impassable. Plus another thing to remember is that up here snow is expected. We run different tires, and most everyone has at least one 4WD vehicle or at least an AWD vehicle. In this area (mountains) most men drive 4WD pickups and the women/family car have SUVs.

Stephanie that is way too much rain! You've got to be about ready to build a boat and name your next little bull Noah.

The flap you showed is alot like what we do here. Running fencing through the hills can be tricky. Especially across the streams at the foot of the hills. The runoff tears out regular fencing.