Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

Warren Mary Ellen said:
I’ve seen Falcons in the wild twice & it was on back to back days. We were camping in Shenandoah NP and were at Hawksbill Mountain and saw them. They had a Ranger talk there about them. The next day we drove to DC and saw them in the city. We were up in the tower of the old Post Office there.
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I used to work at the Smithsonian years ago and I was told they released a pair of falcons in DC to get rid of the pigeons. The problem was they were striking the pigeons in the air and they fell out of the sky. The Park Service relocated the the falcons because dead pigeons falling on tourists was not a good look for DC. I have no idea if there is any truth to the story.
 
Steve Sanford said:
I used to work at the Smithsonian years ago and I was told they released a pair of falcons in DC to get rid of the pigeons. The problem was they were striking the pigeons in the air and they fell out of the sky. The Park Service relocated the the falcons because dead pigeons falling on tourists was not a good look for DC. I have no idea if there is any truth to the story.
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It was either ‘06 or ‘07.
 
It’s currently-9F and the wind is 8-15 mph. I’m not sure what that makes the wind chill and I’m not stepping outside to find out. I was wondering if the heater could warm the teardrop when it’s this cold.
 
GlampingOn said:
Wow, great story! I recall falccons and eagles being featured at the Wild Animal Park, seeing them fly over the crowd...imagine that bird launching on your friends puppet...
Another true story: walking on a service road in suburban open space reserve after dark, on a good moon nite:
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If you like that, in 2001 or so, my company took us to a team building event, specifically to an Indianapolis Indians night ball game. I think playing the mudhens. Its a beautiful park, with the skyline of a once amazing city visible from the bleachers.

Baseball, being a strategic but slow-moving game, got me watching things other than the game. Like huge moths flying in the brilliant lights. As I was watching a particularly large one, a bat flew in and snatched it up. Then -- just about a second later, a peregrine falcon swooped down and grabbed the bat. My wife and I looked at each other and said in unison, "DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Neither of us believed our own eyes. Cool event.

Van_and_Terri said:
I got this opportunity at an event in Asheville, NC a few years ago.
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Nice! Thats a hard one to beat! Sport of kings.


Steve Sanford said:
I used to work at the Smithsonian years ago and I was told they released a pair of falcons in DC to get rid of the pigeons. The problem was they were striking the pigeons in the air and they fell out of the sky. The Park Service relocated the the falcons because dead pigeons falling on tourists was not a good look for DC. I have no idea if there is any truth to the story.
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Pigeons and starlings are the same problem here. We also have peregrine program here -- its been slightly more effective, but the problem we have is also starlings. Horrid birds! They are so pervasive they will routinely ignite very large noisemakers (boom, not 'snap') downtown trying to frighten them away.

The more effective method of stoping complaints about birds was to simply stop enforcing laws. The once beautiful city had a bustling nightlife, with free concerts, festivals, fireworks, and the like. But after crime and gangs got a foot hold, and Circle Center Mall begin is death spiral, all that seems to have stopped. As I said above, Indianapolis - a once beautiful city. With crime rates higher than Chicago per capita, and a general downturn after the riots...I just don't/won't go down town any more.

As for the weather, Snowmageddon seems to have fizzled, at least here. It looks like the major snow has shifted south --- Louisville looks like they're taking a pounding. I'm jealous, a little. Every now and then I like a good blizzard. Of course, it isn't the same since I've been either not working, or working from home for almost 5 years now.
 
Snow and ice predicted for us on Friday. Right now calling for over 2 inches. Hopefully more & less ice. Had a whole house generator installed after the hurricane, but it’s not set up to work. Waiting on a part to connect it to the fuse box. Been getting the run around about it and not happy about the poor service & response. Last we heard was it was being custom made.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
Snow and ice predicted for us on Friday. Right now calling for over 2 inches. Hopefully more & less ice. Had a whole house generator installed after the hurricane, but it’s not set up to work. Waiting on a part to connect it to the fuse box. Been getting the run around about it and not happy about the poor service & response. Last we heard was it was being custom made.
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I want one, but I'd like to do with a Hit 'n Miss, diesel fuel, and over built head. Just enough power to keep lights, TV, internet, a deep well pump, and a window shaker running for a good long time with a few gallons of bacon grease :) We looked at the generacs, but I'm just not sure I want to pay their prices....Though, i have not yet found the Hit 'n Miss I want...


Tour 931 said:
Hardly any snow here just sub-freezing temperatures. Film at eleven.
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I hear that is going to be the norm for a few weeks -- talking -7 for overnight lows in these parts for a good long stretch....probably a couple weeks. :(
 
Sweeney said:
I want one, but I'd like to do with a Hit 'n Miss, diesel fuel, and over built head. Just enough power to keep lights, TV, internet, a deep well pump, and a window shaker running for a good long time with a few gallons of bacon grease :) We looked at the generacs, but I'm just not sure I want to pay their prices....Though, i have not yet found the Hit 'n Miss I want...




I hear that is going to be the norm for a few weeks -- talking -7 for overnight lows in these parts for a good long stretch....probably a couple weeks. :(
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We went with a Kohler. It ain’t cheap that’s for sure. In the last year, we’ve lost power twice for a week. I was informed by my wife that would not happen again. Supposed to be done tomorrow. We asked who pays for the food in our 2 refrigerators if we lost power. Hopefully it’s done tomorrow like we’ve been told. One time we got within an hour of the appointment before they informed us they wouldn’t make it.
 
Calvin & Jane said:
We have a Kohler whole house generator. It is connected to our propane tank. We used it for a week, following the hurricane. We count ourselves as extremely fortunate when compared to others. I felt guilty for having one when others were throwing out food.
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They showed up and got us finished so we’ll have it if we need it. I know someone from a nearby town who had a neighbor with one. They were using to keep their pool heated and were posting pictures of the fun they were having in the pool while everyone else sat in the dark around. They did not let any of the neighbors come over for anything.

If we have to use it, we’ll have people over. We have a gas stove and we are pretty much the only ones on the block with one, so we’ve always cooked for several elderly people nearby.
 
Dana Loeasch posted on X about the poor service by Generac, IIRC.

Seems a very wise investment -whole house generator as backup. Big Propane tanks are the bomb.

Mighty neighborly to help out the old folks...kudos.
 
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Warren Mary Ellen said:
We went with a Kohler. It ain’t cheap that’s for sure. In the last year, we’ve lost power twice for a week. I was informed by my wife that would not happen again. Supposed to be done tomorrow. We asked who pays for the food in our 2 refrigerators if we lost power. Hopefully it’s done tomorrow like we’ve been told. One time we got within an hour of the appointment before they informed us they wouldn’t make it.
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I'm lucky to have a reliable power cooperative that owns the area where I live. Three years ago, they responded quickly after a storm knocked down a pole and replaced it in just six hours. They're also proactive about fixing issues before they become major problems, so I can't complain too much. But even they (the coop) installs generacs as a service.

For backup, I have two small inverter generators that can power my essentials like lights, TV, internet, and appliances. They only struggle with running our well pump. As a 240 volt, I'm kind of dependant on grid electricity for anything long term, or pulling a giant 5kw generator out my Dad gave me. But I think if we were in a situation where we were 'dark' for 3-5 days I'd probably have bugged out.

I'm curious -- I assume you got the natural gas version? Propane will be slightly more efficient --- how much gas does it really use? Have you had an opportunity for an extended use situation yet?
 
Calvin & Jane said:
We have a Kohler whole house generator. It is connected to our propane tank. We used it for a week, following the hurricane. We count ourselves as extremely fortunate when compared to others. I felt guilty for having one when others were throwing out food.
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I know what you mean -- there have been times when storms have gone through my neighborhood. In 2002 an EF2 missed my street by 1/3 of a mile. Several families just 500 or so feet from us had their 2nd stories ripped off their homes. We didn't even have to pick up sticks from the trees --- actually, they probably 'saved' us as a windbreak. For that, I felt 'guilty' and 'blessed' at the same time, it could have been us.

However, I also know people who's smoke detectors have been chirping "low battery" for 6 months (How do they sleep!) and don't bother putting in a simple 9 volt battery. Sadly, these are people of means not impoverished or in hard times. I have no sympathy for those people.
 
One time my toddler son had a beloved toy with an annoying stuck speech circuit, the damn thing kept launching into a speech or sound unprompted, battery change no help.

Woke me up in the middle of the nite and only way to mute it was to put TinkyWinky in the freezer...

Had a fire alarm do the same, and resorted to same 20 years later. Funny what you remember when sleep deptived at 2am...
 
Sweeney said:
I'm lucky to have a reliable power cooperative that owns the area where I live. Three years ago, they responded quickly after a storm knocked down a pole and replaced it in just six hours. They're also proactive about fixing issues before they become major problems, so I can't complain too much. But even they (the coop) installs generacs as a service.

For backup, I have two small inverter generators that can power my essentials like lights, TV, internet, and appliances. They only struggle with running our well pump. As a 240 volt, I'm kind of dependant on grid electricity for anything long term, or pulling a giant 5kw generator out my Dad gave me. But I think if we were in a situation where we were 'dark' for 3-5 days I'd probably have bugged out.

I'm curious -- I assume you got the natural gas version? Propane will be slightly more efficient --- how much gas does it really use? Have you had an opportunity for an extended use situation yet?
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It is natural gas. We didn’t need it this weekend since the ice wasn’t too bad. Just got it hooked up so this was the first chance. We live in old part of town with lots of large trees. A lot of them are Water Oaks which rot from the inside out. A lot of times they look ok, but 2/3 of it is rotted out in the middle.
 
We finally received enough snow to cover everything except the tallest grasses. It looks like winter and at -6F it feels like winter too. By Friday the low will be -17F and the high will be -4F. Yep it’s winter in Wisconsin.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
It is natural gas. We didn’t need it this weekend since the ice wasn’t too bad. Just got it hooked up so this was the first chance. We live in old part of town with lots of large trees. A lot of them are Water Oaks which rot from the inside out. A lot of times they look ok, but 2/3 of it is rotted out in the middle.
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Yah, then it sounds like a good idea :) --- The one thing is miss, is my old neighborhood where everything was buried. Except for the power lines that carried the power to the 'hood itself, we never had an issue that was 'local' to me :) I've also lived with big trees and that is a recipe for discomfort once they get to be about 50 years old....


Tour 931 said:
We finally received enough snow to cover everything except the tallest grasses. It looks like winter and at -6F it feels like winter too. By Friday the low will be -17F and the high will be -4F. Yep it’s winter in Wisconsin.
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Now I'm surprised! We got 10 inches or so, and and several dusting combined with the cold -- I was able to shove out while things were still powdery. My little bitty snowblower -- a little 121cc/21 inch single state was throwing the snow a good 25 or 30 feet, and made its way through 10 inches pretty easily. The biggest problem is the driveway is breaking apart after 50 years of bad weather. Yet another item on my list of things that need attention :(
 
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