Morning Cup Of Coffee And Weather

Only a half inch of snow here, but it got icy over night. Clearing up now since it is sunny. Been a while since we’ve had snow twice in the same winter and it had been three years since we’d had any at all. Not sure I remember 3 winter weather events in winter here.
 
Tour 931 said:
My original plan was to buy a summer home here and then a winter home down south or maybe just take the Class A south and live in an RV park. I still might do that in the years ahead.

Part of the reason I haven’t is because I live in such a picturesque place and the house is very comfortable with radiant floor heat.
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You do have a beautiful view to appreciate from your home each day, so we understand your reluctance to leave it. We sometimes have mixed feeling about missing most of the winter season too, but when we see the bitter cold set in, especially when it stays for awhile, we feel happy about being down here. Having said that, we even got some frost last night here, that nipped our bougainvillea bushes a bit, despite being covered, but the temp recovered nicely into the mid 60's this afternoon.
 
Van_and_Terri said:
Presently 37F degrees here at Palm Coast, FL. We’re expecting our first night below freezing on Friday night.
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What is this going to do to the orange crop? How bad is that damage? How far south did this all go?

I don't have much of a view of the world right now, a guy I hired to do some work for me did some sketchy things - this made me do a tremendous amount of re-work...so having time for surfing the news and podcasts just isn't in the cards.


dustinp said:
You do have a beautiful view to appreciate from your home each day, so we understand your reluctance to leave it. We sometimes have mixed feeling about missing most of the winter season too, but when we see the bitter cold set in, especially when it stays for awhile, we feel happy about being down here. Having said that, we even got some frost last night here, that nipped our bougainvillea bushes a bit, despite being covered, but the temp recovered nicely into the mid 60's this afternoon.
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I think you're right - there's a lot to be said for variety, I don't think you can truly appreciate the summer warmth if you don't experience the winter bite. Of course the same people who are complaining about the winter bite will be lamenting summer heat. I stand here, guilty as charge.
 
Sweeney said:
What is this going to do to the orange crop? How bad is that damage? How far south did this all go?

I don't have much of a view of the world right now, a guy I hired to do some work for me did some sketchy things - this made me do a tremendous amount of re-work...so having time for surfing the news and podcasts just isn't in the cards.




I think you're right - there's a lot to be said for variety, I don't think you can truly appreciate the summer warmth if you don't experience the winter bite. Of course the same people who are complaining about the winter bite will be lamenting summer heat. I stand here, guilty as charge.
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Most of the Orange crop has gone to Brazil since real estate got so expensive in Florida. Many mom and pop operators are still here and depend on the locals to keep them in business. The fern business is affected by the cold temps too. They use covers and smudge pots to warn off the cold.
 
dustinp said:
You do have a beautiful view to appreciate from your home each day, so we understand your reluctance to leave it. We sometimes have mixed feeling about missing most of the winter season too, but when we see the bitter cold set in, especially when it stays for awhile, we feel happy about being down here. Having said that, we even got some frost last night here, that nipped our bougainvillea bushes a bit, despite being covered, but the temp recovered nicely into the mid 60's this afternoon.
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After five straight days of subzero I’m ready to leave now. The coldest was -32F.
 
Van_and_Terri said:
Most of the Orange crop has gone to Brazil since real estate got so expensive in Florida. Many mom and pop operators are still here and depend on the locals to keep them in business. The fern business is affected by the cold temps too. They use covers and smudge pots to warn off the cold.
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Florida is in a really dangerous position I think. My father in law moved out of Florida in the mid 2000's saying it was getting too expensive...than was how long ago? If things 'pop' and tourism dries up even a little bit (more) that it already has...
 
Tour 931 said:
After five straight days of subzero I’m ready to leave now. The coldest was -32F.
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Our temperatures broke -- its more normal now, we're seeing 30's during the day which is what I would expect. But I've about cried "mercy" a couple times this week, I just didn't have a place to go too.
 
Van_and_Terri said:
Good night for a heat diverter on the Solo.
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I really want a report on this! I've looked at them but not pulled the trigger. I love my solo, but it throws a lot of heat upward...not outward. So on really cool nights, you've got to get closer to the pit than I might otherwise want too.

How well does this 'throw' the heat horizontally?

I use pellets mostly, so refilling isn't an issue --- you can't. If you do, it will smother the pellets underneath, so you get a solid 2 - 2 1/2 hour burn, but then you're done until the next day when you can dump the ashes. How difficult is it to add a log with this installed? It looks like it would be challenging as well.

I am so very much ready for a trip!!! But we're still at least 2 1/2 months away...mid april you can start thinking about it here.
 
Sweeney said:
I really want a report on this! I've looked at them but not pulled the trigger. I love my solo, but it throws a lot of heat upward...not outward. So on really cool nights, you've got to get closer to the pit than I might otherwise want too.

How well does this 'throw' the heat horizontally?

I use pellets mostly, so refilling isn't an issue --- you can't. If you do, it will smother the pellets underneath, so you get a solid 2 - 2 1/2 hour burn, but then you're done until the next day when you can dump the ashes. How difficult is it to add a log with this installed? It looks like it would be challenging as well.

I am so very much ready for a trip!!! But we're still at least 2 1/2 months away...mid april you can start thinking about it here.
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I have always just used pellets with the Ranger Model. The Bonfire Model seems more appropriate for wood; especially with the wood size available in campgrounds. I would think wood limited to 12 inches or so would work well on the Ranger Model with the heat diverter shield in place. The heat diverter does make a difference on cool nights. I would not call the heat from it revolutionary, but you can definitely feel more heat coming from it. I do recommend it if you camp a lot on cooler nights.
 
I've got a bonfire and ranger --- I agree with your assessment that the ranger is a little small for bigger logs. When I do use logs I keep welding gloves near by in case something falls out ;)

Add one of those to my backlog of 'wanna-gets'
 
Sweeney said:
Hey y'all! Playin with sticks has posted another film with one of us! This was filmed a couple years ago, and I hope to run into Ken & Dixie again some time....both are awesome people that we missed seeing at the last CICO....

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We met them at Cumberland Gap National Park in the summer of 2022. We were were camping near each other for a couple of nights.
 
Warren Mary Ellen said:
We met them at Cumberland Gap National Park in the summer of 2022. We were were camping near each other for a couple of nights.
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Super creative build, with the "ripaway" footwell, for extra standing height.
And the composting toilet squeezed between the heater and the lithium sogen...

The sliders for feet area were ingenious, made from Home Depot tubs, and I LOL'ed at his frank admission they had to curl up on cold nights as not insulated.

Brilliant hatch as awning idea!

So, did the RoadToad inspire or vs versa?
Great minds think alike...

Sweeney, a place for you to check out some day...
 

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