O/T - 2009

[Morris Dovey]

May your new year be filled with good health, sustaining friendships, happiness, good fortune, wisdom, and...

...may your days be filled with sunshine. :)

[Larry Blanchard]

A day without wine ...

We (Spokane) are starting the year with still more snow. Broke a record set over 50 years ago. Even made the national news - they normally don't know that eastern Washington exists. Flat roofs all over town are collapsing (15-20 so far), and those that haven't yet have crews frantically shoveling. At the Woodcraft where I work they even had a snow blower up on the roof :-).

Bye - I have to go shovel my way out to the shop - again!

[Han]

Morris Dovey wrote in news:495cf7e6$0$89877$815e3792 @news.qwest.net:

Thanks, Morris, and the same to you!

Here in 07410 (North Jersey), there is plenty of sunshine today, but it is cold - 27F - and windy.

[Mark & Juanita]

To you and yours as well.

[Robatoy]

Sunshine? What? You're selling that stuff now?

2009 is going to be a good year. I can feel it. Free heat somehow appeals to Canadians. Go figgur.

Now... about that wisdom thing you speak of...

[Lee Michaels]

"Robatoy" wrote

Now... about that wisdom thing you speak of... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Probably locked up in the safe along with the booze.

[Robatoy]

I wish I could remember the combination....*grumble*

[Lew Hodgett]

Back when upstate New York was in my region, had a guy in Buffalo.

At least twice a snow season, he would have to shovel the snow off his roof (which was not flat by any means)

Even heat tapes had mixed results during a heavy snowfall.

Lew

[Upscale]

I can remember when I was 16 and living in my grandmother's house, (which had a really low pitched roof), my father sent me up on it to install heating wires. Problem was, that it was the middle of winter, so I had to spend a number of hours up there shovelling off the snow and chopping up the ice dams before I could lay the wire. Naturally, dad came out to inspect for five minutes every half hour.

After that, every fall I was up there like clockwork making sure those heating wires were still working properly. Damned if I was going to be up there again in the middle of winter freezing my butt off.

[Phisherman]

My investments are total crap, but my health, friendships and happiness are doing very well. Happy New Year to all.

[Dave in Houston]

I, for one, would like some rain. We, here in south Texas are in another drought cycle. Our ranchers in Karnes County have spent the week "dry planting" wheat and will now wait for rain. Good luck. After

60-some-odd inches between mid-February and mid-August, 2007 (3X normal yearly average) I doubt they've had six inches all total since (pushing 18 months).

Other than that, a happy and healthy 2009 to all.

Dave in Houston

[Morris Dovey]

As one of my Minnesota farm neighbors said: "None or too much" - just before he joked about putting pontoons on his combine and another neighbor joked about using a canoe to harvest his corn...

A quick look tells me that Karnes County doesn't appear to have /any/ surface water. Are there any underground aquifers that could be tapped for ag-use water - and if so, is there any way to apply it to wheat production? (I'm wondering whether a solar-powered pumping approach could help in situations like yours.)