Winter is coming

^^ Not to sidetrack- but when you mention partridges, is that what we Eastern Yanks call Ruffed Grouse? I know the Western provinces have Hungarian Partirdges and the far North has Ptarmigan.
We have a few Ruffed Grouse in MD.

 

Says it all really...

 

Yes i believe your correct .What i call part have white meat and then theres spruce hens that have dark meat.But your correct their actually grouse .

 

I don't own a winter coat. For that matter, rarely have I worn long pants. Mostly I wear T-shirts and shorts.

 

don't them snakes bite your ankles?

 

This ?

 

Just a habit to say partridge.But yes their actually grouse their all over northern ontario.

 

They try. Two years ago had two moccasin and one copperhead skin hanging by my front gate. Not one Jehovah's Witness, or salespeople knocking on my door either.

 

I saw the title and thought this was a Game of Thrones thread..lol.

 

Pun intented, it's almost the same thing except for the white walkers.

 

Got a front moving thru this evening and tonight and I lit the pilot on my furnace just this morning. Hopefully we'll have another mild winter this time around again.
Every year I get older, I hate the cold, grey winters just that much more! I swear I don't know how you people up north stand it.

 

We don't or can't stand it but we don't have much choice in the matter really

 

This has been a very weird year for weather here in CT. We got two crazy hailstorms that lasted well over 1/2hr, very little rain and humidity otherwise. Temps in the 70s and 80s in October I am very cool with, hope we have a warm winter like we did a few years ago where we got almost no snow and temps in the 80s-90s starting in February/March

Where I am, the trees have not really changed color yet, some of the Walnuts and Maples have started to turn but they are a month behind already

Bad thing is getting a freak blizzard/icestorm like we did a few Halloweens ago which basically crippled our area as the trees still had all their leaves and the damage was insane. We were without power for almost 2 weeks

 

I'm a bare foot boy and I love to go bare foot. During the spring and summer months if I'm not doing yard work or out in public, I'm bare foot. Heck, I was born that way.
In the winter I can't seem to get enough socks and shoes on my feet to keep them warm and that makes me miserable. Bought some electric booties a couple of years ago and they just made my feet sweat and I couldn't find an extension cord long enough so that didn't work, they still felt cold so I pitched the electric booties.
Hard to find good socks too. Those ribbed crew socks from the dollar store are worthless to me but I've found that Gold Toes are pretty good. They may be thinner but with house shoes they feel good and I think that's 50% of it.
Around March I start shedding the socks every day I can and by April I'm a bare foot boy again! Oh happy days!
Winter just sucks.

 

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!

Part of what I don't care for about 21st century life in the first world is how easy everything is, or made to seem. Push button this and that, even driving a car with crank down windows seems so primitive nowadays, and with food stocked up in every huge box store every mile or 2 along every interstate and all the goodies on Amazon, eBay etc there is little need to stock up on anything. It is the good life, the land of plenty.. Problem is I don't fully trust it. The supply chains are few, complex, and completely dependent on each other or they fail rather quickly, and the failures cascade. Etc etc.

What does that have to do with winter? Probably nothing, but for me it means some sort of empowerment in the acts of storing up things we know we will need. Food, with a huge pantry filled with dry goods, and 2 full freezers with meat and fish. Firewood, I have enough to heat the house this year mostly split and ready to go, I am already thinking about the next winters wood supply! I have sand in buckets for keeping ready for traction on the ice, and even though I don't hunt, I keep a few rifles around and the supplies to hand load ammunition in case I need to at some point.

Winter to me means getting ready for it, being prepared not just for cold, hell it doesn't get near as cold here as many places in the lower 48 , but the act of it makes me feel a little less helpless about my fate in general.

And besides, winter is just breathtakingly beautiful!!



It is my dogs favorite season, and he is the wisest person I know!

 

LMAO! No, what doesn't kill you just makes you sick.
Don't get me wrong, I love mountains but I like em to be way south and west - kinda like the Superstition Mountains or Sedona in AZ.

 

Thats cool!

 

I think winter put things in perspective : we can't control everything! Growing vegetable is hard but really rewarding. When spring comes with the warm sun it makes everything great.

As for bare foot I'm bare foot during spring, summer and fall. During winter I keep this pleasure inside.

 

You guys make me think maybe i'm in or around the right place for me. I like the change of seasons. Too cold (for me single digits F for any period of time is too cold, a day or 2 i can deal with) . I've found Florida too hot for me in the summer (probably the winter too. I like to watch the leaves turn in fall and everything come back to life in spring. Only a couple of hours from Catskills and only a few more from Adirondacks, the Green and white mountains. Too expensive to stay here when i retire but i can shift a state or 4.
I'm clearly not warm blooded to hack the northern Provinces or winter Alaska.

 

I still miss the winters from my time in Montreal. Have not had a proper winter since then. That being said, I do not miss the summers of Montreal (though the overabundance of festivals did make it worthwhile).