What’s been going on where you live?

[f6john]

The epicenter of the quake was less than 15 miles from my house. We heard it more than felt it, even thought it might have been thunder since it rattled the house slightly. I was outside in a t shirt and sweatpants washing my wife’s car yesterday afternoon, went outside dressed the same this morning to bring the trash can back up to the house and my teeth were chattering.

[carolinarider09]

Not much weather wise.  Did have an interesting "thing" this past 12 hours. When I went to bed the outside Temp was slowly dropping and was around 50 degrees.  Why I got up this AM, it was 60 degrees outside.

Unusual for that to happen (temp to increase 10 degrees after midnight and before sunrise.  But....

So ..... Low for tonight is suppose to be 28, high tomorrow 45, low tomorrow night 24.   Just the way Mother Nature is and yes, it is and has been hard to predict the weather this year.  Maybe 2026 will be better. 

[old2soon]

     Yesterday here in Wilmot Wi. it were raining and mid 40s or so. Got up this A M and 20s fer temp and that white stuff on the ground and plow trucks doin their thing!  My all black SUV is mostly whiteish now!    BUT on the + side of the ledger AMERICA Is gainin hrs of daylight back now!  And when I looked this A M where I hangs my hat in SoMo it were only 16 degrees BUT warmin right back up to the 50s! 
       Been watchin a grey squirrel that comes up on my Brothers porch lookin fer his hand out. Believe the little furry dude flipped me off cuz I'd failed to ask Bro Where the squirrel goodies is stashed!  I personally Will be Extremely HAPPY when winter are DONE/OVER/FINI!  RIDE SAFE.
   

[Flyingfree]

Meanwhile, in Latvia, temperatures finally started staying below 32 for the day, and we got giddy when we could still see sunlight at 1630.

[Jersey mike]

Not much happening here.

The temps dropped a little but the wind was howling for the last couple days.

Christmas decorations came down yesterday and I found out a friend who had knee surgery was innthe hospital for an infection in the same knee, it sounds like they have to go back in (surgically) for some reason.

Other than that, all the kids were home for Christmas and all went well.

Cheers.

[LadyDraco]

Just crazy weather  here...

[0leman]

Here in Southern OR this last week we finally are starting to get a snowpack in the mountains.  Not much but it is white.  We had a trace of white at our home level but was gone the next day.  Normally by this time there has been several storms that have cause snow to accumulate.  Not this year.  Not complaining that all the moisture from the atmospheric rives has come down as rain.  Don't have to shovel rain.

I am afraid that Mother Nature is playing with us.  She is planning on slamming us with lots of white the rest of the winter.   IF not, it is going to be a rather lone dry summer for the local farmers.

[scooperhsd]

Weather is the usual - if you don't like it, wait around - it will change. Big whora about the Chiefs moving to KCK ib 5-6 years from now. the Royals still haven't made up their mind (publicly, at least)

[Jess from VA]

It's freezing here in No VA.  I can hardly believe I was riding all day couple days ago.

I'm setting a row of rat traps for the squirrels that use my 7' backyard fence cap rail as a throughway, and as careful as I can be, one snapped on my finger.  No broken bone but it took an hour to get the feeling back, esp in the cold weather.

The traps may not kill a squirrel, but it ought to at least irritate them. 

[old2soon]

It's freezing here in No VA.  I can hardly believe I was riding all day couple days ago.

I'm setting a row of rat traps for the squirrels that use my 7' backyard fence cap rail as a throughway, and as careful as I can be, one snapped on my finger.  No broken bone but it took an hour to get the feeling back, esp in the cold weather.

The traps may not kill a squirrel, but it ought to at least irritate them. 

     Figure out a way to put those mice catchin sticky traps on that top rail. BUT be CAREFUL as those traps are quite STICKY sorta like super glue sticky!  RIDE SAFE.

[Oldfishguy]

What’s going on, well . . . winter.

[Jersey mike]

That’s a great photo, although I would not want to snowblow or plow that driveway and I certainly would not want to walk that trash can out to the street every week.

[John Schmidt]

Cold and snow, snow, and more snow. Subzero temps to high 30's, makes no sense. What really gets to me is no sun for days on end. Really affects the mood, I get tired of the long drab and lifeless dull no sun days. When spring is supposed to set in, it doesn't up here. April is usually just as miserable, just not quite as cold. This is without a doubt the worst place I've ever lived weatherwise, including being stationed in northern Maine.

[h13man]

The epicenter of the quake was less than 15 miles from my house. We heard it more than felt it, even thought it might have been thunder since it rattled the house slightly. I was outside in a t shirt and sweatpants washing my wife’s car yesterday afternoon, went outside dressed the same this morning to bring the trash can back up to the house and my teeth were chattering.

Enjoyed the same front here but normal for my area. 

[GiG]

Fascinating 

[Jess from VA]

Looks like a massive heat wave will be crossing the country this week.

Might be able to ride every day from Wed to Sun (with chance of rain Sat).

I got those two giant old oaks trimmed/reduced in my back yard Sat (freezing temps) and worked my ass off with the two climber crews doing cleanup, and bruised my tailbone good, but that won't keep me from riding.  YeeHawww.  

EDIT:  Well crap, now Wed and Thurs look great, but rain Friday and Saturday, and cold and windy Sunday.  Two is better than none.   

[cookiedough]

those cloudy non sun days here in WI is the least of the worries.  For those having to travel on roads daily  the worst part is glare ice on roads from freezing rain, high winds, and bitter cold temps below zero. Snow is not too bad unless over 5 inches of snow since most places the plows do a decent job clearing the roads early.  Two things I feel has happened in last few years vs. NEVER the past 55 years where I have lived is much much higher winds of over 80 mph doing major damage huge oak tree in my yard toppled down 2 feet from my house (got lucky) but still cost 2500 to clean it up, my 7x7 resin shed ripped apart which much over 75 mph they are not designed to uphold much higher winds with panels of that resin shed denting pretty bad the rear door of my enclosed trailer parked behind it, and just this past April HUGE over golfball sized hail that did well over 30K in damage to my house and trailer and other personal property which took over 5 months to get my insurance company to cough up the dough to get 'most' not all replaced as they should have. 

Been a bad few years of weather here in southern WI which having lived here past 55 years never seen severe weather like that besides around 1985 or so a near F5 tornado leveled a town about 30 miles away from me.  One year after the tornado, I visited the town and was still a mess.

[Rams]

Have only a small idea of what happened but recently I and a BIL were installing a hose reel for my air compressor on a rafter and hooking up all the necessary hoses, fittings and such.  Nothing went wrong, everything worked just as it was supposed to work.

Decided it was time to go back into the house and warm up, clean up and eat.   Left all tools and miscellaneous things laying where they were.    The next morning I went out to put the shop back into some kind of order.  The shop electrical was dead.  No power anywhere in the shop.   So, I went through the normal routine of checking and flipping breakers.   Some worked for a second and the went dead again, this happened on multiple breakers.

Went to the feed in the home breaker it worked as designed.   The shop had power to it.   I was a bit confused so I contacted the electrician who did the initial install of all the shop wiring.

Took a few days for him to get freed up but he came yesterday.   He found the same things I had and had no explanation on why but three different breakers were blown.    Replaced all three and everything seems good now.

Further investigation involved vacuuming the bugs out of the breaker box.  There were hundreds of what I call Stink Bugs in the breaker box.   Looking closer at the old/replaced breakers, it appears that some how those bugs had worked their way into the contact point and fried there.

Never heard of such a thing before. 

Rams

[HayHauler]

Have only a small idea of what happened but recently I and a BIL were installing a hose reel for my air compressor on a rafter and hooking up all the necessary hoses, fittings and such.  Nothing went wrong, everything worked just as it was supposed to work.

Decided it was time to go back into the house and warm up, clean up and eat.   Left all tools and miscellaneous things laying where they were.    The next morning I went out to put the shop back into some kind of order.  The shop electrical was dead.  No power anywhere in the shop.   So, I went through the normal routine of checking and flipping breakers.   Some worked for a second and the went dead again, this happened on multiple breakers.

Went to the feed in the home breaker it worked as designed.   The shop had power to it.   I was a bit confused so I contacted the electrician who did the initial install of all the shop wiring.

Took a few days for him to get freed up but he came yesterday.   He found the same things I had and had no explanation on why but three different breakers were blown.    Replaced all three and everything seems good now.

Further investigation involved vacuuming the bugs out of the breaker box.  There were hundreds of what I call Stink Bugs in the breaker box.   Looking closer at the old/replaced breakers, it appears that some how those bugs had worked their way into the contact point and fried there.

Never heard of such a thing before. 

Rams

I have heard of ants causing those kinds of problems, but not stink bugs....

Hay 
Jimmyt

[GiG]

You guys surely have heard the expression, when a system breaks down, “got to fix the bug!”.
Goes back a long way to the time of tubes. They would stay warm even after power down.
Attractive to insects that caused  malfunctions  on power up.

[Rams]

You guys surely have heard the expression, when a system breaks down, “got to fix the bug!”.
Goes back a long way to the time of tubes. They would stay warm even after power down.
Attractive to insects that caused  malfunctions  on power up.

Sounds reasonable to me, those Stink Bugs were also surrounding the contact area of the breakers.  All three of them.

Rams

[LadyDraco]

The drought is getting really bad.
I just worked on my spring for 2h...

[Jess from VA]

Further investigation involved vacuuming the bugs out of the breaker box.  There were hundreds of what I call Stink Bugs in the breaker box.   Looking closer at the old/replaced breakers, it appears that some how those bugs had worked their way into the contact point and fried there.

Never heard of such a thing before. 

Sorry for your troubles Ron.

I hate bugs.  I make war on bugs.  I used to have an ant problem, but I murdered them for years and now I rarely see any. 

My (upgrade) 220A breaker box is in my basement utility room, and the pole power that feeds it goes through my concrete block wall and man did I seal that feed line off so no bugs could get into my power box (epoxy).  It's one of the routine things I check, inside and out.

One of the good things about cold weather riding is not eating bugs (I cannot wear a full face helmet).

I got out for a ride today for 4 hours in high 50s, maybe 60.  I didn't get an early (cold) start, so I got caught in quitting time traffic coming home.  But I was so happy to be riding in January, I didn't even mind.  I'm going tomorrow too.   

[Rams]

I used Google and asked What kills Stink Bugs…

This is the answer I got.  

“Stink bugs can be killed by spraying them with a solution of soap, vinegar and hot water. Commercially available insecticides designed for stink bugs can also be used. Another possibility is to use diatomaceous earth, which cuts up and destroys the exoskeleton of stink bugs causing them to dehydrate and die.“

I’m thinking of filling the breaker box with mothballs.    Just not sure where to find that many male moths…..

Rams

[Willow]

...  

“... Another possibility is to use diatomaceous earth, ...“
...

I searched out the definitions of diatomaceous and diatom and I still have no idea about that solution.   

[Rams]

...  

“... Another possibility is to use diatomaceous earth, ...“
...

I searched out the definitions of diatomaceous and diatom and I still have no idea about that solution.  

Carl,
I googled it and it is available to buy.   Apparently it’s some kind of fossilized fungi, moss or something like that.   I’d have to look it up again to refresh my memory.

Sending you a video of how my bug fogger experiment worked out feel free to post or delete.

Rams

[Valker]

Diatoms are very tiny shelled creatures. Their shells are broken up in diatomaceous earth creating a barrier that bugs crawl across and scratch their own exoskeletons. This causes the critter to dry out and die.

[Flyingfree]

A tour of your local waste water treatment plant and a look in the microscope there should introduce you to them well. Amazing, most super basic, organism with a nasty hard shell. Like crawling across broken glass on your belly for the bugs. Works on slugs in your garden too and won't harm the plants.

[scooperhsd]

1/17/2026 - COLD - like the coldest it's been since last Febuary !  16F actual, 0F windchill. High temperature for today is forecasted to be 20F, windchill in the single digits F.

[John Schmidt]

Colder than a well digger's butt in the Yukon and the brass monkeys are talking in a higher tone also. That...plus everything is white and bleak which does wonders for one's mental stability. A lot of people are saying "I love the snow, it's so beautiful when falling."  I'm assuming they have a window in their room at the funny farm. It is nice to watch...from Orlando. We're headed there & leaving all this loveliness this Monday, 1/19, and are planning approx. two months absence. We have an April 8 appt. for tax preparation, otherwise we'd stay away for most of April since Spring doesn't arrive in Wisconsin until Summer...depending on what day that's scheduled. I will say this about Wisconsin; it's a lovely place to live...compared to the Yukon Territory. 

Nancy packing for the trip south is interesting. Some stuff is packed "because I might need it"...to which I say "you don't use it when you're here, what makes you think you'll need it down south?"

[Jess from VA]

Glad you guys are getting out of the deep freeze John.

When you're down there, talk her into moving there permanently.   

[old2soon]

     Did NOT will NOT git above freezing today! 32 Degrees F fer them in warm country!  2moro morning on the other hand my 2 weather apps on the phone and a couple of the local weather guessers be forcasting 8 Degrees F in the A M!  That'll put frost on yer petunias!  RIDE SAFE.

[John Schmidt]

Glad you guys are getting out of the deep freeze John.

When you're down there, talk her into moving there permanently.   

Would love to move but that ain't happening, she's lived here since about 2nd grade and her family and all her friends are here. That was kinda settled when she said "I do" and I had to answer "me too." She is open to looking around at a mobile home. If we found one where the land was included then I could get a VA loan, it can't be in a park where you pay to rent the spot...you have to own the land.

[Jess from VA]

(We've been on here so long), I seem to remember that story about her family.

Well, if you could make a mobile home work in FL, and she'd agree to winters down there, it would be the best of both worlds because FL summers are an oven (mostly).

I'd like MI summers better than VA for sure; but I'm staying put.