Its a Tumblehome miracle from the great white north!
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Episode Transcript
[0:01:02 – 0:01:07] Adam: My name is Francois Le Castor, coming to you live in the snow globe.
[0:01:09 – 0:01:11] Adam: It’s time for another episode of Snow Log.
[0:01:15 – 0:01:19] Adam: Opening the show tonight with some Delicate Steve off the Christmas album.
[0:01:20 – 0:01:25] Adam: That is, of course, a wild rendition of Frosty the Snowman.
[0:01:26 – 0:01:29] Adam: Thank you, Delicate Steve, for being here tonight.
[0:01:32 – 0:02:01] Adam: Shout out to all the Patreons of course It is the off season Anybody out there still supporting the show The servers Oh the servers they’re thirsty So anyways Thanks to anybody listening And especially thank you to the Patreons Sticking with us through the winter season Just past the winter solstice A few days back Any of my fellow sun worshippers out there Will now tell you The days are getting longer
[0:02:01 – 0:02:03] Adam: whether it feels like it or not.
[0:02:04 – 0:02:10] Adam: This is the snow log for December 27th, 2022.
[0:02:11 – 0:02:22] Adam: Since our previous episode, we have had 31 inches of fresh snow here at Studio K. Oh, my.
[0:02:23 – 0:02:30] Adam: That brings us up to a whopping total of 65 inches of snow for the season, and it is not quite New Year’s yet.
[0:02:32 – 0:02:35] Adam: We’re off to a real bang and start here in the north country.
[0:02:38 – 0:02:39] Adam: We’re on a record-setting pace.
[0:02:39 – 0:02:44] Adam: Whether or not that holds up remains to be seen.
[0:02:45 – 0:02:49] Adam: Looking back at the old snow logs, there has not been a winter where we kind of got out of the gates like this one.
[0:02:54 – 0:02:57] Adam: This is, of course, a proud independent snow log.
[0:02:58 – 0:02:59] Adam: My measurements are mine alone.
[0:03:00 – 0:03:03] Adam: You can go check the COCO-RAS data, though.
[0:03:03 – 0:03:04] Adam: It’s pretty close around the area.
[0:03:06 – 0:03:11] Adam: My father-in-law, if you’re listening, Ty, everybody keeps their own snow log, right?
[0:03:13 – 0:03:16] Adam: Father-in-law doesn’t live very far from here, and we got two different numbers already.
[0:03:17 – 0:03:22] Adam: Again, we’re not even to the end of December, so it’s all about how you measure it, a lot of it’s perception.
[0:03:22 – 0:03:27] Adam: It’s a lot about when you measure, frankly, in the middle of a storm.
[0:03:28 – 0:03:55] Adam: the end of the storm after the wind is done number after the snow is packed down um can’t always be there um throughout the day to take accurate like once an hour measurements but anyways i’m at 65 inches pretty good tumble home outdoor calendar fact of the night for december 27th arrow is here curled up by the christmas tree and she turned five this week happy birthday arrow
[0:03:56 – 0:03:58] Adam: Oh, thanks, guys.
[0:04:01 – 0:04:02] Adam: Want to go for a run?
[0:04:03 – 0:04:03] Adam: No.
[0:04:05 – 0:04:07] Adam: She’s in her prime, as you’d say, for an Alaskan Husky.
[0:04:08 – 0:04:09] Adam: In her prime right now.
[0:04:10 – 0:04:12] Adam: The snow conditions are in their prime.
[0:04:12 – 0:04:16] Adam: Unfortunately, the trail’s not doing so great.
[0:04:16 – 0:04:17] Adam: Sorry, Arrow.
[0:04:17 – 0:04:18] Adam: We’ll get out there soon enough.
[0:04:20 – 0:04:49] Adam: um yeah the we’ll get to it a little bit here but that windstorm and the subsequent snowfall um you know i added we got a lot of snow on the ground out there if you go just walking off into the woods right now i mean you’re in over your waist i had i got this canvas tote uh thing or that go out and gather wood from the shed and bring it in and i foolishly set it down and uh just to go grab something quick and i came back and the thing was way out almost out to the river
[0:04:50 – 0:04:51] Adam: and had to trudge out.
[0:04:51 – 0:05:03] Adam: I should have went back and got those snowshoes, but I just trudged out there quick to grab it before it blew any further away, and I caught it, but it was pretty comical, almost swimming through the snow action.
[0:05:04 – 0:05:16] Adam: Anyhow, was able to make it down to Wisconsin to visit the family prior to Christmas, and haven’t made a trip to eastern Wisconsin in some time.
[0:05:16 – 0:05:17] Adam: Baby got to see Lambeau.
[0:05:18 – 0:05:25] Adam: On a game night, we were down there on Monday, drove by Lambeau Field all lit up in the night.
[0:05:26 – 0:05:29] Adam: In a cold Wisconsin night, it’s truly something special.
[0:05:30 – 0:05:32] Adam: I was glad to share that with him and Natalie.
[0:05:34 – 0:05:37] Adam: On our drive, I had a good visit.
[0:05:38 – 0:05:43] Adam: Brother Andrew and I were able to play the Silver Creek course in Manitowoc.
[0:05:44 – 0:06:08] Adam: i’m uh although i grew up there it wasn’t installed until after i left uh town so i’ve i had played it uh you know i’d gotten back and played it and oh it’s up to like a 36 hole course ridiculous and they only had like one inch of snow down there bonus snow log bonus snow log but uh yeah i got to play the famous hole 26 uh silver creek which is of course the lighthouse hole
[0:06:12 – 0:06:14] Adam: And I double bogeyed it, you know.
[0:06:14 – 0:06:15] Adam: But I was playing with only a putter.
[0:06:15 – 0:06:17] Adam: Don’t want to throw the arm out in winter.
[0:06:17 – 0:06:18] Adam: That was fun.
[0:06:19 – 0:06:23] Adam: Got to see the sights and, you know.
[0:06:24 – 0:06:27] Adam: getting some good visits with some family I hadn’t seen in a while, so it’s pretty special.
[0:06:28 – 0:06:35] Adam: The drive home came back Thursday, and it was starting to blow, starting to get some snow.
[0:06:35 – 0:06:37] Adam: Everybody’s very worried whether you’re going to make it or not.
[0:06:38 – 0:06:39] Adam: I was never worried.
[0:06:39 – 0:06:51] Adam: You’ve got to go slower, can’t pass as much, and you’ve just got to go with the flow, as they say, whether that’s a river or the traffic on 29, which is the hellscape of a highway.
[0:06:52 – 0:06:54] Adam: I will never stop in Thorpe.
[0:06:55 – 0:06:55] Adam: Ever.
[0:06:56 – 0:07:00] Adam: I did stop at every single quick trip along the entire route home.
[0:07:00 – 0:07:01] Adam: Gotta love it.
[0:07:02 – 0:07:05] Adam: And we did hit a couple culvers for sure.
[0:07:05 – 0:07:07] Adam: So we made it home safe.
[0:07:07 – 0:07:08] Adam: No problems.
[0:07:08 – 0:07:11] Adam: Just took a really long, long time.
[0:07:11 – 0:07:14] Adam: Came home and that’s when the blizzard really started.
[0:07:15 – 0:07:19] Adam: And ended up with not too much real snow on that one up here.
[0:07:19 – 0:07:21] Adam: I mean, it was still quite a bit.
[0:07:22 – 0:07:35] Adam: But, you know, there wasn’t the snow so much as the wind, which is, I enjoy the beginning and end of this version of Frosty the Snowman by Delicate Steve because of the nice wind sound effect they open and close the song with.
[0:07:36 – 0:07:49] Adam: Boy, I was at work Christmas Eve and really the Friday, the day before, the 23rd was really, we had literally like F1 tornado slash hurricane force winds in town.
[0:07:50 – 0:07:50] Adam: and up the hill.
[0:07:51 – 0:07:55] Adam: In town especially, though, there’s massive roof damage and equipment damage all over town.
[0:07:56 – 0:07:57] Adam: Coppers were out.
[0:07:57 – 0:08:02] Adam: They shut down pretty much all of downtown due to debris flying around.
[0:08:02 – 0:08:05] Adam: I heard a dumpster got loose and went out to hardest point.
[0:08:05 – 0:08:11] Adam: I don’t know if there’s any truth to that, but there was a lot of loose debris and roof damage in town.
[0:08:11 – 0:08:12] Adam: Pretty crazy.
[0:08:12 – 0:08:12] Adam: I was in there.
[0:08:13 – 0:08:16] Adam: Power went out, and I was in the co-op in the dark.
[0:08:16 – 0:08:21] Adam: with my phone light, wandering around and just listening to the roof rattle.
[0:08:22 – 0:08:28] Adam: It sounded like you’re inside an oarship going to the bottom.
[0:08:28 – 0:08:33] Adam: It was very scary, and I did not enjoy it.
[0:08:33 – 0:08:38] Adam: A very scary and horrible feeling, but no real damage to the roof.
[0:08:38 – 0:08:43] Adam: I took a walk up there, and we still have all our solar panels somehow.
[0:08:44 – 0:08:44] Adam: I don’t understand.
[0:08:45 – 0:08:51] Adam: And the cooler tempsill stabilized once the compressors could, you know, start spinning their fans the right direction.
[0:08:52 – 0:08:53] Adam: Whoa.
[0:08:57 – 0:08:59] Adam: So we survived, you know.
[0:08:59 – 0:09:00] Adam: But here’s the problem.
[0:09:00 – 0:09:08] Adam: When you get a wind like that, it’s like for all the snow you have, all the snow everywhere is just covered in debris.
[0:09:08 – 0:09:11] Adam: Pine cones, pine needles, full branches.
[0:09:11 – 0:09:13] Adam: There’s downed trees all over the place.
[0:09:13 – 0:09:14] Adam: Like trails, although…
[0:09:15 – 0:09:16] Adam: There’s plenty of snow.
[0:09:16 – 0:09:17] Adam: They’re just not in very good shape right now.
[0:09:19 – 0:09:24] Adam: We did get like maybe another inch today and we had a couple inches yesterday.
[0:09:24 – 0:09:28] Adam: So there’s some stuff covered up, but I mean, there’s still a lot of this like.
[0:09:28 – 0:09:33] Adam: Woods debris just festooned all over the trail.
[0:09:34 – 0:09:35] Adam: So not great for skiing.
[0:09:35 – 0:09:40] Adam: I was going to probably stick with the snowshoes for a little bit.
[0:09:41 – 0:09:45] Adam: But, yeah, we had, you know, other equipment failures going on.
[0:09:45 – 0:09:48] Adam: It just feels like that time of year where stuff’s just going to break and it’s not coming in threes.
[0:09:48 – 0:09:50] Adam: It’s coming in like tens.
[0:09:51 – 0:09:54] Adam: And hard to keep your morale high when…
[0:09:56 – 0:09:59] Adam: Before you can even fix one thing, two more things are broken.
[0:09:59 – 0:10:02] Adam: A bunch of equipment issues with the co-op.
[0:10:03 – 0:10:08] Adam: Overall, it all ended up fine, but just unexpected problems with the machinery.
[0:10:08 – 0:10:17] Adam: Then, to top that all off, I came home and the electric start on the snowblower…
[0:10:18 – 0:10:23] Adam: It’s held in place by two bolts, and I guess one of them was missing.
[0:10:23 – 0:10:24] Adam: I didn’t notice.
[0:10:24 – 0:10:28] Adam: And then the other one rattled itself free on one of these big, heavy…
[0:10:28 – 0:10:31] Adam: There’s some really concrete snow in the last couple weeks, too.
[0:10:31 – 0:10:34] Adam: It just takes a toll on you and on the snowblower.
[0:10:35 – 0:10:36] Adam: That had rattled itself free.
[0:10:39 – 0:10:46] Adam: And so the electric start was out, which I just didn’t have the right bolt and not really usually a problem.
[0:10:46 – 0:10:52] Adam: But then I went to hit the cord puller and two pulls, it didn’t start.
[0:10:52 – 0:10:55] Adam: Third pull, it’s going to go, you know, but no, the rope snaps.
[0:10:58 – 0:11:02] Adam: Horrible feeling when you rip on the handle and the whole rope comes out of the machine with you.
[0:11:03 – 0:11:12] Adam: So could not get the snowblower started, and, you know, you think, well, why are we talking about a broken snowblower, you know?
[0:11:12 – 0:11:20] Adam: But the thing that’s nice about a John Deere 1032D is it’s really simple to work on, and I think it’s a workhorse.
[0:11:21 – 0:11:28] Adam: It just really just chews up the snow and spits her out and just does its job when it’s functioning, you know?
[0:11:28 – 0:11:31] Adam: But it’s an old machine, and the rope is going to break, and auger breaks.
[0:11:32 – 0:11:51] Adam: longer belts are gonna snap and that’s just the way it goes overall i’m really pleased with the machine actually eric uh gifted me this snowblower by way of uh i’ll just leave it at that thank you eric it’s a nice machine old machine and like i said very simple to work on it’s got like
[0:11:53 – 0:11:54] Adam: three different sizes of bolts.
[0:11:55 – 0:12:01] Adam: And, you know, you can take the whole machine apart in basically five minutes if you know what you’re doing in the right order.
[0:12:01 – 0:12:07] Adam: And the best part about it, like anything, you know, if you just… You can almost just watch a YouTube video and fix anything.
[0:12:08 – 0:12:18] Adam: This thing, there’s like a whole series out on it, just ripping the whole machine apart all the way down to the last bolt and then putting it all back together and everything you might want to do once you have it pulled apart.
[0:12:18 – 0:12:19] Adam: So…
[0:12:20 – 0:12:26] Adam: you know, when something does go wrong, you can usually just like, it’s a matter of just finding their part usually, which isn’t usually that hard on an old John Deere.
[0:12:27 – 0:12:37] Adam: And, um, but you know, then just watching the video and make sure you, you know, what size wrenches you need and, uh, you know, which order pull things apart in.
[0:12:37 – 0:12:40] Adam: And generally you can do it all by yourself.
[0:12:40 – 0:12:44] Adam: Sometimes you need an extra hand, but anyways, that’s my snowblower.
[0:12:45 – 0:12:46] Adam: Um, I love it.
[0:12:46 – 0:12:47] Adam: It’s a good machine.
[0:12:47 – 0:12:48] Adam: And, uh,
[0:12:50 – 0:12:53] Adam: You know, right now it’s out of commission.
[0:12:53 – 0:12:54] Adam: You got a hand shovel.
[0:12:55 – 0:12:57] Adam: You know, I’m waiting for a new pull cord to come in the mail.
[0:12:58 – 0:13:01] Adam: I did acquire some bolts, which I think are about the right size.
[0:13:01 – 0:13:07] Adam: So I should be able to, like, hook that electric start up and kind of clean up the edges because we had some serious drifting going on.
[0:13:08 – 0:13:11] Adam: But, you know, there’s nothing a 1032D can’t handle.
[0:13:12 – 0:13:16] Adam: Anyhow, I think that’s a good place to leave it for the episode.
[0:13:18 – 0:13:21] Adam: As we say here on Snow Log, snow takes many forms.
[0:13:21 – 0:13:24] Adam: My name is Francois Le Castor.
[0:13:24 – 0:13:25] Adam: Thank you for listening.
[0:13:27 – 0:13:35] Adam: As I sit here by the Christmas tree, listening to some delicate Steve, I do wonder, what do you think Eric’s up to right now?
