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Jan 7 2014

It’s a snowy life

Posted by Matthew
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With a storm total snowfall somewhere around 15″ there was a lot of snow to plow today! Add in the drifting and you almost have a full time job just to keep on driveway sort of clean. We can’t remember the last time we were snowed in–it’s been fun :)

While the weather experts said that it was “dangerously” cold and all that and you shouldn’t stay outside very long, it didn’t seem all that bad to me….my toes did require a few warmings, but with glove-lined mittens and a light scarf even my fingers and nose stayed quite comfortable.

When I popped out to take a few pictures late this afternoon the temperature was hovering around 5 degrees…the wind actually picked up some this afternoon, they said it was supposed to be 27 mph, guess that’s where they get that 25-40 below windchill!

Anyway I did get a few pictures to give y’all an idea of what kind of weather we’ve been enjoying :)

Come on down the road…

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Y’all just make sure to turn in before the sign…

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Pull up the drive…

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And stop and visit a spell while we enjoy the January sun!

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When the wind gets to whipping the woods about a 1/2 mile away nearly disappears.

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When looking to the east toward this neighbor’s barns we often measure visibility by how many power poles we can count just off to the right of this shot.

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This shows the 20 or 30 gallon garbage can that we use to carry ashes up from the furnace on the corner of our back patio between a couple of snow piles.  All the snow is really starting to pile up :)

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This pile is going to start blocking the view pretty soon!

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Thanks to this snow piler, we have been able to almost keep up with clearing our driveway! (if you use your x-ray vision on this picture you will notice the snow fort built into the other side of the snow pile on the right of the loader :)

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Tire chains are one of the best inventions!

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I’ve never had to plan out where to pile snow before….don’t bury the landscaping, don’t dig up the rock at the ends of the culvert, leave room for more snow…pack the pile down so we can still see over it to get out onto the road…

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Because, although it’s a bit hard to capture with a camera, the wind will blow more snow right back into your drive so you can plow it all over again tomorrow! (or in a half hour, take your pick :)

 

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The wind made some very interesting snow sculptures hanging over the edge of the garage roof.

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I guess since there isn’t much weight it can support strange curls and overhangs?

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Here’s the view of the garage roof from the upper deck of the snow fort:

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The great thing about 4×4 trucks is that given the right conditions you can get them REALLY stuck :)

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Wish I’d thought to get a picture of it stuck, but just figure that if I might have made it but for the snow that hit the windshield when I started pushing snow with the grill causing me to momentarily let off slightly on the accelerator–just figure it was pretty stuck :D  Thankfully we got ‘er out with a little power shoveling and a little tug from a couple of tires equipped with chains :)

We are really thankful for all the snow with these cold temperatures though–it is doing a marvelous job of adding to the R value of house walls (around the foundation) and roof.  When we had the last cold spell, we went through a lot of wood in a short time but this round with even with colder temps and more wind it hasn’t been the battle to keep the house warm.

Speaking of warm it’s about time to head up to my warm bed…or at least it will be warm once I’ve been in it for awhile :)

To God alone be Glory–God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

 

–Matthew

Tags: Cold, Loader, Snow, Tractor, Truck, Winter
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Jan 6 2014

The weather outside….

Posted by Matthew
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Is delightful! (at least if you can stay home and enjoy playing in all the snow!)

It started snowing Saturday night…and kept right on snowing…Church services were canceled for the first time this year…and we’ve gotten about 14″ of snow so far, and it’s still snowing…

From The National Weather Service
Grand Rapids, MI
Sun, Jan 5, 2014, 8:43 PM EST

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM EST MONDAY… … WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM MONDAY TO 7 PM EST TUESDAY…HAZARDOUS WEATHER…
* THE SNOW IS IN THE PROCESS OF TAPERING OFF THIS EVENING. AN ADDITIONAL 1 TO 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY 1 AM.
* NORTHERLY WIND GUSTS OF 25 TO 35 MPH TONIGHT WILL BECOME WESTERLY ON MONDAY AND WILL CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.
* EXTREME WIND CHILLS WILL DROP TO BETWEEN 25 AND 40 BELOW ZERO ON MONDAY AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY.

Doesn’t it sound great?! As long as the animals can stay hunkered down and ride out the wind and especially cold weather I love it! :) I think we’re getting back to the old fashioned winters where it actually gets cold and snows!

Lord Willing pictures will be forthcoming tomorrow :)

Matthew

Tags: Matthew, Snowfall, Windchill, Winter storm
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Jan 5 2014

It’s a new…

Posted by Jonathan
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Hi, it’s good to see you! Today’s big NEWs:

  • New year (Happy 2014!)
  • God’s mercies (new every morning)
  • New Piglets (more details coming eventually)
  • Our blog found a new home (read on.)

Yes, we’ve finally switched to a WordPress-based blog. Do you like the new look?

blog screenshot

Most of the change was inspired by Blogger’s getting slower and harder to use on our country internet connection, and the fact that we’re uploading more and more pictures. And of course, I use WordPress day to day as part of my web development business. Therefore, switching to a self-hosted WordPress platform made sense. Our new web address is http://blog.pottervilla.net, but you should be redirected here automatically from Blogspot anyway. All our old posts are below, and Matthew’s pictures are even prettier at 600 pixels wide. They tell me that even our RSS feed should redirect–so hopefully you’ll still get our updates in your readers. If there’s a glitch, just resubscribe on the right. We’ve got an email subscription, too!

We’ve also updated our name slightly. While are definitely still learning, and don’t want to discount the academy, our lives should carry out what we’ve learned; hence, PotterVilla Adventures. And I admit, it sounds better for two guys in their twenties, working, enjoying life, and glorifying God as Christ glorifies Him in us. Though I daresay, we’ll always be the “PVA blog” of some stripe or another.

A few smaller NEWs that you may want to check out:

  • Email subscription & RSS feeds available on the sidebar
  • Spotify music player (on the sidebar.) Our old playlists.com music player was retired, and so we’ve switched to Spotify as a provider. There may be ads from time to time (sorry!) but the music selection is wider, and you can even here some of my Abundance album on there. You’ll have to hit play to start it. Enjoy!
  • Links (sidebar). We’ve collected a number of websites for our different endeavors, and you can find links to them on the right. Also linked are some of our old Blogger friends (and some newer ones), some organizations we appreciate, and a few resources. Checkout the Generations with Vision podcast, sermons from Grace Community Church by Chris Riser (a small church pastor with some deep insight), and the rest.
  • Categories! Blogger never had categories, just tags. If you want to look back at past posts for certain times of year, or activities check that out from the menu.

It’s been a long time since we first signed up with Blogger–the first post was at the end of February in 2008. Nearly 6 years of history! A lot has changed since then:

  • Matthew grew a beard
  • We no longer order Chickens to arrive in February
  • I gave up on video games entirely, and we’ve cut down some on TV. I don’t do modeling or animation anymore, either.
  • Dad’s got a new job, and drives to Jackson instead of Eaton Rapids
  • Matthew rents land across the road, and I’ve got an office downtown

But more has stayed the same:

  • Mom still makes the world’s best biscuits
  • Matthew still has his own patented way of hanging up laundry (and still freeze dries!)
  • Baxter still loves to herd things, though gets the occasional chance at real sheep
  • Matthew still raises chickens, and I still build websites.
  • We’re still working with the Awana program at Ainger Bible Church
  • I still play the piano, and still am releasing piano albums (Abundance being the most recient, released just last month)
  • Dad and I still play our horns with the Homeschool Music Association
  • Michigan weather is still unpredictable

Regarding that last note, they’re predicting another heavy storm (after December’s Christmastime ice storm that devastated the area), a possible 8-14 inches of snow overnight. But we’re not complaining–aside from the possibility of church being canceled (which it was last month for the first time since we’ve attended), we welcome any and all snow that would like to come visit.

And of course, the sign in the front yard still welcomes you to “PotterVilla”.

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May God bless your 2014!

– Jonathan

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