This has been a brutal start to 2019, fellas

tiara in the snow 01.JPG
Boat Guy said:
Guys, this is a genuine question...

Why do you live in such extreme cold places? Do you enjoy the cold? I've been asking this question for about 30 years and always interested in the answers....
Click to expand...
We can live anywhere we want to live. If you could see my view, you would understand the reason we choose West Michigan. The Hemlocks are loaded down with beautiful fresh snow. There have been 25-30 Bald Eagles swarming around the open waters around our dock. Nice warm fire is going in the fireplace with enough wood to last another two weeks. Good book to read. Just when you think the snow will last until June, we get three days of strong winds from the south and rain and the snow is totally gone in late March. We start working in the gardens and get the boat out. Lake Michigan offers some of the best boating in the world. The fall season is wonderful. Winters are great for outdoor sports. Roads are kept open so we get around. What's not to like?!
 
Still waiting for signs of spring with DST starting this weekend. Woke up to 16 this morning. Snow Sunday afternoon through mid-morning Monday. I really, really want to wash my boat so I can start buffing and waxing. I would like to stay on schedule for an early April splash if at all possible.
 
BoatGuy, You'd have to blast my arse out of this house with dynamite. We bought it about 12 years ago and two of the best things about it are the everchanging views of the Columbia river, and the great neighbors we have.

Last night it was 8* outside, 69* inside. The snow on the roads has just about disappeared. We set a 100+ year record for snowfall and now everyone is afraid that if we get a warm Chinook wind and some rain we're going to have some flooding. Not where we are because we sit about 15' above the low water level, but there are two rivers that dump into the Columbia in our area. If there is a fast melt there will be some flooding of low lying area.

The reasons we live here (in addition to those above) include great weather (300 days of sunshine a year), a desert climate, great boating and NO BUGS!
 
spikedaddy99 said:
I enjoy seasons. In Virginia, we spent all summer searching for A/C because it was too damn hot and humid out. Now we spend winters riding snowmobiles, snow-shoeing, skiing, ice fishing etc. And freshwater under the keel makes maintenance much easier. We moved up here in 2011, and I couldn't be happier. I was stagnated in my job. Now, I am 3-4X more successful and work less.
Click to expand...

Now that is a great story.
 
Boat Guy said:
Guys, this is a genuine question...

Why do you live in such extreme cold places? Do you enjoy the cold? I've been asking this question for about 30 years and always interested in the answers....
Click to expand...

Family..and only family. Well...there are some upsides to our climate. We don't deal with the tropical storms, the wildlife around here is generally less lethal than warm climates and....ummm......our boats our nearly mint with the minimal amount of use they get!

My job could take me a lot of places but family and friends keep us in West Michigan...
 
While the winter sucks, you can't beat summer on the great lakes. When it is humid in the summer, it lasts maybe a week - tops. Otherwise, we take full advantage of the time we have. Granted, it would be nice to drive out to the marina in January and take a ride out to the sand bar!
 
While the winter sucks, you can't beat summer on the great lakes. When it is humid in the summer, it lasts maybe a week - tops. Otherwise, we take full advantage of the time we have. Granted, it would be nice to drive out to the marina in January and take a ride out to the sand bar!
 
tiara in the snow 01.JPG
IMG_4043.JPG
WV 320 Dancer said:
Still waiting for signs of spring with DST starting this weekend. Woke up to 16 this morning. Snow Sunday afternoon through mid-morning Monday. I really, really want to wash my boat so I can start buffing and waxing. I would like to stay on schedule for an early April splash if at all possible.
Click to expand...
Spring like lighting.
 
We just had the coldest February on record and March hasn’t been any better.

This is yesterday:

72E90A2C-F5FB-45B9-AA5B-CACBBAA2A2DB.jpeg
 
I think we've finally turned the corner and are headed toward spring. Last week the highs were in the mid-20's and the lows in the single digits.

Yesterday it was 42* with a nice strong Chinook wind and today's going to be about as warm without the wind. We lost a lot of our snow pack yesterday but there is still about 8"-12" on the ground in most places.

C'mon S P R I N G!!!
 
tiara in the snow 01.JPG
IMG_4044.JPG
Gofirstclass said:
I think we've finally turned the corner and are headed toward spring. Last week the highs were in the mid-20's and the lows in the single digits.

Yesterday it was 42* with a nice strong Chinook wind and today's going to be about as warm without the wind. We lost a lot of our snow pack yesterday but there is still about 8"-12" on the ground in most places.

C'mon S P R I N G!!!
Click to expand...
IMG_4044.JPG

Yep. Same here. Nice sunny day. We can see the windows in the cottage as the drifts are down to 5 or 6 feet. There is some grass visible down by the dock with forecasted highs in the 50s one day next week. South winds and rain on the way will get rid of the snow here. We are saving some firewood for the foggy, cool days that will also be coming before Spring arrives in earnest.
 
Getting closer....I spent some time out by Lake Michigan yesterday at my winter storage spot. There is a LOT of ice on the Grand River still but the warm weather this week should help get stuff moving.

It was good to spend some time on my boat. Therapeutic even. You can tell we're getting close to Spring by the number of people starting to get their boats ready.

33462303158_afc0396701_c.jpg
 
tiara in the snow 01.JPG
Stee6043 said:
Getting closer....I spent some time out by Lake Michigan yesterday at my winter storage spot. There is a LOT of ice on the Grand River still but the warm weather this week should help get stuff moving.

It was good to spend some time on my boat. Therapeutic even. You can tell we're getting close to Spring by the number of people starting to get their boats ready.

33462303158_afc0396701_c.jpg
Click to expand...
Where do you store? My storage is so jammed I can barely get to the boat.
 
I didn't get to my boat even once this winter so far. I'm going to set up for 2-3 days at a time until I get my chores done. I have water on the boat so I can use the head. I'll bring portable heat, maybe just a sleeping bag, and stay on the boat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,170
Messages
1,427,736
Members
61,079
Latest member
capeharj
Back
Top