NNE Warm Season Thread 2020

[J.Spin]

10 hours ago, STILL N OF PIKE said:

Nice cooler drier weather shortly 

Yeah, I’m seeing some highs in the 70s/lows in the 50s for the mountain valleys – awesome late summer weather for outdoor activities.  Amazingly, that’s actually in the range of average as PF noted above, and August even shaves a couple degrees off each of those.

[mreaves]

Had to go t o Essex today and took the long way home, Rt.15 to Rt.108 through Smuggler's Notch.  The rivers were pretty high, which surprised me a bit.  Around here they were pretty low to begin with and it doesn't look like they got that much more rain than we did around here.

[powderfreak]

1 hour ago, mreaves said:

Had to go t o Essex today and took the long way home, Rt.15 to Rt.108 through Smuggler's Notch.  The rivers were pretty high, which surprised me a bit.  Around here they were pretty low to begin with and it doesn't look like they got that much more rain than we did around here.

Finished with 2.07” here.  The river out back must’ve peaked late last night judging by the water line on the vegetation this morning, but it’s been elevated all day.  Up on the mountain today there was still a lot of water coming out of the drainages all day long.  

Last nights rainfall and water flow from the mtns probably hit the Winooski River in Burlington area sometime today? 

[mreaves]

42 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

Finished with 2.07” here.  The river out back must’ve peaked late last night judging by the water line on the vegetation this morning, but it’s been elevated all day.  Up on the mountain today there was still a lot of water coming out of the drainages all day long.  

Last nights rainfall and water flow from the mtns probably hit the Winooski River in Burlington area sometime today? 

That’s what I figured. The Lamoille seemed pretty high. 

[backedgeapproaching]

August night of yore where the temps are actually cool. 50s before 10pm..we take. 59F currently.

[powderfreak]

20 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

August night of yore where the temps are actually cool. 50s before 10pm..we take. 59F currently.

You said it.  Chilly almost given our recent acclimation to HHH.  

58/54 at the ASOS.

[mreaves]

22 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

August night of yore where the temps are actually cool. 50s before 10pm..we take. 59F currently.

 

2 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

You said it.  Chilly almost given our recent acclimation to HHH.  

58/54 at the ASOS.

64° at MPV.  That's what you get at hilltop ASOS

[powderfreak]

August view after the rain, breaks of sunshine and a rising ceiling.  Looking south, clouds still flowing from convergence through the gap on westerly winds.

[dendrite]

62/53

Still no power

[MaineJayhawk]

Power was restored here at 7:00 last night.  Nice not having to sleep to the humming of nearby generators

[powderfreak]

20 hours ago, dendrite said:

62/53

Still no power

Any luck?

[backedgeapproaching]

Got up to the lake today, nice sunny warm-ish day for swimming and cool comfortable evening to enjoy some adult beverages.

 

 

[dryslot]

On 7/31/2020 at 4:43 PM, tamarack said:

Our system has hot water thru the oil-fired boiler but the tank is tiny - 2 or 3 gallons and up near the joists, just enough to cover that initial surge before the boiler kicks in.  Running the boiler in summer adds to the oil bill but it also helps keep the basement from getting too musty.

Since i switched from an old burnham oil fired boiler to a 3 pass cold fired Buderus boiler with a 45 gal super stor hot water tank, The basement is rather damp now so ive had to install a de humidifier because the boiler never runs unless it calls for hot water once the holding tank temp drops but the efficiency factor on burning oil should be huge as i can already see the difference.

[tamarack]

11 hours ago, dryslot said:

Since i switched from an old burnham oil fired boiler to a 3 pass cold fired Buderus boiler with a 45 gal super stor hot water tank, The basement is rather damp now so ive had to install a de humidifier because the boiler never runs unless it calls for hot water once the holding tank temp drops but the efficiency factor on burning oil should be huge as i can already see the difference.

Our place had a Burnham, maybe 4 years old when we moved here in 1998.  Seven years ago it began to leak and I thought we might need to replace the seals, maybe up to $1000.  The repairman looked into it while I was at work, then asked my wife if she wanted the good news first or the bad news.
"Good news."
"Today is Tuesday."
"Okay, the bad."
"The boiler is cracked, the whole thing needs to be replaced."

We had a similar unit put in, would have to go downstairs to check the brand but not a Burnham.  Fortunately our little (200 cords) timber sale a few months before had earned enough to pay cash.

[J.Spin]

On 8/6/2020 at 6:45 AM, klw said:

52f here.  A couple of days ago it felt like maybe the back of summer had been broken.  It definitely seems that way now.  Chamber weather for days to come.  Soon the leaves will need to be peeped at, I will get in a panic to get outdoor chores down prior to the freeze up, the GFS will flip from having a 942 hurricane at the end of every run to having a blizzard coming just inside the benchmark to finish each cycle, and someone will set up a thread for this year's Grinch storm.

I was wondering when someone would make those first whispers of summer’s back being broken – and it makes sense it would come from one of the NNE crew.  There’s no doubt that at least a minimal switch was flipped back on the 28^th after that rather potent stretch of humidity subsided.

When you have that elevated heat and humidity that sometimes comes around in July, it just makes it that much less pleasant to get out for non-water activities, and indeed we’d just been sticking with fairly short MTB rides hitting routes from the house for the past few weeks.  That switch in the weather really made things pleasant enough that it’s felt worthwhile to get out – the boys and I had a fun ride in the MRV over the weekend, and the family hiked to The Chin yesterday.  The weather has been fantastic for those sorts of activities.

With the temperatures over the past few nights, not only has there been no need for fans in windows to cool things down, we’ve had to close a certain percentage of windows or else we would have overshot the cooling.  As far as we’re concerned, that’s pretty convenient.

It looks like we’re going to shift from 70s/50s to some 80s/60s in the coming days, so it doesn’t seem like summer’s back is seriously broken just yet, but the past week or so has definitely shown some weakening.  And, even if an above average August is in the cards, we’ve already passed the climatologically hottest part of the month and the overall feel still won’t touch an above average July.

[dryslot]

3 hours ago, tamarack said:

Our place had a Burnham, maybe 4 years old when we moved here in 1998.  Seven years ago it began to leak and I thought we might need to replace the seals, maybe up to $1000.  The repairman looked into it while I was at work, then asked my wife if she wanted the good news first or the bad news.
"Good news."
"Today is Tuesday."
"Okay, the bad."
"The boiler is cracked, the whole thing needs to be replaced."

We had a similar unit put in, would have to go downstairs to check the brand but not a Burnham.  Fortunately our little (200 cords) timber sale a few months before had earned enough to pay cash.

I was on borrowed time as i bought the house from my inlaws and my brother in law told me they had put in that boiler when he was 16 yrs old and he's 62 now, So i replaced it on my terms not the boilers as we've had some issues the last few years with it.

[tamarack]

1 hour ago, J.Spin said:

I was wondering when someone would make those first whispers of summer’s back being broken – and it makes sense it would come from one of the NNE crew.  There’s no doubt that at least a minimal switch was flipped back on the 28^th after that rather potent stretch of humidity subsided.

When you have that elevated heat and humidity that sometimes comes around in July, it just makes it that much less pleasant to get out for non-water activities, and indeed we’d just been sticking with fairly short MTB rides hitting routes from the house for the past few weeks.  That switch in the weather really made things pleasant enough that it’s felt worthwhile to get out – the boys and I had a fun ride in the MRV over the weekend, and the family hiked to The Chin yesterday.  The weather has been fantastic for those sorts of activities.

With the temperatures over the past few nights, not only has there been no need for fans in windows to cool things down, we’ve had to close a certain percentage of windows or else we would have overshot the cooling.  As far as we’re concerned, that’s pretty convenient.

It looks like we’re going to shift from 70s/50s to some 80s/60s in the coming days, so it doesn’t seem like summer’s back is seriously broken just yet, but the past week or so has definitely shown some weakening.  And, even if an above average August is in the cards, we’ve already passed the climatologically hottest part of the month and the overall feel still won’t touch an above average July.

1st sub-50 low since 6/18 and tomorrow I pinch off the tops of the cherry tomatoes in hopes that doing so will turn the plants' efforts to ripening the fruit already set rather than setting even more.  Maybe a back-to-the-future spell early next week, but I think the warmups will be less warm and the cooldowns more cool.  No true Canadian CAA in the models I see, however, and after 8/15 those air masses often bring upper 30s here.

[J.Spin]

3 hours ago, powderfreak said:

Sitting in my living room getting some work done and the corner my eye sees this big black mass move right past the screen door.  This guy moved walked within 10 feet of where I was sitting, like he was just wandering the outside of the building. 

The dog went apesh*t like she does and he started jogging away from us. 

He comes by daily at this point, but man, middle of the day and he was literally feet away from me through the screen door again.

We were at the Alpine Mart in Stowe yesterday afternoon/evening after our Mansfield hike, and just as we were parking the car along the left side of the building, this huge black bear was sauntering along heading westward out there in the back yard of the store.  The boys thought it was just a huge dog at first, but then did a double take when they realized it was a bear.  I told them it wasn’t at all surprising based on all the bear sightings you’ve been talking about in town this summer, and then I proceeded to show them some of the interesting bear pictures you’ve posted as we were driving home.

[powderfreak]

45 minutes ago, J.Spin said:

We were at the Alpine Mart in Stowe yesterday afternoon/evening after our Mansfield hike, and just as we were parking the car along the left side of the building, this huge black bear was sauntering along heading westward out there in the back yard of the store.  The boys thought it was just a huge dog at first, but then did a double take when they realized it was a bear.  I told them it wasn’t at all surprising based on all the bear sightings you’ve been talking about in town this summer, and then I proceeded to show them some of the interesting bear pictures you’ve posted as we were driving home.

Yes!  If you want to see a bear just come sit in the middle of Stowe for a while.  Won’t see them in the mountains but the funniest thing is I haven’t seen a deer this entire summer but see a bear several times a week or see that it’s been around.  

This could be the same bear at Alpine Mart, I’m only like 1/2 mile from there up the Rec Path by Sushi Yoshi.  

We are all certain they are just playing connect the dots between the businesses/restaurants around here.  Every dumpster is just mangled, all the garbage cans along the Rec Path and those parking areas are emptied by bears daily.  

The town and state are now starting to take it more seriously, as the Game Wardens pretty much told us there’s not much to do except make their experience as negative as possible and to call them if a bear tries to gain entrance to our residence, lol.  Other than that, enjoy the stray bears.  10 years here and never had a bear, this summer they are like stray dogs in a European city.

My concern is what happens in future years when these youngsters become 350 pound adult males and come here for food.

[powderfreak]

His second time through our yard today, this time he stopped at the Dumpster.  Didn't seem to find what he wanted.

The craziest part is when he's in the dumpster with the lids closed, he seems to be very quiet so you have no idea until his head just pops up and out to look around for a bit.

Next year we will need a bear proof dumpster for the first time in a decade living here.

[wxeyeNH]

I'm seeing bears more frequently.  When we moved here full time in 2001  we never saw bears.  Now they seem to be everywhere around Newfound Lake. 

Summer's back isn't broken just yet.  Very warm evening but yet I can tell by the lowering sun angle that the seasons are changing.  

Conditions remain very dry here.  Other than the last week in June there has not been much rain since April.   2.51" was my July total and so far in August .65"   I really wish Isaias had past east.  

Isaias  high wind gust here  42mph and rain total .40"   Even a 42mph gust was enough to knock out power for 24 hours.

[backedgeapproaching]

@dendrite @tamarack

A big nursery nearby here is going out of business and they have a decent size chestnut tree at 85% off. I dont have the tag right now to see what type it is or where it comes from, but I was going to maybe buy it today. I know you guys have experience with these on some level. Its $300 plus dollar tree I can get for 45-50$, but dont wont to if there is a high chance of it getting whatever knocked out the chestnuts.

Anything I should be looking for specifically with this tree?

Edit--oops,meant to put this in lawn and garden thread.

[tamarack]

23 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

@dendrite @tamarack

A big nursery nearby here is going out of business and they have a decent size chestnut tree at 85% off. I dont have the tag right now to see what type it is or where it comes from, but I was going to maybe buy it today. I know you guys have experience with these on some level. Its $300 plus dollar tree I can get for 45-50$, but dont wont to if there is a high chance of it getting whatever knocked out the chestnuts.

Anything I should be looking for specifically with this tree?

Edit--oops,meant to put this in lawn and garden thread.

Try to find out if it's a hybrid Oriental/American chestnut, perhaps from the American Chestnut Foundation, or more likely a pure Oriental chestnut.  The hybrid's resistance/tolerance would depend on the breeding.  I'm not aware of any ACF trees being sold - they usually donate stock so to have more widespread planting and testing.  The Oriental would be blight tolerant and would produce nuts but would not get nearly as big as the American.

[backedgeapproaching]

9 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Try to find out if it's a hybrid Oriental/American chestnut, perhaps from the American Chestnut Foundation, or more likely a pure Oriental chestnut.  The hybrid's resistance/tolerance would depend on the breeding.  I'm not aware of any ACF trees being sold - they usually donate stock so to have more widespread planting and testing.  The Oriental would be blight tolerant and would produce nuts but would not get nearly as big as the American.

Ok, thanks. Will check out the tag today when I head over.

[dendrite]

15 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Ok, thanks. Will check out the tag today when I head over.

Dunstans are a hybrid with good resistance. Any chinese tree will have resistance too. I know our Agway tried selling a few purely chinese trees last year, but they were still there in the fall. You can find 100% American trees online grown from seeds from parents with good blight tolerance, but there’s no guarantee on what those seedlings will produce. 
 

I have about 10 american trees in my yard right now because I’m on the early list for those transgenic american trees from SUNY ESF. I need to have some pure american trees with it to create genetic diversity. Half of the nuts from the transgenic tree with carry the blight resistant gene and the other half won’t. I believe the transgenic ones are expected to be available to the public in a few years if they get the OK from the govt. 

[backedgeapproaching]

40 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Dunstans are a hybrid with good resistance. Any chinese tree will have resistance too. I know our Agway tried selling a few purely chinese trees last year, but they were still there in the fall. You can find 100% American trees online grown from seeds from parents with good blight tolerance, but there’s no guarantee on what those seedlings will produce. 
 

I have about 10 american trees in my yard right now because I’m on the early list for those transgenic american trees from SUNY ESF. I need to have some pure american trees with it to create genetic diversity. Half of the nuts from the transgenic tree with carry the blight resistant gene and the other half won’t. I believe the transgenic ones are expected to be available to the public in a few years if they get the OK from the govt. 

Actually its a horse chestnut. Which is much different I think?

 

[dendrite]

26 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

Actually its a horse chestnut. Which is much different I think?

 

Yup...entirely different tree. The nuts aren’t edible either. Gene has one and it’s a nice ornamental, but he does have problems with sapsuckers. His tree service has done a lot of work to seal it up to keep it alive. I’m not familiar with the different cultivars though. 

[backedgeapproaching]

40 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Yup...entirely different tree. The nuts aren’t edible either. Gene has one and it’s a nice ornamental, but he does have problems with sapsuckers. His tree service has done a lot of work to seal it up to keep it alive. I’m not familiar with the different cultivars though. 

 

2 hours ago, tamarack said:

Try to find out if it's a hybrid Oriental/American chestnut, perhaps from the American Chestnut Foundation, or more likely a pure Oriental chestnut.  The hybrid's resistance/tolerance would depend on the breeding.  I'm not aware of any ACF trees being sold - they usually donate stock so to have more widespread planting and testing.  The Oriental would be blight tolerant and would produce nuts but would not get nearly as big as the American.

Ended up picking up 2 of these for $45 each.. 2" diameter trunks...maybe 12-14 ft tall.

https://www.pahls.com/market-news/three-flower-maple-a-rare-beauty/

[dendrite]

Those have really nice bark at maturity. 

[backedgeapproaching]

5 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Those have really nice bark at maturity. 

Yea, ones of the reasons I got them..the bark already looks pretty interesting right now at the nursery even young.