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Greetings All,

I was out shoveling this morning after our latest snowfall and had a photo op, so I thought I'd share it with you folks. It may be frigid outside but it's nice and cozy warm inside our 1887 prairie farm home.



Gotta love winter, I mean, what are the options.

Cheers!

Lou

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Lou,

Lovely spot. Today finds me working in the office in Moncton, NB, Canada, while everyone else is home enjoying a snow day. Here's the view outside.



On days like this I realize that there are people whose butts I could have kicked in school and university who are making a living chartering yachts in Tahiti. Why am I here?

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It builds character, Raine. Or at least that's what I've always been told. Personally, I think the ones telling us that are the ones living in Tahiti chartering the yachts.

Thanks for sharing the photo, it looks like we live in very similar situations, weatherwise at least. By the way, that bungalow in the forefront on the right side of the street looks identical to my neighbor's house down the road.

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Lovely pic Lou!

Lou, I'm starting to think I've just built enough *&&^%%& character for one winter!

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Raine, same here, enough and then some. So I guess that means we are both a couple of characters.

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Thanks Trooper, glad you like it!

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We've been having off and on blackouts from the wind here for the last 17 hours. Is it spring yet?

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Not yet, AceMedic, much as I wish it were as well. Thanks for sharing your photo with us, you've got your share of winter too. Hope your power gets steady soon..

At least you guys can SEE through your windows.

Lou, Love the house! I do like a snow every now and then. But I'll take what we have, just sayin.

MFair, is the snow behind the horses? Because I can’t see it.

Yes it is, but Unless you can see a few hundred miles north it’s kind of hard to spot. I have been in a tee shirt the past few days!

Heh heh! I'm also wearing a t-shirt and then another one on top of that - this one with a long sleeve, then a sweater and than a jacket.
Lou, what are you wearing?
I can see this thread go kinky very soon.

Live in Kentucky and watch the weather act like a yo-yo! A couple of weekends ago it was cold then went up to 60F I flew some RC sailplanes that Sunday) then an overnight low to 4F to hover around 15F a few days then to 72F then back down to 29F and now back up to 45F. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 52F.

Fullofit, now, don't try to fool us - that's the privacy glass in your bathroom, isn't it? I thought it nearly heartless the way MFair horsed around with us of the more frigid climes. Of all y'all Lou wind the photography award - it seems AceMedic88 screened his picture a little too well before posting! (where's that smiley that ducks a flying rock? oh, there he is - - ) Raine makes us all wonder what it would be like to have the big office upstairs... (better duck again, I've heard that story!) Nice place, Lou.

ARUP, we've been up and down that yo-yo with you - it was 60°F a few weeks ago, and withinn a couple of days we hit -10°F, never got anywhere near freezing for a couple of days, then back up to 50°F over the weekend... We've had almost two inches of rain since the beginning of the week, switching with snow... I'm hoping my landslide from last year doesn't slip anymore, and so does the water authority - a 6" diameter, 150 psi water main goes through there!

Very nice Lou we had that here earlier I used my side by side to push it out of the way. ARUP I know what you mean it has been even worse here in northeast Missouri. The temperature swings have been crazy all winter long. We had ice that just melted the other day. I do not mind the cold and snow, but I hate the ice storms. I can get most anywhere I want in snow, but ice is another matter. My son in law has just gotten home from playing Army down in Texas near Waco he said the base had less than an inch of snow and sent everybody home and shut down. He told the commanding officer that this was not snow but just a dusting. Thanks for sharing gentlemen.
John

No fooling you HD! When the weather hits the fan, my house gets a lot more private.

"Winter" in Naples. Took these last week.

I see General Winter doesn't spare you North American folks either from his attacks! (Except some people living in the tropics...)

Here's a midwinter shot from my corner of the globe:



Great photos everybody! As to building character, I'm not entirely sure what kind of character a lifetime spent living in Arctic conditions has built for me.

Hasse, that looks straight off a post card. That's a beautiful shot.

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Beautiful photo Hasse, absolutely beautiful. Yes, you have winter in spades up where you live and more character than you know what to do with because of it.

Jim --- I hate you.

Mark, I'm not so fond of you at the moment either.

Fullofit, nice windows, love the stippled effect, very trendy.

ARUP, HumanDrone, and Mr_Dirt, I know what you mean about those yo-yo temps. In four days we went from -32F to +58F. What the what!

Thanks for sharing the pics of where you folks call home in all its wintery goodness. Love seeing 'em!

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All crazy posts gents! I just got my morning smile reading this thread!!

Now let's go one more step further Hasse!
Just imagine youself at 5000 metres in an Albatros cruising over your house!!
Now that is what I would call creating character...or so the brass would have us believe when we complain of the cold.

Cheers mate!

That would take character building to new heights.

Hasse gets a "Human Drone" award. See I, have that punny problem. Too bad mine aren't funny! (nice pic, btw, Hasse!)

When the brass says something is "building my character", how come I want to hit'em so hard their kids will be born dizzy?

But they are truly beautiful pics, even JFM's... although teeth-grindingly beautiful...

Well, let's see if i can do this.... I haven't got a more recent picture than this one from just before Christmas. We built this in 1978, been picking at it ever since. A major addition in 1992 (5 kids...), a renovation and new rooflines about 3 years ago... and so on.

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Very nice place HD, and a beautiful locale. And look, you have snow too!

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Except that it looks like that fake snow from the spray can. Now who’s fooling who ... whom, HD?

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hmmmm, you might be right Fullofit. It does look a bit "Hollywood". Certainly not like the real snow seen in the following:



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Gripping stuff, Lou! And the price is right, too.

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Oh yes, a real bargain at only $12.95, (plus tax and old tire).

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That must have been a good year.

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He's here all week, folks. And be sure to try the Reuben, it's a house specialty.

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Thank you, I also do magic tricks. I’ll need one of those Reubens and a pretty volunteer from the audience.

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Let me guess: You'll make both disappear, along with yourself.

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How did you know? Have you seen this trick before?

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Yup. I saw Henny Youngman do it at the Lamplighter back in '69. I won't say it's an old trick, but....

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As long as it gets me the sandwich!

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That's exactly what Henny said!

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Was it a knuckle sandwich or a two-attractive volunteers sandwich?

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yes

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I knew it! I’m glad it wasn’t the other one.

Awright, awright you two, go get a room...! (I laughed - good exchange.

You caught me, Fullofit. We so seldom have snow for Christmas, that my wife lays out rolls of quilt batting for the effect! But thanks. That blacktop driveway has a nice south face and if you get it reasonably clean, it melts & dries even on 20°F days if it gets sun.

Lou, it must be something to have a home with that kind of history behind it! Beautiful place, and well-kept, too. Figure many of the boys we imitate weren't even born when you house was built!

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Thanks HumanDrone, I love old houses because of that very history. Years ago, when I was replacing the windows in the south bedroom, I found some paper folded up that had been used as a shim under the corner of one of the sashes. When I carefully unfolded it I discovered it was a church bulletin from 1887 and a letter from someone in Iowa dated the same year. There was also a stencil on the underside of each sash that included an 1886 date and the manufacturer's name: Weise & Kuhlmann Mfg., Lester Prairie. Great little find that really helped to pin down when the place was originally built. The land was deeded as a 160 acre parcel, (a quarter section), shortly after the Civil War by Ulysses S. Grant to a war widow, which was a fairly common practice back then. So it was about 20 years after that the house that stands here now was built.

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It's been between -35 and -21C here for two weeks Ahhh, but it's a dry cold;. that's what we always say, as if that somehow makes it better
And, weve had several major dumps. Nirvana for those of us who ski.

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Beautiful shot, Shredward! And mountains, you have mountains. For us here on the prairies any rise of more than 100' in less than a quarter mile is considered a "mountain".

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Shredward, wow! The mountains are breathtaking! where, pray tell was that taken? What is that peak behind you? Edited to add, I clicked the link under your name, so you have an Olympic -Class ski resort nearby?! Very nice.

Lou - Love that history - can you imagine, "Hey, this window isn't straight, hand me that bulletin! - Aw shoot, that isn't enough, gimme that letter..." "I haven't read it yet!" "Well read it, then, I gotta get this window in!"

So how much of the quarter remains, if you don't mind me asking? I have 5-3/4 acres of "Walton Mountain" to care for, and that's more than enough!

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HD, only two acres left that I own, but on them are the house, barn, garage, and summer kitchen. To the north, along the old railway bed and the road into town, is the original family cemetery, which contains eight known graves. One of these is of the family member who served in the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War and died in 1866, perhaps from wounds he received in the war, (no way of knowing at this point, just my assumption). It appears that it was his widow who received the land grant from President Grant. The original abstract has the woman's name as the first deed holder.

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The mountain behind is Mount Haig, with me on Gravenstafel, a name that resonates for those with an interest in the Great War. And a little ironic, in that the Gravenstafel in Belgium is more akin to Lou’s description of a Minnesota mountain. And also of interest; many of the peaks in the Canadian Rockies recall WWI places, generals, battles, or ships lost in the Great War
Cheers
Shredward

Shredward, that is breathtaking! Words cannot describe such a sight.

Lou, that is some history! If dirt could talk.

Bluebird day today - standing on the Continental Divide. -21 C, but fresh snow last night. Our own little corner of heaven. I don't care if spring never comes !!!

Today was a keeper

Beautiful, Shredward. Winter has a beauty all its own. Dread inconvenience sometimes, but I like to get out and get a fire going and cut brush or firewood. My hills are steep and big enough to do some snowboarding/skiing or sledding on, but you have to walk back up on your own! Kids stuff, bascially.

Lou thanks for the history. It always fascinates me. We just discovered a Civil War vet/casualty in my wife's side of the family.

Lou it looks as the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Regiment spent most of the War Between the States fighting in the Western Theater with on of my favorite Regiments the 11th Missouri Volunteer Regiment. They were in many of the same battles here in the west. The major one being Vicksburg and the resulting battles before and after Vicksburg. They also went on the Red River Campaign and the campaign to capture Mobile. A very good couple of Regiments. My favorite regiment of the Civil War is from your state, but it fought on the Eastern Theater. That would be the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Regiment. Several years I got to experience one of my things on my bucket list and walked down the field at Gettysburg where they charged off of Cemetery Ridge to brunt the attack of Wilcox's Brigade. I can only imagine the courage it took to drive into a brigade sized charge with 262 or somewhere in that amount of men. The odds where better than 3 to 1 against them. I often wonder what drives ordinary people to become so heroic in times of great need. You have told me of living on land that was deeded to a Civil War Vet by Grant you are certainly a good steward of the land he fought for. Thanks for sharing.
John

100.4 in the shade here mate, I'd rather be shovelling the pavement than melted to it but the grass is always greener, right?

Nice pics Lou=)

Exactly one day in your life your kid will ski as good as you do.
The next day, she'll ski better
-Warren Miller

I always knew that day would come;
I just didn't know that it would come at age 9.
-Ted Harrity

Yes, the worm has turned! And I bet you could not wipe the smile off your face.

My 5 year old granddaughter can ski better than I can - 'cause I can't ski at all! She's had one whole lesson!

Now Shreddy, by George that girl there is one to be proud of! What a picture, to boot! Congratulations to her!