Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[Baymule]

And I thought Jimmy Carter was the worst President this country ever had…… I hate to admit it, but I voted for him. Last time I ever voted Democrat.

I remember long lines at gas stations, could only get 5 gallons at a time. Could only do that on even-odd days. If the last number on your license plate was an odd number, you could only buy gas on odd numbered calendar days, same thing with even numbers.

Galloping inflation made prices on everything soar to the moon and back. Mortgage interest rates hit 20% . My ex mother in law cashed in stock and played the money market accounts with C.D.‘s. She got interest at 18%to 22%. That’s where she made their retirement money. I don’t remember a lot of shortages as goods were still produced here in the United States, but prices were extremely high. Groceries were very high.

Now we have galloping inflation again, shortages because we import so much. Energy production has been slashed in our country and we are buying oil from ‘effing RUSSIA??? We are financing the war on Ukraine? I’d better shut up or I’ll get in trouble.

How long will it be before we have shortages on gas/diesel? Practically everything we buy arrives at the store on a truck. High prices on fuel will hit us like a double whammy with dollars that are worth less each day.

Y’all better hang on, it’s gonna be a wild ride. Probably not much fun either. Stock up on food, consumables, whatever you use, eat or consume. Consider it an investment because it will cost more next paycheck.

 

[Alaskan]

And I thought Jimmy Carter was the worst President this country ever had…… I hate to admit it, but I voted for him. Last time I ever voted Democrat.

I remember long lines at gas stations, could only get 5 gallons at a time. Could only do that on even-odd days. If the last number on your license plate was an odd number, you could only buy gas on odd numbered calendar days, same thing with even numbers.

Galloping inflation made prices on everything soar to the moon and back. Mortgage interest rates hit 20% . My ex mother in law cashed in stock and played the money market accounts with C.D.‘s. She got interest at 18%to 22%. That’s where she made their retirement money. I don’t remember a lot of shortages as goods were still produced here in the United States, but prices were extremely high. Groceries were very high.

Now we have galloping inflation again, shortages because we import so much. Energy production has been slashed in our country and we are buying oil from ‘effing RUSSIA??? We are financing the war on Ukraine? I’d better shut up or I’ll get in trouble.

How long will it be before we have shortages on gas/diesel? Practically everything we buy arrives at the store on a truck. High prices on fuel will hit us like a double whammy with dollars that are worth less each day.

Y’all better hang on, it’s gonna be a wild ride. Probably not much fun either. Stock up on food, consumables, whatever you use, eat or consume. Consider it an investment because it will cost more next paycheck.

We are very dependent on shipping of goods up here in Alaska... and even more so in tiny towns.... and we OFTEN have issues.

Often I go shopping, and Oops, no something. Often it is no cheese, or no eggs, or no Washington produce. I guess it missed the boat... ah well, maybe next week.

I remember one year the ocean iced up early and Nome (they get two fuel oil shipments a year in a huge tanker) couldn't get their late summer fuel! That was a royal pain (I don't live in Nome, but I know people who do or did).

One year a bunch of bridges washed out, so no trucks could make it to town for I think 3 or 4 weeks. The stores went very bare then. I still wish I had taken pictures. Because WOW was it obvious which food items people didn't like.

But, the national guard flew in baby things, and the rest of us didn't care. Food got boring... moose, fish, fish, weeds.... but no one I know went hungry.

 

[Mike CHS]

Something to do if you do gardens is make sure you have plenty of seed available. During the first year of this so called pandemic, I found many of the vendors I normally use were sold out.

 

[farmerjan]

All the local stores for our area "co-op" have quite a bit of seed, but I think it will run out quickly if things continue to get worse with this Russia crap. And even it that gets resolved, this may be just the wake up call people need. I hope to have a pretty big garden and be able to sell some surplus vegs. We'll see how the knees get to feeling here as the weather warms and I get out and more activity.

Chilly morning 28, but at least not down in the low 20's like they said. Sunny, and then the next couple days supposed to be in the mid 70's
Way too warm for this time of year but hey... why not enjoy it.

Looking at electric netting to keep the chickens in one place.... going to get the mower out and get the grass mowed out where I want the garden so it will be easier to plow and till.... and I will use the sweeper to get it all raked up to use as mulch too. I can pull it right behind the mower and since it is dried old grass, should catch it up pretty easily. It might be easier to just mow and then lawn sweep... I'll see which works better.

We will still have our share of some cold. I just hope this warmth won't get trees to budding out too fast. Our last frost date is around May 1st... although here May 10th-15th is not unusual. So, still 2 months of up and down and iffy weather temps.

Ate a couple of eggs, going to take water and feed out and let the chickens out of the crate. I have lost 2 of the Leghorn hens so they are getting locked in again FAITHFULLY. There for a while I was not locking them in the crate and the snow and all was keeping the predators away... But, I got lax and in 2 days lost 2.... Feathers all over for one so I know it got taken and I am assuming a coon. Going to set the live trap again... cycle begins.

Darn dead skunks again on the roads.... I would much rather smell lilacs than dead skunk !!!!!

 

[Bruce]

I'd rather a dead skunk in the road than a live one in my barn!

 

[Baymule]

Eau De Phew Skunk doesn't bother me. Maybe a full blast on my dog would, but road kill skunk, the smell is much fainter.

 

[Mini Horses]

What's odd is that freshly killed the smell almost jumps in the vehicle with you. . You don't have to hit it laying there....the odor just jumps right in. .

 

[farmerjan]

Friday night. Another kick you in the teeth day. The best thing about it was that it was mostly sunny and decent if a little cool compared to the last few and what they are predicting the next couple of days.

Gas went to 3.79 last evening and diesel was 4.89. It was the same in town as I went to the stockyards to see how calf prices were doing. I went by the pasture and wasn't going to go but thought it might be a prudent move to sit and see how things were doing. Prices were still about where they have been the last 2 weeks so I breathed a sigh of relief...but now I am thinking I was too quick...
Diesel went up to 5.15 at the Pilot and truck stop..... and gas went to 3.99.... all in about a 10 hour stretch. It was bad enough but around 8-9 p.m. it went up at all the stations. I stayed later at the sale than I really planned on because first I got to talking to some friends, and then I wanted to see some heifers get sold. I left a little after 9 to come home. I almost fell out of the car when I saw the increase in prices.... Luckily DS called me to tell me about the price increases, since they had gone to his father's for dinner and he went to TSC to pick up a pallet of 40 blocks of red salt that he got at a little better discount price when we came home from testing Thursday, and he wanted to get them picked up. He said he had filled up every vehicle he had at the farm... most yesterday, and a couple this afternoon. There is one station down the road, about 3 miles south of the house, that closed around 8 and they had not gone up on their price before they closed. Still 3.79,.....So I went there and filled the car, it was 1/2 full.... and then came home and got the truck and the 3 cans I had and went back and filled the 3 cans with the non-ethanol gas @ 4.17 for the mower, and filled the truck which only took about 2 1/2 gallons. They open at 6 I think and they will go up to match all the other stations right around them. He had diesel delivered to the farm today and I think he said that it was around 600+ gallons with the tanks and tractors etc.... that is off-road diesel.... but it will still be in the 4.50 range I am sure. I don't know if he saw a ticket yet. Just suppose he had waited... 600 gal at another .20 gallon would have added ANOTHER 120.00 to the bill.....
On the way home I said that prices were holding at the stockyard.... BUT... with this jump in fuel prices they are going to come off real quick. I wish we had sent these steers today....
I heard on the news that the stock market dropped again today... and there is some speculation on these gas price hikes that it is because of the rumors that we might stop buying oil from Russia to stop "funding their invasion of Ukraine".... which will put us in a bad spot because we will be so far short then.... and there is talk about buying from IRAN....???? WTF.... a country that is trying to make nuclear weapons and shouts DEATH TO AMERICA....
Are all these so called LEADERS totally stupid or nuts or insane or WHAT????
I guess if there is a saving grace, this will bury the Democrat party now. But at what financial cost... or ruination... to all of us? Wheat is 60 % more than a couple weeks ago... over $11/bushel... Corn hit $8 this morning here local... soybeans are over $16.

If all this was not enough, I went out to lock in the chickens and there are 2 missing.... it was already dark but I didn't think what ever got the others was coming along until later at night. I get out all the live traps tomorrow.... I will be home the next few nights and will make sure that I get them in before dark. Maybe they are roosting somewhere else... like the one that was sitting on the porch but I didn't see it.... Whatever it is, I will take great pleasure in terminating it......sorry SOB....

Lord help us all... it is getting worse.

 

[Mini Horses]

We KNOW the already made gas and reserves of crude in tanks waiting to convert are NOT the prices now being asked for crude still elsewhere! Watch. Like last gas crunch. These companies will have HUGE, HUGE profits at our expense. Again.

 

[farmerjan]

I agree @Mini Horses about the gas already in the tanks at the stations... but one guy at a gas station explained that they have to take into account what it will cost them to replace the gas in the tanks... and if they don't up the prices then they cannot afford to get the tanks in the ground filled on the next delivery... it is a vicious cycle... and that the jump in prices if they left it the same would also cripple the business... not withstanding that they would sell out of gas at the "old cheaper price" in a NY minute while everyone else would still have the higher priced fuel....
I still agree that they are making money on the gas already in their tanks... but it will cost them that much more to replace it. So they have to go up some to balance out.

Too bad we can't get our paychecks to go up to balance out the increased price of everything.

Deb, the neighbor called and she is out for the weekend with a friend and asked me to come for supper. She didn't know her friend brought steaks for them and I said no problem, I would just take a pkg of mine out of the freezer and bring more. So, going there this evening. Our days of going out to eat are going to be pretty much over. Not going to be able to afford it with fuel costing so much more.
I am thankful at this point that we are going into warmer weather.... at least no high prices for heating the house for the winter right now. Maybe this will calm down and get more reasonable over the summer.... at least in the next couple of weeks we will know what the situation will be with the Russia/Ukraine mess.... But we are getting screwed over with the stupid decisions to "go green" here with no real plan on how to make a sensible transition.... I believe in trying to find more renewable ways that are good for the planet... but you just can't STOP DEAD with what we are doing in the process. Now we are behind in so much....it is going to be a worse hurt than if things had gone more slowly to encourage some more renewable stuff. And with the track record and costs, "going green" is not proving to be an economically sound practice on a large scale. Without all the subsidies, it costs more to put up solar panels and all the infrastucture to support it than you actually can realize a return on. So, the more affluent can do it but where did they make their money to start with? There is so much to consider.

I'm heading outside here to get the cans of gas off the truck and into the carport. It was down to 35 but already up to 55 and getting warmer. Some clouds but supposed to be sunny by afternoon and even warmer tomorrow.