powderfreak

It’s 70 degrees at 9pm in N.VT. MVL has spiked from 64F to 70F with a puff of warm air. The air mass wants to be hot. Mix it out and it’s a summer night with low dews.

Where were the cubs? On the other side? I’ve seen bears close huge distances across ski trails in short order if cubs are on the other side. We had a work truck going up a road, knew of active bear den… mom was two ski trails over… truck got between mom and cubs and Mom was over there faster than a deer can run. To me it’s always interesting when someone who sees bears regularly, in my yard, on my porch, on the mountain, etc is not concerned and has numerous encounters a year… but someone sees a bear running from a car and they are natural born killers? I get the hesitation, they are huge animals. This guy in the backyard last summer had to be 500 pounds. His killer instincts had him sit down when he saw me, shy and unsure how to pass. This smaller guy but still probably 300 pounds was scared shitless when he saw me on the back porch and ran to hide under some evergreens.

Only if cubs or food are involved. Like you said you didn’t know if cubs were involved. There have been 4 in VT history per fish and game. Two were elderly ladies who were feeding beers on their decks, then accidentally got between the bear and its escape route and bear knocked them down. Last year there was a dog that chased cubs up a tree in SVT, woman ran to get the dog, mama bear went after the woman and bit her (non-life threatening injuries).

Yeah the first encounter is definitely unnerving. Over time it definitely shows you their behavior the more you see them. I’ll probably be the one mauled for trying to pet it if it walks next to me. They truly are harmless creatures IMO unless you provoke them. They are like big goofy things that are super smart.

I’ve observed enough of them to know they are generally lazy animals that are smart. The eastern black bear is not a “hunter”… they are an opportunist though. They wander around following their nose for bird feeders, trash, nuts and berries. They’ll pry car doors open, garages, they’ll climb small trees until they snap just knowing they get to eat the seeds/nuts/berries once it’s on the ground. 100% carrying a gun because of a black bear is only going to increase your chance of a self inflicted gunshot wound while the bear watches you. Maybe he’ll sniff you after your dead though. Like the number of YouTube videos of black bears finding hunters in tree stands is staggering. And none of them end badly. I know they are “scary” animals… it’s like a zoo animal in your backyard… but they literally do not give a shit. Just watch their demeanor, they almost seem embarrassed when they find you.

To be honest you did about the absolute WORST thing you could do… which is panic and run from a black bear. Those things could not care less about you. I’d be more worried about any of the other animals you listed. They are like raccoons mixed with a pig, but huge and black. Maybe it’s just seeing them so often, but I’ve been within 30 feet several times and honestly they are much more terrified of us than we are of them. I have never felt threatened by a bear either in the mountains or in the backyard. And the number one rule is not to turn and run from them like a crazy person. They have zero interest but maybe you give them a reason to be interested. Their eyesight is also shit at distance. After like 25-30 yards they are basically seeing shadows, which at that point you are now a fast moving shadow that they think may be a threat.

Taping and retaping… I picture you doing it over and over until all corners are crisp 90 degrees, tape smooth and straight with a level.

We talk about installing window AC units on this forum like it’s actually installing a brand new window frame each time. You lift it up, put it there and close a window on top of it. This isn’t some monster chore that should keep people up at night or even feel relieved it’s done lol. Put them in and out whenever you want or need.

Well if there was a chance you might go weeks or more without needing it again, isn’t it nice to look out the windows or have them open for fresh air? I personally hate having those units in windows. In college we’d take them out all the time and only throw them in during heat waves. It took minutes.

Ha I go short sleeve and snow pants. It’s still too hot but skiing in shorts can be risky. It’s pretty close to that level though. Thigh Vents wide open on pants. You end up sweating anyway. It’s a weird sensation to be on snow and get those puffs of very warm air in your face. Then occasionally you find a small drainage or creek and the temp is 25F colder… before blasting back out into the heat. Mansfield looks to have hit 69F for another daily record. Old record today was 66F in 1968. Snow depth down to 56”.

These days before full leaf out and green up go big more often than not. They can be hottest temps of year sometimes.

Hasn’t rained in a week but there’s a lot of water flowing. River in backyard is like it rained 3” today.

Yeah we are 36F to 84F so far. 48 degree swing.

66F at summit beats record of 63F from 1968.

River is at bank full and raging. So much SWE coming out of the mountains right now.

MVL at 80F up here. Picnic Tables 62F. Snow is melting fast. Think my yard lost last shaded patch today. Just the dirty plow piles left.

36F this morning and now 70F.

Been getting quite a bit of sun on the mountain. April sun angle reflecting off snow and bright everywhere. I usually hit my peak face tan in like May right around the time the snow finally melts on the hill, ha.

I’m sort of surprised we didn’t lose power last night. White pines got shredded. MVL only 36mph max but it looks like 40-50mph tree debris here.

For sure it’s wiped out. But there are still widely spaced piles, deep shaded snow about to disappear completely. Its an interesting topic…to put AC in during these transition seasons.

You walk the walk to go with the talk. Second week of April install of AC at 1000ft in the woods of NE CT has to be a record.

Good grief … snow hasn’t even fully melted in the ORH hills and AC is in.

63F Melting.

Mini-splits have been a game changer. A bit too cold, blast heat for an hour or two. A bit too warm, blast A/C briefly. Not much to think about or consider.

Yesterday did 65/21 here for 44 degree range. Low of 35F this morning… and it’s already 55F by 8:05am. Thats crazy. Up 20F off the morning min by 8am.