The chart accompanying today’s post shows the temperatures measured in the biomeiler at a height of 4’ above the ground. This height marks the boundary between the existing biomeiler and the recent extension. The data were collected by a thermocouple buried in the pile at that height at the very center of the inner core, […]
December Experimental Results, part 2 Read More »
As the month commenced, the outdoor temperature rapidly dropped. The coop temperature initially followed suit, but then became remarkably stable. Although changes in the outdoor air temperature are clearly represented in the coop temperature, the chickens have enjoyed a range of 35-45F. Though hardly luxurious, such a temperature range is easily tolerable by the
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My suspicions were confirmed by the radio, this morning: it is unusually cold here, this month. According to the weather service, this has been the coldest month since 2005 and is the coldest December since 1980. When I moved to Fairbanks, in 1990, the winters were much colder than they have been for the last
Record Cold December Read More »
It is an annual tradition of mine to take a picture of the Sun at noon on the day of winter solstice. As a consequence of the weather conditions often present in the deep winter, this tradition is “more honored in the breach than in the observance.” I don’t consider it worth the risk of
In our current season, we often have days that are sufficiently overcast to diffuse the Sun’s light to the point that there are no strong shadows or glare from any direction. When the world appears lit without preference for direction, even ordinary sights can be abstracted into novelties. In my video production class I used
During the last few days we have had one of the deepest cold spells in recent memory. Temperatures have been in the -20s to -30sF for almost a week and the forecast calls for it to continue for at least another week. This weather is nothing remarkable, historically. When I first moved to Fairbanks, in
The chart accompanying today’s post shows the temperatures measured in the biomeiler at a height of 4’ above the ground. This height marks the boundary between the existing biomeiler and the recent extension. The data were collected by a thermocouple buried in the pile at that height at the very center of the inner core,
November Experimental Results, part 2 Read More »
As in October, the air vent temperatures are following the general trend of the outdoor air, but with a welcome improvement. It is encouraging to find that the biomeiler continues to raise the temperature of the incoming air by approximately 50 F degrees even as the outdoor air temperatures continue to fall. The coop temperature
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This year, our youngest offspring invited two college friends to come home with him for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a pleasant change from the last few years, when the table held only me, Melissa and our two children. Thanksgiving, being a festive occasion based on gratitude, is definitely better celebrated with a larger group. Another
Today, while completing the chores, I noticed that the chicks are now all fully-feathered. There were a few who still had downy feathers on their heads even a few days ago, but, thankfully, they have ceased procrastinating. As the chicks have grown in size and their feather cover has improved, I have been reducing the
Chicks Fully Feathered Read More »