# Hey Nestor!



## oldognewtrick (Jan 28, 2010)

Has the spring time thaw made it up your way yet? Nice thing about middle Tennessee is we have about as much winter as you have summer.

Also, where do you call home when the winter house melts? eh

Just heard on the TV that its going to be -20/30 in Minnesota, thats just not right. Probably not any warmer in Winnipeg is it?


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jan 28, 2010)

Hi Oldog/Newtrick:

We don't usually start to "feel" the break in the weather until about mid-March.  That's when the day-time highs will typically get to above 0 deg. Celsius (freezing), and so you know from the warming weather that spring is coming.  But, we look at several different temperatures; the day time high, the night time low and the wind chill factor.

Just because the day time high peaks a little higher than 0, like 1 or 2 degrees, doesn't mean that there's much of a change in the amount of snow you see around.  That's cuz the temperature throughout most of the day is still well below 0, and so there's no serious melting going on.

"Spring" doesn't actually feel like it's arrived until mid-April or so when the night time lows inch above 0.  That's when the snow melt continues 24/7, (albeit slowing down at night) and you can see a visible difference in the amount of snow from day-to-day, and a corresponding increase in the water level in the river(s).  Winnipeg is located at the junction of the Red River which runs from south to north and the Assiniboine River which runs west to east.

Minnesota can feel colder than Winnipeg.  How cold "it feels" doesn't just depend on the outdoor temperature.  It all depends on how quickly heat leaves your skin.  The faster heat leaves your skin, the colder "it feels".  And, wind plays a very important role in removing heat from people.  If it's a calm day, then the air around your skin will warm up a little, and it won't feel as cold.  If it's a windy day, that heat gets carried off with the wind, and it feels colder.  We call that effect the "wind chill".  So, you might hear on the radio someone saying "It's -14 deg. Celsius outside, but the wind chill is -26 degrees C."

(How cold "it feels" is dependant on how quickly heat leaves your skin.  This is also why it can be 65 degrees outside, but if you wade into 65 degree water, it'll feel very cold.  The temperature of the water is the same as the air, but water absorbs heat 15 times more quickly from your skin than air does, and so 65 degree water will feel much colder than 65 degree air.)

That means that the actual temperature is -14 deg. C., but it feels like -26 degrees because of the wind.

So, depending on the temperature and the wind, Minnesota can feel a lot colder than Winnipeg.

Here's what's happening right now, and what's forecast to happen over the next several days in Winnipeg:

Winnipeg, Manitoba - 7 Day Weather Forecast - Environment Canada


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## TxBuilder (Jan 29, 2010)

At what point do you go back to making maple syrup? I love that stuff and I'm almost out.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jan 29, 2010)

Trees store up energy over the winter months in preparation for growing leaves in the spring.  So, the sugar maple trees in Ontario and Quebec are tapped for their sap in late/winter and early spring, before they start growing a new batch of leaves.  Like around March or so.


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 29, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Like around March or so.




Soooooooo......... when do we need to get our order in to you for early shipping? I love real maple syrup. Only reason I like going to Gatlinburg, TN is stopping at the Pancake House and getting a bottle of the very best syrup I've had the pleasure of tasting. 

Mmmnnnn.... pancakes.........


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## inspectorD (Jan 29, 2010)

I have been makin  it for years. Last year I made 20 gallons worth, all in pint canning jars. Takes a few days to boil down, and about a cord of wood. Around here that lasts one year, between my Kids, freinds and family, it goes fast. Same... usually end of March around here. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, great on vanilla ice cream!!


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## TxBuilder (Jan 29, 2010)

inspectorD said:


> I have been makin  it for years. Last year I made 20 gallons worth, all in pint canning jars. Takes a few days to boil down, and about a cord of wood. Around here that lasts one year, between my Kids, freinds and family, it goes fast. Same... usually end of March around here. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, great on vanilla ice cream!!



Never thought it but your right that would be amazing. Nestor can I make the check out to you this year or is it still just Canada?

Or I do have these magic beans...


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## oldognewtrick (Jan 29, 2010)

TxBuilder said:


> Never thought it but your right that would be amazing. Nestor can I make the check out to you this year or is it still just Canada?
> 
> Or I do have these magic beans...



Tx, maybe you could swap for some Texas Brisket.

Nestor, Inspector Gadjet, send some to Tennessee so we can taste test who has the bestest.


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## inspectorD (Jan 30, 2010)

Mmmmmmm, just finished some pancackes and bacon, no kiddin.
Tell you what, anytime someone here sends syrup through the mail it somehow finds the Vermont triangle....and never arrives.

I think sitting around boiling it down for 2 days straight is the fun part, some folks around here actually still have sugar houses they sit in, the problem is when you walk out...you stick to everything, and you smell....well...smokey and sweet.:


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jan 30, 2010)

I hate to disappoint, guys, but there really aren't very many sugar maple trees growing in Manitoba.  (There might be a few since we have ordinary Maple Trees, but there aren't enough Sugar Maples to support a Maple Syrup industry here.)  According to this map of the range of Sugar Maple trees, there's more Maple Syrup in both Tennessee and Conneticut than there is in Manitoba.

http://www.maple-trees.com/media/Maple-Tree-Identification/Geographic-range-of-sugar-maple.jpg

The Canadian province of Quebec produces most of the World's Maple Syrup, and in Quebec it's a tradition to make candy out of the hot syrup by pouring out a bit of it on the snow and eating it frozen.

I'm thinking I could send you some snow in cardboard boxes, maybe.


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## TxBuilder (Feb 1, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> I hate to disappoint, guys, but there really aren't very many sugar maple trees growing in Manitoba.  (There might be a few since we have ordinary Maple Trees, but there aren't enough Sugar Maples to support a Maple Syrup industry here.)  According to this map of the range of Sugar Maple trees, there's more Maple Syrup in both Tennessee and Conneticut than there is in Manitoba.
> 
> http://www.maple-trees.com/media/Maple-Tree-Identification/Geographic-range-of-sugar-maple.jpg
> 
> ...



I don't believe you. I think your just telling us that so we don't harass you for your syrup.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Feb 2, 2010)

We have honey processing here in Manitoba.  How bout I send you some bee honey, and you can pretend it's Maple Syrup?  You can even pour it out into whatever snow you have there and eat it frozen, just like real Maple Syrup.

Home - BeeMaid Honey

PS: The BeeMaid honey plant in Winnipeg is right behind a coffee shop I often go to.  Most of the bee keepers in Manitoba take their honey to BeeMaid to be processed and packaged, but some of them also make their own special honey from family recipes and they sell it at a store at the back of the honey plant.  That store also sells bee keeper's supplies, bees wax candles, bees wax figurines, wicks and raw bees wax for people to make their own candles, candles wax dyes, books on bees and bee keeping and any crafts that the bee keepers or their family members produce that sell well.  Did you know that honey is a natural antibacterial dressing that will prevent open wounds from becoming infected.  The reason why is because honey has very little H2O in it that isn't bound up in compounds with sugar molecules.  So the lack of free water in honey makes it a inhospitible place for bacteria to grow.  Bacteria, just like everything else, need water to survive and multiply.  Applying honey to an open would will prevent any bacteria already in the would from multiplying, and prevent any new bacteria from getting into your body.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 2, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> We have honey processing here in Manitoba.  How bout I send you some bee honey, and you can pretend it's Maple Syrup?  You can even pour it out into whatever snow you have there and eat it frozen, just like real Maple Syrup.QUOTE]
> 
> OK, heres the deal, you send some honey and we'll send some good ole southern grits. What say?


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Feb 2, 2010)

oldog/newtrick said:


> OK, heres the deal, you send some honey and we'll send some good ole southern grits. What say?



I'd say that the honey might not make it past your Department of Homeland Security.

After all, they say it was Canada geese that brought down that flight that had to ditch in the Hudson River in New York.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Feb 2, 2010)

oldog/newtrick said:


> OK, heres the deal, you send some honey and we'll send some good ole southern grits. What say?



I'd say that the honey might not make it past your Department of Homeland Security.  After all, they say it was Canada geese that brought down that flight that had to ditch in the Hudson River, so I expect the Department of Homeland Security has a close eye on the Canadian border now.

But, if they start to hassle me over the suspicious jars of honey, I'll just tell them I was sending it to this guy, and they can just deal with him:


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## TxBuilder (Feb 2, 2010)

I've fought a bear. No biggie.


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## oldognewtrick (Feb 2, 2010)

TxBuilder said:


> I've fought a bear. No biggie.



Who are you, Davey Crockett???

Nestor, where'd you find a picture of inspector gadjet without his funky hat at?


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## TxBuilder (Feb 2, 2010)

For honey and maple syrup I'll fight darn near anything.


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Feb 2, 2010)

TxBuilder said:


> I've fought a bear. No biggie.



Yeah.  Right.

The bear probably just didn't notice you.


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## inspectorD (Feb 2, 2010)

Knew I should have brushed my hair and combed my teeth before that picture....


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## TxBuilder (Feb 3, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Yeah.  Right.
> 
> The bear probably just didn't notice you.



That's debatable. All I know is Me 1 Bears 0.


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