Frosty Tractor Wheel
Here’s an interesting puzzler… Why is the tractor rim frosted like that? In the early morning the metal was clean of frost. As the day warmed I saw the frost rime appear and gradually grow on the steel.
Today was too cold to get this effect. In fact, the tractor wouldn’t even turn over never mind start today. My thermometer says it got down to -35°F last night but it was up to a balmy 21°F below zero when we were doing chores. I’m not sure if I believe the thermometer or not. The weather report had not called for it to be that cold. I will admit though that it was dang chilly – I put on my winter work suit rather than being out in the strong winds in my shorts as usual. Still, it didn’t feel like 35°F below zero so I have to wonder if my thermometer was off. Perhaps the intense winds were affecting it. I double check with the laser thermometer we use on our deliveries and it confirmed the extreme cold but it may be that the winds were acting to cool even the granite I measured on the stone dog house. My understanding though of wind chill is it won’t affect something like that. I told everyone to quit early with our outdoor chores once we had gotten the animals hay, feed and water. Whether or not it was really that cold I was worried about frost bite.
The answer is below in reverse lettering. Before you try to read it, think about the problem and leave your answers in comments…
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Outdoors: -1°F/-35°F Sunny, Very windy, Very cold
Farm House: 52°F/49°F
Tiny Cottage: 67°F/61°F
Walter Jeffries: Tinker, Tailor... A bit eclectic & a tad eccentric: A Quantum Farmer. Also lucky in cards.
Holly: I always wanted to be a farm mom! Multi-generational farming with our kids. 
Walter, I have been reading your Blog for a while now and summoned the courage to get three pigs this summer. All went well except… at the end the pigs started mounting our Nubian goat. Ughgh… We separated them as the pigs were big by then and we were worried about the goat. I told my husband, I had read and read and had not seen any reference to this! Sometimes, I wonder if these things only happen to us!! I am very glad to see we are not the only ones:)
Bonnie
As the air warms it contains more moisture than it did when it was cold. The tractor wheel is colder than the surrounding air and causes the water vapor in the air immediately adjacent to the cold steel to condense and then freeze.~Linda’s husband, Joe
In response to Gadget, above, on a still day we have to open a window in the room the woodstove is in to equalize the pressure or we, too, get a house full of smoke. On a breezy day there is no backdraft problem.