|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 8, 2019 16:25:21 GMT -6
Well, September goes up and down, and this week the highs are back up in the 90s, and the nights in the 70s. Plus, the humidity will have it even hotter, so . . . so much for Autumn. October is when the temps are mainly Autumn-like. And even though the crickets are getting louder, they’re not around the house just yet. They’re in my BILs garden, that’s in my front yard, so my dog will bark and scare off wildlife. It’s right along his back fence, but still my front yard.
Oh. If the spider on my back porch catches a bat, I'm gonna spray it. I'm surprised I haven't sprayed it yet. But, it seems to clean away its web, because there's nothing there when I go to feed the cats during the day.
|
|
|
Post by moonglum on Sept 9, 2019 3:29:29 GMT -6
Rain, rain and more rain. It rained all night and this morning, so much so that the water butt, empty yesterday, is now full to overflowing. What do you do with that water? It seems pointless watering plants that have just endured almost twelve hours of rain! Methinks an overflow pipe is needed to vent .........somewhere! It's still reasonably warm though, 13C.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 12, 2019 5:22:44 GMT -6
Same! Exactly! Occasionally I'll remember to walk around the opposite side and approach the driver's side door from the rear of the car, but most times I'll walk right into the web, flailing my arms, slinging my bag wildly and sloshing coffee trying to clear the web from my face.
Yesterday at work, I had one of those "GET-IT-OFF-GET-IT-OFF-GET-IT-OFF!!!" moments when I came inside for break, wiped the sweat from the nape of my neck under my ponytail, and felt a huge creepy-@ss spider there. "Hold still!" my co-worker said (the Get-it-off moments include me dancing around like I'm stepping on hot coals), as he plucked from my neck a big, fat...bumble bee. He put it outside on a butterfly bush, and the dazed and confused bumble buried its entire head in the flower. I probably freaked it out with my Get-it-off song and dance more than it freaked out me.
Last week we had gorgeous weather - cool enough to wear jeans and a sweatshirt every day. This week it's back into the 80s and very, very humid (hence my sweaty, bumble bee-ed neck). Rain this morning, and maybe it'll wipe out some of the humidity...and maybe wipe some of the ragweed pollen from the air!
Later, Taters. Enjoy the day!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 13, 2019 19:57:18 GMT -6
It's been back up in the 90s, with the "feels like" even higher. The leaves are still green, but it's a darker green. Autumn is coming. Just a few more weeks.
The sun is moving towards the south, and my back porch has more shade. Soon it will be fully shaded. The days are getting shorter, and I do not like the long nights.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Sept 14, 2019 19:02:16 GMT -6
MOI? Done Christmas shopping? Certainly not! You falsely accuse me! I don't buy the kids the big Hershey's Bar and McD's gift card until early December so the candy is still fresh. To be honest, I might have a bit of a head start on the shopping thing. But it's necessary! I have to get everything mailed out so it arrives on time and that means going to the post office in December which, as you can imagine, is another Halloween story all by itself! I'm sure if you look you can find at least a couple of appropriate stories to include with the 31 days of spookdum festivities with that as a theme. Already? They're starting out more than a month early. Ya know, I'm beginning to think people in your part of the country are a bit more on the strange side than you usually admit to. Obviously I don't wait for Halloween to get started because some people get Hallmark stuff and it's not always available later in the year. I've been known to start before the July Hallmark release but that just seems to happen occasionally, once in a while, unless I find the right gift and then I just hold on to it; okay let's just say it happens and let it go at that. But there's simply no way I'm waiting for the last of the turkey to be gone. That's an evil situation and another scary story I'll bet - the day the turkey ran out and people started shopping. There's another spook story for you! I'm a big fan of T-Day dinners and especially munching on the legs. (I'm sure you've heard that before too.) But first snow? Here, that would mean going shopping once every quarter century or so. Oh I'm sure you just dreamed that up. I take it that if it's possible, costing you coffee (AKA the elixir of life) is a capital offense? It is wholly inappropriate for you to say such things considering the weather we're still experiencing! That was a great full moon too! Not a cloud in the sky here - it was worth taking a few seconds on the side of the road to take a gander at it. Like Christmas shopping, the "bad luck" started early - on the 12th for me. An important program wasn't working and the people who had to take action to fix it weren't as excited about the problem as I would have hoped. It continued on through Friday until after I left work. The reason for leaving was Steppet's 5th optometry appointment, but the news was good this time. Her eye pressure was down to 22 - 10-21 is considered normal range - the infection in her left eye has cleared up, the right eye is almost all cleared too, and over all things are good enough that they gave her a new prescription for glasses. Bifocals, although she may want progressives instead. The military won't give her freebies because she's a dependent instead of retired, but they have been diligent about fixing the problems so I have no complaints. Now I have to get her to one of civilian glasses places which I suspect will still be costly, but not nearly so much as her losing her eyesight to the infections. She's still being checked for cataracts and glaucoma but any kind of better is welcome. I thought you were talking about me at first. I'm going to use the ship behind the atomic explosion at the appropriate time at work - thanks! I know you don't fancy fall and winter all that much, but I've always been a fan. I didn’t like school or anything dealing with school with the exception of the time of the year. We get Halloween with all of its fun and candy and spooky movies, Thanksgiving with turkey and family and turkey and stuffing and preplanned turkey meals for several days if we're lucky, and Christmas (although I prefer Christmas Eve with all the anticipation of what's happening tomorrow), and New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s day, and cool quiet walks in new fallen snow before it is disturbed by vehicles or critters - especially early morning at zero dark thirty while the rest of the world is asleep and life is peaceful. There's much to be appreciated with each season. I have friends who prefer summer - but the things I value are more prevalent when it's not summer time. I meant to say something much earlier but I couldn't get time to post - I remember reading that one of the problems this year was dust from the Sahara Desert being blown over by the trade winds. I don't know how much of the US was affected but it certainly had an impact here. "Dust from the Sahara Desert has surged into the Caribbean and may funnel its way toward the Gulf Coast of the United States this weekend, keeping the tropics at bay for the near future. Known as the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), this dry dust plume commonly forms from late spring through early fall, moving out into the tropical Atlantic Ocean about every three to five days, according to NOAA's Hurricane Research Division (HRD). The HRD says the SAL is typically located between 5,000 and 20,000 feet above the Earth's surface. It is transported westward by bursts of strong winds and tropical waves located in the central and western Atlantic Ocean at altitudes between 6,500 and 14,500 feet." Oh yeah, this one. My step mother has been drinking ACV for some time and insists it has many benefits including things for people like me - a diabetic. Then she told me that she takes hers with ( DON'T READ THIS PART PHALON!!!) with her morning coffee. She says she mixes it in with her first cup - I mistakenly tried it. Once. Only once. To quote Phalon “BLUCK BLUCK BLUCK!!!”
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 16, 2019 22:41:17 GMT -6
Oh I'm sure you just dreamed that up.
No doubt.
You are most welcome.
I used to love Autumn, and the holidays, but a couple of bad experiences, and becoming cold natured, and I changed my tune. It's the bad memories mainly. And the cold and long nights doesn't help.
Yeah, it's supposed to help with the sugar levels. I don't like it in water, but I can drink it best in apple juice and pineapple juice.
Good to hear that Steppet is doing better. I hope she continues to do better. You could see about a coupon. Some shops will have a coupon on their website, or in the paper.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 16, 2019 22:43:31 GMT -6
Today's high was 97F. The highest temp yet for the year, and it broke a record for today. Supposed to stay in the 90s until the weekend, and then it drops into the 80s. All of next week is supposed to be in the 80s, but it shouldn't be too long now before I can turn the a/c off.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 17, 2019 5:31:56 GMT -6
Oh, I readily admit to there being plenty of....shall we call them "eccentrics" here. Keeps things interesting, for sure.
Not a capital offense, but it is definitely worthy of a snarl!
Don't want to be a b!tch by rubbing it in, but we've had the most glorious start to fall weather that we've experienced in a long time. Loving it!!!
The night sky was cloudy here all weekend and I completely missed the moon except for a glimpse through the trees as it rose Saturday night. Monday, I woke up thinking I hadn't set my alarm and I was late for work...until I looked at the time on my phone. It was 3am, but the moonlight coming through the window was so bright, it looked like dawn outside! So I wasn't late for work after-all...not to mention, Mondays are my day off.
Very glad to hear Steppette is doing better! Getting glasses for her might not be as expensive as you think because she's already got the prescription; even with insurance all those eye tests can add up. May sound weird, but try Walmart - their optometry services aren't bad, and they offer a ton of frames for all kinds of budgets.
Dang, this reminds me - I've got to get new glasses!!! I lost mine about six months ago, case and all, which is totally weird because I only used them to drive at night, or when I was driving in unfamiliar places - my glasses never left my car except when I occasionally drove Hubs' car. I searched both vehicles, along with BP's POS just for the hell of it, and tore the house apart trying to find them, without any luck. And with my luck, as soon as I get new ones, the old ones will turn up somewhere!
Gotta run. Later, Taters. Enjoy the day.
Oh, and Joxie Missy - you are going to have to do much better if you expect to get me with one of those screaming meanie videos this season! Saw it coming a mile away!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 17, 2019 14:09:39 GMT -6
I figured that the word scary would give you a clue. The other one is safe to watch though. If you don’t believe me, get hubs to watch it first. And if he buys a second steering wheel, he’s double dog daring you.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 17, 2019 21:52:43 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 18, 2019 5:02:51 GMT -6
Oh, no! Not the double-dog dare!!! Definitely not showing Hubs the video now.
Actually, I watched them both....with one eye squinted, and the other closed. Two random videos having nothing to do with what you wrote in the post? I just knew one of them would be a "gotcha" video!
The summer heat one is cute.
Cool lake fog rolled in Monday evening, and stuck around through yesterday morning - it was incredibly foggy driving to work. Once it burned off, it got quite warm. The whole week is supposed to be around 80 degrees. Nights are still in the high 50s, and it's nice to sleep with the windows open.
Hints of fall color are starting to show up here and there. They say, based on the weather we've had all summer, that the color this year is supposed to be the best we've had in a long time.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 18, 2019 13:38:17 GMT -6
The 90s are supposed to drop into the 80s, starting on Friday. If it gets that high again, it’ll probably be off and on, for a few times here and there. I’m expecting those days to be far and few, but Mother Nature has a mind of her own, so who knows.
I just had a thought, and am wondering about all of the trees that have been under water since last September. They’ve never been under water that long, as far as I know. I’d hate to see most of them die out. The ice storm of ‘09 did enough damage to the trees around here. The gravel trucks have been going and coming like crazy, fixing the washed out roads. (Going to the Bottoms, and coming back.) I’ve seen as many as three trucks go in and out within minutes of each other. We might go check it out, once it has cooled down quite a bit. And maybe once the mosquitoes stop coming out. I haven’t been there in eons, and I live on this road. It has a lot of childhood memories. There was a time we went down there almost every day. And we camped there many, many times. I guess we were staycationing long before there was a word for it. If we needed or forgot something, it was a short trip away.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 19, 2019 5:31:41 GMT -6
It'd be incredibly sad if all the trees died. I don't know if a tree could live in water for that long. I guess it would depend on the species; many species that grow naturally in wet areas can withstand living in swampy conditions. Others, unfortunately, can't.
Sounds like a lot of fun!
When the girls were little, every once in awhile, we'd rent a hotel room in town just for a night. We'd do it late January or early February when it was bitter cold outside - too cold for them to play outside, and everyone was getting stir-crazy in the house. They'd play almost non-stop in the pool, it was a nice change of pace, and even though it was just for one night not even a mile from home, we'd all come back feeling rejuvenated.
Last time we did something like that close to home was actually last December when BP gave Hubs and me a night's stay at the inn at the country club where she worked. OMG, that was such a blast! Because it was the off-season, the golf course was closed, but because BP worked there, they let us take a golf cart out at dusk, though warning us first to be back before nightfall because there aren't any lights out there (and no headlights on the cart). Big course with a lot of woods - we had too much fun. And then after the restaurant and bar closed for the night, we had the entire inn to ourselves!!! Well, except for one other guest, who we never heard a peep from; he stayed locked in his room. There wasn't any hotel staff at all at night; even the inn-keeper has a separate house on the grounds. An entire century-old inn to run amok in without another soul around - except of course, for the ghosts. The place is supposed to be haunted - we didn't run across any ghosts, but we did quite a bit of exploring.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 20, 2019 3:12:26 GMT -6
There are plenty of swampy places in the Bottoms, but most of it is dry, until the river floods. Farmers even have areas they farm for a living.
It was. Some of the happiest memories of my childhood were made in the Bottoms. I told my sister that I wanted to be cremated, and I wanted my ashes tossed into the waters that run through the sewers where we used to fish and shoot soda cans.
My sister used to have parties for her kids and their friends at hotels with swimming pools. That was before Mom paid to have one dug in my sister's back yard. Though, they still did that when it was cold, and the hotel had an indoor pool. It just goes to show you don't have to go far for a nice vacation.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 21, 2019 5:20:37 GMT -6
Those kinds of childhood memories are the best - everything is an adventure when you're a kid!
Sometimes those memories are clear as a bell; other times they are just snatches of time. I have one of those glimpses of a memory that happened once when we were camping at the very tip of the Mitten, and Dad took us to a bluff that overlooked Lake Michigan. There were a lot of people, so this must have been something that occurred yearly - or maybe it's just something Dad stumbled upon. On this bluff was a single tree (or I only remember this one tree). Mature and gnarled by years of wind, its branches hung way over the edge of the steep bluff - and every branch was covered with Monarch butterflies. There must have been hundreds of them, lining every branch, gathering before beginning their journey to Mexico. It was an amazing thing to witness, and has stuck in my mind all these years - I've never seen anything like it....
Until yesterday. At the nursery, we have a row of 5 mature Seven Sons Flower trees - it's a small tree, about 15 to 20 feet tall, that blooms this time of year. When it blooms, it's covered in butterflies and bees. In years past, the Monarchs gather in these trees to drink the nectar, fattening up for their long journey to Mexico. Gobs of them will flock in the trees, be there for maybe a day, and then suddenly disappear. This week the gathering has grown bigger and bigger each day - yesterday hundreds and hundreds of them filled the trees. It seemed like not a single branch wasn't covered in Monarchs. Just as an amazing sight now as when I was a kid!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 21, 2019 11:30:06 GMT -6
Sounds heavenly.
The last couple of days have been nice, but only when the clouds cover the sun. Once that sucker is out, it’s extremely hot. I was wrong about the 90s being over. But then, it’s several days away, and weather is truly unpredictable, so that could change before it gets here.
Just checked again, and a week from today the 90s are back for that weekend and start of the next week. September might go out with a bang. Summer is hanging in there. But something could shift, so just gonna roll with it.
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Sept 22, 2019 18:43:53 GMT -6
Same here except the one day it clouded over it was just after dusk. Fortunately, the clouds also brought 3 inches of rain! Yeah team!
|
|
|
Post by stepper on Sept 22, 2019 18:48:22 GMT -6
There's nothing like that happening here. We don't seem to have all that many butterflies, let alone a gathering of Monarchs. Perhaps it was the lack of rain and unending heat. Speaking of heat, how's your brother making out with the temperatures in his area?
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 22, 2019 22:44:29 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 24, 2019 5:38:10 GMT -6
It’s 54F, and the a/c hasn’t kicked on in a while. If I wasn’t having hot flashes, I’d have the heat on. And the house is 70F right now. It’s weird how 70F is way colder when it’s cold outside, than when it’s 70F due to the a/c. I guess because the outside heat seeps in and somehow prevents that deep chill.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 25, 2019 12:13:20 GMT -6
It’s 74F. Ten degrees below what is predicted. The breeze is chilly. So, the four 90F days next week could be lower than they’re calling for too. It’s rarely hot in October, so if there aren’t any El Niños or other special weather conditions, I’m expecting the temps to mostly be on the cool side. But I’m no meteorologist.
[Edit]
Holy Moly, just realized next week is October. I thought it was two weeks away. Why does Summer go by faster than Winter?
[/Edit]
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 25, 2019 16:31:18 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by moonglum on Sept 26, 2019 0:54:25 GMT -6
Rain and more rain. Every day this week so far. It's been a busy last few weeks. Started work on my garden railroad and changing caravans. How did we manage to accumulate so much stuff in just a couple of years? At least this new van has got a lot more storage space. Which means we'll probably get more stuff! Heading north today up to South Yorkshire. It's middle grand-daughters birthday at the weekend.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 26, 2019 5:11:25 GMT -6
From my understanding based on how the Monarch Lady (the woman who monitors the Monarch population at the nursery for the Monarch Watch organization) describes their migration, is that Monarchs converge in Texas twice a year. The "Super Generation" (that's actually what it's called) is the last generation of the season here - they are the ones gathering now to fly south; the butterflies of this generation are a bit bigger, stronger, and live longer than typical Monarchs. They pass through Texas on their way to Mexico to overwinter there.
These same butterflies fly to Texas in spring, where they mate, lay their eggs, then die. The butterflies that develop from those eggs are the ones that fly north. If there isn't enough milkweed in Texas in spring, the population is already diminished from the start - it's the only plant they lay their eggs on, and is the sole diet of the caterpillars.
Apparently, according to the Monarch Lady, Monarch Watch and other organizations are trying to establish "plant corridors" - something that sounds to me like a "highway" of both nectar plants and milkweed along their migration routes. The nectar plants are just as important for their survival as the milkweed - starvation is one of the major contributors to the Monarch population decline.
It's weird. During the Polar Vortex last year when our furnace kept going out due to ice build-up on the vent, I was freezing inside the house - it got down to 54 degrees, and I remember wearing a winter coat inside the house until it warmed up into the 60s again after Hubs would go out and clear the ice from the vents so the furnace could start again. During winter, we keep the heat set at 68 degrees during the day - I'm normally comfortable wearing jeans and a sweater. But this week, our outside temperatures have been in the sixties, and I've been wearing shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt outside at work, only occasionally putting on a hoodie when the wind kicks up. At night it's been dropping down into the 50s and even the mid-40s, and I'm fine sitting out on the porch in the mornings wearing shorts and a light jacket. Why does the same temperatures feel so different now than in winter?
What is a garden railroad, Moonglum? Like a garden with model trains running through it?
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 26, 2019 12:19:31 GMT -6
Maybe it has to do with the sun’s placement? Or both the sun and the humidity? There has to be something to it. Or it’s that the hot flashes has us running warmer than we used to? Although sometimes that oven isn’t on at all, it seems like. Strange. I don’t want to go back to being cold natured, but I would like for the hot flashes to go away, and that the oven would stay within a more comfortable range of temps.
I envisioned plants growing in a track-like position. A garden designed to look like train tracks.
|
|
|
Post by moonglum on Sept 26, 2019 14:05:46 GMT -6
Just what it says, a model railroad in the garden.
This one is a mite bigger than mine will be though.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 26, 2019 16:21:57 GMT -6
I don't recall anyone having this in their gardens. Cool.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Sept 27, 2019 13:16:47 GMT -6
The highs at the end of next week will be in the 70s. But summer is going out with a bang, as the week starts out in the 90s. Four days in the 90s, one day in the 80s, and then finishes with the 70s. This week is still in the 80s, but it got hotter and cooler than predicted.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jun 28, 2020 8:33:16 GMT -6
Bunnies eating the clover...and the green bean plants as soon as they sprout; I think Hubs is up to his forth replanting of them, and pretty much ready to give up. Cute little possums the size of my hand - definitely a case of ugly duckling in reverse; sooo cute when little, but grow up to be sooo ugly. The mother is especially hideous looking as far as possums go.
Roses and hydrangeas in bloom - gardens look great, unless you get too close; all that lush greenery is weeds (maybe not all, but enough that I can't keep up with it at the present time).
Fire flies at night, even during a heavy rain the other evening.
Definitely summer.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jun 29, 2020 4:13:30 GMT -6
My brother-in-law was about ready to give up on his garden. He moved it to my front yard so my dog could bark at anything that got into it whenever I let her out to do her thing.
|
|