Thursday, 2:10 pm: Well it’s snowing! Our woodstove is cranking out heat and I am upstairs typing away at a much overdue weather blog. Unless I forget to tell readers, I am still alive and there is another winter to look forward to. Somewhere I lost my blogging fuel. Enthusiasm has never been one of my driving virtues. Back to the weather; winter is about three feet away, on the other side of the wall. Ruth has a new laptop computer with the very recently outdated Vista pre-installed. Now the choice is; will she have the “free upgrade” Windows 7 installed, or leave Vista intact which seems to work with no problems? Choices, and there are choices for the modern techno-savvy consumer. We spent a week in Arizona visiting family there. Eating our fill of Mexican food and Jack-in-the Box hamburgers we’ve returned to the land of home-style cooking and flour-based white gravies. Admittedly I am no food connoisseur, but I know what I like. I’ve become too “New Englandized”; which means for this pallet, even mild salsa is a bit too spicy these days. Next thing you know, I’m on a downward spiral to ketchup as my condiment of choice. The airline flights went off with out a hitch and on time. No food, no pillows, minimal service, and an airplane filled with passengers both ways: How can US Airways be losing money? It’s better to leave those clever decisions to the executives in the airline industry. Meanwhile here is our weather: Current values from our wireless Davis Vantage-Pro weather station: Temperature: 33.9o [F.] Barometer: 29.968 & falling rapidly Humidity: 100% Wind: Calm Skies: 100% overcast snowing Visibility: < ½ mile snowing Precipitation: ca. 2 inches snow Since midnight: Low temperature: 26.3o [F.] at midnight High wind: 2 mph at 4:04 am
Charles Ames is a former educator and world traveler. He and his wife [Ruth] moved to Grand Isle Maine from Arizona in 1998. They reside in a log home on 60 acres of wooded land. They share their home with five dogs, two parrots, two parakeets and a goldfish.
Besides amateur weather observing, his other hobbies include; ham radio, astronomy, bird-watching, travel and fine dining, when and where he can find it. He is also volunteer Weather Spotter for the NWS in Caribou, and is an active member of the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association. He supplies information using a wireless Davis Vantage-Pro.
Hot Stuff
I got a kick out of your comment on ketchup. When I left Maine many years ago to go into the service,it was the start of a changing food pallet for me. I managed to stay pretty bland for many years until I met my wife. We have been married many years now and she has introduced me to garlic. hot sauce and the like.I once complained that a meal was too spicy and asked if a milder condiment was available --- she then handed me the ketchup , that ended my complaint. I could see that I had been eating very bland food. Not any more!Istill love rutabagas and all the root vegetables but my tastes have expanded 100 fold.Wherever we go on vacation we seek out a new hottest horseradish to take home.I enjoy your writing
Winter comes early to No. Maine
So winter arrives by mid-Oct in Northern Maine. You're probably two months ahead of us in AZ!Stephan
Missed you
From sunny Florida - WE MISSED YOUR BLOG Charles! I've been going through withdrawals wondering where you went. Glad to hear all is well. I had a lovely visit with my folks in Newport in September and came back to heat indexes of 105. Our weather is much nicer now.Stay warm and cozy! The wood fire sounds great. Tell Ruth I said hi! -Nancy in Sarasota