Memorial Day, 10:55 am: I finally managed to cut our front lawn yesterday. Our riding lawnmower needs a little work and is schedule to be picked up tomorrow for repair, so I used our walked-behind power mower. Phew! Talk about a major effort to cut through the overgrown grass. Thankfully our soil and grass have both dried out enough, that I didn’t sink into my ankles, and the grass didn’t clog the mower’s blades.

Our resident population of mosquitoes has returned en masse, together with other winged creatures that are equally annoying. Also four-legged wildlife has returned to our area. Our friends Don and Diane, from Saint Agatha, saw a black bear standing on its hind legs yesterday down our road. It was one of those moments they couldn’t get their camera out fast enough before the bear took off for the safety of the woods.

While driving through Madawaska yesterday we were detoured due to their Memorial Day Parade that was just starting. It was a pleasant reminder to see that people can still take time out of their busy schedules to sit alongside Maine Street in their folding lawn chairs enjoying the festivities, sipping ice-tea, and chatting with friends and family.

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 63° (F.)

Barometer: 29.99 & rising slowly

Humidity: 64%

Wind: Calm

Visibility: > 3 miles

Skies: Scattered high clouds

Precipitation: Light sprinkles no measurable amount

Since midnight:

Low temp: 47.1° (F.) at 2:29 am

High wind: 7 mph at 10:39 am

Van Buren Maine -- May 25, 2006

Friday, 8:30 am: I think the measured chaos has ended, and our lives are back to normal. Also the rain has finally abated – I hope. At least for the moment we can do some outside work. And I think it’s time to crank up our riding lawn mower. I can’t mow the backyard because it is still too soggy.

While returning from Manchester New Hampshire yesterday, my wife and I saw two moose [see photo above] on the snowmobile trail in Van Buren. The moose population has finally returned from the depths of the woods. Unfortunately they have become road obstacles to be avoided at any cost. Many motorists up here don’t seem to get nature’s message to slow down and pay attention. Some will have a head-on collision with moose, and then they, or their survivors, demand the state reduce the moose population.

My tomato plants are in the process of recovering from transplant shock, and are beginning to thrive in the soil. I passed on planting corn and squash this year. I am not a big fan of squash anyway, so the loss will not be missed by me.

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 57° (F.)

Barometer: 29.64 & steady

Humidity: 81%

Wind: Calm

Visibility: > 3 miles

Skies: ca. 75% overcast

Since midnight:

Low temp: 44.9° (F.) at 4:53 am

High wind: 8 mph at 8:30 am

Tuesday, 8:15 am: My wife pointed out blue sky to me yesterday. Curious, I said, “Where?” She responded, “Between the two clouds.” Indeed she was correct; there was a patch of blue, but not quite enough to frolic in or under.

More importantly on the way home from Caribou yesterday evening, we saw a black bear in Connor, two moose in Cyr Plantation, and a young bull moose north of Van Buren near Parent Road. It made my, visiting, mother’s day. It was the first time she had seen a bear in the wild. It was not exactly Davie Crockett imagery or proportions, but for a city slicker “from away” it was a real thrill.

I am currently battling a spring cold. I think I’ve got the best of it thanks to numerous over-the-counter medications. Ah, better living through chemistry. And finally, I got all my tomato plants in the ground and staked. Let’s hope there is no frost.

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 46° (F.)

Barometer: 29.62 & rising slowly

Humidity: 79%

Wind: WNW at 3 mph light & variable

Precipitation: None (Finally)

Skies: 100% overcast

Visibility: > 3 miles

Since midnight:

Low temp: 45.1° (F.) at 3:19 am

High wind: 14 mph at 4:49 am

Friday, 9:45 am: Lots of rain and more on the way. If anything can be said about this spring it would be, “Early and wet.” But then again that’s weather; it’s not like death and taxes which are predictable and inevitable. Since this current weather event began we have received more than 1.87 inches of rain.

All work in our garden and on our lawn has ground to a stop until the rain stops and the soil dries out. The way things [rain] are going that could be in a week or two. In the mean time our lawn is turning into pasture land. Maybe we should take up mud wrestling instead of gardening?

My mother, visiting from Arizona, loves the rain. We complained that she brought all of this moisture with her, and she should be more careful what she wishes for. Obviously it didn’t work. Fortunately we have umbrellas.

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 49° (F.)

Barometer: 29.69 & steady

Humidity: 100%

Wind: 1 mph very light & variable

Precipitation: .04 inches rain

Visibility: < 2 miles

Skies: 100% low overcast

Since midnight:

Low temp: 43.8° (F.) at 4:00 am

High wind: 6 mph at 5:42 am

--- Vermont last week ---

Wednesday, 9:30 am: Wow, what a drive to New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. I can’t describe all the rain we drove through and the flooded rivers we passed by. The outbound drive was normal and unremarkable: On the return trip, on Monday, May 15, was a bit dicey. When we returned from upstate New York we drove via I-89 in Vermont to Manchester then on to I-95 north to Maine, which worked well, because we avoided secondary roads that were flooded in various locations, and would require major detours.

Once we crossed into Maine the rain continued to come down in torrents. It eventually let-up somewhat by the time we got to Bangor. We were delayed so much due to my slow driving and poor road conditions that we spent the night in Bangor, resuming our drive the next day and returning yesterday afternoon. Now that’s weather to talk about!

Yesterday at our house we received .79 inches of rain. Today, as of this writing, we have received .41 inches. On to our current weather:

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather Station:

Temperature: 51° (F.)

Barometer: 29.36 & rising slowly

Humidity: 100%

Wind: Calm

Precipitation: .41” rain

Visibility: > 3 miles

Skies: 100% overcast

Since Midnight:

Low temp: 48.9° (F.) at 6:54 am

High wind: 16 mph at 2:24 am

Total rainfall since yesterday: 1.20”

Grand Falls, New Brunswick

Wednesday, 11:30 am: Here we are in our parallel weather universe in the Saint John Valley. It’s raining and I have been doing outside chores. Lucky for me the rain is light and I’m not saturated, just damp. A cup of hot tea will take the chill away.

For the five or six days my wife and I will be in New Hampshire and upstate New York near Lake Champlain. So for my readers there will be no weather blog until I return. We’re driving to Manchester to pick up my mother at the airport then drive over to see my brother and his wife in the Adirondacks. It will be a tour of sorts, and perhaps a bit of shopping and fine dining. No "Home Style" cooking on this trip.

In an earlier blog I mentioned how our stack of firewood partially collapsed due to the saturated ground beneath it giving way to the weight. Now it’s completely collapsed and looks like a big pile of wood. This is the first year this has happened, but then this has been an unusually mild winter and early spring. Our first mosquitoes have come uninvited into our house, and see us as an all you can eat buffet. Anyway, on to our weather and other diversions from this faux weatherman:

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 49° (F.)

Barometer: 30.13 & steady

Humidity: 100%

Wind: Currently calm

Visibility: < 2 miles

Skies: 100% overcast

Precipitation: .06 in. rain

Since midnight:

Low temp: 41.1° at 6:29 am

High wind: 8 mph at 8:45 am

St. John River, Madawaska, ME

Saturday, 9:20 am: I think it’s here – summer. I know it is only the beginning of May. The weather is delightful. We put in a full day of work in the garden yesterday, and our swallows have returned to their birdhouses. Before I forget, we saw a black bear on the Trans-Canada Highway a few days ago. It was leisurely scratching itself on the median. Luckily, for the bear, that part of the divided highway was quite wide and wooded.

I managed to get all seven mail-order hybrid poplar trees planted. Now I keep my fingers crossed they will survive the transplant. My green thumb isn’t entirely green. Also our tomato plants are about 18 inches tall. Most likely by next week I will transplant them into the ground. I am hesitating a bit to make sure the danger of frost has passed.

Today is another labor intensive day. My weather blogging has lagged the last week or so; mia culpa again. There’s just so much to do around the house in spring and summer that recreational writing takes a backseat to work.

We did attend the NWS Weather Spotter training on Tuesday evening in Fort Kent, sponsored by the St. John Valley Amateur Radio Association. The class was interesting. I was hoping for “new and improved” weather stuff, whatever that stuff is. As it turned out, in addition to the normal reporting criteria and severe weather identification, additional emphasis was placed on emergency reporting via amateur radio and using the statewide radio communication nets that are activated when weather disasters occur. On to my nonsevere weather:

Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:

Temperature: 55° (F.)

Barometer: 29.68 & steady

Humidity: 66%

Wind: NE at 2 mph light & variable

Skies: scattered high cloudiness

Visibility: > 3 miles

Since midnight:

Low temp: 39.6° (F.) at 4:35 am

High wind: 5 mph at 9:09 am

St. John River, Fort Kent, ME