June 2006
June 30, 2006
Rain drops
A Garden Visitor
Friday, 9:45 am: Our outside chores have been nixed today – it’s raining. Workwise, I don’t know whether that is good or bad; so I fired up my computer and writing today’s weather blog.
The other day while my wife and I were driving on US Route 1 we discussed the virtues of fruit cake. My opinion left no doubt what I thought of this culinary blob. Without hesitation I thought it was suitable for doorstops or paperweights. My wife had other opinions, of course. She thought homemade fruit cakes were tasty and the “store-bought” ones were okay, but not great. I guess you could say, I like processed foods and refined sugar products, when it comes to desserts. Fruit cake, REALLY!
Work around our house has been an on again off again effort this year, mostly due to the weather, after all this is a weather blog and not a culinary blog. Since June 1st we have had 3.34 inches of rain, over half of it in the last week or so. Last night we had our first real thunderstorm of the spring and summer. The NOAA weather radio issued a severe storm warning too. Luckily, the main part of the storm passed to the south and east of us.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 66° (F.)
Barometer: 29.75 & falling slowly
Humidity: 100%
Wind: S at 2 mph light & variable
Visibility: < 2 miles
Skies: 100% overcast
Precipitation: .02 inch rain
Since midnight:
Low temp: 62.1° (F.) at 5:16 am
High wind: 11 mph at 1:36 am
June 26, 2006
Still More Work
Cyr Plantation, Maine
Monday, 7:45 pm: A late blog! However, here I am. We’ve had lots to do outside today. The weather was just warm enough to make work comfortable, but still tiring. Hey, I am middle-aged, what can I say?
Our town is doing some heavy-duty work on our road; luckily not near our house. I think it will look like an unpaved version of an Interstate when our town’s maintenance person [yes that’s right – singular] is finished with the project. We do municipal improvements up here on a macro scale, with even smaller amounts of funding from a shrinking tax base.
I am listening to my shortwave radio and getting the latest scoop on soccer’s World Cup in Germany. If I remember right, the United States was beaten by Ghana and eliminated from competition. And the ever popular who’s killing who in the world, with what and for what reason. If Bozo wasn’t a registered trademark you know what I’d probably call them. I am not noted for diplomacy.
Current values from our Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 69° (F.)
Barometer: 30.16 & steady
Humidity: 86%
Wind: Calm
Visibility: > 3 miles
Skies: Scattered high clouds
Precipitation: .01 inch rain
High temp: 75.3 (F.) at 4:55 pm
Since midnight:
Low temp: 53.8° (F.) at 4:26 am
High wind: 12 mph at 12:32 pm
June 24, 2006
Happy Summer Solstice
Saturday, 8:50 am: Ah summer is here. If I were a Druid on the Summer Solstice I would have frolicked in dewy meadows, tossed rose petals in the air, and played a pan flute. Since I am neither a Druid, nor living in southern England, and my musical ability is limited to changing a CD, I worked in our garden.
Our local garter snakes have moved in behind our garage for the summer. They like the wide sunny spot I cleared last summer. Yesterday there were five snakes out basking in the sun; most of the time they ignore me as I work around them. They help keep our mice population under control, so they are welcome summer guests.
I am still working on my “new and improved” amateur radio antenna. It was just a matter of time before the old antenna buckled and collapsed. I work on it a little each day. By Monday or Tuesday it should be finished. And I can once again send my Morse code signals around the world. My old vertical antenna was split from freezing water. Technology in the wilderness, what will they think of next?
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station>
Temperature: 56° (F.)
Barometer: 30.12 & steady
Humidity: 81%
Wind: NW at 1 mph light & variable
Visibility: > 3 miles
Skies: Scattered High clouds
Since midnight:
Low temp: 43.5° at 4:45 am
High wind: 3 mph at 8:44 am
June 20, 2006
Lots of Rain Yesterday
Tuesday, 10:15 am: After my whining and moaning about our uncomfortably warm temperatures the last few days, things changed dramatically last night. It rained over an inch in about an hour accompanied by thunder and lightening. Actually it was pretty great. Today the haze is gone and our local world is in order.
Some mischievous person or persons, apparently in Brazil, hacked into the MaineToday.com website and caused some disruptions. Even the link to my blog was affected, which has now been corrected. Bored Brazilian teenagers need more to occupy their free time; play soccer or something!
Our electric bug zapper and mosquito coils are working at full speed this time of year. It’s all we can do to keep the insects at bay and outside. Since we moved to the great outdoors eight years ago, we’ve had to rethink our relationship to animals and insects. It’s a stand-off. They have overwhelming numbers and we have technology.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 73° (F.)
Humidity: 73%
Barometer: 29.63 & steady
Wind: SSE 6 mph & variable
Visibility: > 3 miles
Skies: Scattered clouds
Precipitation: 1 inch on 6/19/06 rain
none since midnight
Since midnight:
Low temp: 63.9° (F.) at 4:35 am
High wind: 12 mph at 8:53 am
June 19, 2006
A Very Toasty Day
-- Bridge over the St. John River --
Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
Monday, 2:53 pm: Wow! It was 88.4 degrees yesterday. That’s almost a sweltering temperature. Luckily we weathered it well, and none of my brains cells dried out too much – I need all I’ve got. Sleeping last night was a little uncomfortable. With all of our electric fans blowing, I felt like I was trying to sleep in a wind tunnel. In any case here I am alive and seemingly well.
We have been trying to catch an abandoned cat some heartless person dropped off on our road. No luck so far even with tasty canned cat food as bait. I guess we’ll have to switch to Plan B. Now I have to sort out what that plan is. Hopefully we’ll catch it and take it to the cat rescue shelter in Van Buren. I’ll keep my readers posted.
Yesterday parts of Maine were supposed to be on an Ozone Alert. To me it just looked very hazy, just like today. Today is also quite toasty, but we do have a breeze which helps to mitigate the heat. We did what we could in our garden early before it got too hot. Now it is siesta time.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 83° (F.)
Barometer: 29.61 & falling rapidly
Humidity: 63%
Wind: 13 mph variable
Visibility: 3 miles
Skies: haze and scattered clouds
Since midnight:
Low temp: 61.3° (F.) at 4:42 am
High wind: 20 mph at 1:26 pm
June 13, 2006
Drying Out & Almost Clear!
Storm front passing through - June 11, 2006 4:38 pm
Tuesday, 9:40 am: Almost clear skies today – almost. It was dry enough yesterday I was able to cut our lawn. This year, spring has certainly been turned upside-down. Now I am wondering what summer has in store for us. It couldn’t be any more peculiar than it has been for the last several weeks.
When we first moved here in May 1998, many people we met here commented that the weather is odd or unusual that year, or some previous year, and we should have been here then, when there was no summer, a wet summer, a dry summer, or some other extreme weather uncharacteristic of the area. We were informed there were two seasons; winter and the Fourth of July. We added an additional season sandwiched in between those two seasons; the mud season.
I think now we are seasoned veterans of northern Maine weather. We’ve survived eight years of artic-like winters. Because we’re from Arizona, surviving the summer months is a piece of cake, although the mosquitoes and black flies can be pesky. I’ve become a poster boy for the chemical industry, because I slather on so much insect repellent when I work outside.
Current values form our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 67° (F.)
Barometer: 29.85 & rising slowly
Humidity: 70%
Wind: WNW at 3 mph
Visibility: > 3 miles
earlier -- morning fog
Skies: Scattered high clouds
Precipitation: None
Since midnight:
Low temp: 56.3° (F.) at 1:19 am
High wind: 7 mph at 6:31 am
June 10, 2006
Rain, Drizzle and Mist
Saturday, 10:50 am: Today is a repeat of yesterday and the day before. My wife says it’s another day typical of German weather. Mowing, weeding, and pruning have all but come to a halt. It’s another day for more inside work. Of course our electricity was out for more than an hour this morning. That put the kibosh on anything that requires electricity, including dishwashing, because our water pump requires electricity to operate.
And because of all the rain, drizzle and mist, I have had more time to write weather blogs. I have to pick up the slack somewhere! And I need to stay out of my wife’s way when she is busy. She operates at full throttle, and I run on cruise control, which says something about my understated motivation.
I had to get my rubberized boots out of storage. I thought I wouldn’t need them until next winter to slog through the snow; now I need them to wade through our rain puddles which are everywhere. I think it’s another bad movie day.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 63° (F.)
Barometer: 29.52 & falling rapidly
Humidity: 100%
Wind: Calm
Visibility: < 3 miles & misty
Skies: 100% overcast
Precipitation: .02 inch rain
Storm total: .57 inch
Since midnight:
Low temp: 54.4° (F.) at midnight
High wind: 7 mph at 9:04 am
June 09, 2006
People in the Mist
Friday, 10:00 am: Our firewood, six cords, arrived today in the middle of heavy rain. Yes it’s still raining. I heard on the radio today that since the beginning of June we have had only one rain-free day. At least today we won’t be doing any firewood stacking. And if the rain keeps up, it looks like it may even be several days before we get started on this project.
-- Ruth and six cords of wood --
In the meantime there is enough to do inside our house. I’d like to think some clever person would come up with the idea of self-cleaning dishes, clothing and carpeting. Obviously not, so these routine chores are on our task list for today – and every day.
I’ve got my ham radio equipment in good working order. In the end I took out my old vertical antenna and a few other bits of equipment I stored away, tinkered a soldered a bit, and all is well in the world of amateur radio. Now if I can just keep the moisture out of my connectors. That’s life for today in the land of rain and mist.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 54° (F.)
Barometer: 29.73 & falling slowly
Humidity: 100%
Wind: SE at 1 mph
Precipitation: .26 inch rain
Visibility: < 3 miles
Skies: 100% low overcast
Since midnight:
Low Temp: 48.6° (F.) at 4:32 am
High wind: 7 mph at 12:50 am
June 08, 2006
Rain Again
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor
Thursday, 8:30 am: More wonderful weather! Yes, in fact, it’s raining once again. Fortunately this time I had enough sense [which sometimes escapes me] to listen to our NOAA weather radio ahead of time, and knew it was on the way, and I cut our grass yesterday while it was still dry. I occasionally feel like Homer Simpson, “Duh!” in my pursuit of knowledge.
One thing about living rustically like we do now; it is more labor intensive. Admittedly living in a large city has a few advantages, but the other advantages of living somewhat remote, in my estimation, far outweigh the convenience of city life. Where else can I see a bald eagle fly over, or a moose in our front yard?
Two of our hybrid Poplar trees tanked and bit the dust, so I ordered two new trees from a different mail-order company. I have to be more diligent about watering them until they finally recover from transplant shock.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 51° (F.)
Barometer: 29.98 & steady
Humidity: 100%
Wind: Calm
Visibility: < 3 miles
Skies: 100% low overcast
Precipitation: .10 inch rain, still raining
Since Midnight:
Low temp: 49.6° (F.) at 6:18 am
High wind: 14 mph at 12:46 am
June 02, 2006
Garden Work!
Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Friday, 8:35 am: As usual there’s a lot of work to be done outside. Depending on the season, our work around the house is either mainly outside, like now, or inside, as in the winter months. Whatever the season, the work is never done.
Our seasonally resident pair of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds [Archilochus colubris] have taken up their guard posts by our/their hummingbird feeders and keep all other intruders at bay. They are very diligent when it comes to protecting their food sources. They put on a remarkable display when other hummingbirds “from away” come calling, and promptly chase the uninvited dinner guests away.
Of course the mosquitoes and black flies have found a convenient buffet on my neck and arms when I am out in the garden working. I think my insect repellent just adds a little spice to their blood feast. Now on to my local weather, and sorry I couldn’t post my blog yesterday, my ISP was down for several hours and anything online related came to a standstill.
Current values from our
Vantage-Pro weather station:
Temperature: 60° (F.)
Barometer: 29.92 & steady
Humidity: 78%
Wind: NNE at 2 mph
Visibility: > 3 miles
Skies: Scattered high clouds & haze
Precipitation: None
Since midnight:
Low temp: 40.2° at 4:56 am
High wind: 5 mph at 8:28 am
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