A cool cool August. That means the grass grows really fast, even though there hasn't been any rain to speak of. This has got to be one of the coolest Augusts ever. Nighttime temperatures in the 50s - and often taking a long while to warm up. The one rainfall came all at once. Torrents amounting to 2-1/2 inches on August 13. The Lawn Beds don't change very much, at least from this angle, but the field beyond…
The view from the bedroom window on July 1, 2014 shows a hot and humid landscape, but there is a breeze. It's been hot, humid and rainy. The rains are usually torrential - July 4 - 2 inches; July 7 - 2 inches; July 15 - 3 inches during the night. Thelast week of July was chilly, with night temperatures in the 50's. Breezy during the day. A total of another 2-1/2 inches rain on the July 27-28.…
The view from the bedroom window on June 1 shows that the lilacs still have nice bloom, but there are not many flowers in bloom yet. We do move into high gear, pruning clipping and mowing to prepare for the Annual Rose Viewing which will be on Sunday, June 29 this year. The lilacs are in shade in this photo, but they are definitely finished. No hot summer weather yet, with temperatures rarely reaching 80 degrees, and lots…
It snowed and rained last night. As the first day of spring dawned the plow came through, but mostly they were sanding the road because things were a bit icy outside. The temperature was already 34 degrees - and climbing. More showers. The rain stopped! Only the roofs are dripping, dripping. The sun came out and raised the temperature to 45 degrees. The snow will melt some today. I am not discouraged because I know it could always…
With this view from the bedroom window on February 2, I continue my more or less regular record of the weather and climate in this year of our Lord 2014. The dawn temperature was 34 degrees. Snow is melting. Thirteen inches of snow fell yesterday, and so did temperatures today - 9 degrees. But it is sunny. More snow on February 8, about 3 inches. Temperature still cold, 10 degrees at 7 am. Still more snow! A total…
This is my post for the View from the Bedroom Window for the month of January. A continuing record. By January 5 we had 10 inches of snow and temperatures of minus 10 degrees last night. A Polar Vortex is promised in the next couple of days. On Monday, January 6 it was rainy and foggy and 50 degrees. The Polar Vortex arrived on Tuesday, January 7 with temperatures of minus 18 and WIND. The trek to the…
What is a mystery melt? Yesterday morning we had snow showers, and cold temperatures all afternoon. When I went out to the henhouse I noticed this mystery melt that ran from the top of the slope towards our wellhead. I thought it was so strange to have such a clearly demarked area when the cold temperatures kept the veil of snow intact everywhere else. We have a lot of water on our hill with intermittent streams that have…
Two years ago Irene came rampaging through the area turning the rivers into torrents overleaping their banks, washing away roads and buildings, breaking hearts and pocketbooks. Tony Palumbo, artist, owner of the Green Emporium and gardener, was at his easel watching the rain pour down. Neighbors came urging them to leave. Palumbo’s partner, chef Michael Collins, said they would wait it out. Their house had survived the storm’s of ’38 and ’87. It would survive this one…
The suddenness of spring caught me by surprise yesterday. After two days of being kept inside by sometimes torrential rains, I went out and saw that the ajuga, escaped into the lawn years ago from an old flower bed, is in full and startling bloom. This area has not been mowed yet because I made the mistake of planting daffodils here and must wait until they have finished blooming and ripening. Only a few daffodils are still in…
T is for Thoreau, author of Walden and many many journals in which "[he omitted] the unusual - the hurricanes and earthquakes - and described the common." He had always recorded the weather and the natural scene in a sporadic and fragmented way, but in July of 1852 he declared a year of observation, a 'year' that lasted through 1861. Amidst the the poetry of his prose, and his record of his own responses to the world, he began a careful…