So much as it doesn't feel like it, spring arrived shortly after 12 noon my time. It's cloudy and windy and feels chilly and raw. Not very springlike.
Did I mention we're looking at another Nor'easter? No? Well, that's because I'm in denial. It's spring, after all. Shouldn't its arrival have put a end to that nonsense? This one could go several ways for my area. I'd rather it just go away.
I took a walk up the street and saw crocuses in full bloom. Now, I know this patch of flowers because I planted them myself many years ago and they've naturalized into a very nice two-foot circle of purple, yellow, cream and white crocuses, in that order. I saw the dark purple ones today. In a couple of days, the yellow, cream and light purple ones will open up. The white ones are always last, opening as the first ones are fading. I look forward to their arrival. They have been my proof for over two decades that winter really is leaving.
Still looking for the elusive flock of robins I keep hearing about. I see birds of the right size, but when I get closer, I realize it's starlings. Eventually, I'll see one robin, then more. Of course, it might not be until after April starts, the way things are going.
Then, there are the turkey vultures. Just as the swallows return to Capistrano in California and the buzzards return to Hinckley in Ohio, the turkey vultures return to roost along the Rondout Creek waterfront of Kingston in New York. Yeah, they're not the prettiest birdies, but they serve a purpose, and at least they show up. You hearing me, robins?
And so, we've survived another winter, one that's not ready to exit quickly and quietly. But exit it will, and we can get on with enjoying warmer, longer days and all the activities that go to the wayside during the winter months. Get out there and enjoy.
Happy spring, everyone.
Showing posts with label nor'easter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nor'easter. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Monday, March 19, 2018
Countdown to Spring–The Last Day of Winter
Well, no, it wasn’t my intent to miss my self-imposed deadline of Wednesday last week. But, stuff happens. This is better, though. Traditionally, I’ve taken a walk on the last day of winter and blogged about it in this series before. Now, that tradition has been continued, with the last entry of the series tomorrow.
The snow is just about gone in my area. Threatened significant accumulation locally from the Nor’easter last week never happened. At best, my area got an inch. There are other areas throughout the Northeast, though, that will still be seeing snow on the ground not just tomorrow, but into April. They truly have my sympathy. The warmer temperatures that are coming even before the end of this month will help make it all go away and become a memory fast enough.
Okay, so not to rub it in (much) to those who are still hip-deep in the white stuff, I was out on my snow-free and dry deck Sunday in my bare feet. I figured it was going to be cold, but I wasn’t going to be out there that long, so it wouldn’t be so bad. I have to say, the deck was actually warm and pleasant under foot. Although the air temperature was only in the mid-30s, the angle of the sun is now high enough that its rays more directly hit the deck. It felt great. I can’t wait for that to happen on a regular basis.
On my other walks, I wasn’t seeing much in the way of spring flowers trying to even send out their leaves. The only ones I was seeing were planted near houses, where escaping heat coupled with reflected sun’s warmth were bringing them up faster. But today, I finally saw something I’d been waiting for. There’s a patch of daffodils that somehow got started between a utility pole and a grate over a rainwater runoff. They’ve been there for years. They, too, have been slow to show signs of life. But finally, I got to see them. They’re only about an inch high and barely noticeable peaking out from under the leaf litter of autumn, but there they were, those yellow (soon to be green) shoots. About time, guys.
All the trees and bushes have buds on them, even the ones that won’t be sending out leaves for a while yet. The maples have been especially noticeable, as they’ve been sending up that sap that the syrup makers covet for a while. The sap has been feeding tips of branches which have been showing signs of waking for weeks. The heck with the maple syrup, much as I love it. Just show me some unfurling leaves!
So many of the migrating bird species are back now, although I still haven’t seen any other robins than the one I mentioned in an earlier post. People keep telling me they’re out there. I’m usually about two weeks behind everybody else in my first (live) robin sighting, but even today, looking for them in the places I always see them in the spring – nothing. In their place, however, were lots of other birds singing out their territory claims and even a few making nests. Yup, more than one bird with fluff or twigs in their beak heading for those places they’ve designated home to their spring-borne families. Now, there’s a sign of renewal if ever there was one.
As I returned from my walk, I looked out the door to my little balcony and saw the last vestige of snow from the igloo I created to keep my perishables from spoiling during our 12-hour power outage during Nor’easter #2. It’s just a football-sized patch of snow now that will likely be gone by the weekend, assuming I don’t take a shovel to it.
Hmm, I might have to do that tomorrow. Sort of a ritual to end the winter season. It’s been a long one – can you tell?
Only 1 day until Spring.
The snow is just about gone in my area. Threatened significant accumulation locally from the Nor’easter last week never happened. At best, my area got an inch. There are other areas throughout the Northeast, though, that will still be seeing snow on the ground not just tomorrow, but into April. They truly have my sympathy. The warmer temperatures that are coming even before the end of this month will help make it all go away and become a memory fast enough.
Okay, so not to rub it in (much) to those who are still hip-deep in the white stuff, I was out on my snow-free and dry deck Sunday in my bare feet. I figured it was going to be cold, but I wasn’t going to be out there that long, so it wouldn’t be so bad. I have to say, the deck was actually warm and pleasant under foot. Although the air temperature was only in the mid-30s, the angle of the sun is now high enough that its rays more directly hit the deck. It felt great. I can’t wait for that to happen on a regular basis.
On my other walks, I wasn’t seeing much in the way of spring flowers trying to even send out their leaves. The only ones I was seeing were planted near houses, where escaping heat coupled with reflected sun’s warmth were bringing them up faster. But today, I finally saw something I’d been waiting for. There’s a patch of daffodils that somehow got started between a utility pole and a grate over a rainwater runoff. They’ve been there for years. They, too, have been slow to show signs of life. But finally, I got to see them. They’re only about an inch high and barely noticeable peaking out from under the leaf litter of autumn, but there they were, those yellow (soon to be green) shoots. About time, guys.
All the trees and bushes have buds on them, even the ones that won’t be sending out leaves for a while yet. The maples have been especially noticeable, as they’ve been sending up that sap that the syrup makers covet for a while. The sap has been feeding tips of branches which have been showing signs of waking for weeks. The heck with the maple syrup, much as I love it. Just show me some unfurling leaves!
So many of the migrating bird species are back now, although I still haven’t seen any other robins than the one I mentioned in an earlier post. People keep telling me they’re out there. I’m usually about two weeks behind everybody else in my first (live) robin sighting, but even today, looking for them in the places I always see them in the spring – nothing. In their place, however, were lots of other birds singing out their territory claims and even a few making nests. Yup, more than one bird with fluff or twigs in their beak heading for those places they’ve designated home to their spring-borne families. Now, there’s a sign of renewal if ever there was one.
As I returned from my walk, I looked out the door to my little balcony and saw the last vestige of snow from the igloo I created to keep my perishables from spoiling during our 12-hour power outage during Nor’easter #2. It’s just a football-sized patch of snow now that will likely be gone by the weekend, assuming I don’t take a shovel to it.
Hmm, I might have to do that tomorrow. Sort of a ritual to end the winter season. It’s been a long one – can you tell?
Only 1 day until Spring.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Countdown to Spring - When it Sounds Like a Train
Our little nor'easter started around 2 this morning. The ground was covered with about an inch of snow at 3 when I woke. There was no wind at that point. I went outside and allowed the plastic "curtain" to fall across the south side of the porch. The plan was for it to minimize the amount of snow clearing I'd have to do to just get out my front door. Yeah, well ...
I can't get an exact measurement because of the blowing and drifting that's now going on, but eyeballing it based on known heights of things and how much they're covered, I'm going to go out on the proverbial limb and say it's more than a foot of snow so far. We've got at least another eight hours of storm time to go, too. Wheeeee (not).
Then, there's that wind. They forecasted a constant 10 mph wind and they weren't exaggerating. It periodically picks up and blows at 20 and sometimes as high as 40 mph. When that happens, it sounds a lot like when the train passes through about an eighth-mile from where I live. It's that loud and sustained.
As far as my porch, well, the plastic sort of works. It keeps snow from blowing in from the south. There is also a barrier on the north side of the porch as well. Under normal snowy conditions, that would do the job and there would be minimal accumulation on my roof-covered porch. But, this is a classic coastal storm, with the wind coming in from the north and east, so there is snow piling up against the front door. I've been sweeping and shoveling the porch and first step almost hourly. Interesting, the north side of that first step is bare, as is the back of my car which is parked close to the porch. The hood of my car, on the other hand, is lost in a more than two-feet thick snow drift.
The snowplows have been through twice so far since this started. I haven't even tried to deal with the ridge they left, but I can tell you it was about three feet high and about two feet in depth last time I looked. I can only imagine what it's going to look like on the final plow-through at the end of the storm. Yeah, there's my cardiac workout sorted for maybe tonight, but probably tomorrow morning.
Most places were closed today, including both my employers. Will they be closed again tomorrow? Hard to say, but given the snowfall amounts so far, I wouldn't be surprised. I also sort of hope so, as I don't think I'm going to feel much like working after I get done shoveling.
Just think – in a month, this will likely be just a memory, and all the spring colors will be here and flourishing like it never happened. However, come March 20th, we'll still be looking at whitened ground and snow pushed up into mountains to make way for cars and people and asking ourselves, "This is Spring?"
Only 6 more days until then.
I can't get an exact measurement because of the blowing and drifting that's now going on, but eyeballing it based on known heights of things and how much they're covered, I'm going to go out on the proverbial limb and say it's more than a foot of snow so far. We've got at least another eight hours of storm time to go, too. Wheeeee (not).
Then, there's that wind. They forecasted a constant 10 mph wind and they weren't exaggerating. It periodically picks up and blows at 20 and sometimes as high as 40 mph. When that happens, it sounds a lot like when the train passes through about an eighth-mile from where I live. It's that loud and sustained.
As far as my porch, well, the plastic sort of works. It keeps snow from blowing in from the south. There is also a barrier on the north side of the porch as well. Under normal snowy conditions, that would do the job and there would be minimal accumulation on my roof-covered porch. But, this is a classic coastal storm, with the wind coming in from the north and east, so there is snow piling up against the front door. I've been sweeping and shoveling the porch and first step almost hourly. Interesting, the north side of that first step is bare, as is the back of my car which is parked close to the porch. The hood of my car, on the other hand, is lost in a more than two-feet thick snow drift.
The snowplows have been through twice so far since this started. I haven't even tried to deal with the ridge they left, but I can tell you it was about three feet high and about two feet in depth last time I looked. I can only imagine what it's going to look like on the final plow-through at the end of the storm. Yeah, there's my cardiac workout sorted for maybe tonight, but probably tomorrow morning.
Most places were closed today, including both my employers. Will they be closed again tomorrow? Hard to say, but given the snowfall amounts so far, I wouldn't be surprised. I also sort of hope so, as I don't think I'm going to feel much like working after I get done shoveling.
Just think – in a month, this will likely be just a memory, and all the spring colors will be here and flourishing like it never happened. However, come March 20th, we'll still be looking at whitened ground and snow pushed up into mountains to make way for cars and people and asking ourselves, "This is Spring?"
Only 6 more days until then.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Countdown to Spring - Priorities
Well, it's official. I'm off from work on Tuesday. Almost all the school districts in my area have closed in anticipation of our snowstorm tomorrow. That wasn't a surprise. What was a bit of a pleasant shock was the county executive closing county offices and ordering all non-emergency staff to stay home, with other local government offices following suit. This is a rare decision, to be sure. But, then, this storm event is worth the caution.
This is a classic nor'easter, creating blizzard conditions, snow totals of at least – AT LEAST – 12 inches, and winds 10-20 mph with gusts as high as 40 as the storm makes its way up the eastern seaboard. Usually when these storms occur, northern and western parts of New York get spared significant snowfall. Not this time. They may not get the 12+ totals, but they'll still come close to having one foot of snow on the ground when it's all said and done. Even places that don't normally see significant snow at all – Washington, DC, for example – will be digging out with the rest of us on Wednesday. Yup, it's a biggie.
I'm as prepared as I'm going to be for this. My kerosene heater and little generator are ready. I put the plastic on the south side of my porch again. It got blown off by the power killer cold front that passed through two Saturdays ago. I put it back up to minimize the amount of shoveling I'd have to do of my porch just to open the front door.
I have adequate food, water, flashlights and batteries. I also have chocolate, popcorn and videos. Priorities.
I've covered as much of the patches of crocus and snowdrops as I could with containers weighted down just in case a gust of wind works to remove them. I realize they've managed to survive torrential rain, high winds, single digit temperatures and deer invasion without help from me. But a foot of snow is a bit much to endure and I'm not just talking the flowers survival, either. I'm sure I'm going to need to see something other than white ground out there in the days ahead.
Again, priorities.
See y'all on the other side of this end-of-winter beastie.
Only 7 days until Spring.
This is a classic nor'easter, creating blizzard conditions, snow totals of at least – AT LEAST – 12 inches, and winds 10-20 mph with gusts as high as 40 as the storm makes its way up the eastern seaboard. Usually when these storms occur, northern and western parts of New York get spared significant snowfall. Not this time. They may not get the 12+ totals, but they'll still come close to having one foot of snow on the ground when it's all said and done. Even places that don't normally see significant snow at all – Washington, DC, for example – will be digging out with the rest of us on Wednesday. Yup, it's a biggie.
I'm as prepared as I'm going to be for this. My kerosene heater and little generator are ready. I put the plastic on the south side of my porch again. It got blown off by the power killer cold front that passed through two Saturdays ago. I put it back up to minimize the amount of shoveling I'd have to do of my porch just to open the front door.
I have adequate food, water, flashlights and batteries. I also have chocolate, popcorn and videos. Priorities.
I've covered as much of the patches of crocus and snowdrops as I could with containers weighted down just in case a gust of wind works to remove them. I realize they've managed to survive torrential rain, high winds, single digit temperatures and deer invasion without help from me. But a foot of snow is a bit much to endure and I'm not just talking the flowers survival, either. I'm sure I'm going to need to see something other than white ground out there in the days ahead.
Again, priorities.
See y'all on the other side of this end-of-winter beastie.
Only 7 days until Spring.
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Countdown to Spring - Oh Dear
While there is still some disagreement on how much and how long, the weather services are starting to converge on the 8-12" range of snowfall for my area. It's 8-12" more than I was looking for at this time in March, but there you are.
Hard to say whether schools will close Monday night or actually wait until the morning to decide. But, unless this storm takes a serious jog off its predicted path and heads out to sea instead of up the coast, I'm 99.9% certain I'm having Tuesday off from work. I don't get paid, unfortunately, but I also don't have to venture out into crappy weather, either.
Only 8 days until Spring.
Hard to say whether schools will close Monday night or actually wait until the morning to decide. But, unless this storm takes a serious jog off its predicted path and heads out to sea instead of up the coast, I'm 99.9% certain I'm having Tuesday off from work. I don't get paid, unfortunately, but I also don't have to venture out into crappy weather, either.
Only 8 days until Spring.
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