December 2008
25 posts
November 2008
21 posts
The Deluge is over: We got between 4 and 5 inches of rain yesterday, and the storm seemed like it would never stop. What a gully-washer it was. We had one heck of a wild night. The mountains of western Maine got a foot of snow, and several rivers are in flood stage. It’s a good thing the neighbor kids got their skating in on Monday.
Rain: Ummm…you know how I was saying that the ice skaters were out yesterday, and the ice was picture perfect? Well…it is raining buckets today. I think we are getting over 2 inches of rain, and the temp. is 45F at 4pm. Yowzer. And, the wind is gusting to about 34 mph. But, at least we are due for some gorgeous weather until Saturday. And, I have the rest of the week off for the...
Ice Skating: The first ice skaters were on the pond this morning, and this is the earliest anyone has been skating on the pond since we moved here in 2000. Drew measured the ice at 3.25 inches. I am always nervous about going onto the pond until there is at least 5 inches, but I am very conservative. Check out The Old Farmer’s Almanac for Ice Thickness and Permissible Load.
Weather: Winds are gusting to 27mph and the “feel like” temperature is currently 10F. COLD ;-)
Early Morning Temp.: It’s starting to feel a bit like winter. We had an early morning temperature of 15.8F. Brrrr…..
Planets: Jupiter and Venus are going to be converging and sitting pretty with the moon by Dec. 1st. I saw them shining brightly in the southwest sky as we drove home this evening. Jupiter is the planet highest in the sky. Check out http://www.spaceweather.com for more info. The November 19, 2008 archived entry shows the position of the planets for each day from now until Dec. 1. I need to go...
Just a wee bit of snow: At sunset, a bit of frozen precipitation fell from the sky as soft sleet pellets. We had flurries of sleet all the way home with no accumulation. The outdoor temp. was 36F.
It’s Raining…and Raining…and Raining…: At least the rain is almost over and we will enjoy a drier week ahead. We are so soggy here in Maine…The upshot of all this rain is that we have been enjoying temps. near 60F over the last several days.
We just got back from a walk, or should I say slog, in the woods. There is standing, and flowing, water everywhere. We got...
It’s ffffrrrrreeezzzziiiinnnnngggg outside: The temp. dipped to 32.4F this morning, and Drew had to go outside and break the ice on the birdbath so a shivering chickadee could get a drink of water.
Time Change: Well…the sun now rises at 6:20 am and sets at 4:27 pm (at least for this week). Sunset will get as early as 4 pm by January. And, if you live in an area where the trees are tall, the sun will go behind the trees earlier than that! So…for all you Mainers with Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), I suggest you try to get outdoors before the sun sets, if at all...
Woodpeckers: I don’t have time to take any photos at the moment because it is the end of the quarter and I am grading a bucket load of papers, but…the suet feeder is very popular with both downy and hairy woodpeckers. The downy woodpeckers are much smaller than the hairy woodpeckers. Today, Drew noticed that one of the hairy woodpecker females had a blush of red on the underside of the...