Dear local weathermen/women, anchors, etc.:
I know you're trying to put a personal touch on things, but please, just report the weather. Don't feel the need to subjectively judge every weather forecast.
I'm so tired of hearing that, hey, it's great news! No rain for a week! And oh boy! Isn't it wonderful that the rain we were expecting today has shifted toward the west, so we'll only get scattered showers?! YAY!
Everyone hates rain, right? So everyone will be happy happy happy that there's no rain!
Um, no.
I wanted that rain. My plants needed that rain. I don't particularly care if it's scheduled to fall on a holiday weekend; I wanted my darn rain!! We've been waiting a long time for it, and I'm tired of watering plants with the garden hose.
*SIGH*
A little thing, I know, but it's grating on my nerves.
Could they just stop assuming that everyone hates the rain as much as they apparently do?
Oh, and when winter's rolling around, y'all can just not even start complaining about the cold weather, okay? Some of us have been praying for it to finally get back below 80 in the daytime.
*grumble*
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Vegetable Beds Update
Between the last post and this one (early last week?), we got a ton of rain. I can't recall the exact numbers, but somewhere around 11 or 12 inches, I think, in about a 24-hour period.
We're lucky that most of our yard drains pretty quickly-- due more to sloping than to soil quality (because we have our share of heavy clay), but we'll take what we can get. ;o)
We didn't have too much standing water, but there were a few puddles and maybe one spot of very slight erosion (on the corner of the pad where the grass and even weeds haven't really taken hold). The worst damage (evident so far, at least) was to some newly planted daylily seeds. I'm afraid that some of them washed around a bit. I tried to repair the damage, but I'm a little skeptical. If we try again next year, I'll consider putting them in pots, instead of directly in the ground. (Might've done that this year, but it was already kind of late in the season, and I thought they might be prone to drying out in pots.)
Here's the place we planted the seeds. (A handful did get put into pots. I'm hoping we'll get at least a few plants to sprout! I'd love to have more varieties of daylilies...)
The twine is to keep the dogs from digging up the bare soil. Once they've had a chance to spout and grow a little, I'll put down some mulch and remove the ugly protective barrier.
That's the night-blooming jasmine in the back. We're still waiting for it to bloom. I think it's more likely in mid-to-late summer.
The terra-cotta pots have morning glories in them. Our first batch of morning glories all withered away. (I think a late cold spell killed them. Evidently the plastic pots we covered them with wasn't enough protection.) This new batch is doing much better. They're the Grandpa Ott variety, which is a really dark, rich purple. Should be pretty, if we can get them to bloom. (Last year, our morning glories bloomed very late in the season.)
Here are the latest photos of our raised vegetable beds. First, the original bed:
Above: Snowpeas, chives, broccoli.
Yellow squash and zucchini.
Then the new bed:
Dill, okra (in need of thinning), and tomatoes. (Also some barely-visible lettuce and bunching onion seedlings-- and a couple of pepper seedlings, in the back, from seeds. We'll see if they ever catch up to the larger pre-started plants we bought later...)
Tomatoes. (Donald has since put cages around all of them. We want to remember to do that earlier next year, to make the job easier. This time, we simply didn't have the cages on hand, and the tomatoes grew fast.)
More tomatoes. (And bunching onion and chive seedlings in the small cells up front.)
Tomatoes, peppers, bunching onions in front, regular onions in back. You have to really look to see them in this photo, but there are tiny, cute little baby peppers! (A few early-- but still green-- cherry tomatoes are a bit easier to spot.)
Tons of chives and onions. Swiss chard, mesclun, loose-leaf lettuce, and radishes. (The "Black Seeded Simpson" lettuce is getting a slow start. Though I've read that lettuce seed can last two years, the leftovers from last year underperformed, so I've re-sown that row with fresh seed. It's coming up a bit sporadically. The mesclun looks ready to start eating, though, so that's good!)
I happened to read about "kudzu bugs" earlier this week-- something I don't recall hearing about before. They're another alien invader from Asia. They made their first appearance in Georgia in 2009, and they're spreading quickly throughout regions where kudzu thrives. Unfortunately, they don't eat only kudzu (wouldn't that be nice!), but will make a meal of a variety of things. They're very fond of legumes-- soybeans, for instance. Actually, from what I've read, it sounds like they'll eat all sorts of plants. Oh, and they're stink bugs. And they can invade your home during the colder seasons. And they can leave stains if squashed. And some people have allergic reactions to their "juices". (Gross.)
Well, this afternoon, I spotted some bugs on one of our "Little Gem" magnolias. "Hm. That looks familiar..."
Yep. I'm pretty sure those are kudzu bugs.
*sigh* Another darned bug to deal with, as if we didn't already have enough in this humid little bug-haven. (~soft sobbing~)
Oh well. I guess we can count on our abundant bugs as a reliable (if undesirable) food source, come the zombie apocalypse. Maybe save the stinkers for last, though...
On a prettier, less bug-juicy note, here are the latest photos of flowers around the yard:
Hover over the photo to get arrows, if you want to click through to other photos. :o)
We're lucky that most of our yard drains pretty quickly-- due more to sloping than to soil quality (because we have our share of heavy clay), but we'll take what we can get. ;o)
We didn't have too much standing water, but there were a few puddles and maybe one spot of very slight erosion (on the corner of the pad where the grass and even weeds haven't really taken hold). The worst damage (evident so far, at least) was to some newly planted daylily seeds. I'm afraid that some of them washed around a bit. I tried to repair the damage, but I'm a little skeptical. If we try again next year, I'll consider putting them in pots, instead of directly in the ground. (Might've done that this year, but it was already kind of late in the season, and I thought they might be prone to drying out in pots.)
Here's the place we planted the seeds. (A handful did get put into pots. I'm hoping we'll get at least a few plants to sprout! I'd love to have more varieties of daylilies...)
The twine is to keep the dogs from digging up the bare soil. Once they've had a chance to spout and grow a little, I'll put down some mulch and remove the ugly protective barrier.
That's the night-blooming jasmine in the back. We're still waiting for it to bloom. I think it's more likely in mid-to-late summer.
The terra-cotta pots have morning glories in them. Our first batch of morning glories all withered away. (I think a late cold spell killed them. Evidently the plastic pots we covered them with wasn't enough protection.) This new batch is doing much better. They're the Grandpa Ott variety, which is a really dark, rich purple. Should be pretty, if we can get them to bloom. (Last year, our morning glories bloomed very late in the season.)
- - - - - - -
Here are the latest photos of our raised vegetable beds. First, the original bed:
Above: Snowpeas, chives, broccoli.
Yellow squash and zucchini.
Then the new bed:
Dill, okra (in need of thinning), and tomatoes. (Also some barely-visible lettuce and bunching onion seedlings-- and a couple of pepper seedlings, in the back, from seeds. We'll see if they ever catch up to the larger pre-started plants we bought later...)
Tomatoes. (Donald has since put cages around all of them. We want to remember to do that earlier next year, to make the job easier. This time, we simply didn't have the cages on hand, and the tomatoes grew fast.)
More tomatoes. (And bunching onion and chive seedlings in the small cells up front.)
Tomatoes, peppers, bunching onions in front, regular onions in back. You have to really look to see them in this photo, but there are tiny, cute little baby peppers! (A few early-- but still green-- cherry tomatoes are a bit easier to spot.)
Tons of chives and onions. Swiss chard, mesclun, loose-leaf lettuce, and radishes. (The "Black Seeded Simpson" lettuce is getting a slow start. Though I've read that lettuce seed can last two years, the leftovers from last year underperformed, so I've re-sown that row with fresh seed. It's coming up a bit sporadically. The mesclun looks ready to start eating, though, so that's good!)
- - - - - - -
I happened to read about "kudzu bugs" earlier this week-- something I don't recall hearing about before. They're another alien invader from Asia. They made their first appearance in Georgia in 2009, and they're spreading quickly throughout regions where kudzu thrives. Unfortunately, they don't eat only kudzu (wouldn't that be nice!), but will make a meal of a variety of things. They're very fond of legumes-- soybeans, for instance. Actually, from what I've read, it sounds like they'll eat all sorts of plants. Oh, and they're stink bugs. And they can invade your home during the colder seasons. And they can leave stains if squashed. And some people have allergic reactions to their "juices". (Gross.)
Well, this afternoon, I spotted some bugs on one of our "Little Gem" magnolias. "Hm. That looks familiar..."
Yep. I'm pretty sure those are kudzu bugs.
*sigh* Another darned bug to deal with, as if we didn't already have enough in this humid little bug-haven. (~soft sobbing~)
Oh well. I guess we can count on our abundant bugs as a reliable (if undesirable) food source, come the zombie apocalypse. Maybe save the stinkers for last, though...
- - - - - - -
On a prettier, less bug-juicy note, here are the latest photos of flowers around the yard:
Hover over the photo to get arrows, if you want to click through to other photos. :o)
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Ice Storm & a PUPPY!!!
We did get some "wintry precipitation" a couple of weeks ago. Mostly in the form of ice. It was an unusual experience for this area-- and that's probably a good thing! (g) Most places that could remain closed for a couple of days did so, and fortunately for us, Donald was able to work from home.
Photos:
Our roof was coated in white:
Some impressive icicles formed, here and there!
We made sure the feeder was stocked with seed, and we put up a (temporary) makeshift "platform"-style feeder, too-- and scattered some seed on the ground around it. There were lots of birds visiting. Mostly sparrows, but also some finches, a couple pairs of cardinals, and a couple of blue jays.
The birds appreciated the extra food. (Our local birds aren't used to such prolonged cold, of course.) --And we enjoyed watching them throughout the day(s). :o)
More icicles-- on a leatherleaf mahonia, this time:
Another view of the front yard:
(There are more photos of the ice on our Flickr photostream.)
Very soon after the ice melted here, Donald found an ad for Eskie puppies near Birmingham (Bessemer). We've been thinking about getting an Eskie pup for a while, but they're rare around here, and months and months of keeping an eye on the ads had yielded nothing-- so we decided to pounce on this opportunity right away. (We also arranged to pick out a male puppy for Granny L., because she's also been looking.)
Tangent: We saw some ice and/or snow on the drive up (mostly just on the shaded slopes), and there was still sand/soil on many bridges (put there to help during the icing).
So here's our little snowflake, the day after she blew in from the north. ;o)
We named her Luna.
She was born on December 19th, and her hobbies include biting fingers, toes, ears, hair, etc. (with varying degrees of force), chasing toys, chewing toys (fabric preferred, at the moment), chasing Trixie (who would really rather not be chased, thankyouverymuch), running around the yard, pulling at grass and weeds, flopping down on this one particular cushy, grassy spot, growling and yapping when thwarted, and generally being a ball of attitude and energy. Oh, and napping.
Here are a couple more photos, taken a few days later:
We need to take more photos, because she's already grown a lot!
Photos:
Our roof was coated in white:
Some impressive icicles formed, here and there!
We made sure the feeder was stocked with seed, and we put up a (temporary) makeshift "platform"-style feeder, too-- and scattered some seed on the ground around it. There were lots of birds visiting. Mostly sparrows, but also some finches, a couple pairs of cardinals, and a couple of blue jays.
The birds appreciated the extra food. (Our local birds aren't used to such prolonged cold, of course.) --And we enjoyed watching them throughout the day(s). :o)
More icicles-- on a leatherleaf mahonia, this time:
Another view of the front yard:
(There are more photos of the ice on our Flickr photostream.)
Very soon after the ice melted here, Donald found an ad for Eskie puppies near Birmingham (Bessemer). We've been thinking about getting an Eskie pup for a while, but they're rare around here, and months and months of keeping an eye on the ads had yielded nothing-- so we decided to pounce on this opportunity right away. (We also arranged to pick out a male puppy for Granny L., because she's also been looking.)
Tangent: We saw some ice and/or snow on the drive up (mostly just on the shaded slopes), and there was still sand/soil on many bridges (put there to help during the icing).
So here's our little snowflake, the day after she blew in from the north. ;o)
We named her Luna.
She was born on December 19th, and her hobbies include biting fingers, toes, ears, hair, etc. (with varying degrees of force), chasing toys, chewing toys (fabric preferred, at the moment), chasing Trixie (who would really rather not be chased, thankyouverymuch), running around the yard, pulling at grass and weeds, flopping down on this one particular cushy, grassy spot, growling and yapping when thwarted, and generally being a ball of attitude and energy. Oh, and napping.
Here are a couple more photos, taken a few days later:
We need to take more photos, because she's already grown a lot!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Brace for WINTER STORM LEON!!!
(Hello, random post out of nowhere!)
I tried not to get my hopes up for snow, this time, because last time they were oh-so-sure we were probably going to get snow, it failed to appear. Evidently, I didn't do a good enough job of hope-suppression, though, because I'm disappointed that (at this moment) they're saying it'll probably be "wintery mix"... or sleet and freezing rain and maybe a few flurries. Ok, maybe there'll still be snow, but it'll be ten miles to our north. ;o)
I'm charging the cameras, and I'll take photos of whatever we see. Probably just ice, if anything. Oh boy. *sigh*
Apparently, The Weather Channel has named this weather event "Winter Storm Leon". ...Leon? Really? I'm sure they have some system behind the names they assign, but... Leon? I'm offended. (I'm not really offended. Just humorously miffed.) The Northeast gets storms named Hercules and Janus. The names of ancient pagan gods and/or demigods for every snow storm that blows through-- the kind of storms that Real Northerners would've yawned at, back before the media ushered in its Age of Hype and Hysterics. (I was going to make fun of the goofy names, back when Janus was still around, but everyone else in the world beat me to the punch.)
So-- to get back to my point-- Northeastern storms are crowned with colossal names. And yet, upon the approach of the first potentially significant winter weather event we've had in decades, the Gulf Coast gets measly little "Leon"-- reminiscent of that guy who gets his kicks hanging out at the local gas station for an hour or two in the mid-morning. (No offense, all you Leons out there.)
Yeah, yeah, I know. Northern snow storms are bigger and badder than ours-- but I defy any Northerner to provide a more dramatic (and entertaining) reaction to snow than your average born-and-bred Southerner. We treat every single pathetic little melting flurry like the miracle it is, y'all. We make snowflakes feel like "special snowflakes".
...Ok, maybe not all of us. But enough of us do. Plus we have no experience driving in snow and ice... and our cars don't have snow-tires... and our cities don't have snow-plows or sanding/salting apparatuses...
Anyway. All this fuss, and it'll probably just turn out to be a little cold rain! (And yes, I'll be obsessively checking until all chance of snow is past. With cameras at the ready!)
I tried not to get my hopes up for snow, this time, because last time they were oh-so-sure we were probably going to get snow, it failed to appear. Evidently, I didn't do a good enough job of hope-suppression, though, because I'm disappointed that (at this moment) they're saying it'll probably be "wintery mix"... or sleet and freezing rain and maybe a few flurries. Ok, maybe there'll still be snow, but it'll be ten miles to our north. ;o)
I'm charging the cameras, and I'll take photos of whatever we see. Probably just ice, if anything. Oh boy. *sigh*
Apparently, The Weather Channel has named this weather event "Winter Storm Leon". ...Leon? Really? I'm sure they have some system behind the names they assign, but... Leon? I'm offended. (I'm not really offended. Just humorously miffed.) The Northeast gets storms named Hercules and Janus. The names of ancient pagan gods and/or demigods for every snow storm that blows through-- the kind of storms that Real Northerners would've yawned at, back before the media ushered in its Age of Hype and Hysterics. (I was going to make fun of the goofy names, back when Janus was still around, but everyone else in the world beat me to the punch.)
So-- to get back to my point-- Northeastern storms are crowned with colossal names. And yet, upon the approach of the first potentially significant winter weather event we've had in decades, the Gulf Coast gets measly little "Leon"-- reminiscent of that guy who gets his kicks hanging out at the local gas station for an hour or two in the mid-morning. (No offense, all you Leons out there.)
Yeah, yeah, I know. Northern snow storms are bigger and badder than ours-- but I defy any Northerner to provide a more dramatic (and entertaining) reaction to snow than your average born-and-bred Southerner. We treat every single pathetic little melting flurry like the miracle it is, y'all. We make snowflakes feel like "special snowflakes".
...Ok, maybe not all of us. But enough of us do. Plus we have no experience driving in snow and ice... and our cars don't have snow-tires... and our cities don't have snow-plows or sanding/salting apparatuses...
Anyway. All this fuss, and it'll probably just turn out to be a little cold rain! (And yes, I'll be obsessively checking until all chance of snow is past. With cameras at the ready!)
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
57/365 - More Rain
MORE rain overnight. (But we hadn't emptied the rain gauge since I took the photo for the day before, so it wasn't *that* much more rain.)
52/365 - "Late" Freeze
It wasn't really late for a freeze, but it felt late to the plants that had already put out new growth during the unseasonable warmth. It was a sneak attack! ;o)
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
52 Weeks of Happy (6/52)
Four Things That Made Me Happy This Week:
1. Getting "stuff" done in the yard.
There's still tons more to do, but we're making some progress. We've dealt with the drainage for the sink in the garage. We did a little more leveling of the soil around the garage-- which also involved hauling it around in the wheelbarrow and filling in holes and dips around the property. I pulled out a couple of shrubs that didn't survive a transplant last year-- and then replaced one of them. We made a few plans for what needs to happen next. ...And more. I need to keep the momentum going into next week, if possible.
2. Waking to the sound of rain on the roof.
Not a heavy, stormy, please-don't-blow-the-roof-off rain. No thunder that requires getting out of bed to unplug things. And at an early enough hour that you don't have to get up and go about the day, yet, but can wake just enough to enjoy that cozy sound, snuggle deeper under the covers, and drift back to sleep.
3. Flowers opening up.
As much as I complain about summer, no-one's complete immune to those first signs of summer. Flowers and new green leaves popping up around the garden are things to enjoy. (I only wish the weeds and wasps wouldn't be coming back, too.)
4. Homemade chicken soup.
I could probably make it even better, next time, but it was still pretty good, I thought, and certainly healthier and more frugal than the store-bought, canned kind.
1. Getting "stuff" done in the yard.
There's still tons more to do, but we're making some progress. We've dealt with the drainage for the sink in the garage. We did a little more leveling of the soil around the garage-- which also involved hauling it around in the wheelbarrow and filling in holes and dips around the property. I pulled out a couple of shrubs that didn't survive a transplant last year-- and then replaced one of them. We made a few plans for what needs to happen next. ...And more. I need to keep the momentum going into next week, if possible.
2. Waking to the sound of rain on the roof.
Not a heavy, stormy, please-don't-blow-the-roof-off rain. No thunder that requires getting out of bed to unplug things. And at an early enough hour that you don't have to get up and go about the day, yet, but can wake just enough to enjoy that cozy sound, snuggle deeper under the covers, and drift back to sleep.
3. Flowers opening up.
As much as I complain about summer, no-one's complete immune to those first signs of summer. Flowers and new green leaves popping up around the garden are things to enjoy. (I only wish the weeds and wasps wouldn't be coming back, too.)
4. Homemade chicken soup.
I could probably make it even better, next time, but it was still pretty good, I thought, and certainly healthier and more frugal than the store-bought, canned kind.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
37/365 - Early Spring Sky
It may be early February, but the sky looks (and the day feels) like spring. It was 73°F (nearly 23°C) when I took this photo. Won't be long before there are leaves on these trees again!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
30/365 - After the Storm
A windy, rainy day gave way to cool, refreshing air. Goodbye (for now), heat and humidity!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
52 Weeks of Happy (4/52)
Four Things That Made Me Happy This Week:
1. Good deals.
This week brought good deals on clothing, decorative plants for the garden, thrift-store sweaters for felting and unraveling, and more. Finding a bargain is always a mood-lifter!
2. Making progress on the afghan.
I'm still not finished-- just not putting in enough crochet-time every evening for that-- but I did finish attaching all the whole hexagons, and I'm on to crocheting in the 10 half-hexagons I need to even out two sides of the blanket. It sometimes feels like I'm crawling on this project, but the end is in sight.
3. Open windows.
Three days this weeks, the weather has been warm and nice enough for us to open some of the windows. Having them open again has literally been a breath of fresh air! (Downside: Trixie barks noticeably more when the windows are open, because she can hear more little noises/dogs barking/etc.)
4. Rediscovering music.
The mp3-player surprised me by playing some music that I hadn't listened to for a long while. ("The North Wind Blew South", by Headless Heroes, for instance.) I'm glad to be reminded. I think it's time to rearrange the contents of the mp3-player, one of these days.
1. Good deals.
This week brought good deals on clothing, decorative plants for the garden, thrift-store sweaters for felting and unraveling, and more. Finding a bargain is always a mood-lifter!
2. Making progress on the afghan.
I'm still not finished-- just not putting in enough crochet-time every evening for that-- but I did finish attaching all the whole hexagons, and I'm on to crocheting in the 10 half-hexagons I need to even out two sides of the blanket. It sometimes feels like I'm crawling on this project, but the end is in sight.
3. Open windows.
Three days this weeks, the weather has been warm and nice enough for us to open some of the windows. Having them open again has literally been a breath of fresh air! (Downside: Trixie barks noticeably more when the windows are open, because she can hear more little noises/dogs barking/etc.)
4. Rediscovering music.
The mp3-player surprised me by playing some music that I hadn't listened to for a long while. ("The North Wind Blew South", by Headless Heroes, for instance.) I'm glad to be reminded. I think it's time to rearrange the contents of the mp3-player, one of these days.
Friday, January 25, 2013
25/365 - Partly Cloudy
Too tired from shopping to be creative. ;o) The plants will have to wait for another day.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
15/365 - Raindrops on Roseleaves
We've been stuck in a warm, humid, mostly overcast, and occasionally rainy pattern for days. It feels more like springtime than the middle of January.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
6/365 - Gray Day
Our walk to the pond today-- overcast skies, the very lightest sprinkling of drizzle, and a temperature of 52°F. Still preferable to our average August afternoon, in my humble opinion.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Unions Are GREAT.
Non-Union Alabama Utility Workers Denied Entry into New Jersey
Makes perfect sense. Because non-union workers wouldn't be able to help get power back to people suffering after Sandy.
We live in hurricane country (obviously), and we know firsthand what it's like to go without electricity for days at a time. It's pretty miserable. You can't turn on your electric stove/microwave to cook a real meal. Your frozen and refrigerated food goes bad quickly (and even before it does so, you're almost afraid to open the door and let the cold out, in case the power comes back "in time"), so you're left with shelf-stable food and whatever you might be able to fit into a cooler. You don't have hot water for cleaning yourself or your dishes, laundry, etc. (If you get your water from your own well, like we do, you can't even run any fresh water and have to rely on what you stockpiled before the storm hit, unless you have friends or family with water/electricity who can help.) You don't have climate control. (For us, that means sweltering without A/C; for many in the Northeast, this time, it means no heating.) Obviously your lights don't work, and your entertainment and links to the outside world are cut back severely. It's amazing how many of our routines and comforts depend on electricity-- and how cut off from normal life you feel without it.
Some people in New Jersey could've had their electricity back a day or two (or more) faster, if non-union workers from other states were allowed to pitch in and help. Now they'll just have to suffer a little bit longer. That's fine, so long as the unions are happy.
ETA:
For posterity's sake... ;o)
In the days after I posted this, there was some push-back on this story. To put it briefly, I'm unsure of the accuracy of the story. Honestly, at this point-- and in light of subsequent events (read: the reelection of Obama and the coming end of this country as we know it, ha ha, well, maybe not so funny), I don't care enough either way to really look into it.
Whatevs. (As they say.)
Makes perfect sense. Because non-union workers wouldn't be able to help get power back to people suffering after Sandy.
We live in hurricane country (obviously), and we know firsthand what it's like to go without electricity for days at a time. It's pretty miserable. You can't turn on your electric stove/microwave to cook a real meal. Your frozen and refrigerated food goes bad quickly (and even before it does so, you're almost afraid to open the door and let the cold out, in case the power comes back "in time"), so you're left with shelf-stable food and whatever you might be able to fit into a cooler. You don't have hot water for cleaning yourself or your dishes, laundry, etc. (If you get your water from your own well, like we do, you can't even run any fresh water and have to rely on what you stockpiled before the storm hit, unless you have friends or family with water/electricity who can help.) You don't have climate control. (For us, that means sweltering without A/C; for many in the Northeast, this time, it means no heating.) Obviously your lights don't work, and your entertainment and links to the outside world are cut back severely. It's amazing how many of our routines and comforts depend on electricity-- and how cut off from normal life you feel without it.
Some people in New Jersey could've had their electricity back a day or two (or more) faster, if non-union workers from other states were allowed to pitch in and help. Now they'll just have to suffer a little bit longer. That's fine, so long as the unions are happy.
ETA:
For posterity's sake... ;o)
In the days after I posted this, there was some push-back on this story. To put it briefly, I'm unsure of the accuracy of the story. Honestly, at this point-- and in light of subsequent events (read: the reelection of Obama and the coming end of this country as we know it, ha ha, well, maybe not so funny), I don't care enough either way to really look into it.
Whatevs. (As they say.)
Monday, August 27, 2012
Isaac Changed His Mind
Well, it seems that Isaac won't be coming this way, after all! (This is why we shouldn't waste time and energy worrying, though that's easier said than done.) Looks like Louisiana will have to deal with it, instead, though the local weathermen/women are still holding on to hope ;o) that we'll get something out of it all. Meanwhile, schools as far east as the Florida panhandle have cancelled classes (some as many as Monday through Wednesday)... So enjoy those free days, kids! (You'll be making them up later in the year, though, I guess.)
Ok, I guess it's still possible that we'll see more than a few drops of rain and a breeze, here, but it feels less and less likely as time goes by. Better safe than sorry, etc., but there's caution and then there's a Henny-Penny-level sky-is-falling over-reaction. For some reason, the media has made a bigger deal of this particular storm than it appears likely to merit. There's no denying that a lot of people were hoping Isaac would disrupt the RNC even more than it already has, so it got a lot of coverage from that angle-- and now (despite the fact that it missed Tampa altogether) they've already worked themselves up to such a fevered pitch that they can't just admit that (comparatively speaking) it's not that big of a deal. (Even if it is headed toward New Orleans on the anniversary of Katrina. This is not another Katrina, and even if it were, I fervently hope that people have learned the importance of evacuation from low-lying areas and preparation/self-reliance until things get back to normal. Possibly?)
Ok, I guess it's still possible that we'll see more than a few drops of rain and a breeze, here, but it feels less and less likely as time goes by. Better safe than sorry, etc., but there's caution and then there's a Henny-Penny-level sky-is-falling over-reaction. For some reason, the media has made a bigger deal of this particular storm than it appears likely to merit. There's no denying that a lot of people were hoping Isaac would disrupt the RNC even more than it already has, so it got a lot of coverage from that angle-- and now (despite the fact that it missed Tampa altogether) they've already worked themselves up to such a fevered pitch that they can't just admit that (comparatively speaking) it's not that big of a deal. (Even if it is headed toward New Orleans on the anniversary of Katrina. This is not another Katrina, and even if it were, I fervently hope that people have learned the importance of evacuation from low-lying areas and preparation/self-reliance until things get back to normal. Possibly?)
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