This is the difference that a few days, or even a couple of hours, can make with our everchanging weather. Not the greatest illustration, and in reverse order (the snow shows up better on the right side of the photo): on the right, 9:30 am, after overnight snow blanketed the bare ground; on the left, the 2 pm view and it’s practically gone. It looked pretty much the same around noon, it took only two or three hours to melt away. Weird and also the new normal. For better or for worse, I think we’ve kinda gotten used to it! I suppose hopping from one state to another is better than getting the real extremes—months long heatwaves, river-in-the-sky deluges of rain, forest fires so intense they create their own local weather, and the like—that are happening other places than here. Whenever the weather’s not wiping you out…be grateful! :)
Weather
All clear!
Absolutely snow-free for a while now, and the grass seems to have gotten a little greener. It’s not been all that warm, still, hard to imagine going back to anything really wintry at this point. And that’s today’s weather check-in….
First look of the year!
Today’s view of the field, my first since last fall! I’m about a mile (1.6 km) down the road, and I do sometimes pop by in the off-season. Usually, though, it’s out of sight, not out of mind for the whole winter. I’m still getting used to how much tinier the garden has been since I left the farmers’ market and the pandemic had its way. In any case, it’s looking fine. Most of it was cleared last fall. The straw-mulched garlic on the left seems cool, nothing poking up yet, I suppose not too early is good. And it’s really not wet, not the former usual dense, clinging, suck-you-down mud of the after winter melt-off (I’ve pulled my foot out of rubber boots trying to step forward in that stuff). Unless there’s a mini monsoon season coming up, I’ll be able to get out there pretty early, to set up the anti-deer-and-groundhog electric fence and prep beds. There’s still a broken rototiller to deal with on the tiny tractor, so that could slow things down. As always, we shall see!
Firestarter II
Enjoying the flames and the slowly building heat from starting the wood stove for the night. Guess this is saying goodbye to the semblance of winter we’ve just had. Wood heat and tending the fire seems best enjoyed when it’s so cold outside, you really bask in the indoor warmth and outdoors seems like a harsh alien force trying to get in. This year, it’s hardly ever gotten so chilly inside that a decent sweater wouldn’t offset if you had to make do. Of course, the wood stove did bring a huge level of…comfort! Here, it’s in what I think of as stage two of firestarting. The kindling and smaller pieces have done gotten things started. Now, medium pieces are kicking in. The air vents are at least partially open, so fire burns hotter and faster. After 15 minutes or so like this, it’s burning nicely, and there’s the start of a bed of hot coals. Then the full-size chunks go in, the vents are closed, and another round of wood heating is underway. That’s my method with this particular stove, and it does seem to work!
Wetness warning
Pretty sure today’s was the first heavy rainfall alert of the year. It’s still early March! Is it worth asking what happened to April showers bring May flowers, and in March you can still go…skiing? The weather warning isn’t all that dramatic: chance of 25-40 mm of rain (about 1-1½”), with uncertainty about where exactly that might happen in the greater region. It started raining here earlier, light nd steady. Not worrisome, but still weird…
Spring is in the air
Spring is in the air, there’s no easier way to put it! The warmth of the sun where it touches your skin erases the chill from a mild breeze. Thermometer says it’s 64°F/80°C. Not quite T-shirt weather, but a T-shirt will do. Is this it, a straight shot to summer, or more winter still to come?
Traces of snow
We’re back to browns and yellows with a hint of green, and a few faint reminders of snow hanging on. There’s been no real winter this year, only a few visits from serious subzero cold and snow. At least, that’s how I’m remembering it. The photos here on the blog may tell a different story!