Wednesday, 19 July 2023
The predicted overnight rain never materialized, but the air shifted and the AQ improved…so I went for a wee walk, returning before seven (!), because hot. humid.
Plenty of neighborhood water systems nevertheless kicked on…in this case weighing down these limp grasses. Are they grasses? They look like it.
Tuesday, 18 July 2023
Air Quality was poor today, with high haze. I stayed inside and felt…a bit guilty…but healthy (hah!). A storm’s supposed to come through tonight and into the morning, and disperse the haze.
I have a short-term perspective on this. Exercise tomorrow? Wait and see….
Wednesday, 12 July 2023
All day the clouds put on a show, even more than the sun. Mostly full cloud cover now.
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
An hour after I made yesterday’s post, our power went out, then we had a fierce storm that didn’t last terribly long…thunder, lightning, rain. The power was out for about nine hours, but thankfully back on in time for coffee-making. By sunrise, it was all clear and sparkly out, although some of the now-tall grasses were wet and lodged. They perked up after the sun and wind dried them, and I managed to pull off two sessions with The Beast.
Monday, 10 July 2023
Bee-pea. Not a petroleum company. [Pale blossom compared to our usual specimens….]
Another frustrating day of intermittent potential-rain, with almost no actual rainfall…but the threat was enough to keep me away from Beast-work beyond about fifteen minutes I got in before nine, halted by the strongest rain of the day (until now that is…the rain came in after I began typing—sheesh).
Although I think a bit of wind brought down many of these leaves, they were already compromised…I think from heat and desiccation. It’s a bad summer for many plants.
Saturday, 8 July 2023
I never managed to get in my almost-an-hour with The Beast today. Weather was never permitting. Throughout the day, the predicted rain window was present, absent, moved, and returned. I didn’t want to get caught out in the field…not so much the rain, but lightning aversion was my focus. This was the threatening sky in the late afternoon.
And to top it all off, we never got enough rain to moisten even the flagstones. In essence, I got a slow Saturday without even trying.
Wednesday, 5 July 2023
We had a bit of a cloudburst this morning that filled the water barrel—almost filled it, actually.
The day was rain-free, although often overcast, until late afternoon when we had off-and-on pitter-patter, and right now it’s sprinkling again. That pattern made doing yard work difficult, although the plants are MUCH happier. I’ll bet the grass won’t be crunchy tomorrow (which is an improvement).
Sunday, 2 July 2023
Previous summers I have had multiple opportunites to take foggy morning photos. This year I suspect it’s been just too darned dry for the fog to form. So, I was excited this morning to see the fog thicken as the sun rose, and went to to capture images. Since I now have a clear path from my activities with The Beast, I headed out into the field for a different perspective than I usually get from near the cottage. After this shot, and a few more steps, I scared up a sleeping deer, which huffed-snorted at me for the indignity.
Also, the day stayed cool longer in the morning, which made my almost-an-hour with The Beast easier to endure. Still humid, though….
Saturday, 1 July 2023
Golden-lit potentilla.
My morning fun…exercising The Beast.
The Beast…waiting.
Last summer, we bought The Beast to frustrate, and hopefully to ultimately remove, an invasive grass that has very strong stems and out-competes the “normal” pasture grasses. Of course, this is no longer a pasture, nor doesn’t anyone hay it, or otherwise manage it for agriculture. Just. Too. Much. Effort. [Yes, more than operating the beast on hot, humid, hazy days. Long story.]
Thursday, 29 June 2023
The smoky haze continues to hang here; you can barely see the other side of the lake (approximately three miles). Thankfully, yesterday and today it didn’t smell smoky outdoors.
Meanwhile, on land, the lupine blooms have mostly become pods—still green—as Fabaceae do.