That was different…

Was going to do this post earlier until I found out we had lost our internet. Not sure where the internet goes when it isn’t here but am tempted to build a cage aground the modem to see if that helps. And the whole weekend, starting today, we could see some white fluffy love from above.

The weather people aren’t much help as we’ve heard anywhere from .1 to 2.6 inches of snow before the front passes through. We find it amusing that one local TV station boasts the latest, most accurate and up to the minute forecasts while not knowing what’s going to happen either.

One thing local weather people agree on is the snow won’t stick to roadways or sidewalks as they are too warm. Don’t care if it sticks on the road, we would just like a close guess as to how much we’re going to get. Probably won’t know until after our government fixes the ‘climate’ emergency we’re supposedly having. We can hardly wait to see how thier war on climate change goes.

We’ll be cruising to the grocery store in about an hour so I get some bitching out of my system. The cost and availability of most items makes me wish I really was stuck in the 60s. Enjoy our Friday if you can. Now for some coffee.

All over

It’s all over now but the crying. Not us as we had no damage, but many have some hard work ahead. The TV weather people say we had wind gusts to 61 mph yet failed to mention those gusts lasted for several minutes and were not far apart. So we’ll share some pictures of the oak tree that was standing in the neighbors yard.

This one shows why the tree didn’t make it. The very bottom of the tree where there should be roots spreading out in all directions to hold the tree up and provide water to keep it alive. This one had been hanging in there by sheer will power alonge.

It was darker when this picture was taken and this shot is around 40 feet away from base. Looks like it just imploded when it hit the ground. That should make clean up easier though.

This is what’s left of the upper part of the tree. If you look close, just to the right of the center, you see a post with a white board at an angle. That is where the steps used to be. Other than the steps and the power and cable lines going to the house there wasn’t a lot of damage. It even missed a car parked in the street not far off camera.

After the storm the sky turned to mixture of gray and black with occasional sighting of blue. Not sure whet was going on yet there were some interesting patterns in the sky as the wind died down. The clouds were still moving fast though.

This one was taken even later in the day and again, I’d never seen the different clouds in the sky at the same time. It was an odd day for sure.

The last picture we’ll share is this one of a confused cat the wife calls fluffy. Hadn’t seen him in a while so we were happy he found refuge during the storm. We’ll have more pictures for a later post as time allows. Enjoy our Thursday. Now for some coffee and pizza. Comments are always welcome.

Still wet

The liquid love from above just keeps coming and rain is in the forecast for the foreseeable future. Reminds me of Hawaii in the winter. Rains in the morning and clears up later in the day. Makes getting pictures harder as I don’t like the camera getting wet. Did get a few pictures yesterday, and will try again today so we can share some tomorrow.

The rain has been steady with little hard rains, at least while I’m awake. Don’t care what happens once I’m asleep as long as it doesn’t wake me. And I’m sleeping more as I get older so instead of getting up at 4 am I stay sleeping until around 6 am. And still staying up until midnight. Like that 2 hours back that I’m now losing to sleep.

The rain has been almost peaceful and if you go out on the back porch you can hear the gentle patter on the metal roof we had put on a few years ago. Trying to find steel decking with non-skid on it for the floor and power naps could make a comeback. Just have to rig a few electric motors so the floor would move like the deck of a destroyer.

Another plus for the rain is plant life is popping up all over. The hostas and ferns are as plentiful as ever and we even saw some flowers blooming. What we haven’t seen is an overabundance of bees or birds. Both are relaxing to watch when they’re out and about. The down side to all the rain is that we think the wifes hanging basket has gone on to plant Heaven.

The plants are either taking a long nap or so wet they just drooped into a slow death. They might snap out of it but we aren’t holding our breath. That’s what happens when you think the basket was hung so it wouldn’t get rained on. We’ll wait and see if the plants make a comeback.

Enjoy our Tuesday. Now for some coffee and donut holes. Comments are always welcome.

It’s back

Looking like we could get some white fluffy love from above today and another round on Thursday. Was hoping this year spring would just dance in and stay awhile. The days with highs in the 60s were no more than a tease however and it looks to be a year of false springs intertwined with short bursts of winter between. Nothing wrong with that since the cold weather gear has not been put away yet.

And we have to admit that now that all the old snow melted a fresh coating would make the landscape look a little better. We’ve had snow on the early blooming flowers before. Since almost all the feral cats here survived the winter we take that as a good sign. We say almost all as one got hit by car, isn’t doing too well, and may not make it.

Every day when outside we look to see if someone put up a prank speed limit sign at the end of our alley. We say this as cars that use the alley seem to think there is no speed limit in alleys. Since our house sits close to said alley we’ve had our share of cars stuck in the bank that borders the alley. These people to overestimate their driving skill and end up crashing.

We’re thinking of doing a post of some of our favorite photographs soon and think you will like them also. Going to end it and get busy with the chores. Enjoy our Monday as we will. Now for more coffee to wake up a bit. Comments are always welcome.

Getting closer

This weekend we’re supposed to have temperatures back in the 30s. Claim is it will feel 40 to 50 degrees warmer than it has been. That doesn’t break my heart. After getting the critters fed and watered spent some time shoveling some white fluffy love from above off the back sidewalk. Intend to go back out and shovel some more shortly.

The weather has been goofy across the nation with cold turning up further south than usual and the tornado in the east. Seems like Florida is the only place that is having decent weather. And now, here on the east coast of Iowa, comes word we may experience rolling blackouts. That term drives me to distraction as it usually means blackouts that don’t roll uphill. Time will tell what hits us next but not much we can do about it.

The feral cats were out in force this morning waiting for me to get the ice out of the water bowl and put water in. It still amazes me how much water they drink when it’s cold out. Two were even going at each other over who went first once the water was in the bowl. Neither critter was harmed during the melee and after the fight were seen drinking together.

When the people quit wearing masks, the power comes backs on, and the weather warms up we’ll have quite a story to tell down the road. Of course later this year there may be a cicada invasion of epic proportions but after all we’ve been through that should be a cake walk. Hope everyone is warm or has a warm place to go if the power is out in your area.

Enjoy our Tuesday as it’s looking to be about the same as others and we know what that’s like. Now for some coffee and leftover pizza. Comments are always welcome.

Different ending

You may have noticed I was MIA a few days last week. Sorry about that, but my health comes first. Used to be cold weather didn’t bother my lungs, just hot humid air. How thing change when you’re pushing 7 decades of living. The picture above is from the winter on 1936.

As you can see farmers got together to shovel out the roads so the plows could get through and we’ve been told it was also brutally cold. 1936 remains one of the coldest, snowiest winter on record here in Iowa. Dad told of one snow storm when a farmer got sick and the neighboring farmers got together with scoop shovels and cleared the road so the doctor could make it out from town. Said farmer survived and had a long life.

What always interested me about that winter is the following year, 1937, was the hottest on record. Been told it was so hot entire farm families slept on the porch as it was cooler than in the house. Dad also mentioned they had to plow at night as the horses couldn’t take the heat of day and would keel over dead if worked during daylight. One can only imagine what that would be like.

Where am I going with all that? Well, it makes me wonder that when we get through the cold if this summer is going to be a real scorcher. And of course it will be due to ‘climate change’ and talking heads will act like it never happened before. Hope that isn’t the case but as Mom used to say ‘you can hope in one hand and crap in the other and guess which hand will be full’. Time will tell.

Enjoy our Monday as we woke up breathing another day. Now for some coffee. Comments are always welcome.

Cold snap

When I left this morning to gas up the wifes’ car the wind chill was at a balmy -10. Didn’t really notice it as I was already out anyway. The feral cats didn’t seem bothered either when I filled their bowls. If the people who take a stab at the weather forecast on local TV are right we could have two weeks of below zero temperatures.

Snow just started falling before I sat down at our desktop but it is supposed to be a dry snow and not over an another inch on the ground. That’s good because we’re running out room to put the extra white fluffy love from above in. There is a trench in front we call a sidewalk in the summer.

Big news locally is our Governor has declared that as of midnight tomorrow the mask requirement in public will be gone, social distancing will be recommended, and all businesses can open to full capacity for a month. She will then look at the numbers before declaring the next step. All I can say is about time.

Yesterday the wife didn’t want to get groceries as she said it was too cold. So I explained to her that it would be the warmest day, at -3, for a week to ten days. We went to the grocery store. Besides, we were out of cigarettes and didn’t know of anyone who delivers them. Due to the colder weather my picture taking may take a hit until such time I can aim the camera without shaking.

Enjoy the rest of our Saturday. Now for some coffee and a ham sandwich. Comments are always welcome.

Before the snow

Before the snow yesterday we had some new feral cats out and about. This one was so cross-eyed I was amazed it didn’t run into things. Good looking cat as long as you didn’t look at his eyes too long.

Then I saw this one coming over a snow bank and thought the first one was the odd man out. This guy carried himself like he was king of the snow bank and didn’t care who knew it. Didn’t seem to have any problem getting through the snow.

Then I saw this one and got to laughing. Looked like he stuck his paw in an electrical outlet. All the cats were well mannered and didn’t get too close, but they also weren’t fighting. Love the quiet before the storm. We all watched each other for a while before they drifted off one after the other.

In the morning the eaves looked like this at 39 degrees, the snow was melting off the roof, and all was good. That didn’t last long before the rain started as the temperature started dropping and kept dropping all night. It got down to below zero, with the wind chill, before the day was done.

And just about dusk, the eaves looked like this. This was after snow had been falling for a while yet I found it interesting how much things can change in less than a day. Now we’re in the deep freeze for at least another week and one wishes they could stay in bed under the covers. Not an option with us, but the thought puts a smile on my face.

Enjoy our Friday even if it’s cold. Now I need some coffee before running errands. Then we’ll rush back in the house and stay there. Comments are always welcome.

Got snowed

Well, we got some snow. Not as much a predicted by those who wave their magic wands to forecast the weather on our local TV news. Actually, this storm was a dud. We got 6 inches of white fluffy love from above at the airport and here in town we saw around 3 inches. There was blowing and drifting yet it was manageable.

Read somewhere yesterday that Fauci makes more than the president. If so, I don’t think we’re getting our monies worth. Also heard he said one could wear 2 masks. I can’t breathe with one on and will continue to wear none. Since Biden doesn’t even follow his mask on federal property mandate that shouldn’t be a problem.

Speaking of which, why is that when Trump didn’t wear a mask people were up in arms and saying he only cared about himself yet Biden gets a free pass for doing the same thing? Biden probably can’t remember to put the mask on, but that is no excuse.

Looks like Nancy is going to get her impeachment trial. Which begs the question, if Trump was such a terrible president why do they care if he can run for the office again? According to Nancy and her cohorts he was a sexist, a racist, all for himself, and inciting people. Surely citizens wouldn’t vote for someone like that.

We do live in interesting times. Don’t know where all this is headed but have an idea we aren’t going to like it. Time will tell us when the drama ends. Enjoy our Tuesday as it’s here anyway. Now for some coffee time. Comments are always welcome.

Just looking

You ever look at drips coming off the edge of the roof and wonder what they really look like? To the naked eye it appears they either drip occasionally, or come down like a waterfall. After playing with the camera it seems neither is right. The picture above is of a slow drip with a shutter speed of 1/1,200th of a second. The drop is round but when looking with my eyes, I only saw the drip.

So I waited until there was what looked like a steady stream of coming off the roof. And again, it was not what I expected. This one was also taken with a shutter speed of 1/1,200th of a second. What I thought was just a steady stream of water was turned into something completely different with the camera. I looked before and after the shot and only saw a steady stream of water. The picture made me wonder.

Then I got cocky. Thought if the camera could do that with water, how about the sky? Looking around I noticed this striped sky staring back at me. Turns out the faster shutter speed didn’t make a difference with the clouds. Still like the picture so it was a trade off. We might experiment with some snow pictures later.

We say that because we’re supposed to get between 5 to 10 inches snow starting later today and ending tomorrow. Not sure where we’re going to shovel it all yet. Oh yeah, the guy who guesses the weather on the local TV also said we may see some ice. It could get interesting.

So enjoy our Monday as it looks like it’s going to start our week with some snow. Now for some coffee. Comments are always welcome.