CoolHandMike

While I really prefer the cold, I think I'm ok with a little bit of heat this summer given how mild Spring was (until last week) and the decent amount of snow last Feb. I guess I just like my seasons to be more defined than they seem to have been in recent years. Proper snow, then a slow warm-up, then some summer heat... As long as it doesn't last into October.

So we got a new fire ring on Wednesday but it came after I'd already gone out to do some chores and I didn't feel like going back out just to get some firewood (especially since traffic was all messed up due to a water main break). Didn't get to use it last night (for obvious reasons) but I think tonight may be the night. And then earlier today, it hit me: I've got a 40-gallon curbside trash bin full to the brim with woodshop offcuts that I'd been saving for the last 5 years. I'd been meaning to offload them to a friend, and then the whole pandemic thing happened and then we moved and so I still have a crap ton of wood scraps. I weeded out all the nasty stuff (laminate, pressure-treated, etc.) so it's just good, dry pine with a smattering of hardwood scraps here and there. Sure wish I'd remembered that a couple of days ago. Oh well

Measure .4" in the backyard weather station. Not too shabby. I think I read somewhere we went 17 days without measurable rainfall, but don't quote me on that.

Just a light sprinkle here with distant flashes and thunder. Perfect falling asleep weather.

Nice little bow echo on radar heading east. We'll see if it makes it.

Measured .37" in my back yard station. Not bad.

Oh yeah, I'm getting round two. Sky looks positively evil to my west.

If that cell over Lebanon holds together, I might be able to get some more. Figures, I just went out and watered everything since the mulch under the plants was dry. Glad to see others cashing in on some much needed moisture though.

Wow, yeah it did:

Pretty decent gust front went through and now it's raining big, fat drops. Not pouring, though. Hearing constant rolling thunder to the north. I think that was it. I hope there's more rain on the back side since what fell was pretty anemic. Just enough to wet everything but far from a soaker.

Sky went dark. Waiting for the gust front.

Finally, something worth tracking!

Severe thunderstorm watch issued for counties just west of us, if that matters.

Sun starting to poke through here. My back yard station says this: Like everyone else here, I'm really hoping for some rain later today.

Nice vintage electronics! Sorta-kinda but not really related, I inherited one of those old console-bureau-side-table-cabinet things with a stereo on the middle and a record player on the right from one of my grandparents. I wish I still had it, but it got too much mold damage in storage about 10 years ago and would have taken too much money and effort to properly restore it. Speaking of bees, they have always been freakishly attracted to me for some reason. My parents used to think I was being overdramatic as a kid, but all throughout my life, I'll be standing among a group of people and I'll the one the bees always seem to want to divebomb. I've even been bit by a carpenter bee through a pants leg. Needless to say, I grew up TERRIFIED of killer bees.

I let mine grow for two weeks before mowing it last Friday, and honestly I probably could have left the front (full afternoon sun) for another week. The back (half sun, half shade) was already going to seed though. My wife wants to set up sprinklers but I'm against it as I don't feel it's environmentally responsible (nor friendly to our water bill). According to the GFS, it looks like this period of high pressure "doming" over the MA should end by Wednesday with more a more zonal pattern setting up for the foreseeable future. That should help our drought condition a little bit.

Well I guess if I haven't seen any cicadas by now, it's safe to say I won't (at least in my back yard). Oh well. Waiting for lightning bugs now!

Wife came home with a baker's dozen of new plants to put in one of our new mulch beds yesterday. She figured she'd plant them while I was mowing last evening, no problem, right? WRONG. Turns out my soil back there is SO compact that I needed to attack it with a pick axe and a 3" auger to break it up. She had one plant barely in the ground after I finished mowing (after about 45 minutes) and was near tears because there was no way we were going to be able to get these all in before it got too dark (and then too hot/gross this weekend). So I put off the string trimming until later and jumped in. Queue one marathon, 2-hour digging/picking/drilling sweat-fest later and we juuust got them in before the light completely went on us. Holy smokes were we drenched. Humidity came up quick last night! But in the end, well worth the effort. It's going to look awesome when they all grow up.

I just measured my back yard soil temps with a digital meat thermometer, which, admittedly, only went a couple of inches deep. I measured between 75-80°F in the sunny spots, but only 64°F under my biggest shade tree (box elder). I'm relatively certain most of my big trees are quite a bit older than 17 years, so we will see. My other trees are mostly maples and some hemlocks.

Seeing 89.9°F and 23% RH in my back yard. Now that's a dry heat. I can't recall experiencing this since I left California many years ago!

Yeah none in Reading though I think I might have seen some of their burrows at Blue Marsh Reservoir last night. Didn't see any shells on the trees though.

Would anybody mind if I started a Cicada thread? I know there's one in the MA sub but I'm more interested in what's going on in our neck of the woods.

I think we've peaked for the day at 83.4°F but man is it dry out there. 24% RH.

It's actually kinda sorta raining here now. Juuust enough to make you go "hmm, I should probably pack up for the day and put all the lawn tools away" only to slow down to a barely noticeable drizzle once you do. Eh, I'll finish planting my shrubs tomorrow evening.

I'm actually going to skip mowing my lawn this week as it has hardly grown over the last 7 days. It is a little more humid today, but you're right, it's been exceptionally dry lately.