poolz1

Current SST anomalies are interesting, imo. Though the PDO clocked in at -1 for Sept it did rise from its Aug reading of -1.3. I understand the current state of anomalies are bound to change but if we can manage to keep some semblance of the current look as we enter Dec it would be at least encouraging. The warm water along the west coast, coolish pool where we are used to seeing the blob and an east based (up for debate ) nina. To me it looks close to '95 right now....just the warms are warmer. Sept of 95 had a +pdo...must be 2020's lack of cool anoms to the east of Japan?

Just hit the 1.00" mark here. Mod/hvy rain for the past 2 hours.... Good soaker and much needed.

@frd I have been burned the past few years by assuming our great late fall patterns should resurface during the winter. A lot of other folks on here warned against it and I guess you just have to take your lumps as a weather nut and...live and learn. With that said...it looks like the eps has been steadily hinting at some mid Oct heat coming, along with a continuation of our recent dry conditions.. Id be ok with a week of 70's before the steady slide into winter.

Stability....

Recording a T for last night. 16 days since the last measurable rain here above a T. Looks like that will probably end next week but a heck of a dry stretch. Fall color has started here on the margins....greens are dulled and the deer are freaking everywhere. The fall smallmouth bite is on as well. Here are a few pics from the other eve while fishing the rapids...up river from Harpers Ferry. 7 smallmouth and 1 walleye! Love this time of year....

Besides the 50/50 ridge...Id take this any month Nov-March. That's one heck of a LR signal. It's nice to actually have a fall....and it looks to continue.

Would have preferred to wait a few more weeks to put the plastic on. Point and click has a low of 38 the next several nights...which means 34/35 in this valley with prime evap cooling. Seedlings are just sprouting and dont want to risk it. Cool/cold hardy plants but they are just poking up.... And here is a random pic of a squirrel swimming across the river yesterday. 200+ yard swim from the other side. In all my years fishing I have yet to see a squirrel swimming in the river....until yesterday. I'll consider this a sign of a very harsh winter on the way! He made it to the bank and scampered up a tree like he wasnt even winded...lucky he didnt get snagged by a muskie while on his journey.

Yeah, the stars last night were outstanding. Usually you have to endure temps in the teens to witness a sky that clear....we sat out and gazed for a while. Patchy frost here as well this morning with a low of 35. Stellar weekend on the way!

Line certainly improving as it moves east. .37” here. Torrential rain....minimal wind and a few rumbles. Seemed more tropical than thunder buster....

Time sensitive and no match to watching the derecho but check out that little storm that hopped right over Warrenton. Following that outflow boundary I guess but that was one heck of a head fake!

The base state argument is what we should hang our hats on, imo. Why would we expect anything less than an Aleutian ridge/WAR combo that helps to continue the +NAO avg throughout the winter months? We have been the recipients of this horrid setup even when everything else says we shouldn't. This year says we should see this setup even if it wasnt the background state.

I started a new crop 2 weeks ago and they are sprouting...Im a little behind. I was really trying to see how long I could keep them producing by picking regularly and pruning here and there. Have you ever tried a second cucumber crop? I planted a few when I started the squash but dont know if I am wasting my time or not with them. Never tried a second round of cukes....

After a prolific crop of zucchini and yellow squash so far this season I had to pull all of them out of the ground yesterday. I thought the few yellowing leaves were just a sign of the heat and entering the latter part of summer. Then they really started going downhill....after a close inspection I found vine borers had already done too much damage to try to salvage the plants. Not too bent out of shape about it but it does frustrate me that I didnt pick up on it earlier. The family is pretty sick of squash by now but I hate losing plants like that.....its always something. On a side note...we are not big fried food people but I did make some fried zucchini sat evening. Turned out great but the show was stolen when I threw in some of the refrigerator pickles that I made about a week ago. Some ranch dipping sauce and a ripe IPA...that was dinner!

@nw baltimore wx That's awesome...I agree, it has been a great growing season so far. I pulled a few hornworms off some tomato plants the other day. Those suckers waste no time gorging themselves...I have seen them plow through a green tomato and leave what looks like someone took a perfect bite out of it. You would definitely see their waste pile beneath that tomato if this was the case. Otherwise, a live trap set with some watermelon in it should catch the critter. You can then relocate it or...return your neighbor's cat!

Beautiful sight in the garden this morning. Loads of honey bees creating a steady buzz....frantically moving from flower to flower, legs and abdomens covered in pollen. I haven't seen this kind of activity from honey bees in years. So cool to watch them in action...

Slow day...Check out that outflow boundary in Nebraska though. Wild looking...time sensitive of course.

It really seems to be random sometimes. We have 4 nice, lush basil plants that added to a great caprese salad Saturday... Today 2 of the 4 have been ravaged by June bugs. All of the plants are within 2 feet of each other. The other two are untouched. Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

Great storm. Not much wind but a ton of T&L...torrential rain and pretty long duration too. 1.27" from that one. 1.65" for the day so far.

Any chance of rotation with these storms today? I'll defer to those more knowledgeable... Looks like a little rotation passing through Inwood right now...

0.0 for the past 4 days.....parched. What a string of bad luck....

BUSTED! A week from now these would have hatched and proceeded to destroy a vibrant zucchini plant....

.31" for the month of June so far. The yard is parched.....Hopefully a nice soaking tonight. I was pruning some excess leaves out of our squash a zucchini plants yesterday to encourage some better airflow and found squash bugs. I have been trying to figure out what the heck has been munching on the leaves. First time I have seen them in our gardens...

Pretty much everything except root veggies and greens. Ive used it mostly for tomatoes and vine veggies. It's easy to train the vines over or around the mound. On a side note...I pulled the wood chips off the top of the bed this late winter and added about 3" of our compost to the top and placed the wood chips back. The only thing I have actually planted this spring is the row of tomatoes you see across the top. Everything else is volunteer. 2 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 2 cucumbers and 3 of something that I am not quite sure yet what they are. They look like cantaloupe.

Dont worry...I had never heard of it either as of about 2 years ago. I was researching permaculture and found this method (huglekultur) is just a piece the permaculture pie. Thought I would give it a try where we had an existing garden that was too far away to water regularly. Honestly, I have yet to water this bed for 2 years. I do water seedlings until their root structure can reach the dampness about 6" down. Here was the process a few years ago.

Hugelkultur bed is thriving....Actually, everything is doing pretty well. Plants are loving these brilliant sunny days. Peas