Sunday, August 26, 2007, 06:05
Clouds and Sunshine
It was cloudy and misty and foggy all week -- Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. . . then the sun came out on Friday. And it was sunny Saturday. Low humidity. Some puffy clouds. A tinge of coolness to the air in the evenings. Grass that is greener than it has been in a while after the influence of a week of cool, foggy, misty weather.
I was right about the lawn, by the way. The grass loved the cool damp weather and grew like gangbusters. When Randy came home from work Friday evening, he got out the mower. I took and antihistamine and then I got out the other mower. And between the two of us, we managed to get the grass cut before sunset and the dew fell.
You would think, though, with all of those clouds around for a week that we would have gotten more rain than a bit over an inch and a half. But that was it. The southern part of the state, and parts of Minnesota, got 10 or 12 inches of rain or more.
But here and north of here got very little rain out of it. And that tells me we are still in a drought pattern. If all areas had gotten an inch and a half, then perhaps that would mean the drought had broken. But there's "something" that is stopping the rain from coming a certain distance north and is holding the storm systems over areas that don't need more rain.
I am starting to hear older folks saying that they have never seen this pond dry or that marsh dry or the creek over there with so little water in it or the river so low. That tells me it hasn't been this dry in a long, long, long time.
Nut Bread
I am trying out a recipe for nut bread. The recipe said to bake it for 20 to 25 minutes. Actually, 60 to 70 minutes is more like it. I hope it tastes good after all of that. It had better. Or I won’t have anything to take for coffee after church. . .
Guinevere
My old kitty cat Guinevere is still hanging in there on all of the antibiotics. She seems to be feeling a little better. And the swelling *might* be going down around her nose a tiny bit. She's still snuffly. And her eye is still draining some bloody pus. But she's eating tidbits of canned food yet. Right now she's curled up under the desk by my feet, sound asleep.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 06:40
Warm Again
It's not cold anymore. Monday evening when I took Pixie outside before I went to bed, I noticed that even though the temperature was just about the same as it had been, there was a different feel to the air. Before that, it had been chilly and damp. Now it was warm and damp. I think the dewpoint had come up, so that's what made it feel more uncomfortable outside.
Tuesday it was still cloudy and misty and humid, but we really haven't gotten more rain beyond the 1 1/2 inches over the weekend. Other parts of the state have gotten 10 to 12 inches of rain. And parts of southern Minnesota have been flooded, too.
I was hoping that the rain Saturday and Sunday meant the drought had broken, but now I don't think so. We are still in a pattern of heavy rain elsewhere and just a little bit of rain here. If other parts of the state had also gotten an inch or two inches, I would feel more hopeful about the weather pattern.
Still, we are grateful for the rain we have gotten. A little rain is better than none at all!
Of course, now we have gotten just enough rain to make the grass grow a little bit. Kajun and Isabelle are happy about that because they've got a few mouthfuls of grass to pick in their pastures. But as for me, I am going to have to get the mower out this weekend. Unless I want to fence off the yard and let the horses out around the house. Well, maybe not. That would be more work than getting the mower out. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph