Your Weather, 2022

[flowerbug]

we picked up a few inches of very wet snow this morning. i wasn't sure i was going to shovel but later on today i wanted some exercise so now the drive is clear and all the snow is melted. mostly i do it for the exercise, to avoid icing is the other reason as i don't want anyone to slip. scraping any compacted snow off before it can turn to ice is my secret super power. i haven't needed to use salt or sand since i've been here (about 15 years now - time sure is going by fast ).

 

[digitS']

Looking at the Weather Service information on winter and February weather in the US.

February capped off a warm, dry winter for U.S.

Drought conditions intensified across the nation

www.noaa.gov

What a contrast from one side of the country to the other. Averages are one thing, and they help us understand the long-term but the serious precipitation totals and heat for a single month in the Southeast, catches one's attention. Meanwhile, the Southwest seems that it will never move past the drought.

(Then, I carry on about local weather while the area comes close to normal, anyway .)

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

I live on the border of zone 5b/6a.
Frogs starting singing 2 days ago.
They Know better than ME.

 

[ducks4you]

Sunny and highs in the mid to upper 70s this week. Great weather for a garden!

KINDA jelly!

 

[ducks4you]

we picked up a few inches of very wet snow this morning. i wasn't sure i was going to shovel but later on today i wanted some exercise so now the drive is clear and all the snow is melted. mostly i do it for the exercise, to avoid icing is the other reason as i don't want anyone to slip. scraping any compacted snow off before it can turn to ice is my secret super power. i haven't needed to use salt or sand since i've been here (about 15 years now - time sure is going by fast ).

So...on Friday I picked up:
--40 (forty pound) bags of pine shavings
--17 (forty pound) bags of pine pellets (animal bedding, NOT to burn in a store...but I Guess you could?!?
--10 (fifty pound) bags of Sweet Feed (livestock extra calories feed, w/molasses and corn)
I don't like keeping almost 1K of weight on the back of the truck, even if it's inside the garage.
And, we never know if we will need that truck for...reasons. It's harder to see behind when it is obscured by stuff.
Saturday DH ran the Kubota (tractor), I unloaded from the truck to the bucket, He drove to the barn, I Unloaded and stacked...ALL of it, Sunday.
I have been keeping my snowblower right behind the truck. We had One storm where I needed it, and we can get snow in April. I moved it outside of the garage for the unloading venture.
Saturday, it rained. Buckets. Guess what I FORGOT to put away?
The SNOWBLOWER!! 😱 😱 😱
I guess if I had to leave ANY machine outside in the rain, the snowblower is probably the only one not damaged by it.
Still, I didn't want to leave it outside, like I was putting a "steal me" sign on it.
It did get put away on Sunday.

 

[flowerbug]

saw the first redwinged blackbird yesterday, grackles usually show up about the same time, robins not too much later.

 

[ducks4you]

I have seen bluejays and robins and mourning doves in the last few weeks. The dove looked to be building a nest. Snow tomorrow night, but nothing much.
I expect Springlike temperatures for the next month and then as surprise freeze.
Good thing I have 100 ft of heated Christmas lights for my fruit trees!!

 

[digitS']

It was -11°f (-24°C) in Stanley Idaho this morning.

No, Stanley is not close to here.

There were 2 pairs of Collared Doves here year around for a few years. Then, one pair ... haven't seen them in about a month. A non-native - I suspect the Sharp-shinned Hawks finally picked them off. An Eagle was circling the neighborhood a few days ago. Probably, the same guy I saw right down on the road a day or two before that.

Oh, signs of spring . signs of spring ! The Grape Hyacinth are green leaves above ground and something is going on where the rhubarb will be showing up!

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

i saw a wild turkey up in a large oak this morning. nearly to the top. at first i was wondering what that huge bird could be, but when it flew away to the neighboring field again i could tell. for those who think they can't fly well, well, they can certainly fly, but they usually are ground foragers so they don't hang out in the trees much. it was about 50ft off the ground. yes, they can fly...

mourning doves are year-round residents here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I put up a new bluebird house a couple of weeks ago. I saw a bluebird fly out of it today. I have not looked inside to see if it is building a nest.