Somber Weather for a Somber Day

Somehow 52 deg. F and raining seems appropriate for today.  Memorial Day, a day for remembrance of those who gave their lives to defend the freedoms that are so often taken for granted.

I am truly grateful for all those who have died defending America's Constitution and the freedoms it grants.  Oddly enough, having grown up in the gap years between the Vietnam War and the first Gulf War, my childhood was remarkably devoid of knowing anyone personally who died in war.  Some people mock Ronald Reagan's acting ability, but who else could have sold the whole "Star Wars Defense Strategy" bluff so well that the Soviet Union went bankrupt, ending the Cold War without ending the world in a nuclear war.

Mine is a remarkable generation for its small size, too young to be a Baby-Boomer, too old to be Generation-X.  There weren't even enough of us to bother giving us a label.  The ladies who produced the baby-boom generation were hitting menopause at the same time that their daughters were discovering the convenience of birth control pills and unfortunately legal abortions.  The men who fought in World War II and Korea were still around.  They walked and rode in parades downtown observing Memorial Day, but they didn't talk about their experiences and their fellow soldiers who died.  They spared my generation the gory details while making it clear that Memorial Day must be observed.  So as long as you are capable of remembering anything for more than five minutes, please pause to remember those who gave their lives.  Only those with Alzheimers, dementia, or amnesia are off the hook.

Warming up?

We had our first truly warm day yesterday.

The temperature made it up to 83deg. F.

Maybe it is finally time to put this in the back of the garage?

 And Ember received her second haircut of spring.

The mohawk and ankle pom-pons go away when the overnight temperatures stay above 50 for a while.

Ten Degrees To Go

before the national weather service is correct.  But if they were actually predicting high temperatures for next to a black top driveway, they were correct an hour ago.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.

Dear national weather service,
It is already after noon, a time of day when the daily high temperature is usually reached.  You forecasted a high of 73 for today.  It is a whopping 53 degrees F.  That is quite the margin of error!  Please stop assuming that global warming is happening when programming your weather models.  So far we can count on one hand the number of truly warm days we have had this spring.

Oh, and watch out for the homeless people.  Lest they steal your trousers and use them in a bonfire to keep warm.

Also watch out for the farmers.  Any more seriously wrong weather forecasts may have them suing you for damages that crop insurance might not cover.  That is once the ground dries out enough for them to plant anything.

Spring Arriving?

If spring is indeed arriving, it is doing so very slowly.
More May showers bring soggy May flowers?

The tulips are blooming at dad's house.

The daffodils at my place seem to have just decided to skip blooming this year, that or my yard is colder and off to a slower start.  Dad's hostas are heading for 6" tall, while the ones behind my garage are just sprouting.

A sea of very damp violets in dad's front yard.

Like it or not, they'll probably need to get mowed before they are done blooming to avoid the city tall grass police sending a nasty letter and threatening to mow it themselves very badly while charging a hefty fine.  Hopefully the rain will stop long enough tomorrow to get lawns mowed.

For whatever reason the crab apple trees around town are blooming up a storm, while my apple tree at home is just starting to blossom.  Hopefully, the few blossoms it is producing this year will actually manage to get pollinated.  That is assuming that the bees have come out of their winter sleep.  So far I haven't seen any buzzing around the neighborhood.

Spring Must Be Here Finally,

because instead of shoveling snow I had to mow the lawn today.