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.

A Light Trim

Just take 5 to 6 feet off the top please.

Before

After

(Hopefully this year branches will not break under a load of apples.  Usually apple trees don't produce bumper crops two years in a row.)

The trimmings

The city employees probably don't like all the work I keep giving them, but yard waste pickup is every week until the middle of May.  I might as well make use of curbside pickup, because dad has decided to sell his truck.  We'll see if anyone actually wants to buy his 1996 Dodge RWD pickup that does its best to leak as many bodily fluids as possible.  Oh, and it no longer goes into D1.  Guess I'll have to figure out some other way to haul big stuff this summer.  If we get another vehicle, dad will probably borrow it occasionally.  Oh well, turnabout is fair play I guess.

Then the question is what kind of used vehicle to get, a pickup truck, a cargo van, a semi-cargo van?

It would need to haul sheets of plywood and some sheets of drywall, a new shower (modular - probably from the Kohler Sterling line), etc.  The Element is nice, but looks really silly with sheets of plywood strapped on top.  And the roof rack weight rating is pretty pitiful.  It wouldn't handle drywall at all.

Or, perhaps a trailer would be the most economical - as long as it isn't raining?

Tornado Drill Canceled Due To

Inclement Weather.

WI Tornado Drill Canceled 4/11/2019

So if you are in WI today and hear a tornado siren, get a tornado warning alert text, hear a tornado warning on radio or TV, it is probably for real.  Seek shelter in something that won't blow away.

Truth is stranger and funnier than fiction.

Our regularly scheduled tornado drill will resume tomorrow.

They should really schedule the test of tornado sirens and the alert system for April 1 instead and then end it with April fools.  That should be early enough to avoid scheduling conflicts with real tornados.

Spring Traditions

Spring is sneaking in slowly here.  The robins and other birds arrived in flocks last week.  One day the yard was bare, the next day it had 6 robins and a small woodpecker searching for bugs.  Yesterday when I took Ember on an afternoon walk, a rather fat looking robin was sitting in the apple tree giving me the stink eye and chirping at me.  They are staking out their territories in preparation for making more robins.  I wonder what bird brained location they'll pick this year.

Anyhow, taxes are done.  Since the post office managed to loose some mail last September, everything was mailed certified so I could track it and make sure everything arrives on time.  The next item in the spring chores was brushing, bathing, and shaving the dog.  Poor unsuspecting Ember.

All brushed out and resting up from the wrestling match with mom

Soggy doggy dripping dry

Free at last, Free at last

Sporting the continental clip

The ears and tail need a bit of trimming yet, but I'll let her keep the big hair for a few more days.