Our Crazy 2012 Weather

The weather has been crazy. Yesterday we enjoyed 60+ degrees. Now that was a great day. Felt like a warm spring day. Or maybe a winter in Florida! Yes we are in the Eastern coast and it is Winter. However, the temps have been all over the place. We have seen no snow that stayed on the ground. Did have a little flurries once.

Now last year it looked like this
End of Jan 2011
a snowy night.

This year we set on the porch and enjoyed the spring evening.

Each year has a different pattern for weather. so unpredictable, Even the mountain resorts are having to make snow in our area. I have not made plans to go this year. We are having a family winter fun in a couple weeks at White tail. I hope there will be natural snow for us. If not we can enjoy some drinks as we sit by a fire,or a walk in the cool air.

So, How is your neck of the woods, Is your weather acting like your season?

A Fall Scenes

A Fall View-Foggy Morning

Well we are in the Fall months. I have noticed that this year fall was been like I remembered as a child. The Scenes are beautiful and the morning are filled with Fog complete with that eerie feeling.
I really like this season, the time in between the summer and winter. It is like the earth deciding which one to embrace. One day it is sunny and warm the next Cool and foggy. We even had a taste of the snow this fall.

The season for hot toddies and outdoor fires. Smores and wieners, Marshmallow on a stick flaming to be blown out and popped into your mouth. Oh, and let's not leave out that cup of Warm spiced Wine!

I got to lights up on the Gazebo and the fire pit in place. Now for the evenings of fire and romance. With the sun going down earlier, we can have that cup of soup and enjoy a roaring fire and still have time for evening shows.

Oh I think it is party time for us!

How is your morning view?

Is Phil right?

Still cold here. We have some days of warmth, however the cold returns. I heard that Phil did not see his shadow on the 2nd of February. That is suppose to mean, spring will arrive early.
Heard his track record is not good, about 30% right. So will we have an early spring time? I going to bet yes. It seems that Phil has been wrong on the late arrivals. He seems to not see his shadow about 30% of the time. So just maybe that is when he is right.

We all would love to see Spring's early arrival. That will give us more time to get the soil ready and see the flowers in full form. I love the spring foliage and look forward to the lilacs as well as other fresh smells. Even the tulips and Cherry Blossom are great to see. It has been a few years since we have seen the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom on time.

St Patty's parade would be nice to view in warmer weather. Standing in the Rain and cold just is not my idea of fun viewing the parade.

Well, we usually have a snow event on Valentines Day . So I think that will happen for us this year. Today the weather is bitterly cold. Temps in the low 30's. I am staying warm by the fire and drinking my coffee.

What are you doing and how is the weather forecast in your neck of the country?

Weather update here. Winter mix has arrived....

Today we had a nice winter day, however this evening and sleet and ice/snow mix arrived. It looks like it will be with us throughout the evening and into the morning hours.
It is a good thing I had a change the cover and prepare the plants in the yard. Winter is a tricky time in this area. Sometimes the plants get the wrong message, and think spring is coming.
Writing about the yard and garden in the winter month can be challenging. However I love to plant winter plants. So the next few week I will be blogging about some winter choices in landscaping. For now the Evergreens are swaying in the neighborhood. I think one strong storm wind will bring them down. We had ours removed two years ago, due to this purpose. It was very scary to see it bend in the wind. Now looking at the neighbors, they are almost touching the house tops. I will keep an good eye on them. Stay tune to the winter post.
How are the trees in your neck of the woods?

Let it snow! Oh those Flakes....

Well, yesterday we got some snow. Not much but at least is stayed on the ground... the flakes were small and large. I like the large ones. Schools are delayed today in our area. However the road look great at our home. One of the problems is that I live in a very large county. It could be fine in one area and in the North Eastern part a mess. With the cities and country being so spread out, it makes the Public Schools have to delay and some time close schools. My daughter is not liking this this year. For if they call school closed , we will not be able to go to Canada in June.We have a Reunion to go to and was hoping to visit Canada afterwards. If school is called off even once then we will not be able to go. She will have to get back for finals. I am hoping the storms will choose times they have of school already.
Did you get any Snow yet?

Our Winter Weather

Here in Maryland we are having a mixture of things. One newscaster will say no snow and than another will say an update.... just in, snow in forecast. We will get a dusting and I really mean a dusting. It is gone by the mid day! Now I am not liking this one bit!
The cold temp and no snow on the ground. Everything is brown and the wind has a bite to it. How depressing is this.....

I think we will try to have a fire in the next couple day and roast Marshmallows, to make Smores. I least that will be a little comforting for me. Comfort food always pick me up. So Off to the Store for some Graham Crackers for the Smores. I can Just Taste them now. How the Weather in your Town? Any signs of winter there?

**Photo of last years winter-of course this was taken in the month of February. So I think there is still hope here.

Earl is out to sea....

Yes that's right I was right! No Hurricane or Tropical Storm winds for us. We got no rain for Earl. It is a bit windy today, the gust are a little like the start of the fall season. Temps are in the upper 70's. A great day for working out in the yard. I will be sprucing up a little this morning. Hubby is working for a while and daughter is at a friends. So that gives me time to work out in the fresh air. we are going to Longwood Gardens Later on Some I will have some great photo to display Next week.

Hurricane Earl-Preparing for his Arrival

It has been a few years since our last Hurricane in this area. It was Isabelle, we were out of electricity for 7 days and it was a mess. Since then we have acquired some new things in the yard. Today we are looking at ways to Secure them and Protect our home. Earl is a Category 4 at this time. Expected to gain more speed before land fall. We could get some heavy winds here. As to Water.. the only waterway close by would not affect our home area. this is a very seldom thing for us. we have protected our house since Isabelle by adding windows and siding that can withstand the high winds. So now it is preparing the furniture and Gazebos to withstand the Tropical force winds. I have been following Earls path through StormPlus Hubby thinks at will be close to us. I do not see that. we have a cold front coming our way which seems likely to push it out to sea. However I will prepare for tropical force winds and blowing rains. We will see how this goes. I will update on this site about Earl the Hurricane.

Cleaned the pool out and changed the filter. Our temps have been in the upper 90's so the water is still warm. I hope to continue to swim through the next few weeks. We have a solar heater which I will be hooking up to extend the pool time into October. this will be the first year I try this method. With the high heats we have had a great Summer pool season.



Above icon photo courstey of NOAA .To get hourly updates click on blue NOAA for link.

NSL and a Raining Morning

I woke up to rolling thunder. It sounded like some one was rolling trashcans around {it is trash pick up day}, or a freight train rolling on the tracks across the street{sometimes they can be pretty loud}. Now it is pouring out and thundering all around. Remembering as a kid and young adult having the windows open and smell the rain. What a great refreshing smell that was. It might be crazy but I love these types of summer storms.

I have to go get Critter (my G-nephew) in a while, so I do hope it stops by then. Driving in this down pour is not my desire. It is about an hour ride to his home. Critter is going on Vacation with us this year. We are going to be doing a lot. Our trip will take us to West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York State, Canada and just maybe New Jersey. Then Back to Maryland.

Our "Northern Sun Loop" (NSL) starts Friday. Be sure to check out my "Auntie E's on the Go" Blog for Fun photos Live steamed while we are out. Here's the link. I will be sending at least one photo a day. You might want to sign up and follow that blog. Her is how I use it is... When I'm out and about I send live photo at real time. You see what I see at the same time. It such fun, my family is always saying... Mom take this is post it now. What a hoot I love it when they join in the fun of sharing to my bloggers friends.This trip such be a blast we have a lot planed. So when you see "NSL" before the photo you will know it's a vacation spotlight.

Oh don't worry folks we always have someone guarding our Home and a 24/7 Monitoring system in place for the grounds. People are always around. I would say we have a fortress of sorts.

Oh the rain is starting to lighten a bit. Now we have a steady rain. Thunder is moving away. This kind is so good for our lawns. I noticed I will need to figure out a rain guard for the Gazebo. The rain just pours on the door and screen.

It's March -Wind Chime Time

With March comes March Winds. The sounds of chimes blowing in the wind. I love my Chimes, have several different ones in my yard.
Note:the blogger screens are black at first, press play button and the video starts immediately.

This one I got From my Sister-n-law many years ago.
Play time 18 seconds


While at Virginia Beach I purchased this one.
Play time 25 seconds


I have had this one for a long time, can't remember where is got it. It's old and rusty but, stills makes a sound.
Play time 14 seconds


A few years ago this butterfly came in the mail. Still flies in the wind.
Play time 9 seconds


Now play them all at once starting with the longest to the shortest playing time. You will hear what I hear in the March winds.

Blizzard Number 2 -In the Same week!

Can you believe it, Two blizzard in one week! Yes that is what we were hit with. The first one dropped 38.3 inches of snow. The second one give us 17 inches more with snow drifts of 6 foot.

This is in the morning at 9:00 when it was blowing.

this is one hour later,10:00...
the Adirondack chair is completely buried..
Only the back shows because it is next to the house.

Now a video of the Blizzard, Taken in the front yard because I can walk out there! Our backyard is under the 50+Inches of snow, compacted it is about three feet deep and I can't get around. I will try today to get out the back doors. That will be a huge job to undertake, and where do I put all that snow? We have another storm coming next week so I need to get out and start digging us out. This video was taken at about 10:30am,we still had 11 more hours of snow fall and blizzard conditions. Today we are suppose to have some gale force winds. Although it is pretty calm right now at 8am.

Our Heat is On..Snow is Coming

More snow coming our way. This weekend we are expecting 12 or greater inches. Hubby and I went out to get Pellets for the stove. We used different brands for the first part of the season. We found the need to clean out the stove greater as well as, the burn rate was faster. We tried to save money buying them. We are back to our preferred brand."Lignetics" a much better burn rate and less work for the clean out. They are a true 30 hour burn rate on the medium setting. We use a thermostat so tend to get longer burning times.
We purchased our stove in 2006. we were heating the solarium with an oil base electric heater. It ran the utilities high, cast as much as heating the house with the heatpump. We decided we needed another heat source. One that would be contained and at the same time environmentally friendly. Ours is by Lennox ,now Whitfield, style is Traditions, and a free standing stove. Now that I have learn more about these stove, I would pick another type. I like the pellet stoves, however there are some that allow you to clean the grate with out opening the door. After of the drama with the other pellets, many times I wished I had that type. Of course the style and color of our I love, have not seen any since.
Using the Pellet stove has helped with the heating of the house. This stove can put out some heat.

A Beautiful Sight.....

This morning when I awoke I saw the most Beautiful scene.
Thanks to the cameras I can hold onto them.
Enlarge the photos for a closer view.

My backyard view...
Sitting at my computer.

A closer view of the trees....
Love the blue sky against them.

This is our Dogwood tree...

It has only been 3 hours and the trees have already lost their snow coverings. The sky is not as blue. Clouds have rolled in and the snow is falling off the trees. As once was said "The early bird catches the worm". In this case "The early riser caught Natures Beauty!"

It's Feburary 2, 2010

It's Groundhog Day... Well did Our Phil see his shadow? I heard he is computer savvy now and talking about texting. What is happening to our Groundhog?

I found this cartoon, Loved it so I posted it for you.
You must click it to see the action.

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Our Weather-Snowflakes

It's starting to snow now. the flakes are like lint. As I child I remember this kind of snow. We use to have a saying; God is cleaning out his Clothes drier. It is so light and fluffy, one could almost see each snow flakes design. The temps are in the teens. so the snow is not heavy. I Love snow.We are not suppose to get much here in the Baltimore area. The accumulation is going to be south of us. We are planning a trip to the Ski resort tomorrow. I will be getting a lot of photos for next week postings.
the photo is from Crystal patterns in Astrology charts

Windy Weather Today

The weather here is very windy and raining. I can hear the howling of the wind around the house. We have trees down, lines down and some electric off. It reminds me of March winds. However It still is winter. The temps are climbing to the 60's, a warm front moving by. I have chimes outside and loves hearing them. All the different sound tones, when I was little I loved listening to them. So now I will brave the wind and rain, try to use an umbrella and go out. Need to get some milk and eggs.

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It's Friday; let get ready.....

It's Friday, a sunny day today and warming up. Heard we are suppose to have a winter storm this Sunday. You know how it is, great weather before the storm . Now is the time to do some outside work. The pool top needs to be drained, the water/ice in the fountain needs to be removed. Decks and patio due for their brushing and the gardens raked. The pellet stove pipe will need to be cleaned out. Oh yes I do make these a must in between the storms. I feel is makes it easier when the spring comes. I can enjoy the season better. All the animals have been digging for their stashes. So, I need to straighten up a bit. How is the weather in your neck of the woods? Nice enough to grab some sun?

Snow Around the World

I thought I would do something different and take you on a tour of this Arctic Freeze storm. I do not remember having one that has affected so many places at one time. Lets start with Spain.

This is how it works: hold down your CTRL key and click on each Blue link. That will open up a window for each and keep this window open. Be sure to leave a message on each blog telling how you enjoyed their photos. You can X out of each window as to travel, Then My window will still be open at the end. Let me know how you enjoyed the Snow Show.

1 .Snow in Spain, from Secret forest
2.Ludington Beach, Michigan from My Quality Day
3. Canada, from Garden Gnome Wandering
4. Woodstock, Illinios, from Will OaksStudio
5. In southern England,from Snow day Live blog
6. Birmingham and across the UK, from Joro Livelihood

3-D Snow photo above byJulian Beever

Our Arctic Freeze Winter

We are in the winter months here and the Arctic Freeze has visited once already. It is returning for the week. Last night it Snowed about 2 inches. Now the freeze is coming behind it. We heat our Solarium and Laundry room with a pellet stove. I put it on low and closed the doors last night. This morning when I went out to check the pellets. it was 80 degrees! Like Florida inside and Winter wonderland outside. Boy does that stove heat. During the day I leave the doors open to the kitchen. The first floor gets the heat. Our heat pump doesn't even come on! It will be curious to see if that will be the case with the arctic freeze.



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Snow,Snow,Everywhere Snow.

We went to bed Friday night with a dusting on the ground. Woke up Saturday with about 5 inches on the ground. It snowed all day and into the night. This morning we ended up with 18 inches. It was nice to have the snow for Christmas time this year. You see for several years we have seen no snow til mid January or February. Usually February the 14th, Valentine day, is when Mr Winter Snow would drop a big one on us. For he knows I love snow. Here are some photos of all our snow.

Saturday Morning

Sunday Morning

Fun in the snow.

Snow visitor sitting a spell.

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