Category Archives: Weather +Climate

Great Work, Weather +Climate

Snow and Its Consequences

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Samhain                                                                       Thanksgiving Moon

early Nov 16 snow around 3 pm
early Nov 16 snow around 3 pm

Stevinson Toyota in Lakewood had a packed house this morning as Toyota drivers rushed to get needed work done ahead of a storm that has blizzard warnings and up to 15″ of snow for the metro, maybe more for us above 6,000 feet. Getting an appointment on Monday morning at 9:30 felt like good luck to me on Saturday, since I needed to get the Blizzaks on the Rav4.

And, it was good luck. Sort of. While working on our truck, the tire machine broke down and, ironically, I had to wait almost an hour and a half for a part. For the tire machine. Plenty of time to enjoy the large waiting area, the parts department, the new vehicles on display.

By noon, after a 9:00 a.m. arrival, Blizzaks on, the Rav4 and I headed up I-70 to Evergreen, going home the mountain way rather than 285. By the time I hit Brook Forest Drive the snow had begun to spit, coating the road around Brook Forest Inn in an icy slush. As I went up in altitude, the snow slowed down. When I got home around 12:45, it had become negligible.

finished rails
finished rails

After the nap, though, at around 3 p.m., the snow had arrived in earnest. Most of the time the snow falls straight down, much less big wind during a storm than in Minnesota. The most current weather advisory says:  Snow accumulations… 10 to 22 inches.

Golden Solar finished up the rails this morning and early afternoon. The panels will go on tomorrow if they can manage it. If not, Wednesday. Close now. Very close.

Holidays, Our Land and Home, Weather +Climate

Managing the Manor

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Samhain                                                                      Thanksgiving Moon

In bed twelve hours. 4 hours asleep, 4 hours awake, 4 hours asleep. Take what I can get.

Beautiful weather here today and tomorrow. Then, could be storm of the century, or a dusting. Really. Forecast ensembles go from 30″ to barely anything. If it tends toward the higher end, Luke and the Golden Solar guys will have a tougher job on Tuesday. Monday, not so bad, since the snow’s supposed to come at night.

Luke was here yesterday by himself. A young guy, late 20’s or early 30’s, wearing nothing but a Doors t-shirt, (well, he did have pants and shoes on, too) Luke worked on the roof most of the day. He put in the anchors that attach to the roof beams, carpenter, then added brackets and rails. “On Monday, we’ll bring a string level, make everything tight. The panels will go on Tuesday.”

“I thought there’d be, well, more people,” I said. “The other guys are finishing up a 45 degree slope job in Denver. This is 18 and I knew I could do this part by myself. Monday there’ll be four of us.”

So. Solar. Then, the loft has gotten closer and closer in terms of shelving and organization of stuff like file boxes, office and art supplies. Still a ways to go, but getting there.

The whole kitchen got delayed due to Thanksgiving. Won’t start till after now. The timing of the work would have left us with no kitchen for the holiday.

Now, I have to call Stevenson Toyota, see when I can get those Blizzaks back on.

 

Weather +Climate
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Samhain                                                                             New Thanksgiving Moon

Winter weather advisory last night. Woke up to a good five inches, maybe more. Still falling. Differences in altitude and location make predicting weather for even a relatively small area difficult, especially in the mountains. Also realized I have no gas for the snowblower. Have to wait this one out.

On these mornings I have to clear the deck before I let the dogs out, but Vega hears my shoveling and begins barking. At 4:50 a.m. Not a way to make good neighbors.

These early snows are heavy, wet. Combined with gusts Weather5280 says there might be some power outages. I hope not. The generator got installed, but it needs a hand on it before it’s a reliable partner. Probably not enough rpm’s to generate the electricity we need, a problem most likely created by altitude.

But, our oven’s working, so Thanksgiving will happen here.

Dogs, GeekWorld, Weather +Climate

Winter Has Come

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Samhain                                                                         Moon of the First Snow

With the moon of the first snow in its last quarter and poised next to Jupiter the early morning sky here on Shadow Mountain was crisp and lovely. Below these two hung red Mars and bright Venus. They’re gone now, hidden behind the faint gray-blue of imminent sunrise, but they’re worth seeing if you’re an insomniac or get up well before the sun.

The lodgepoles retain flocking from yesterday’s snow, our third this winter. The solar snow shovel cleared our driveway. Here on Shadow Mountain the snow comes straight down, linear bands of white falling with a certain relentlessness. Little of the northwest wind driven, parallel to the ground blizzards familiar to those who live in Minnesota. We get the romantic beauty of snowfall, white grounds and flocked pine trees, then the snow leaves. Nice.

Our dogs love the snow. Gertie puts her head down and pushes her muzzle through the snow, then rolls around in it. Vega and Rigel wander, nose to the ground in search of critters inconvenienced by the wet stuff. Kep slides on the deck, runs through the mounded snow.

Glad winter has finally come to Shadow Mountain.

 

Great Wheel, Holidays, Our Land and Home, Weather +Climate

This and That

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Samhain                                                                                 Moon of the First Snow

We’re about to head into a cooler streak, some snow in the forecast. Still a warm November so far according to weather 5280.

P.T. exercises kept the pain away. Good deal. Means I can do more work outside today.

(We’re in holiseason now and Thanksgiving colors the days. We’re doing it here this year, our first big holiday do in Colorado.)

Logging. It can be dangerous and nothing more dangerous than a hung up tree. I’ve had three already and I may have been lucky in how I dealt with them. Trees weigh a lot and releasing tension on them can result in fatal injury. Just watched some youtube videos that were very helpful. Nice to see folks actually felling hung up trees.

I’m getting closer and closer on the loft, all the books are now on shelves and I even have some space left over. Once the snow flies I’ll start rearranging the books since I shelved them in broad categories, but with no particular order in the categories. That’s fun.

Today Melanie will do my floor and carpet. Before she comes I’m going to shelve office supplies and get things off of the floor, mostly prints and paintings, so she can work unimpeded. Getting the floor mopped and shined will make the place feel even better.

Dogs, Health, Weather +Climate

Futility

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Mabon                                                                               Moon of the First Snow

P.T. this morning. Dana did some rotator cuff work that hurt like a summabit. Then it felt better. Learning more new exercises. Soon I will achieve that fated day when the things I do for self-care like working out, teeth, p.t. exercises, showering consume all my waking moments. Then the capacity to stay alive will meet futility.  Nah. Not really. But it feels like it right now.

Gray days. Snow predicted tomorrow. More trees to cut down, but this old body isn’t up to it today. Tomorrow. In the snow. Like a real Minnesotan.

Vega, Gertie and Kepler all come up to the loft. Vega stands outside the door and gives a soft but insistent bark. Let me in. Gertie paws at the door, already scarring the metal door, scraping off the green paint. Kepler comes up and stands outside the door. If I see him, I let him in. Otherwise he waits as long as it makes sense to him, then he goes back downstairs. All three of them are up here now, snoring. Rigel will not climb the stairs.

 

Jefferson County, Mountains, Weather +Climate

First Snow

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Mabon                                                                         Moon of the First Snow

First snow today. Mixed with rain and gone now. But there it was, snow between and among the raindrops. Now the day has settled in wet and cold, great for fire mitigation. The cooler weather and overcast skies feels like November come a bit early.

More work in the garage today, moving things around because the solar panel people have to have room to store things inside for a couple of days before installation. As in the loft, there’s still a fair amount of organizing to do in the garage, but that is the last task downstairs. The loft still has some shelving to come and some more boxes to relocate.

The mountains become more intimate as the skies close in and the temperatures drop. Where once the sky expanded above them, now it lowers itself, covering Black Mountain all morning in a shroud of chill moisture, gray to the eye and to the touch. I welcome this weather since it encourages the inner life and that’s where I need to go.

 

 

Mountains, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

Wet, Cool. Precise measurements.

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Mabon                                                                    Moon of the First Snow

A wet, cool Sunday here on Shadow Mountain, the aspens dropping their yellow leaves, creating golden splashes on roads and driveways. Rain is the best fire mitigator and it comes welcome.

48 degrees and snow forecast for Wednesday, snow showers only, but hey, snow!

We went over to Evergreen for our business meeting. When we got back, the garage was calling to me. Moved things here and there, organizing, creating space for bookshelves removed from up here. They’ll hold my journals. Some of the ikea shelving from the old office will hold bankers boxes that don’t stay up in the loft. Another two hours or so of work down there.

This afternoon we bought new cabinets for the kitchen and picked out a quartz countertop, finished up design elements. Main goal, increase storage and create better lighting, update the appliances. We bought scratch and dent appliances, saving literally thousands of dollars, accepting a few dings in return for smaller cash outlay.

Our remodeler is here right now, making final, precise measurements.