Category Archives: Weather +Climate

GeekWorld, Great Work, Jefferson County, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

Friday Matters

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Samhain                                                                      Thanksgiving Moon

20151119_134532Installation mid-point inspection today for solar panels. A steady snow came down when the Jefferson County inspector climbed on our roof with Nathan. What he said I don’t know since I was asleep at the time, but I’m sure we passed. Fortunately the remainder of the installation will take place on Monday, forecast as clear.

Kate and I drove to Home Depot and picked up various items, most relevant to the season. Fuel stabilizer for the snow blower fuel? Yes. Chains for the snow blower? Nope. Lighted, moving deer for a holiday inflection? Yes. Trufuel for the chainsaw? Yes. Clothing hook for the loft bathroom? A nice one from the pine cone cabin shop. Material for decorating the pine cone wreaths we bought at the Conifer High School Christmas boutique? Kate got those yesterday at Target. Lighted fox made from grapevine? Also from Target yesterday. Tire rack for the Michelin Latitudes now awaiting the end of snow? Nope. A normal sweep for this and that.

We had a mid-morning break at Lucile’s, another fine New Orleans food place. There’s a Luciles in Denver, too, but this one is closer to us. Chicory coffee cafe au lait and beignets. Delightful.

The snow has been coming down since sometime around 11:00 and it’s now almost three. This is wet, but not bulky. Pretty though.

 

 

Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

Snowfall

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Samhain                                                                             Thanksgiving Moon

After our 15 inch adventure on Monday, I wondered how much of our seasonal total we’d already had. Since we’d had 8 inches not long before that, 23 inches. I thought, maybe half? Boy was I off. I looked up Conifer’s average annual snowfall-140 inches! Don’t know how I missed that in all the research I did about Conifer, but I did. That’s a lot of snow.

That Cub Cadet will turn out to have been a very good purchase. It’s more sturdy and capable than the old Simplicity we sold at a garage sale two or three years ago.  Looks like snow removal will become a skill set even with the solar snow shovel.

 

Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

And, Again, Snow

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Samhain                                                                              Thanksgiving Moon

Snow. Maybe a foot plus 3 inches. Maybe more since it’s still snowing. Lighter and fluffier than last week’s moisture dense snow. The snow began in earnest about 5 p.m., tailed off, then resumed in quantity when night fell. We’ll definitely have one of the larger totals for this one.

Gotta hit the snow blower this a.m. Why? As you might expect, today we have our solar panels coming (unless the snow delays them) and our house cleaner. If not for these, I could wait and do the snow at my leisure.

 

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.