• Tag Archives drought
  • Cooler, But Dry

    Beltane                                           Waning Planting Moon

    Ah.  Those of us who prefer the northern to the southern breathed a sigh of relief today as the weather pattern changed and the jet stream bowed to the south.  A dew point of 47 feels pretty good, too.

    No one finds drought as interesting as tornadoes and hurricanes and snow, but nothing impacts those of us who garden and care about our landscape as personally as drought does.  The yellow on this US Drought Monitor Map covers all or almost all of Anoka County.

    The state climatologist says:  “Portions of east central Minnesota are…depicted as experiencing Moderate drought. This is the result of long-term dryness that began in June of 2008. This long-term precipitation anomaly is responsible for very low water levels in larger lakes and wetland complexes across portions of Anoka, Ramsey, Chisago, and Washington counties.”

    A large portion of the Arrowhead has extreme drought conditions.  In fact, streams up there are at the 5th percentile for drainage into Lake Superior for this date.  That’s low water.  Superior is six inches below last year and well below historic levels.

    My vegetables have required some extra irrigation to keep them on schedule and able to endure the heat.


  • PostModern? Oh, Yeah? Prove it.

    Spring                                              Awakening Moon

    It’s been a long, long dry spell.  We’ve had no appreciable rain or snow since ()  and the garden has begun to show it.  The daffodils have come up a bit stunted, many still in the ground would have popped long ago if they had the moisture.  Our irrigation system doesn’t start up until late April.  I may give’em a call and see if we can move it up, but that means I have to fix the netaphim Rigel and Vega chewed up at the end of last growing season.  Gotta be done anyhow.

    Until Now has me cranked up into steep learning curve mode.  I’ve had the first two lectures, another one comes up next week as do walk-throughs for Art Remix and Until Now.  Before then I have to get my head into the new artists and the new art, read a good bit.  Look at the art.  Read some more.  Write a little. Peck a little.  This should be fun, a new universe of art and artists to explore, many of them working with enlightenment ideas, especially the idea of the modern and the so-called post-modern.

    That’s another rabbit hole I’m going to drop into again.  Post-modernism.  I started getting into when I did my D. Min. thesis back in 1990.  Since then, I’ve read a good deal about post-modernism.  The content of the term still eludes me.  Perversely, it has made me very interested in modernism.  That happened because I decided I needed to understand modernism to understand what folks claim about post-modernism.  Seems logical, but I’ve begun to suspect that post-modernism is camouflage for other ideas, especially an assault on the nature of truth claims.  Bet you can’t wait to find out what I learn.

    Into the MIA today for two tours, both highlights.  I did a highlights collection of things I already know well because this was a busy week for me.  Besides, I’m putting my energy now into the Until Now/Art Remix.


  • Weather Week Ahead: Colder

    Samhain                                  Full Wolf Moon

    A light dusting of snow this morning came on the heels of a drop in temperature.  We’re down to 21 right now with a low in the last 24 hours of 20.  According to NOAA and Paul Douglas, we have a bunch of cold air headed our way, air now sitting over the Canadian Prairie provinces.  The 24 hour night over the Arctic combines with the ice and snow covered terrain to produce very cold weather that then squeezes itself out to the south all around the Arctic perimeter.610tempnew

    There is a teeny bit of snow in the forecast, flurries in the 20% probability range.

    The drought conditions have not been updated since November 19th when Anoka County was in the moderately dry range.  The lack of appreciable snow so far can only intensify the drought.

    The area with the B predicts below normal temperatures for the next 6-10 days.

    The bees need me right now and the straw in the back of the truck.  Later on.


  • Home Alone

    62  bar steep rise 29.98 3mph NEE dew-point 47  sunrise 6:08  sunset 8:28  Lughnasa

    First Quarter of the Corn Moon  moonrise 1533  moonset 2334

    Kate’s been gone since Thursday morning.  I miss her.   There’s always a certain frisson being home alone, for a bit, but it fades and then missing her kicks in.  We talk things out, watch each others backs, fill in each others life.  Happily married, I’m happy to say, 18+ years and counting.

    Bumped the irrigation system up to 150%.  The rain has been scarce to none.  We’re in a severely dry period.  The grass has begun to turn brown, even with regular watering.  The crops need water now because many of them come to maturation in the month of August and early September.  Having our own well is a blessing when it comes to irrigation, it means we don’t have to worry about drawing down the city wells or abiding by their sprinkler rules.  Even so, I wonder about the water table and if our use of the sprinklers and our neighbors affects the city as a whole.  Don’t know enough about hydrology to know.

    A few of the Olympic events were on TV, but women’s soccer, the early rounds, and volleyball do not draw me.  The sports I enjoy are the track and field events. Even there, the participants are, for the most part, unknown and will not become visible again until the next Olympics.  I suspect I’m not the only one who does not enjoy sports where the narrative line has no visibility most of the time.  One of the things I enjoy about football is the back story I know from years of paying attention.  Almost none with the Olympics.

    Up too late. Again.