Its spring!! no its april 1st and snow

Yep. I was just outside taking some measurements on the boat...and it's coming down. A mix of rain and frozen rain. Yay....NOT! :evil: I was wearing "slippas"...my toes are frozen. ENOUGH ALREADY! :amgry
 
I know what you mean. It has been a long brutal winter in New England as well.

I just pulled the shrink wrap off Napoleon yesterday. The extended forecast did not call for temps below freezing so I decided it was time. It felt good to see/hear the engines running smooth and quiet! I will be underway Sunday for the first time this season but only to cruise to a yacht yard where she will be pulled and set on blocks for me to touch up the very bottom of the sponsons.
 
As the originator of this post I here by forbid any warn weather bragging. No reports of warmth, pics of blue skies or dolphins of any kind. All violators will be locked in the freezer of the nearest baskin Robbins until blue.
 
starcrafttom":38vcvqlh said:
As the originator of this post I here by forbid any warn weather bragging. No reports of warmth, pics of blue skies or dolphins of any kind. All violators will be locked in the freezer of the nearest baskin Robbins until blue.
Click to expand...

Locking me in the Baskin Robbins freezer would be like locking the fox in the hen house. We're still in the desert; clear blue sky. The weather weasel on TV this morning said, "We were below normal for yesterday. The average high is 80º and we only made it to 77º"... as though it was a bad thing. :roll:

No dolphins in the desert, Tom, but we are getting a regular "air show" from nearby Luke Air Force Base. Jet noise? No, that's the sound of freedom. If it makes you feel any better, we'll do some "pool time" this afternoon... not the same as the water therapy provided by Wild Blue, but it'll have to do.

:hot Watch for a PM, Tom; I'll send you a photo of my "tan lines." :mrgreen:
April Fool!

Best wishes,
Jim
 
That's OK, Tom - I hear it is completely INTOLERABLE in Port Isabel just about the time it is drop-dead gorgeous here!


starcrafttom":225jrkto said:
As the originator of this post I here by forbid any warn weather bragging. No reports of warmth, pics of blue skies or dolphins of any kind. All violators will be locked in the freezer of the nearest baskin Robbins until blue.
Click to expand...
 
starcrafttom":le9dx6g6 said:
As the originator of this post I here by forbid any warn weather bragging. No reports of warmth, pics of blue skies or dolphins of any kind. All violators will be locked in the freezer of the nearest baskin Robbins until blue.
Click to expand...

You know, I got a call from one of my customers in Grand Cayman Sunday. It was just painful to imagine the weather on the other side of the phone...
 
Pat Anderson":h6tld487 said:
That's OK, Tom - I hear it is completely INTOLERABLE in Port Isabel just about the time it is drop-dead gorgeous here!


starcrafttom":h6tld487 said:
As the originator of this post I here by forbid any warn weather bragging. No reports of warmth, pics of blue skies or dolphins of any kind. All violators will be locked in the freezer of the nearest baskin Robbins until blue.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Um, you mean that whole 3 weeks of "summer" in the PNW? Yeah, it's warm in PI that time of year... unless you have a boat and can get out on the water. :wink And "intolerable" is a perspective. When we picked our boat up at the factory in July 06, the Seattle area was having an "extreme heat wave", with temps above 90º. Didn't seem so bad to us. Port Isabel is right on the water; it doesn't get the extremes you hear about, even in Brownsville (20 miles inland)...

Average High Temperature (Years on record: 55)
Jan:70.0 Feb:73.0 Mar:78.0 Apr:83.5 May:87.7 Jun:91.3 Jul:93.1 Aug:93.4 Sept:90.1 Oct:84.8 Nov:77.8 Dec:72.1


Average Low Temperature (Years on record: 56)
Jan:51.0 Feb:53.9 Mar:59.5 Apr:66.3 May:71.8 Jun:75.1 Jul:75.8 Aug:75.6 Sept:73.0 Oct:66.4 Nov:58.8 Dec:52.8


Average Precipitation (Years on record: 51)
Jan:1.3 Feb:1.4 Mar:0.7 Apr:1.4 May:2.4 Jun:2.6 Jul:1.6 Aug:2.8 Sept:5.5 Oct:3.5 Nov:1.5 Dec:1.1
 
JamesTXSD":1ldt0wvg said:
...whole 3 weeks of "summer" in the PNW?
Click to expand...

:? Three weeks?....Where? :P When I moved up here some of the residents told me "You'll love summer...both days of it". Exaggerated, I know, but I got the hint. You better enjoy while it's here or else. There's usually TONS of overtime, but then if one takes advantage of it....
 
Jim - We have had two feet of snow the last two weeks in White Suffering Springs and snow showers are forecast for the rest of the week, but the good news is that the Sand Hill Cranes and nesting Canada Geese have returned which means that warmer weather is coming sometime. The ice is leaving Canyon Ferry but still pretty solid up at Yellowstone Lake. Would you like to make a friendly bet of a good bottle of wine when the ice leaves the big Lake? The person making the closest guess wins. Do you have any plans to return to Yellowstone country? John
 
Hi John,

Don't think we'll make Yellowstone this year (though it's always in my heart). You can put me down for May 25th as the "ice out" day. Methinks the birds are a bit early... ever heard the term: bird brain? :mrgreen:

Stay warm,
Jim
 
Jim - The relative size of the brain of our flying friends is pretty small, for sure. Yet those critters manage to return after traveling thousands of miles - they must possess a GPS of sorts that doesn't require orbiting satellites. Perhaps they have a photo graphic memory of the landscape beneath them. And every day something is trying to make a meal of them. The experts say they mate for life, which if applied to humans would cause us a lot less social strife. I'm really envious of the osprey, however. You must have many of those in Florida. Your weather sounds wonderful. Edna is from Mississippi and loves the gulf coast. Yellowstone does have that way of getting into your soul. We had the Far West II plying the waters out of Carabelle and Apalachicola in Feb. 200l, and I have to admit, it was simply boating as good as it gets. Diesel then was only $1.30 a gallon. I'll pick the ice going out on May 15. Best wishes.
John & Edna[/b]
 
Hi John, Thanks for the insights into those incredible birds. Any pictures?

I will take May 30. Because it has snowed here four out of the last five days, I can't imagine spring coming anytime soon, either here or Yellowstone!

Robbi
 
Robbi - my Weather Widget says "spring" :wink: is coming to the Upper Left Coast on Saturday or Sunday! It better be, we'll be out at Andrews Bay...

Friday
4/3/2009
Hi: 49°
Partly sunny with a chance of showers. Highs in the mid 40s to lower 50s. Variable wind near 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
Lo: 40°
Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s to lower 30s. Northeast wind to 10 mph in the evening becoming light.
Saturday
4/4/2009
Hi: 53°
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s to mid 50s. Light wind.
Lo: 40°
Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s.
Sunday
4/5/2009
Hi: 53°
Partly cloudy. Highs near 60. Lows in the mid 30s to lower 40s.
Lo: 43°
Partly cloudy. Highs near 60. Lows in the mid 30s to lower 40s.
Monday
4/6/2009
Hi: 55°
Partly cloudy. Highs near 60. Lows in the mid 30s to lower 40s

Robbi":28e4zh9e said:
Hi John, Thanks for the insights into those incredible birds. Any pictures?

I will take May 30. Because it has snowed here four out of the last five days, I can't imagine spring coming anytime soon, either here or Yellowstone!

Robbi
Click to expand...
 
Robbi - You are marked down for May 30 as the day ice leaves Yellowstone Lake. Do I have any pictures of the geese and Sandhill Cranes? Sorry, I don't. I need to start taking some pictures and learn how to post them on the net.

Here in Meagher Cty where the Smith River originates and three mountain ranges create a wildlife bonanza, one gets used to seeing all kinds of raptors, antelope, white tail and mule deer, elk, moose, and a myriad of water fowl almost on a daily basis, so the camera stays home. My favorite migrant is the osprey. Once the ice is gone, they will hitting any water containing fish. Because there is so much road kill, bald and golden eagles hang around all winter and are easily seen. The Canada goose has changed its migration patterns in much of Montana - they don't head south like they use to nor do the mallards. As long as there is open water, they will stay and survive. Many of the ranchers around here feed barley hay to their cows, and the ducks and geese come in for the left overs. So much that the eagles will swoop in and catch them feeding on the ground. The eagles will even attack and kill on occasion full grown deer and antelope. And we now have some wolves in the area which adds quite of bit of spice to the mix.

Of course the Sandhill Crane is a special bird. Their raucous call is one that delights the listener. They usually only raise one "chick" and are as devoted a parent as one can find. We know when spring is here when the mountain blue bird arrives - bright splotches of blue skipping over the meadows. Haven't seen one yet.

John
 
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