On my Monday morning trek to the "curb" this morning the thermometer on the front porch was reading 72°. After dropping the garbage bag in the cage and coming in to coffee and toast I read the following... Cold, wet weather reaching into most Texas areas | Chron.com - Houston…
The weather outside is...springlike. Not what you want to get you into the Christmas spirit. The high here today could break the record for high temperatures on this date. Here we sit, just after noon on a cloudy day, under an acre of green leaves of oak trees with the…
Again today the internet connection is being problematic. I guess I shouldn't have been so easy with my praise of AT&T last week when asked about their dsl service. It almost makes me wonder if this isn't my comeuppance for saying good things about the phone company. Reading through the…
I had my first inspection of the ole vocal chords this afternoon. The Doc was happy with the appearance of my vocal chords so I guess I am too. It looks like it's time to pop the cork on that wine bottle I've been saving...Cameron Hughes Lot 21, 2004 Zinfandel.…
I went out for a walk this morning with the camera because I noticed the red oak out back finally decided it autumn. The predominate color is still green around here, but what do you expect when the temperature outside is 75° at 10am on a Sunday morning. Here's what…
We seem to be having another of those foggy fall mornings...The temperature is predicted to be rising through the weekend. I have even heard predictions of 70's this weekend. So it looks like fall has teased us again. Just another example of the many changes life puts us through. Life…
As much as I remember starting the days we've spent up on the mountains watching the fog rise out of the valleys and burn off, it seems the fogs of home have been more prevalent this year. Leaving the house to go to work each day brings me face to…
For the first time in a week the temperature as I enter the kitchen isn't in the 4o's. It looks like our winter preview is over for a while...Hello autumn and 70° highs once again. ++++++++++ The invariable mark of wisdom is seeing the miraculous in the common. - Ralph…
Thanksgiving Day was the last decent weather day we had through the long holiday weekend. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all wet, windy and cold. Most decidedly cold for the wife. Forty degree weather in this neck of the woods qualifies as winter, not fall, so throw in the rain…
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We wandered over to my mother's house about noon on Thursday carrying our contribution to the feast. Both of my brothers were already there. Of my sisters one had arrived and one was running late...So far everything was normal for the day.…
You know it's time to go back to work when you get up and the weather outside has turned back to Texas. It's 65° with a humidity of 97%. In other words, looking outside right now you can see the air under the neighbors night lights. The prognosticators are predicting…
One of the places I have tried to hit in North Carolina for a number of years has been Roaring Creek off of 19E out of Elk Park. Roaring Creek tumbles off the southeast side of Roan Mountain feeding the North Toe River. Each year something has come up to…
I cannot complain about the weather here in northwestern North Carolina on this autumn day. The rain, light as it is, is desperately needed. But it sure puts a "damp-er" on the quest for pictographs. Of course any trip to this area by the Boyd's means a stop at the…
As we left Virginia behind today Mother Nature gave me a perfect picture postcard view of Mabry Mill. Actually the two colorful trees in the background are about the only two left in the vicinity with much color but they were in the right place at the right time for…
Sunrise this morning was spent at Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The weather was clear and cold. I didn't know how cold until I got back in the car to drive back down...The temperature was 19°. Here's what I saw as the sun came over the horizon... And…
The high yesterday afternoon (read in the car) was 72°. With the afternoon breeze, it felt just right.
Our first Grandson had his first birthday party over the weekend and I finally managed to process some shots. The capture above was of him and his personal birthday cake...He had fun until he noticed everyone was watching and laughing... All of the little ones at the party seemed to…
It always intrigues me when the weather goes topsy turvy. This morning when I arrived at the coffee pot the weather station on the shelf said the outside temperature was holding at 50°. The humidity reads 75%. Both readings are at least 20 points below what they were at the…
The musings from stream side, as the fall turns to winter...for the present time at least. A Late Afternoon, Mid-October Snowstorm on the Madison River - New York Times I have come again to the why moment. I suspect it may be the reason I fish. I cast, and yet…
I woke up this morning to temperatures in the 50's...yeah! Fall has decided to pay us another visit for a few days. As I sit here at the kitchen table with my ???th cup of coffee, typing this muse, the French doors are open and the outside temperature is just…
From my drive on Monday... I went looking for this shot as there is no way you can call this windmill "on the way home"...Though I drive by it often enough. Of all the windmills I am acquainted with I like the looks of this one the best... ++++++++++ It…
From my drive home yesterday. The weather was threatening to follow me home...but it didn't. The clouds were amazing. And a little post processing in Photomatix Pro never hurts to bring them out in HDR. I drive by this location regularly since I first discovered it last fall. For a…
“What politics has become, requires a level of tolerance for triviality and artifice and nonsense that I have found in short supply.” - Al Gore ++++++++++ The MSM has been abuzz ever since the announcement with the question of Al Gore running for President. I have just one question...Why? Why…
The weather out is delightful, even the humidity has fallen below 90%. Morning temperature is 64°. The skys are clear and the day has yet to break. We should be heading into a beautiful weekend. It could be time for a photo road trip... ++++++++++ Well...It looks like the Industrial…
The alarm clock is failing in it's efforts to motivate me out of bed this week. The fall weather (another tease, I am sure) is not helping it in it's appointed task. The snooze setting of 30 minutes normally gives me that extra little bit I need to go ahead…
I never thought I could get this excited...Driving home yesterday I heard the weather prognosticator calling for "seasonable" temperatures this weekend. My goodness, who would have thought that "seasonable" would be the new cool... I can only hope they are right...We can hardly complain. Our summer was not it's normal…
I keep seeing these high record notices scattered up and down the east coast. New York, New York (10001) Conditions & Forecast : Weather Underground Record high temperature set at Kennedy...a record high temperature of 90 degrees was set at Kennedy today. This breaks the old record of 75 set…
The morning reading of the thermometer shows that our last few days of precursor fall weather were just a tease as usual. The morning's low is in the mid seventies again and the afternoon highs haven't been pleasant even when the lows were ten degrees less...I guess my best shot…
We are having another of those needed fall mornings here. The temperature as I made the trek to the road with the contribution to the garbage gods this morning was almost pleasant. Sadly, the prognosticators are calling for 90° by the afternoon. But any morning that starts out in the…
When I got up this morning the weather had gone back to summer mode...The temperature was pushing 73° before sunup. Now, twelve hours later we are still at 83°. Even though the temperatures are still summer-like, the light out is definitely fall-like. There is a hazy smoky look to distant…
It looks like I've had one of my domains phished spoofed. All morning long the spam folder has been filling up with undelivered mail receipts. Since around 5am this morning there have been over 2,000 undelivered messages. Almost makes you wonder how many must have gotten through. I am sure…
Storm warnings posted for parts of Gulf Coast | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle MIAMI — Tropical storm warnings were posted today for parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast as a subtropical depression formed in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.At 10 a.m. CDT, the depression had top sustained winds of about…
Galveston, Texas as the sun comes up over the Gulf of Mexico on a fall Sunday morning... This week's challenge: 'The Beach'. Please read our Participant Guide before deciding to submit a link. Your link must be to a static page that will always show your challenge image, and not…
It stole in for just a short stay and stole away in the same quiet way. The mornings weather station report was 74° at 6am. Here we are sneaking up on the autumnal equinox and the temperatures are on the rise again. It's just a few degrees difference, but my…
This morning was another of those mornings when the weather outside is livable. Too bad it will not last... Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 102. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. +++++++++++ Andy Griffin is on roll with another essay…
When I wandered in to the kitchen for that first cup of coffee this morning the weather station on the shelf informed me that the outside temperature was at 70°. I didn't even bother to look at the humidity so I can't report what it might have been but the…
Had I written that sentence in my earlier years someone would have answered "between the "A" and the "T" to remind me about ending a sentence with a proposition or some such semi-remembered sentence structural rule. Now, in my crotchety elderhood, I just do it anyway... The drive home from…
Humberto Update: Wunder Blog : Weather Underground A surprise Hurricane Humberto ripped into Texas near the Louisiana border this morning, bringing winds of 85 mph and torrential rains to the coast. Humberto didn't even exist yesterday morning, and grew from a tropical depression at 11am EDT to a hurricane just…
Wunder Blog : Weather Underground Tropical Storm Humberto is steadily gaining strength as it closes in on the Texas coast near Freeport. Radar animations from Houston show a well-defined circulation, with plenty of low-level spiral bands wrapping around the center. Humberto is organizing quickly, and it is a good thing…
SciGuyHumberto forms, how will it affect Houston? 12:35 p.m. UPDATE: The National Hurricane Center has just designated the tropical system off the Texas coast as Tropical Storm Humberto, with 45-mph winds. It could strengthen a bit further before landfall tonight. See below for further information on effects from Humberto. ORIGINAL…
It's Wednesday on the SE Texas coast in September which means there is a stalled out "cold" front somewhere in the neighborhood. The upshot that is we will be adding to our 18" surplus of precipitation for a few days as the weather system tries to sort out it's conflicted…
It has been hot and humid here in southeast Texas this weekend. Both the temperature and the humidity have been in the upper half of the 80's (measured under an acre of shade here at my house...which tends to be a bit lower than the official temperature). So outside, misery…
There has been talk the past few days by the weather prognosticators of a cold front heading for these parts. Now granted, at this time of year a weather change that lowers the high temperatures into the mid 80's for a day or two passes for a cold front. Me,…
The Labor Day weekend played out long as usual. The bar-b-que was well received by one and all. I think we ended up with a bakers dozen here at one point or another during the afternoon. We pigged out, literally...Ribs and sausage (though there was some fresh chicken sausage on…
Status Report: The remodeling of our lone bathroom was finally completed yesterday after noon. We have spent the last day finding the little nicks and dings that will be driving the wife crazy as we learn to live with the new setup. The punch list isn't too long just yet…
Leon Hale is a Houston institution. His column has been running in Houston Newspapers for as long as I've been around (or at least as long as I've been aware of being around). Today he broaches a subject near and dear to my heart...Texas summer heat. So the other afternoon…
You know as I was putting together my lunch to take into work today I was thinking just how oppressively hot it was outside yesterday afternoon. I remember marveling at one point because the temperature in Floyd, Va was only two degrees lower than the temperature in Houston, Tx. Then…
The sight that greets me in the morning as I leave for work... And the sight that greats me when I return... I must admit...I prefer the second shot to the first 'cause it means the work day is over. Truth be told, both shots were taken at the same…
The day has finally arrived where I am returning to the office on a daily basis. Since the daily routine has gotten a bit slack in the last couple of weeks I am running short on time for the muse to inspire this morning. So here's the latest from the…
For many years back in the late 1980's and into the early 1990' I spent way more time than I should have exploring fractal images. On Friday GreenmanTim over at Walking the Berkshires posted an image from The Fractal Bargain Bin that brought all of those hours tumbling back on…
It looks like it's time to keep an eye on the tropics if you live in this part of the world. Hurricane Dean has reached category 4 and he's still strengthening. He is prognosticated anywhere from the Bay of Campeche in Mexico to the mouth of the Mississippi, due to…
Old Friends And old photo's of Old Friends... We still get together once and a while, me and my old friend from the 6th grade...It is over 40 years ago that I developed my first school boy crush on this old friend. She went on to be the steady of…
The predawn hours have been accompanied with the distant rumble of nature's own percussion section. Tropical storm Erin moved ashore just northeast of Corpus Christie this morning and the outlying rain bands began to come ashore here yesterday morning. So far we have managed to dodge the heavier bands of…
Today's emails contained this week's copy of the "Weeknight Kitchen Newsletter" from The Splendid Table. I've been listening to Lynne Rossetto Kasper on the Splendid Table Podcast for a while now and enjoying it immensely. This week's newsletter contained a link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch. I had…
From Washington Forgive me a few moments of happiness at the news from Washington. The one bit of uniting not dividing to come out of the White House in six years...Karl Rove is resigning. One of the few good quotes I've seen about the resignation of Karl Rove... "Buh-bye, Karl…
The whole time I was doing the seven weeks of radiation the technicians and the nurses warned me that the two to three weeks after the treatment ended would be bad to worse...They spoke truth. The burns on my neck didn't begin to manifest until after the last treatment was…
This morning Garrison informs us of a birthday... It's the birthday of Wendell Berry born in Port Royal, Kentucky (1934). He grew up on farmland that had belonged to his family since 1803. He went on to college and to graduate school. He lived in California and Italy and New…
After this afternoons session, my sacrifices on the alter of the atomic spheres comes to an end...The number for the day is 35...of 35. An ending and a beginning, even though I am yet to be thru this journey I am embarked upon. In the news today on the weather…
The days number is 33...after today just two to go. This weekend brought the end of an era to our house. I finally broke down and bought our first replacement television with digital tuning. Had I known how clear of the air broadcasts could be with just a set of…
Todays number is 31...Look Ma, no voice...He said with a raspy whisper. If this doesn't look like the eye of an angry God, I'll eat my fire and brimstone upbringing. I have visions of a bird of prey here... The Helix Nebula Dust makes this cosmic eye look red.…
Technically, it's the last day of week six since the 4th fell in there and these treatments run their course in 35 days and not 7 weeks. But, since we started on a Wednesday, and we'll end on a Wednesday, this Wednesday will be the start of the week for…
The number for today is 29... I spent a chunk of yesterday afternoon riding the John Deere. I discovered we are totally saturated since I was driving through standing water in places I have never seen standing water twenty hours after a rain...I guess now is the time to ask…
Today's number is 28... Last evening we had a real gully washer of a thunderstorm roll through after 8pm. As Sherry and I sat at the kitchen table reading we started hearing distant rumbles. The first time, I pulled up the National Weather Service site and there wasn't anything showing…
This image caught my eye yesterday so I dropped it here. What it reminded me of was a Mandelbrot Fractal like the ones I used to spend hours generating and exploring back a decade ago or more. The mathematics and graphics were so intensive on those old 286 and 386…
Today will be radiation treatment #23. That means just 13 more to go... The weather station on the wall has the outside temperature at 73°. That would be very comfortable for this time of year except that the humidity reading is 99%. After the morning rains yesterday we had a…
Well, I meandered thru my email, read the headlines and opinions of the paid opinion makers, and finished my morning muse cup of coffee. The news was full of the latest on Bush, the Congress, and Iraq...None of which I want to think about this morning. The weather has been…
One year ago this week we were sitting on the side of a mountain in northwestern North Carolina. We aren't the first Texans to have discovered and fallen in love with the Blue Ridge Mountains and I'm sure we wont be the last. The plan for this year was to…
7/7/07 - trip sevens Our neighbor is using this as an auspicious date for a wedding. I just think the groom was looking for an easy anniversary mnemonic. He sure wont have much excuse for forgetting it down the road 10 or 20 years. Anyway, wishing lots of good luck…
It was a little strange this morning, waking up to the sounds of silence. No thunder, no pounding rain, not even the subliminal sound of water dripping from the eaves, seems very weird. I am sure it won't last as the humidity is at 99% and the temperature is already…
The rain falling again this morning almost lulled me back to sleep after our wet and rainy 4th. I finally dragged myself out of bed...But, now that I am through with the first (pre-commute) cup of java and have read all of my email the coffee muse isn't musing and…
I rolled out of bed this morning to the sound of thunder and pouring rain. That seems to be the pattern around here the past week or so. What is unusual about that is thunderstorms, unassociated with a weather front usually don't happen before the sun has had a chance…
This caught my eye this morning in the Houston Chronicle... They're scattered across Houston's neighborhoods like pebbles flung from someone's hand. Now, almost two years into their Houston experience, this displaced population roughly the size of Beaumont longs for an identity free of Hurricane Katrina. Two years later...This is how…
As I was perusing through the morning emails the daily forecast started me thinking. Back on our first summer trip to the mountains in August of 2003 the folk down in town of Valle Crucis were all talking about the uncommonly hot weather they were having. I want to say…
Today will be the 9th radiation treatment of 35. You could say we are about a quarter of the way through. The strange thing about these treatments is you never know from one day to the next how your voice will react. Saturday everyone said my voice was stronger, Sunday…
All last week the weather prognosticators were promising us a beautiful, dry and sunny weekend to make up for the unending rain of last weekend...They blew it. The high pressure dome they were expecting to settle in decided to wander over to Phoenix. I don't think they needed it. Yesterday…
So far so good. Other than a raspy voice not much to report after the first weeks radiation treatment. No news is good news I guess. The promised cooling effect of afternoon thunderstorms did not happen yesterday. So it was quite warm as I finished the yard in the late…
There was a break in the afternoon gully washers yesterday. I took that opportunity to play a bit of catchup on the yard work. I managed to mow about 2/3 of the yard...if I'm lucky I may get the rest mowed this afternoon. At 6am this morning we are already…
The weather the past two days was...to be nice...wet. Occasional heavy thunderstorms interspersed with steady rain. Short periods of local street flooding. One of the changes I have seen in my half century in SE Texas (particularly the flat coastal plain) is the change in road building styles and flood…
Currently: 72° Dewpoint: 68° Wind: Calm Humidity: 85% Pressure: 29.85 in Hg Average: High 91° Low 72° Record: High 100° (1936) Low 58° (1933) Today's Sunrise: 6:20AM Today's Sunset: 8:24PM (14:04 hours of sunlight) The afternoon thunder is becoming a summertime pattern, with street flooding and power outages becoming a…
Currently: 73° Dewpoint: 72° Wind: Calm Humidity: 97% Pressure: 29.87 in Hg Average: High 91° Low 72° Record: High 102° (1998) Low 62° (1995) Today's Sunrise: 6:20AM Today's Sunset: 8:23PM (14:03 hours of sunlight) I am still working on a repeatable format for this blog, so bear with me. If…
5:52am Currently: 75° Dewpoint: 73° Wind: Calm Humidity: 94% Pressure: 29.92 in Hg Average: High 90° Low 72° Record: High 100° (2006) Low 61° (1955) Today's Sunrise: 6:20AM Today's Sunset: 8:23PM (14:03 hours of sunlight) Yesterday on the drive to work the weather prognosticator was saying something about a heat…
Currently: 73° Dewpoint: 72° Wind: NE 3 MPH Humidity: 97% Pressure: 29.98 in Hg Average: High 90° Low 72° Record: High 101° (1978) Low 60° (1955) Today's Sunrise: 6:20AM Today's Sunset: 8:23PM (14:03 hours of sunlight) The forecast is calling for seasonal highs and lows for the day so life…
Current Weather: 73° Dewpoint: 72° Wind: Calm Humidity: 97% Pressure: 29.94 in Hg Average: High 90° Low 71° Record: High 96° (1953) Low 57° (1955) Today's Sunrise: 6:20AM Today's Sunset: 8:22PM Well, this is the first weekday post on this site. I am not sure where it's going but it'll…
What a difference a day makes...Yesterday morning I was in Medical Mode and not hurrying out the door, so I drew my first cup and glanced up at the "Weather Station". The outside temperature was 68 and the humidity was lower than normal, just in the 80% vicinity, so I…
Looks like the same old game for the Bush administration. Give a big speech taking the oppositions side away from them, do some back office finagling to ensure what you just promised doesn't happen, and then just assume no one will notice. WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is drastically scaling…
Today's papers are full of news of war and rumors of war, both real and political. There are a number of sites around the internet that will give you better coverage of this than I will. But the little, oft unremarked news stories are more problematic. This is just one small…
As for the primary election in Connecticut last night, I know there's a lot of concern and interest about that. Democratic voters in Connecticut have made their choice, and they have chosen Ned Lamont over Senator Lieberman. Just a couple of observations. Key leaders in the national Democratic Party have…
You know as a resident of the Texas Gulf Coast, living less than 5o miles from the Gulf of Mexico I read articles like this and I am worried, very worried... Is U.S. Ready for Hurricane Season?: "'Last year we didn't have a clue,' said the acting FEMA director, R.…
