weather

Pain ’n’ torture.

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Still at a loss for Big Idea pieces, so I thought I’d just catch you up with how life is going lately. (Hints: Non-summer, pain ’n’ torture.)

Spring never did show up, and summer has been noticeably absent as well. We’ve had only a few days of true sun since mid-June. That’s frustrating, because spring and summer are what keep us going through the darkness and the crummy weather the rest of the year. After last year’s snowier-than-usual winter, I’d so looked forward to those endless summer days. Dang.

The lack of sun means a lack of heat. The garden is doing better than we could expect, but not nearly as well as last year. (Then again, last summer was a drought.) At the end of June 2022, we were eating strawberries and cucumbers. I wish. Meanwhile, the potatoes think they’re in Ireland and are exploding with growth. The peas and carrots, however, are complete laggards. I am very disappointed.

The strawberry plants are awash with blossoms, but only two berries have ripened – and they’d turned moldy by that time due to the frequent rains. That was disappointing, but we hold out hope for the rest of the blooms. It can’t rain forever, right? Right???

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Weather, COVID and a deep discount.

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A couple of weeks ago it was below zero. Today it’s supposed to hit 62 degrees. This has been a weird spring, full of weird weather.  

Re the photo at left: Either the greenhouse effect is real, or the remote thermometer in that greenhouse is defective. Maybe a little of each. (The temperature on the right is that of our living room.) This picture was taken on Monday afternoon, when the temperature was in the 50s outdoors –  not what you would call extremely warm, but the angle of the sun hits the greenhouse just right.

About that sun: Sunday, April 18, was the first night of 2021 without complete darkness. According to the National Weather Service, the sky will not darken past “astronautical twilight” until Aug. 25.

If you, like me, are unfamiliar with astronautical twilight, here’s how the NWS explains it: “the level of light observed when the sun is 12 to 18 degrees below the horizon.”

Okay then. Until I moved here I also had never heard the phrase “civil twilight,” either. Live and learn.

Incidentally: The sun rose at 6:23 a.m. today and will set at 9:34 p.m. But thanks to that astronautical twilight, it will seem earlier/later. And, as DF points out, we still have lots of snow left on the ground to amplify that light. Um, yay?

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Snow and soup.

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All the snow had melted. The ground was clear for probably 10 days. Teeny-tiny plants were popping up in the bed next to the house, self-seeded from either the spinach or the Asian greens that grew there last year. Maybe both.

Close by the seedlings, dandelions loomed like Godzilla over the population of Tokyo. Eventually they’ll get pulled out, but for now I just let them grow so I could pick them for the boiling bag.

Here are there in this south-facing bed, the rhubarb was peeking up above the soil. The deep pinky-red spears and low, dark-green leaves made a stark contrast to the dark, wet soil. It made me think about lovely cobblers, and batches of compote for my homemade yogurt, and maybe a few rhubarb-raspberry pies.

Speaking of raspberries: They weren’t exactly budding, but they were definitely thinking about it. Although DF cut them back quite severely last fall, I was pretty sure they’d rally the way they did the last time he implemented his scorched-earth pruning policy.

And then the snow came back.

 

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Heat wave, Anchorage-style.

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th-2It’s 77 degrees here and I’m melting, melting…

Which is a little embarrassing to admit. Although I grew up in a hot-and-humid area and also sweltered through the occasional 100-degree heat wave in Seattle* my blood has done got thin.

Like many other Alaskans, I perceive temps in the 60s as warm enough, thanks. When it his 70 I start fanning myself. Now that it’s closer to 80 than 70, I’m panting like a black dog in the noonday sun.

Right now I’m pet-sitting a black dog (Rottweiler/black Lab mix), a furry solar collector whose solution is simple: When he’s not in the house, he spends his time underneath the deck attached to the greenhouse DF built. 

I’m the wrong size – and the wrong flexibility factor – to follow him under there, so I cope by staying out of the direct sun and drinking lots of water and iced tea. It’s supposed to be in the mid- to high 70s all week.

 

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Starbucks coffee or tea — it’s on me.

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th-1El Niño is messing with us. Whether your weather is running weirdly hot or punishingly cold, chances are you can use a little treat. That’s why I’m giving away $10 worth of Starbucks gift cards.

If the winner lives in subzero territory it’s time for a steaming coffee, chai or hot chocolate. Maybe a second one, too, to pour over his or her frozen toes.

And if you’re walking around in shorts and a T-shirt in Philly or New York? Further the “hey, it’s spring already!” illusion with a fancy iced drink. (Or hang on to it for the inevitable return of cold-and-damp days, when you’ll really need a little consolation.)

 

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The sweet smell of springtime.

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thYesterday I used every clothespin we own to fill the line-on-a-pulley that DF put up last fall. The sun was out, the temperature was in the mild mid-40s and our laundry was going outside.

The comforter, blanket and pillows went outdoors, too. That’s something we do year-round because fresh air = wonderful sleeping. But right now we don’t hang things out until after 10 a.m., when cottonwood, aspen and willow pollen levels drop.

Although I developed seasonal allergies in my late 40s, I’m not complaining: Pollen in the air means spring is finally here. Real spring, not calendar spring.

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The reappearance of the aurora.

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th-1Our unnaturally warm weather (mid- to high 30s) has finally gone away. Temperatures have been near or below zero for the past few days, which means we’re about as cold right now as Chicago and St. Paul.

(But nowhere near as chilly as Fairbanks, where the daytime highs have been in the minus-20 range – and that’s nowhere near as nippy as it often gets there.)

The cold, clear days have brought two bonuses:

The chance to send the bedclothes outside. DF and I like putting the comforter, blanket, top sheet and pillowcases on the clothesline a few times per week, but only if we can be sure they won’t be targeted by sleet or freezing rain. Sleeping in an air-freshened bed is one of life’s simple joys.

The reappearance of the aurora. Activity has been high for the past few days.

An “interactive aurora borealis video” has been galloping around the Internetz lately. I couldn’t get the film to post here, but you can click the above link to see it. (Note: Turn off the auto-rotation if it makes you dizzy.)

Even here in the light-polluted city I’ve been able to spy the aurora several times each night. In part that’s because I keep checking, hoping for a glimps. But it’s also because the cold, dry weather makes me extremely thirsty – and if you drink water all evening, it’s likely you’ll get up at least a couple of times per night.

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Two signs of fall: One financial, one unearthly.

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thAutumn had been surprisingly warm but temperatures have dropped into the 20s and 30s, which is were we expect them to be at this time of year. The high-pressure systems have made for some gloriously sunny days and postcard-perfect views of the Chugach Range.

Clear days tend to mean clear nights, which provide the best viewing for the aurora borealis. On Wednesday night I got my first glimpse of the year. Unearthly, compelling, fascinating stuff even here in town, where light pollution tends to blunt the impact.

Then again, it was the middle of the night and I had no interest in driving to a darker area for a better view. Standing on the back deck in just a bathrobe was a bit chilly but I still got a good look and as always, seeing the northern lights felt like a privilege.

If they’re not visible where you live, check out these two links:

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Vortex, shmortex: Just stay cool.

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thThe other day I wished I could send some of our weather (52 degrees and raining) to the parched areas of the country, especially to farming regions. Turns out that the Gulf of Alaska was thinking along the same lines.

The Midwest and, eventually, the East Coast will be feeling the effects of “a poor man’s polar vortex” in the week to come. That’s what Washington Post weather editor Jason Samenow calls the “deep pool of cool air” that will dip down into the Great Lakes region in a day or so.

You’re welcome.

Before and after, though, U.S. residents worry about the cost of keeping cool. Nearly two-thirds of the 2,035 people surveyed by HomeServe USA are concerned about the hit that air conditioning will have on their budgets. Yet 55 percent will suck it up and pay whatever it takes to chill out.

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Some like it hot. Really hot.

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thWe get it: The weather has been very cold lately in the Lower 48, including places that normally don’t see single-digit temps. But is setting your thermostat to 70 degrees or higher the right way to go?

Some 28 percent of the 2,035 people interviewed by HomeServe aim for more than 70 degrees. Of those warm-blooded creatures, 34 percent are elderly and 32 percent are millennials (18 to 34).

Weenies.

I can understand the elderly having trouble regulating their body temperatures. But what’s with all these young pups who just can’t stay warm? Do they own no sweaters?

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