December Weather; HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

7º
Still some wind.

Woke at 5 AM, went to painting.
Rooms will be done & back to some normalcy today.

Thank you Bernie, I'm rarely first :o)

Adina, how wonderful!! Keeping busy cooking will help the day go faster. I can't wait to see pictures of everyone holding the "Little Lion!" He will be so excited!!

Have a wonderful day off!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Adina have a great time! I bet your excited, I hope that ice has melted!

Celia glad you had a good birthday, roses, Outback, SWEET!

It's cold here, sunny and cold. Supposed to warm up to the mid 50's I think though.

Here's what we did last Sunday. I raked this section of the property...

Dave had the blower out before I raked that and did this much with the side of the house...

But we still had this to do...

So I threw a fit and told Dave that I cannot rake that whole thing and to let me use the blower. He wouldn't let me use the blower soooo he came out and blew the front, picture directly above this post and he lit a fire and we burned...

We ended up doing the whole acre and got done just before dusk! I am still sore LOL

One of the neighbors horses came out to watch us. This is Wildfire.

A very apt name for him! LOL

31º with 39º for the high. Hasn't been this warm in days.

Thanks, Bernie.

Adina! Ice storms are no fun. How are the doggies taking it?

Chrissy, love the ''fit!'' That IS a lot of raking and there was no reason not to keep adding extension cords till it was done, LOL! But it's a good sore! Wildfire is beautiful! I love the paints!

Celia, soak it up!

We didn't get the sun we were supposed to get. It's 27* and breezy :o(

I love the paints, too. They are my favorite, I think. I am still in Harrison at my daughter's house--or rather I should say I am back in Harrison. I drove home on Sunday but came back up here on Monday. My step-granddaughter, Rachelle, is seriously ill in the hospital at Springfield,MO. I can't remember if I have posted that infor. on this thread or not--I have posted it elsewhere, though, and have a hard time keeping up with what I posted where. I will be here In this neck of the woods for a while or as long as my daughter needs me here. We are taking the little victories one day at a time. Today Rachelle drank 3/4 of her nutritional shake and also drank some gatorade. That is a HUGE improvement for her. Your prayers on her behalf are greatly appreciated.

cold here and colder in Springfield.
Supposed to have been 46F here in Harrison and 41F in Springfield. Don't know if it made it that high or not.
At least it isn't snowing! LOL

We're having a heat wave. It's supposed to be in the upper 70's for several days. Still getting in the 30's at night though, thats what happens when you have no humidity.

A little bit warmer today with temps in the low 40s. Sunny and winds were calmer.

Sally BP, my dam fills slowly, in thwe wet season. Then empties slowly in the dry season. Soil's too porous so it's only the water table level that does it.

Sally sunfarm, I think low energy is to be expected. I had a friend undergo chemo years back and it knocked her a bit. Couldn't go out in the sun. Getting chemo done in the summer didn't help. But it all came good in the end.

Early Bloomer, I like photographing old ruins and cars as well. Rust, decay and delapidation make great subjects.

Kwanjin, Happy Birthday. We have the expression "outback" here. It's getting used commercially more now, but I live in the outback.

Adina, an ice storm and grandkids, what a time!

Crissy, I don't even want to know about leaves any more. Fortunately it'll be nearly a year before I have to face them again. That's after I finish this last little bit that's still left. I use the leaves for mulch, it stops the heavy wet season rains from eroding the soil.

Marsue, looks like improvement for your step-granddaughter, how old is she?

Yesterday we got monsoonal rain, even though the monsoon is still a fair way off the coast. But it was a steady rain that went right through the night. I got 38 mm (1.49 inches). It brought the frogs out in their droves, the noise was deafening. I got out there amongst them with the camera. Well, with umbrella, torch and camera. I've written up an article with photos about it:
http://cubits.org/crocodiles/articles/view/788/

My pineapples are coming on. I've been promising to set them up in a proper garden but they seem to be still doing okay with the neglect.

25* with a high of 38°
A few flurries possible early. Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. Winds light and variable.

Marsue, Rachelle is going to pull thru and make it home. She had a rough patch, but she got up. There will be no stopping her now! Still praying!

Redheadclan, 70's sounds so good! Is it colder there at 70* than in the summer at 70*? I find the nice days here still have a cooler wind in the late fall so the temps can look warm, but be disappointing.

Tropic, we have a water table close to the surface too. If the Cedar River 2 miles out of town is up, so is our water in town.
Loved your article! The pictures are fantstic!
We had pineapple for Thanksgiving. Your's looks delicious! How much bigger will you let it get before you eat it?

It's grocery day and we'll get the last couple of things we need for Christmas.

Redhead: 70F sounds wonderful! LOL
EB: as always, your photos are wonderful--no matter the subject!
Tropic: Rachelle is 42. My daughter is married to a man who is 20 years older than she is. He had 3 grown daughters (well, the youngest was still in high school) when they married. Rachelle is the oldest of these daughters and she is just 5 years younger than my daughter. My daughter and her husband have been married for 16 1/2 years now and after a struggle, this family has blended beautifully! Thanks be to God! The girls' mother died of cancer before their father married my daughter. They now call my daughter "Mom" in respect to her position as their father's wife but they truly do love her and me and we love them all! :o))
BP: as always, you never cease to amaze me! "we'll get the last couple of things we need for Christmas." How organized is that! You put the rest of us to shame!

# Today: Partly cloudy. High near 60F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
# Tonight: Partly cloudy skies. Low 31F. Winds light and variable.
I wonder how long this 'warm front' will last? :o))

BP the leaf blower is GAS! That's why I got so mad, normally I would just get it out myself but it was out of gas and it's 2 cycle, and Dave didn't have any mixed up and I have no clue how much oil goes into the gas, so I was stuck.

Tropic our leaves are only half down from the trees so we'll have to do it again mid to late December. We'll probably get out there Christmas weekend.

We're sunny and supposed to be 63 today! The warm front is supposed to last til the weekend, but we're only at 20% chance of rain on Saturday, yesterday we were at 60% chance of rain Saturday, so they don't know. LOL

38º for our high today. Partly sunny.

Tropic, all things Aussie are very popular out here. That's why it's nice to see pics and here from you. We get the real story, not the TV version of things.

Hey!! How come you Arkansas girls got the warm front and not me?! :~p It's getting colder again here. Low 30s by Sunday and Monday.

Today it was sunny and in the mid 40s. I was sweating some at work. Dressed to warm. lol. Not much of a breeze out there either. Coming home dust from the roads was just hanging in the air. Wasn't going anywhere. No rain or snow in the forcast either. Looks like it's gonna be a really dry winter.

22° with a high of 31°
Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional snow showers during the afternoon. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 40%.

Marsue, I'd love to take credit, but the truth is, we don't go all out on gifting and the family is small. Gift certificates are easy :o)

Chrissy, I wouldn't know how to mix it either abnd you were justified!! That would be so frustrating!

Celia, you said it! We get the real deal from everyone!

Pepper, ROTFL! I'm pretty chilly too!
The story here is, some of the paved roads in Iowa will be reverted to gravel because it's too expensive to maintain them. We have a half mile of paved the road behind the fertilizer plant across from me. Well, seal coated, but it takes a lot of semi traffic. I can see them letting it go. The air going to be so much more filthy if the roads are gravel everywhere! It's dirty enough now!

Ahhh, the furnace is running :o)

We pick the boys up today and take them home Sunday. I will fall behind, but it's worth it!

Sorry, Pepper--I'll try to blow some or our warm air up your way (or maybe I should say hot air--cause there is a lot of "hot air" down here in the south! LOL)
BP: lucky you--another week-end to play with the g'kids! :o))

# Today: Sunny to partly cloudy. High 58F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.
# Tonight: Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 44F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.

Cold front coming in tomorrow with a high of only 38F by Sunday.

check this out--a beautiful photo here:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/firerainbow.asp

Marsue, thanks for sharing. I love seeing the rare, and it was gorgeous!

Cold this morning. About 7º.
Snow coming in today, 7 to 12 inches.

I am sure glad DG doesn't have all the ads. I clicked on the Snopes site above & got the great fat hourglass while all the ads loaded. Frustrating.
Tis' a pretty picture.

Going to check out things that are on an online auction. A big lumber yard going out of business. Preview is today & bidding is Monday.
We need cedar deck boards & DD needs insulation & sheetrock for her house.

I am nearly done with the room at our house. Went to Menards yesterday & got a nice carpet for $82.00. Need to hang the door today. Then just some trim work left to do.

Back to the shop now. Lots of work there.

Bernie

Warmed up a bit today, probably into the mid 40s, and sunny. No snow or rain in forcast for the next week. I hope we get some soon. Pretty dry here!!

Thanks Sally. Do you have problems with flooding? Lots of people don't realise rivers normally sit within inner banks. But they also have outer banks, within which people often build towns and houses. Katherine, our 3rd largest town sits on the edge of the inner banks of the river, an boy do they get reminded severely from time to time! I let the pineapples get fully ripe before picking. Otherwise they taste like bought ones.

Marsue, was just asking because young kids when they're sick and misaerable are hard to convince to take their medicine. Adults usually know (from their parents) the worse it tastes the better it is for you. At least, that's what my parents always used to say.

Crissy, my trees drop leaves according to the species. Some start early in the dry season but the main, heaviest droppers, do so at the start of the hot weather, the start of the wet season. For a change I've got Christmas off from work this year. So I'll be flat out at home instead.

Kwanjin, I just try to share some of our warmth and sunshine around where it's needed. :O) That cloud picture is fascinating.

Still quite steamy here, the humidity is around but a lot of clear skies with blazing sun. 11AM this morning it's already 33.9C (93.0F), heat index is 43.0C (109.4F). There's a little cloud around but hoping for some rain. Indications for Darwin are 400mm (15.75 inches) over the next 16 days. Don't need that much, but what can you do? Complain about not enough rain, then complain about too much rain.

Last week I was taking a (professional) photographer around. He's doing an article for the Australian Geographic magazine, April 2011 issue. Nothing like getting in early. My camera wouldn't be worth one of his cheapest lenses, or probably even the carry case. Took this photo while taking him around.

Another photo, looking downstream from the last one.

Beautiful, but rugged, scenery, Tropic! laughing at your camera not being worth what the pro's carrying case would be--mine is probably not worth what the strap on the carrying case is worth! LOL

Rachelle is better today--had some major victories yesterday, last night and this morning! Please keep her in your prayers, though--we are not "out of the woods" yet but making our way there!


# Today: Partly cloudy and windy. High 44F. Winds NNW at 20 to 30 mph.
# Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low 26F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
# Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 39F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Did my snow make it south ? On radar it looked like you were getting it this morning. We kicked it out after we had 2" to 3". Figured that was enough!
Central MN got 8" to 14".
Sunny today, 24º.

Bernie,
I'm in the Quad Cities, and I don't have an official total, but I swear I shoveled at least 5 inches worth!

Then we topped that with some freezing drizzle, just to make it officially winter. ha!

Never got any snow here but we sure got the cold!! We barely made it past 32 today and I was freezing!! The sun didn't help either and neither did the bitter wind. Winter is here for sure this weekend!! Brrrr!!!

Did alot of shopping for a familiy we "adopted" and a guy we know who we are helping with some groceries. Hit 6 stores and made 2 pit stops for food and drinks. I didn't wear my coat though I did have it in the car. lol. It felt great in the stores but as soon as we came out we were cold again. lol. We got alot of great deals and it all goes for a good cause so it was worth it.

Gotta clean out keyboard. It's not wanting to type very well.

Bernie we had about 3" of Polite Snow.
None on the roads or sidewalks down here.
Driving wasn't too bad.
Well once we got rid of the idiot drivers.
55MPH was very comfortable up north.....
regular speeds by the time we got w/in 30 miles of here.

Ric

Marsue, you can put a lot of money into photo gear, which isn't bad provided you getting a lot of money back from it.

It's continuing hot here with only isolated storms. One came through yesterday, just small (in area) but it went right over head. Only got 2.8mm (0.11 inches). Today there was another small one passing more to the north west, although I got 4mm (0.16 inches) from that.

Minimum temperature this morning was 23.9C (75.0F), maximum this afternoon was 36.6C (97.9F). With all the humidity, heat index got up to 49.4C (120.9F) today.

Indications are that the monsoon could roll in this Thursday. The weather bureau has all these models for predicting the weather, but often before the predicted event arrives circumstances change and so does the prediction.

We have a local "storm chasers group" in Darwin. Here's a couple of photos worth looking at.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5206/5231459960_7c4aef100a_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5245/5230894431_27065c4454_b.jpg

COLD!!!! We didn't make it past 32 degrees today though it was sunny.

One of my grandmas had a dog die on her today. Besty was well into her teens and a valued member of the family. We knew her time was coming but she will still be missed. I was gonna post a pic of her but for some reason can't find a good pic of her. Thought I had a few saved. Oh well. She was a shitz shu, light beige color.

Good Morning!!

We got into the mid 40's yesterday, same for today, bright sun though! bbbbbrrrrr

Nice pics Tropic!

Pepper, sure sorry to hear about the dog. Hurts to lose them.

Glad the DD is doing better.

It's cold here. Snowing. We have about 5" on the ground. Tough on the animals. Got a colt threatening to collic. 3rd time for him. It was 26 this morning with a wind blowing. I hate winter.

No school today. Doesn't affect me since I don't have any kids in school. Mine are grown and live in La.

DH was not able to have his HBO treatment today. There are only 2 techs to run the chamber. One is sick and the other is with her mother who was found unresponsive this morning. Praying she pulls through. He would have had to go in later anyway because the roads were icy.

From Mau posted to the other site.


Our beloved daughter, granddaughter, wife, sister, aunt, and friend to many stepped into Glory last night Dec. 5th at approximately 11:37 p.m. Eleven family members were gathered around her bed to bid her "farewell till we meet again" and Godspeed. The Lord was gracious in taking her Home before midnight because today is my own daughter's birthday. Sometime over the weekend Rachelle made the decision that she was tired of fighting and wanted to leave so we released her to go. We are sad for ourselves but not for her. She is suffering no longer.

Thank you for all your love and prayers.

Mau

Sorry to hear about your loss Mau.

For those of you who remember leaflady on here, she had spinal surgery on Friday. I told her to have family call me and let me know she made it thru ok but haven't heard anything yet. Shortleaf is supposed to call the hospital for me ( I'm hard of hearing, hate talking on phones, lol) and find out something. I will let you all know how's she is doing as soon as I hear something.

Forgot the weather!!

Cold, but warmer than yesterday. Topped off around 38 or so today. Sunny, mild breeze. Next weekend we will top out at 20 degrees one day with snow. Temps in teens with wind chills below zero. The cause? The storm system battering the west coast. We'll see. lol

11° with a high of 20°.
Sunshine and clouds mixed. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High around 20F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Dyson Dark for being 6:00 am

I read the other day, but no time to comment.

Tropic, I have no trouble with flooding. I'm on the high end of town and the one creek to the North of me doesn't reach over here. At least it hasn't yet and the levee broke in.

Pepper, I'm so sorry about Betsy. Thanks for the update on Leaflady.

Hi Cajun, hope you're here to stay!

Marsue, I am so sorry. Rachelle made a decision that was best for her. (((BIG HUGS)))

We picked one Grandchild up from home and the other from school on Friday. After dinner, we decorated the tree. The oldest got serious about hanging and the youngest was more interested in opening the boxes.

Saturday, we visited an old barn they rescued and just recently put an elevator in. The curved roof is nothing more than straight boards overlapping. It was dark and I didn't take the camera.

Sunday was a Holiday Stroll and we ran to West Liberty for treats and a chance to see businesses. Last stop was the meat locker. They had a table FULL of smoked turkey and ham, deer jerkys and bolognas and brats. All eaten with toothpicks. We came home with a 14# smoked ham to chunk for Christmas Feast. We visited Santa in our own former gas station, turned ''old guys talk cars.'' Then they went home :o)

Yesterday, I put decorations up at my elderly relatives house, came home and wrapped gifts and put out the squirrel corn and bird feeders. It's flurried both days and we barely have any snow on the ground :o)