January's Daily Weather # III, It's different!!!

7:30am/ dark, snowing very lightly; 25* above, perfectly balmy :) No wind makes it seem that way.
Rann - at least the traditions are being upheld - otherwise, I can't think of a single reason to continue with a meal such as that...
As to the moose in the yard; driving in the driveway is fine; I just ease in very slowly; if we go outdoors, we keep a close eye on their behavior; ears laid back, hackles raised, or anxious acting; mostly we just watch from the doorway/deck. If we're too far from the house, just stand quietly..they are unpredicable...
MySharona - the bull moose will get to 1,600; cows a bit smaller. What a pretty glimpse of blue sky...temp sounds about right, but the grey, damp, maybe rain, does sound a bit gloomy.
Joey - the new leaves are a wonderful sight.
Here's the momma/baby from last evening.
Kiska

Thanks, Sharon. I think California is a beautiful state. You all have probably picked at on that.


A friend who lives in Iceland says,

Things are cold here, but not remarkably so. A bit
more snow this year and
more wind, but nothing drastic about it. The capital
saw -3°C at noon
yesterday, but as it was windy, it felt much colder.
At 9 am this morning,
temperatures dropped to -6°C. Today temperatures will
remain below freezing
point in all parts of the country.

The current cold wave is nothing compared to the cold
wave that hit Iceland
in 1918, known as “The Great Winter of Frost,” when
temperatures dropped to
-33°C and pack ice blocked sailing routes. Birds froze
to death and polar
bears migrated to the island on the continuous sea ice
from Greenland.

See the cute, human interest story down below.

Flowers for Icelandic husbands
Most men in Iceland can expect a delivery of flowers,
chocolates and loving
kisses or some sort of pampering from their partners
today, because today is
officially Husband Day in Iceland.

Husband Day falls upon the first day of the old winter
month Thorri, which
begins on January 19. Wife Day begins on the first day
of spring month Góa,
on February 18.

Kelli - did your friend try any of the Thorra food yet ;-)

DH will be getting flowers and a bit of Thorra food as well. Went to the grocery store to get some for him (nothing spoiled just fresh "sviðasulta", smoked lamb and dried fish) and believe it or not there was quite a long line ....... I think the rest of us will just be having pizza! I know, terribly unpatriotic but I guess I'm just a big wimp when it comes to bad food. I guess I just lived in the US too long ...... lol I'm thinking of baking him brownies as well. Hildur Eva liked most of the thorrafood they got for lunch - except the shark - she didn't like that at all! lol I'm surprised she even tasted it since it smells so awful .....

I don't think he's tried the spoiled shark. I asked him about that a while back and I don't think he answered the question. How to people keep from getting sick from eating the spoiled stuff?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...

Updated: 10:51 AM PST on January 19, 2007
Observed at: Van Nuys, California
Elevation: 797 ft / 243 m
64 °F / 18 °C
Clear
Humidity: 10%
Dew Point: 5 °F / -15 °C
Wind: 18 mph / 30 km/h / 8.2 m/s from the NNW
Wind Gust: 25 mph / 41 km/h / 11.3 m/s

Kelli I'm not positive which fruit you've got growing on that tree but it sure reminds me of the oranges (etc, etc) that we will all be paying a fortune for shortly (DH went out and picked up two boxes and a bag that went on sale prior to your freeze up). Sorry to see what the wind did to your gorgeous plants!

25 °F / -4 °C
Humidity: 59%
Dew Point: 12 °F / -11 °C
Wind: Calm Hey for a change there's NO WIND CHILL!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Ü :)
Mostly Cloudy
Humidity: 59%

Kiska I can't imagine living that closely with Moose all the time..........love seeing their pictures tho! :)
Debi I LOVE Magnolias!!!! You are sooooooooooooooooooooooo lucky!
Joey that pretty green plant better not be growing outside!

Glad to see one and all are doing well after the huge mess that winter left behind down there.

Kelli, yummy in the tummy. Your fruit didn't freeze. hurrah.

I wrote and sent a post at about 10 o'clock. it poofed.

We had 9 degrees for a low. It's now up to 20* and supposed to go to 36
We'll see. -the sun IS shining brightly in a clear cold sky.

Joey, your signs of green are so spring like. Is there a chance this is normal? Or should you be in winter? Seems like those mtns of yours should be having winter.
Kiska, balmy? I don't feel like 28 is balmy. LOL good you don't have wind tho

this is a sunset from last year. that's the edge of my hand up in the corner. LOL

Kelli - you don't get sick from eating it because I guess the acidity of the mysa ( = whey ?) keeps the microbes from spoiling it ...... it just has a tangy flavor to it that makes it taste like it's spoiled ...... About the shark - I don't know how that works ...... I wouldn't taste it for any amount of money. I think it's mostly the men that "enjoy" the shark ..... although I don't know this for a fact there might be some women who like it as well ..... DH is enjoying the thorra food I bought for him as we speak :-) When he got the shark out - it was time for me to leave .... I just can't stand the smell ..... I really should make him eat it out in the garage, but since it's "husbands day" as Kelli's friend translated it nicely I have to be nice ..... ;-) lol

As far as our traditions go - Kiska - I guess you're right that it's a good thing to keep the traditions alive. It's good to remember where we came from. I'm very proud of my origin and very grateful that our ancestors did "stick it out" here and survive although I find it totally amazing that they did ...... It was such a miserable life during the winters at least, the cold and the darkness, the damp, poorly ventilated sod houses ...... and the horrible food ..... so in that sence it's a good thing to remember where this food tradition came from. I just can't eat it. To clarify one thing - not all of the thorra food eaten now has been stored in mysa, some of it is actually fresh (since we now have freezers to store food :-))like the seared sheep's heads (svið) and the liver and blood sausages. Both are eaten at other times as well - but qualify as thorra food since they are traditional dishes. Then there's the smoked lamb and the dried fish that is very good and we eat at all times of year - the smoked lamb is very popular as cut meat on sandwitches or the traditional "flat bread" and is very delicious too :-).

Those oranges or whatever they are look very tasty Kelli :-)

Beautiful sunset Blooms! :-)

Ibid Rannveig Blooms :)........Pam (who won't even eat cow's tongue so I'm not reading your post too carefully Rannveig! ;)

LOL - Pam ... that was actually my favorite part of the "svið" when I ate them as a kid (the tongue that is) ;-)

Tongue, brains, kidneys, sweetbreads, tripe etc. must be acquired tastes.

My mother and father had beef tongue at a fancy party once and loved it. From that day on she tried to disguise it, as many ways as possible, to get it into me. DIDN'T WORK!!! Ü

That is a grapefruit tree. The color in the picture is a little more orangish than it is in real life, though the fruits are peachish when they are ripe.

I've heard that in some places, the concept of cheese is sickening to some people. To them, it sounds like spoiled milk. To me, it's one of my favorite foods.

I think the grossest food I ever saw was fried tarantulas. Yes, fried tarantulas. I didn't see this in real life, I saw it on t.v. It was somewhere in southeast Asia where they eat those. I don't know that I could eat that even if I was starving. I did try a little piece of mealworm pizza one time and got a ribbon that says, "I ate a bug at the Orange County Fair". I'm pretty adventurous about food and would probably try most of the thorra food but I think I would draw the line at anything that smelled rotten.

WOW, can't read all this right now. Soemone else needs the library computer. But it has defifnitely been colder than usuall here, and now wer are expecitng 3-10 inches of snow this weekend!

have a great weekend everyone, and be safe!

tamara

Kelli - I'm with you - I couldn't eat bugs ..... any kind ...... but tarantulas! what an idea!

Darius - you're so right - it's an aquired taste ;-). As a kid I grew up eating svið and slátur (blood and liver sausages) and never thought anything strange about it ..... but after 6 years in the states I couldn't eat them (the svið that is - the liver sausage isn't that bad actually). DH's grandmother had "svið" onetime for supper when we hadn't been together very long. Since I didn't know his family all that well and didn't want to be rude, I had to eat them ....... it actually surprised me how hard it was for me since they were one of my favorites as a kid ...... haven't eaten them since .... strange ....

40½°(F) shed, 43.9°(F) porch 48%RH and now for today's (mis) adventure-
Last night I completed converting one room into office space by moving furniture etc. into it, cleaning as I went. Had to be in early & did not know what the road conditions would be like so wanted to make an extra early start. This being the case, I ate a couple of allergy pills knowing they would knock me out and let me sleep. Woke at 3:00 AM - still groggy from the meds. Took a shower walked into the new office room and promptly picked up the can of furniture polish and sprayed it under my left arm pit. Ok back to the shower. - Then the deodorant - then the car would not start. After fixing the battery connection, (again) by flashlight, the roads turned out to be clear and free from ice - this was a good thing cause I was where I needed to be when I needed to be there.

Rann –the pictures of the thorraplatters don’t look bad (it is a lot of food on one dish) – if you didn’t know what it was (and weren’t told) that would be one thing, but the stinky fish ewww!! LOL! :-P I’m with you $28 could buy so much more! My mom was the only person that ever made liver and onions that I liked (to a certain extent). I doubt I’ll ever eat it again since she’s gone and can’t make it…
Kiska – “otherwise, I can't think of a single reason to continue with a meal such as that” LOL – I’m with you!! Speaking of the moose – where is the daddy moose?! Do they wander alone or in packs? I was talking to a lady today who went to the University of Alaska. She loves the Palmer area and was talking about the valley and how you get vegetables in the Spring and Summer. I love my fruits and veggies!
Kelli – Whenever I see someone that has fruit growing in their yard I just want to knock on the door and ask if I can have (or buy if necessary) some. I got some homegrown grapefruits this past Spring and made juice of them…it was soooooo good! We had a pet tarantula in my pre-teen years - the thought of eating one just creeps me out! I ***don’t**** watch Survivor.
Lilypon – A little story – early 80’s – went to friends house, her mom made enchiladas, they were delicious – about 2 hours after lunch they told me I had cow tongue – first instinct was ughhhh – 2nd was it tasted like beef. As far as I know I haven’t had it since!
Darius – you’re right. Everything including food is relative. My ex’s uncle was an Ambassador to Japan. When exDH went to Japan as a child he had to attend a welcoming dinner that included “larva of silkworm” a delicacy. He had to eat it…so glad I was no where near then! LOL

I have a question for Lilypon, Todd, Rann and Kiska – do y’all cultivate any fruits? I don't mean to sound ignorant…
Blooms – that look like one of our sunsets! Beautiful!

Dyson - LOL furniture polish!! At least you didn't have to deal with ice!!

WX just said we are about to get the coldest weather of the season. January/February are generally our coldest months – just like everyone else.

We had a little bit of sun and a tad of warmth (61) come through, then it got cool again. If you full screen this you can see the little patch of blue!




This message was edited Jan 19, 2007 7:17 PM

MySharona I'm sure it does taste good......it's just you could see the whatevers on the top on the cooked tongue and it also looks different when cut. If my mother had discovered it when I was younger I'd probably be eating it now. I do like escargot and other oddities but was introduced to them when I was younger (and I make a point not to look too closely at my food now ;).

We have a number of varieties of HARDY apple and plum trees, Chokecherry, Saskatoon and Currant bushes in our yard.

The climate in Saskatchewan makes apple growing risky but on the positive side, we have less trouble with insects and diseases. With the proper selection of varieties and following good cultural practices, it is possible to grow quality apples in Saskatchewan for both fresh eating, cooking and processing. Most early attempts at growing apples were not successful due to lack of hardy varieties, but new varieties from Morden have expanded opportunities.

We can grow all the earlies listed here: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/county/cass/horticulture/fruit/fruittreevar.htm and many of the midseason varieties.

Some varieties of pears and apricots can also survive our winters and produce fruit.



This message was edited Jan 19, 2007 6:28 PM

So glad I didn't see the "whatevers" on top~~ The enchiladas were ready to go!

When I was in Alaska, I seem to remember a wild fruit, the Salmon Berry, which was a wild blackberry, with extremely large (and good) fruit.

Please correct me if my memory is at fault.

oooh Dyson, I ate salmon berries morning after morning while camping along the beach in Northern california. and on into Oregon. delicious. pale orange - right?
And of course it was DARK when the mixup with the furn polish took place. LOL

The salmon berries were actually really large blackberries, w/large seeds that needed to be strained out but the fruit was huge and it was real dark this morning, I think I need to rearrange where I keep my deodorant.

Greetings from Central Pa. Current temp on the porch is 28 degrees and windy. "The air is cool, and it darkles, the Susquehanna River flows swiftly on". to paraphrase an old classical German song.

Had a nice winter day, with snow flurries from time to time and sunshine and blue skies. Typical winter weather.

Rann, No matter how disgusting the old time foods sound, they sustained generations through what must have been starvation conditions.

Dyson - each day without ice is a blessing.

evening all - it's been snowing most of the day, it's dark, 20 degrees -
Dyson - that's quite a way to start the "dark" day..
As to fruit trees, not really.. there are some people that are trying different or developing apples for this area. My DH has been trying for several years with various apples, grafting and such; the apples are small and quite tart; needed to be processed to eat. (lots of sugar) If there are some trying other fruit trees, it's not something I'm aware of..but, now, cool crop veggies are the best...we do have raspberries, domestic and wild., wild currants, cranberries and rose hips are other fruits we harvest. Strawberries haven't done well for us, but others have had luck with them. The wild strawberries are small, sweet and hard to find. Wild Blueberries are another favorite to go pick. As to the Salmonberry, they aren't in our immediate area. The ones I've tried were a orange/salmon color, and I've read that they vary in color from yellow to dark red.
About a week ago, not far from the house, there were 5 moose, one being a bull. We usually see either on or two at a time. They were seen again, in the same area, a few days ago.
Time to start dinner..
Blueberry harvest last fall; near Matanuska Glacier.
Kiska

Kiska, great family. Good lookin' too. Imagine saying: "Let's go over by the glacier and pick blueberries." We do all live such different lives. :-)

34° (Wind Chill 26°) Dewpoint: 19° Wind: W 10 MPH
Humidity: 54% Pressure: 30.26 in Hg
Today's Sunrise: 7:55AM Today's Sunset: 5:45PM
(09:50 hours of sunlight)

Hi Gang!
Been AWOL for a bit.
I started back to work this week after being off for over 3 months.
Bit of an adjustment,
I have to be there at 7 so it's Dyson Dark for sure when I get up.
The good news is I'm off at 3 and home by 3:15.......

We actually had some Snow this morning.
Didn't stay around long though.
We may be getting a 'Real' snow on Sunday.

Off to look at all the pictures!
Ric

Blooms - thanks, the children are brother/sister, 2 of our 9 grandkids...if you look closely, you can see that Jack's barefeet are covered in berry juice-
And, you know, it's the differences through-out the country/countries, that makes this so interesting. Personally, when I read of someone seeing a "crawling type" critter, I wonder how they could live in a place like that..it's that type of difference that I love learning about.
I would love to spend time in your area - the photos are fantastic.
Same day last fall near the berrypicking site.
Kiska

Widely scattered intermittent light, yes the dark is leaving us again - slowly - I think I can talk DW into making the coffee - if she wants some - I have stuff to do outside but i have been out, and "baby it is cold out there".

PS No furniture polish today (I removed it from reach).


This message was edited Jan 20, 2007 7:17 AM

Morning Dyson :)

Kiska we're are certainly in those dark and difficult months that Rannvieg posted about above....looking soooo forward here to seeing the days of more sun now.

It's definitely Dyson dark here right now (6:22 am my time).

16 °F / -9 °C
Scattered Clouds
Humidity: 93%
Dew Point: 14 °F / -10 °C
Wind: 10 mph / 17 km/h / 4.6 m/s from the NW
Pressure: 29.94 in / 1014 hPa
Windchill: 3 °F / -16 °C
Visibility: 15.0 miles / 24.1 kilometers
UV: 0 out of 16

p.s.Kiska I'd love to be picking berries there!

I would have put in the temps - but I'm to lazy to get up and turn a light on so I could see the indicator thingys.

Dyson now that's just sad!!! ;)

Ok, but I am tired. DW won't fix coffee - I'm going back to bed.

Mornin' All! Not too awfully cold out ~ it's 28*, which is most season-ish. We're "supposed" to get some snow & sleet later on.
LOL! Dyson! I have been laughing out loud & DH keeps asking "What?" When I'm on this thread he knows I'm laughing at something you've said. :D I have heard of folks using hair "gunk" instead of tooth paste, But....that would definitely warrent another shower. However, DH said he would have just gone back to bed! :D
Kiska, Love the green pix! Great!
Blooms, That Sky!! Wow! No, the green is definitely not normal. We usually don't see that kind of green until mid-late March. And my Clematis doesn't pop out until Late April or early May. Early May is still frost potential time. And no-one plants a garden until then. Some put peas & potatoes into the ground before then, but nothing else.
Have a Great Day!
Joey

Kiska – That’s a nice family picture and quite a haul of blueberries! You're GD has wonderful dimples! DH said “ Look at those bare feet, Fall and pebbles - that’s all boy right there”!! Beautiful pictures.
Ric – We’ve missed you! (At least you get home early)
Dyson – you’re too funny! One of the first questions DH asks is what has Dyson said?!
Joey - nice picture!

The next cold snap is supposed to come through on Tuesday.
Today...Partly cloudy. High 61. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

This mornings sunrise..

Good afternoon!

LOL - Dyson - It's Saturday so sleeping in is definately allowed ;-)

Sharon that is one gloriously beautiful sunrise! :-)

Kiska looks like a nice crop of blueberries there - what a nice looking family :-)

Sharon - not fruit trees here - people have tried growing apples and cherries with very limitied success. The only berries that grow fairly well here are the currants. We also grow strawberries but we never get a large crop of those ..... the summers just aren't warm enough. We can go pick wild blueberries like Kiska though ;-)


A beautiful day here again, the sun is out, it's fairly calm and 20°F ...... very cold!

Took this photo around 11 am this morning. We have heaps of snow in the garden but as you can see most of it has been blown away in less sheltered places ....

Have a nice day all - Selma Rún has a violin recital today - must get ready :-)

rannveig

28° (Wind Chill 22°) Wind: N 4 MPH
Well we have a Beautiful but cold day going.
Not a cloud in the Sky!
That will change overnight when we're due for some freezing rain/snow by tomorrow morning.
The ground is now totally frozen and all the Ponds and Water Gardens have a good layer of ice on them.
The plants that sent up WAY too early growth aren't looking too bad.
A little droopy but they should perk up as we pass the freezing mark.
This 'may' change as we're scheduled to get some low teens by next weekend.
I'll be piling on some more leaves to try to minimalize the damage.
One plant that popped I didn't notice is the Harry Lauder Walking Stick.
It has thrown catikins WAY early.
Not a biggie as it dosen't fruit anyway though.... lol

Ric

Ok it is light enough to see and I way overslept 56.3°(F) shed, 51.1°(F) porch and from the sound of it quite a breeze blowing outside. As long as this dern pager does not go off I may actually get something done in the garden beds today. I need to figure out how to disperse this horse poop without disturbing the very few plants I have left growing - carrots & broccoli. It is really Bright out there (but being in the plant all day I have not seen the sun very much).

Dyson, for sure this is the time of year when lots of us have to go to work in the dark of early morning and are greeted with the coming dark of evening as we come out from work.

this morning Bright here, and cold. not as cold as it has been.
Low was 16* this morning and we should get to 36* this afternoon.

I slept in late this Saturday morning also, what good are Saturdays if ya can't sleep one away once in a while. Hows the new office set up working out Dyson?
Sharon, so THAT's what sunrise looks like. beautiful.
Ric, good to have you back. Hope you like being back at work. At least they let you out early enough to enjoy a little of the days light. It sounds like your neck of the woods has got some regular winter weather at last.
Lilypon, you are so much further north than I and have almost the same morning temps.
Rann, hope the recital goes smoothly for Selma Run,
and Joey, I hope your clematis survives it's rude treatment this winter. ~Blooms