Spring - The Rebirth has Begun

Sharon: GREAT beach photo--love it!! It will be saved for wallpaper. Those brugs of yours are HUGE. I dare not succumb to them--I will become addicted and have to have a greenhouse! LOL
Celia: love your beach photos, too, with all the interesting "sculptures". I agree with Sharon--you seem to have a bad case of "spring fever". ☺☺☺
Ric: what is that pretty plant with the spotted leaves and pink and purple flowers?
We are expecting a cold front through here over the week-end, too. :o((
Adina: that is a beautiful peach blossom!
Marylyn: you and the girls (is little bunny going, too?) have a great time on the camp-out. We have a Rose Bud here in Arkansas, too. A neat name, indeed!
Rann: I need a greenhouse like yours! LOL (maybe not--I would be in it all the time!)
Kelli: we have a big C130 base just about 10 miles from us (Jacksonville Air Force Base). The C130's make their training runs-usually in groups of 3 or 5--all around the central Ark. area on a daily basis. They are a common sight around here.
Kayly: it was a yucky day here yesterday, too, although not as cold as you were. We literally had buckets of rain dropped on us plus the threat of tornadoes. It got quite "hairy" for about an hour. Later in the afternoon, things cleared off somewhat and the sun came out.
Se_eds: you amaze me--running the tiller!! What do you plan on planting in your garden?

Detailed Local Forecast:
Today: Sunny. High 68F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Tonight: Mainly clear. Low 44F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. High 59F. Winds WNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Tomorrow night: Partly cloudy skies. Low 38F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.
Sunday: Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the upper 30s.

We are expecting a light freeze Sunday night so I guess it is a good thing I haven't been able to get my seedlings planted outside. However, next week promises to be an absolutely gorgeous week with warm temps and lots of sunshine. We'll see if the weather people are correct in their predictions. I'm SO READY for spring to get here and stay!

We cross-posted, Sidney. Get some sleep!

The little bunny is staying home with Daddy. They'll have a great time, too. :-) Today I need to do lots of laundry and get the house cleaned up for them. Ugh. LOL

Ugh!!! is right...I have lots of that to do, too.

That;s the most beautiful beach shot I've seen yet. I'm jealous.

30°F
Feels like: 22°F


Barometer: 30.3 in
Dewpoint: 25°
Humidity: 81%
Visibility: 10 miles
Wind: 9 mph N
Sunrise: 6:53 AM
Sunset: 8:03 PM
UV Index: 0 Low

Looks like we're going to have a nice sunny afternoon. I heard the dreaded "F" word (frost) mentioned in the forecast for Sunday. I'm SURE they're wrong. :)

I thought I posted this a couple of days ago, but ...apparently.. I had a senior moment.
So, here ya go Marsue:

Adina, I am honored that you are using my picture as a desktop. :-)

If I stand outside and wave my arms, do you think I can get some of this CA heat to reach the rest of you? It's not hot now but they're calling for it to be hot later. And look at this - the wind is calm. Will wonders never cease?

Van Nuys, California (Airport)
Updated: 7:51 AM PDT on April 11, 2008
55 °F / 13 °C
Clear
Humidity: 59%
Dew Point: 41 °F / 5 °C
Wind: Calm

Hi everyone! Glad y’all like the sunrise, I took it last month. I just heard that our high on Tuesday is 60*???? What’s up with that?

Sidney – Hope you get some much needed rest this weekend!
Marsue – The brugs smell as good as they look! You’re famous – you have a street named after you! LOL!
Celia – Thank you!
Kelli – Start waving those arms! It’s going to get cold again! LOL!

79.0 °F / 26 °C
Partly Cloudy
Humidity: 42%
Dew Point: 54 °F / 12 °C
Wind: 2.0 mph / 3 km/hfrom the ESE
Wind Gust: 5.8 mph / 9 km/h
Pressure: 30.06 in / 1017.8 hPa(Falling)
Heat Index: 79 °F / 26 °C
Visibility: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV: 11 out of 16
Clouds: Few 3000 ft / 914 m
(Above Ground Level)
Elevation: 20 ft / 6 m

Taken this morning.

Well, I've gotten a few loads of laundry washed (and now lying on our bed), but nothing done as far as cleaning the house yet. (guilty look...) Right now I'm going to run away and meet dh at Ikea for lunch (Swedish meatballs... yummm...) and then go to the library and pick up some books-on-CD to entertain us on the trip. We're going to have a couple of friends riding with us, which should be fun. :-) We don't have a van or SUV.. just a Mazda Protege, so it's going to be a little squishy. I'm hoping some stories will take their minds off the close confines.

Observation for Houston, TX (KSGR) as of 10:53am CDT (50 min ago)
Temperature 75 °F 24 °C
Dew Point 60 °F 16 °C
Humidity 59%
Pressure 29.91 in 1012.8 mb
Wind Speed 12 MPH 10 kts
Wind Dir NNW 340°
Ceiling Unlimited Unlimited
Visibility 10 mi 16.1 km
Heat Index 78 °F 26 °C
Current Conditions Clear
6 hour min temperature ending 6:53am CDT : 71.1°F / 21.7°C

I got these from a friend a few years ago. They didn't bloom where I planted them, so I moved them last year. I thought they were pink lilies. LOL Ah, well... Purple irises are wonderful, too!

LOL Sharon, It's 12 hrs every night thru next Friday night.
We make our best money on the week ends.
I am bailing at 1AM tonight.
Yep, we're fore casted to get down to 35º next week.
Sidney

Marylyn, when I was reading your post that said, "...close confines", my mind read, "...close coffins." I think I was brain damaged as a child. LOL

ROFLOLOLOL

Adina, your tree blossoms are lovely!

Marsue - I just have a small Mantis tiller which starts easily( Because it has a choke in addition to the little pump dome). The garden area I have to till was a veggie garden for 20 yrs so you can imagine what the loam is like. About 16 inches deep and friable. If you can run a vacuum cleaner back and forth over the same spot, you can run these little tillers. Still I didn't do much today - just rested - heck every thing is about caught up until time to plant out seedlings and a very few plants I ordered.
Oh, yeah and about 1 doz tomato plants for hubby,

Temps in the 70's today, still cloudy raining now and thunderstorms for later on. That will wash in the nutrients I've spread the last day or two.

Sharon, i have your recent sunset on my desktop. my DH actually NOTICED i changed it LOL

Deb, we also are expecting a frost tonight. but since i have no garden, my only concern is keeping the chickies warm. headed out to round them up early and close their doors...

sidney, don't work TOO hard

marylyn, enjoy yourself!

marsue stay safe!!!

Kelli, we need a heat wave! Loved your article on the poppies ;-)

thanks for the laugh kwanjin, closed coffins would be close quarters. maybe it was a freudian slip of your brain, are you clostraphobic? LOL

se_eds, your weather sound as perfect as your soil! wish i were there!

hugs to all, and have safe weather for you, your critters, plants, and property!
♥tf

This time of year in Missouri the weather is fickled!! Yesterday it was in the 60's and some storms moved in then the temps dropped overnight and still are dropping today. It's in the upper 30's now and windy with snow flurries possible. In a few days it's going to get into the 70's!!! The grass is turning the most beautiful green I've ever seen with the cool temps and abundant rain we're having. Hope to work outside tomorrow pruning our fruit trees and just enjoying the great outdoors(even if it's cool)!

Cuckoo

Deb: thanks for the picture of Mar-Sue Lane.. . .and would you believe my last name is Oliver?!! (see mailbox in picture) How amazing is that? Wait till I show my DH!
Sharon: I guess I've had my "15 minutes of fame"? Now I can relax--LOL!!
Hey, Cuckoo, and welcome! I don't believe I have seen you here on the weather thread before. I'll have to look on the map and locate Savannah.
Se_eds: lucky you to have all those fresh tomatoes to look forward to this summer!
Celia, it's a good thing you have that scrapbooking retreat this week-end. I think you are on brain overload--"Close coffins"! LOL
TF: I know you will be keeping those chickies warm! I don't have "chickies" but all my roses are loaded with buds and we are expecting a light freeze Sunday night! I guess this means that every available sheet will be used to wrap up my "babies". I just hope nobody decides they need to go "shopping" for sheets in the middle of the night.

It was absolutely beautiful here today--Temp in the high 60's, sun shining, only a few white fluffy clouds floating by--gorgeous. Tomorrow and Sunday will be cooler-only mid to upper 50's but at least no rain is forecast. I worked in the lasagna bed along our back fence--trying to get it ready for the seedlings which I plan to plant next week. Yesterday's gully-washer of a rain washed a lot of the bark out of our other flower beds so I raked up as much as I could and put it back where it belonged. It was good to be outside. We've had so much rain lately that there hasn't been much opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors. Next week is supposed to be wonderful all week!

Read cuckoo's post and leave out the fruit trees. :~)

Cuckoo Welcome!!

Well Debbie forget the F Word we have the S Word.
Yep 74° today..... 31° by Sunday morning.....
T-Storms have boomed thru at least 3 times in the last 24 hours.
Right now it is clear VERY Gusty and 63° at 11PM.
That's our normal High for this time of year.
We'll be scrambling to get all the tender plants covered up tomorrow.

Thanks Adina the Alpine Rock Cress is one of my Favorites too.
We've tried a Pink version but can't get it to establish.

Here's a few shots from the last two days.

Ric

Spring Beauties

Sue I forgot.
The spotted plant is Pulmonaria.
They self seed all over the place.

Ric

Ric: thanks for the info on the Pulmonaria. Love that double daff and the azaleas and "spring beauties". All very pretty--sure hope the snow doesn't ruin them!

Our high today is supposed to be 62º with plenty of sunshine. No clouds in the sky right now. Winds from WNW at 13 mph and gusting to 20 mph.

DH and I had our coffee on the back porch this morning. The sunshine felt good on our skin. Our bird house has purple martins in it. Martins are "social" birds. They have "visiting relatives" that come to check out their house so it is sometimes difficult to determine just how many pair are actually nesting in the box and how many are just visiting. ☺☺☺

Here's a photo collage featuring two big oak trees in different neighbors' yards. I took the photos a week apart. You can see the difference in the way the trees have "leafed-out" in just a week.

It's barely 40*. It spit rain, a few flakes of snow floated by and it sleeted for 30 seconds. Mostly it's breezy and cold.

I've been recopying my plant journal. 207 pages. I'm only into the 70's. I've transplanted some of my flower seedlings.

I have so much to catch up on here!

My workspace and I hate to be crowded!!

Sorry, Billy. I feel like such a temperature hog.

Van Nuys, California (Airport)
Updated: 11:51 AM PDT on April 12, 2008
85 °F / 29 °C
Clear
Humidity: 12%
Dew Point: 27 °F / -3 °C

... Very warm weekend for the Southland with near record highs expected...

An upper level high pressure system combined with moderate
offshore flow will continue to bring very warm temperatures to the
Southland this weekend. Another round of gusty Santa Ana winds
will affect the passes and canyons of Los Angeles and Ventura counties...
with the strongest winds focused in the mountains and Santa Clarita
valley. These offshore winds will bring even warmer conditions to many
locations on Saturday... with many valley and inland portions of the
coastal plain climbing into the 90s.

While some immediate coastal areas may cool a few degrees on Sunday...
many inland temperatures will continue to rise as the air mass continues
to warm. Some of the warmest valley locations could soar into the upper
90s on Sunday... while the lower mountains and Antelope Valley will
likely reach the 90 degree mark.

Temperatures will approach record levels across portions of the
Southland this weekend... with a few locations expected to break
records each day.


Anacapa Island picture from yesterday.

Kelli: Wow! That's an amazing place! Nice shot!
Ric: I'd almost prefer the "S" word. :) You have an assortment of spring bloomers! Very pretty.

Beautiful today. Must be 80. A bit blustery, but sunny. Still hoping the forecast changes. I have tropicals growing all over the place and there may not be enough "laundry" in the house to cover everything.

Spent the morning trimming back ivy, watering, repotting, etc. The ivy trimming is hard on the old bones when they're used to non-strenuous winter gardening! LOL. Think I'll go have a nap.

Here are some "Million Bells" that came back from last year.
Deb

Kelli, ROTFL!!! Don't worry, by July, I'll be hot enough :)) Anacapa Island is neat! I love the way you're looking down on it! Love the birds too! What is on the far left lower hump?

I went back and looked at the pictures.

Sharon, gorgeous sunrise!! Will the brugs smell wonderful when they open? (I wonder if your turtle pictures would turn out with no flash? Probably not.)

Deb, Marsue, the world is a fun place sometimes!!

Marylyn, purple iris are fine!!

Ric, lovely spring flowers!

Marsue, the tree shows how fast life moves sometimes!

Deb, I love Million Bells!

DH got my mower ready to go so I had to mow a couple of strips!!

Wow, such beautiful pics!
We've been to our house today to do some cleaning in the yard and outside the yard...the wind has blown away all the papers and bags or expanded polystiren and plastic bottles which the workers have been using...arrrgghhhh! I am beat after loading more than 10 bags with this stuff! Meanwhile, 2 workers have been cleaning the yard of all the broken tiles, cement and garbage of all kind...yuck! Now it looks better!
This is all the garbage.
Adina

We also have part of the fence.

Dandelions were blooming.

That's pretty lousy, Adina, that you have to clean up the workers' trash.

Billy, I think what you are seeing is just a pinnacle of rock. There were definitely no people down there and the largest land animal on the island is the deer mouse.

All of the white spots are western gulls. They nest here. They were all over the place.

In the low 40s, gusty winds and snowing.

Adina, I love your house! it's really coming together. That is a lot of trash to have to pick up! Boss will love his yard! Dandilions are pretty. I secretly like them :))

Kelli, another interesting picture. I love lighthouses!

Pepper, we were supposed to be windy, up to 30 mph gusts, but I'm not seeing it. It is raining lightly off and on. We never got above 40*

On the railing that goes around the lighthouse lantern, you might be able to see a spot. That is a peregrin falcon.

I see it. How cool is that!!

Pretty cool, and we also saw a grey whale but it was too far away to take a picture with my camera.

Cooler!!!

BP: about your workspace--you need to get Ric to do an "add-on" for you--LOL
Kelli: great pics of Anacapa Island and the Lighthouse--I saw the falcon, too!
Deb: absolutely gorgeous "Million Bells" the color is so vivid!
Adina: Construction workers are terrible about picking up the construction trash. I know because I used to work for a builder and also my DH had his own construction company before he retired. Your house is really looking good! I like dandelions, too!
Pepper: It has been windy here most of the day but, thankfully, no snow. DH and I managed to take a walk around the neighborhood. I had trouble keeping my sun visor from being blown off my head. We had an absolutely beautiful cloudless blue sky and lots of sunshine, too. Current temp is 63º. I was going to take photos of the blooming flowers in my yard but it was too windy--the flowers wouldn't stay still! LOL I did manage to get one of this anemone.

When the storms were going on the other day I went out and took pics of the sky. At the time the storms were northeast of us and posed no danger. But the sky was breathtaking.

Pepper, if the sky looked like that here, we would say that it looks like it could possibly rain if it really put its mind to it, but it probably won't. It seems to take an awful lot for it to rain here.

Van Nuys, California (Airport)
Updated: 2:51 PM PDT on April 12, 2008
90 °F / 32 °C
Clear
Humidity: 9%
Dew Point: 24 °F / -4 °C

In case anyone is wondering, no, it won't stay this hot until the end of summer. We always seem to get a spell of unseasonably hot weather in April.


These buildings were built for the lighthouse keepers but the lighthouse is automated now so they are used by the park service.

Here's another.