Another Hot spell

Hey folks... accidently came across this thread on the recents post lists. I've lived in Texas all my life, but have always felt I belonged in the Pacific Northwest. It's so beautiful! I know there are hotter places than Texas, but check these links out. It may help cool you off. And take a look at our precipitation. We keep our thermostat at about 80 degrees during the day and drop it at night to about 75 so we can sleep better, otherwise our electric bill would be out of sight.

Hope you folks have a wonderful fall season... Dan

http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/garden/monthly/76133?month=-1

http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/garden/monthly/76133?month=0

Hey Sally, it actually looks as though it may have skipped to both the north and south of the PHill, Eugene, Salem area..... at least for now. (I was just listening to Chuey as well :-p)Which is good for you! But, there's still a small chance I think that it might happen there. It's really faded here now, seems like we hear a thunder maybe once every 9 or 10 min. now. The rain quite a couple of hours ago. You're probably in the clear for this evening.

Glad to hear the all is well for your brother now. That's always so scary to think of someones livelyhood being in danger, destroyed. I rarely travel out of Oregon (and usually just western oregon) on fires anymore, but I used to. once or twice I went down to california and those were trips that I'll not forget. It wasn't so much the winds or the heat (which their was lots of both), but the amount of "urban interface" or the way that the city has taken into the woods making it nearly impossible to protect structures, especially when the wind is going. I prefer Oregon!!

Sounds like your garage is going well, even if you will be paying for it for a while. At least you're rid of that dreaded dry rot now. and storage for the all important gardening stuff is Very Important.

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest Dan! You can hangout here whenever you want! Next week we're (I don't know about Washington folks) are supposed to be 92 for three days! So maybe it will seem a little more like home, but still a few degrees cooler. But, the nights will be much cooler . However, I like your winters! No parkas required! And I don't think the snow is an issue. But, you're right, we're spoiled over here in that our heat does truly happen in short waves and in general one can sleep at night

Thanks, yes the storage is important. I was near a fire in Yosemite once, it was a you can't believe it til you see it kind of thing. The big problem in Mariposa was not being able to get to it, it was so steep where it was burning if you lean forward you touch the hill with your forehead. My brother has friends at the fire department, volunteers for their fund raisers etc. so they know how to protect their property as much as possible, but when the winds kick up, nothing helps.

My sister was evacuated during the fires in San Diego a few months ago. That was scary too, it turned out all right, nothing but soot damage, so she was lucky.

you're definitely a night owl Dan!

Wow, you're family has been having an interesting go of things Sally! But, I'm glad to hear that everything turned out all right. Being evacuated is such an aweful feeling.

I checked out those weather sights, 77 at night!! I don't handle heat well, but at least here if you wait long enough it does cool off. I like our winters, but then I don't have to go out to work in the snow. Just curl up with a good book and enjoy. Lol

redchic01 – I’m going to be house/dog sitting the end of September. I do it about twice a year for my grandmother. It just two dogs, unless my aunt brings her’s too; I’ll happily accept the money, but her dogs are brats. Grandma’s dogs aren’t too bad; its easier then day caring, at least you don’t have to break up fights as often.

Hopefully the rain coming in will keep the fires under control, but it doesn't sound like it's going to be enough to do any good. Might help a little though. Good luck and keep safe.

katie59 – If I moved down there it would be with most of my family, but I like it up here. I’ve lived many places but at heart I’ve always been a Washingtonian. Now if I can just buy some land up here…

If you were a bit closer… a little too far of a drive for my current life.

Sally_OR – I have two cats too. They are short hair so the shedding is only frustrating vs. obnoxious. They are also small and quite, all of my cats have been; I don’t know what the deal with that is. Our former roommate had a long hair and I swear whole cats could be made out of what he shedded in a week. He was also a talker. I would have kept the cat though, just wanted to get rid of his owner. She wasn’t too bad as far as roommate horror stories go, but our issues didn’t mesh.

Yeah, if I didn't work out in it I might find the white stuff much more interesting. For me it does nothing more than make me cold, even thinking of it. I'd never make a good snow bunny!

It was crazy, I was keeping everyone up on the latest (they were too busy). Even sent info to BIL's son in England. They were out of their house for four days and then the big day when we all waited to find out what they found when they got home. The biggest problem was my sister's macaw, she wasn't happy to be rousted out in the middle of the night and apparently blamed my BIL for the whole affair. She bit him several times after and it was a long time before she forgave him. We all had a good laugh over that.

rain, however little, will always help. Thanks for the well wishes zhinu! Good luck with your aunts dogs. Hopefully they won't show up for the party in september! It's always interesting to see what characteristics animals have picked up that they get from their owners.... don't you think??

Anyhow, Good night all. I must get some sleep for now since I have to get up in not to terribly long. Even if I'm not posting, I still read what's going on. So, be sure to say hi!

Those Macaw's! They have such personality! what a story though, especially given the good ending.

This little one can shed a mountain of hair in no time at all. But since I've been brushing her (which she loves) it's been tolerable.

awhhh! She's sooo cute and cuddly looking. a tortie?

redchic01 – I hope we don’t get up to 92. Above 90 and I start to have issues. The maybe two days a year where it gets up to 100 I become completely useless. Can’t we just keep it around 85? That’s warm but cool enough you can do stuff outside that doesn’t involve jumping into cold water.

My house was still above 80 when I went to bed last night and around 65 degrees when I got up. You just can’t win some days.

Sally_OR – We have snow during the winter? Is that the white stuff that turns grey and goes away in less then 24 hours? ;o)

I like some snow over the winter, but I’m glad it doesn’t stick around like it does some places. I’ll take the rain most days. It would be nice to get a white Christmas one year though. I can’t remember one since I was really small. I think we had a white Thanksgiving a couple years ago, and it snowed two years in a row on my birthday, Jan. 6th, but no white Christmas.

Yep, she's a tortie I found her at Petsmart when they brought the cats from Florence. We had just lost my DH's 17 yr old cat and he needed his own to cuddle. So I gave her to him, "you feed her, you pet her and tend to her til she's yours" it worked. She comes to me for brushing, but goes to his lap for cuddling.

Here's my baby.

My last two were tortes; I lost them both within about a month. They were my first personal cats and I still miss them.

Here are my two current fur babies.

Nero - Male, very friendly and outgoing. Name means black in Italian. This picture is from Christmas two years ago, but I think it shows his personality. He loves to perch, I keep threatening to get a pedestal, but him being a cat I'm sure if I got one he wouldn't use it.

I think that you have a little more of a coastal influence on your weather zhinu??? I could be wrong though. let me see if I can dig up a picture that I took in march or april this year.

this first picture, taken in my back yard, was taken in early march this year. And yes, sow that late here is not normal.

This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 12:30 AM

Here is Koshka - Female, skittish though getting a bit better, very sweet when she does decide to spend time with you though. Her name means cat in Russian, so we have black cat for cats. I blame my DB, he wanted a cat named cat. We room mated until about 3 years ago. We were both going to college. When he moved out he left the cats realizing that while Koshka was technically his, I was their chosen person.

Your cats are cute sally. I really like yours without the tail. Definitely fur babies.

Zhinu....Losing cats after that long is sooo tough, and then to loose them within the same time frame would be really hard. But, you handled it well! the new ones are precious!

Ok. in this picture, taken in late may, the tree that is in the front is the same tree that looks really little and is in the middle of the snow picture>

This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 12:31 AM

well, that's definitely an interesting way to acquire a cat zhinu. I think that it was much better for the cat to stay with you if it claimed you!

We didn't get that much, but we did get snow in March and April!!! this year. The later one killed off two of my geraniums. It was the latest date we'd gotten snow since 1972. It snow right before my DB was born, April 28, that year. We got snow after St. Patrick's day last year too. We do get snow, we just rarely get enough to be more than an annoyance. School gets canceled, but you can still get around if you're careful. It's the black ice when the snow starts to melt that is dangerous up here. I think the last year we got significant snow, i.e. enough that it was a problem to get around, was Jan. 6, 2004 and that one stuck around for awhile, we got several inches, I'm not sure how much. I got snowed in on my birthday. It was the biggest snow storm in around a decade. Even then I walked over to the little store and they were still open.

Opps... just realized I forgot to add Koshka's picture. Here we are. I wish you could add pictures in edit.

Koshka is cute and cuddly too! Definitely a fur baby. isn't your black ice more like sheet ice?? at least it seems like you would have the potential for that slicker than anything stuff. I'd rather drive on snow than that!

This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 12:49 AM

redchic01 - My cats were only about 5 years old when I lost them. I wasn't able to have cats between 7 and 19, because we moved so much, we rented, etc... Alexandra (Ally) got sick, never did find out what was wrong, she was on meds for a couple days while they did tests. She went into shock and we lost her. Her sister ran away and got hit by a car about a month later. We'd already gotten Koshka to replace Ally when Nickel went or I might not have gotten cats again so soon, but I'm so glad that I did. My quality of life would be no where near as high if I didn't have cats.

Here is the monster, Hellion, that my DB gave up for cat peace in our house when we moved in together. She would just terrorize my cats. We'd had my cats for a couple years when we found Helli and her brother on the side of the road with their dead mother and siblings. My parents kept her. She's one of the few cats I've spent time around that doesn't actually like me. She puts up with me, but no more then that. I think she's around 16 lbs, I know she about the same mass as both of my cats put together, but then she's at least half again as long as my cats too.

redchic01 - I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I know we have several crashes a year due to it. People think that since the snows gone... they don't think of the fact that snow is ice and at night it refreezes. I too way prefer snow or warm rain if I have to be out in it. Freezing grey days are by far the worst, though snow that's been sitting around several days isn't very pretty.

I thought you were going to bed. Are you stuck in the "reply was made while you were posting" loop along with me?

Holy cow! that Hellian is a stalky cat! I know that I would like her! And it sounds as if the two of them are the best substitutes posssible for the two you lost. how tragic to loose them like that and so close together. But, for some strange reason, these two must have been ment to be with you!

yes, I'm stuck there!!! haha Lol. and I haven't been on in such a long time that it seems right. and I've been secretly editing a batch of pictures in the background. But, that is done now and I really am going to bed now! Have a good night all.... i'm outta that dang loop!

Yeah... I should be in bed. I have four kids to watch tomorrow, three starting at 7:30, but I want to get through DG before I go to bed.

I got cut off for some reason last night. It was time for bed anyway.

zhinu...beautiful cats, Koshka looks so regal. Nero needs a cat post. We have tall ones for both of ours (we have a real live cat house) and they use them all the time. Especially in the winter, they're in a direct line with the pellet stove. Hellion looks like she lives up to her name. hee hee

We do get snow, not as much as redchic, doesn't stay long, but it's pretty while it's here. I like it that way, seems like it's warmer when it snows for some reason.

redchic..Pooh has a tail, she was playing and must have been laying on it. She's my best bud, attached at the hip most of the time. But it's so funny, when DH goes to bed, she goes with him on the bed for a little while then comes back to me.

Well no rain last night or today, it must have slipped by us again. We could use a good shower.

My backyard in April

Sally_OR - I agree that it's warmer when it snows then it is when it's clear and cold. Hellion's brother was named Dante without any knowledge of Hellion's name. I guess he's even bigger then Hellion. He went to a friend of a friend. What's a cat post?

That's just weird about Dante.

Cat post is a tall pole with shelves covered with carpet that the cats like to sit on. I'll see if I can find a picture of ours.

Ok, we call them cat towers. I have a design in my head to make one, but never got around to it. Take a Wire spool, small center, about 3 feet wide on top, so there is over a foot between spool center and top and bottom edges. Seal the bottom, fill part way with concrete, sink a 4x4 in it. Cover the spool with fabric, leaving a hole for the cats to go in and out of. Cut 4x4 sections out of plywood pieces and attach then to the 4x4 in a spiral going up, with brackets. Cover upper area in rug. Now if I just had the time, money and materials to make it. The pre-made ones are so expensive.

Sally, pooh sounds very cute, and like her name fits her. A friend and cuddler. sorry that you didn't get any rain. Don't worry though, it wasn't really enough to water my plants worth a darn.

Zhinu... it sounds as if your cat tower is going to be a Kitty Condo when you get it done.

Katie, just to show that I stayed safe for today (although as hot as hell) here's a few pics. I also figured that I would post to see if they would bring back fond memories for Outtamygourd!

the pics of the planes aren't very good since I was messing with the settings on my camera.



This message was edited Aug 9, 2008 12:11 AM

not exactly a rip roaring fire, but it was fun to watch the bomber.

and lastly, about 1/2 hour before I left for the night.

Okay - those are astounding pictures, but make me nervous nonetheless (I'm truly pyrophobic!!)

I just spoke with a good friend who lives in Benton City Oregon (near the Tri Cities). She had a big night last night. They had big thunderstorms with wind. No rain at first. Her dogs were barking at around 2:00 a.m. and she looked outside to see the hillside out beyond her pasture on fire. It was a ways away and she watched it for an hour or so and then went inside. Not long after that she heard a siren outside that got the dogs going again and went outside to see that there was a fire in the other direction, near the house of some friends of hers (who also have horses, dogs, cats, chickens, etc.) She called them to make sure they knew and offered her house up for sanctuary in the event that needed to evacuate.

After that she went back outside to find that she had left her front gate unlatched and several of her dogs were out. She got in the car and drove around looking for them, but it was dark, so she put the other dogs away, left out food, left the gate open and went inside to wait for daylight.

At daylight she came outside to find that two of the dogs had returned (whew). One of those two is a very high-strung dog who would have been very hard to get had he had a real scare. She put them in the house. Then she drove around for a couple of hours and finally spotted the other three on their way back home (presumably because she always feeds in the morning and it was just about breakfast time). She went home and took care of all the dogs, only to find out when she went inside that the two in there had been skunked and were smelling up the house. She say, though, that she really didn't care, she was so relieved to have them home. Then she had to get ready for work!!

Oh, and did I mention that at some point during this, she found that a giant poplar tree had blown down, narrowly missing her motor home and fence, but still enough in the way that she's going to have to cut it up this week.

When it rains, it pours. So, in retrospect, my day wasn't really too bad.

Katie - Skunked dogs don't sound fun, but I understand just being happy they are home.

Let her know that good thoughts are going her way.

This message was edited Aug 9, 2008 12:06 AM

katie59..my gosh, that poor lady. Skunked dogs are baaaaad. Luckily nothing was really damaged and she did get them all back home. What a night.

redchic...great pictures, love the sunset.

zhinu.. couldn't think of towers (duh) we had one we made for a long time, cats TORE IT UP, saved the furniture. The ones we have now were bought a couple of years apart, I just started saving for them. And waited for Costco to get them in.

I'll share that with her. Thanks, Laura.

She's a single gal with a ton of animals and is very tough. She gets more done in a day than I do in two. But last year a few dogs got out and one got hit by a car on the freeway miles away and she was a mess there for a little bit. She actually picked up the bodies of a couple dogs on the freeway while looking for her girl. I can't imagine how tough that must have been. I'm sure the memory of that was haunting her this time.

But tonight she sounded giddy with fatigue and relief.