Whew! We finally got the rain we so desperately needed around here. It started raining off and on Friday afternoon. Yesterday morning (Saturday), we got a series of thunderstorms blowing through, and we got the bulk of our rain. The grass, particularly my neighbors' lawns who hadn't watered, literally grew greener in front of my eyes. Yesterday morning started out cool, although damp, of course, from the rain. I was able to sleep with the windows open Friday night.
As more storms swept through Saturday morning I had the front door open to catch the breezes from the east and the patio door open in the back of the house to get good cross-ventilation as I watched t.v. in the living room. At one point there were some fierce blasts of wind and downpours and I thought "tornado!" - scrambling to turn on the radio to see if there were any warnings in the area. But I heard nothing out of the ordinary (nor were there any scrolled warnings on the bottom of the t.v. screen, the kind you see during severe weather). It happened three times in short succession, and then things calmed down, although it continued to rain for another hour.
At about 11 a.m. the rain stopped and I quickly walked to the supermarket and back, because the forecast was for HOT AND HUMID, and I don't do well in such weather. When I got back to the house I wiped myself down, closed down the house and turned on the central air. Ahhhhhh, relief! It's been on since, and will be on for at least the next four-five days as the forecast is for HOT AND HUMID, with Heat Advisories in effect. The Heat Index will zoom over 100F today and will stay there for awhile. The dew point yesterday rose to 74! Anything above about 53 for me rates from extremely uncomfortable to sheer torture.
It's actually going to be a treat to get to Las Vegas' dry 105F air!
When I got back home from the supermarket and shut down the patio door I saw for the first time a very large limb down - obviously torn off one of trees, I figured during one of those microbursts. It had smashed down on some of my planting beds near the west fence line, so I dragged it to an area in the yard where I would be able to work on deconstructing it later on. That sucker was HEAVY! I don't think the photo shows just how large and heavy it was.
Later on - after another series of storms rumbled through in mid-afternoon - I noticed some foilage that didn't belong where I was seeing it as I opened up the patio door to survey the backyard. I stepped out to investigate, down by the west fence line behind the "island" of trees and plantings. Sure enough, there was a very large limb down, straddled over the fence, sort of caught between two of the arborvitaes on the other side of the fence and one of the trees on my side. Much too large for me to attempt to remove myself. Thankfully, Mr. Don will be here on Saturday, so that branch can wait until then, when he can help me move the white trellis out of the way and then heave that branch from over the fence out into an open area of the yard where we can tackle it with clippers and saws.
In the meantime, before 8:30 a.m. this morning, I girded my loins (figuratively speaking), pulled out the clippers and heavy gloves and commenced to deconstruct the large tree limb I'd pulled up to the hill the day before. It's not finished yet. With several breaks dashing inside to cool off, I worked about 20 minutes and then I couldn't take it anymore. Most of the easy work is done (clipping off the foilage). I have to tackle what's left with a saw. I'm waiting for the shady part of the afternoon to come around (after 2 p.m.) Meanwhile, I suffered several new mosquito bites. I should have drenched myself in bug spray but it's absolutely unbearable to wear that stuff when you feel like you're swimming in hot tea! Yech! That's what the air is like outside right now. Me, I'm staying inside as long as I can. The grass will NOT be cut although it needs it - not until the dew point drops below 60.
That hazy look in the photographs - that is not intentional, or poor photography. That's how much moisture is in the air right now - it's like shooting through fog.
Whew! We finally got the rain we so desperately needed around here. It started raining off and on Friday afternoon. Yesterday morning (Saturday), we got a series of thunderstorms blowing through, and we got the bulk of our rain. The grass, particularly my neighbors' lawns who hadn't watered, literally grew greener in front of my eyes. Yesterday morning started out cool, although damp, of course, from the rain. I was able to sleep with the windows open Friday night.
As more storms swept through Saturday morning I had the front door open to catch the breezes from the east and the patio door open in the back of the house to get good cross-ventilation as I watched t.v. in the living room. At one point there were some fierce blasts of wind and downpours and I thought "tornado!" - scrambling to turn on the radio to see if there were any warnings in the area. But I heard nothing out of the ordinary (nor were there any scrolled warnings on the bottom of the t.v. screen, the kind you see during severe weather). It happened three times in short succession, and then things calmed down, although it continued to rain for another hour.
At about 11 a.m. the rain stopped and I quickly walked to the supermarket and back, because the forecast was for HOT AND HUMID, and I don't do well in such weather. When I got back to the house I wiped myself down, closed down the house and turned on the central air. Ahhhhhh, relief! It's been on since, and will be on for at least the next four-five days as the forecast is for HOT AND HUMID, with Heat Advisories in effect. The Heat Index will zoom over 100F today and will stay there for awhile. The dew point yesterday rose to 74! Anything above about 53 for me rates from extremely uncomfortable to sheer torture.
It's actually going to be a treat to get to Las Vegas' dry 105F air!
When I got back home from the supermarket and shut down the patio door I saw for the first time a very large limb down - obviously torn off one of trees, I figured during one of those microbursts. It had smashed down on some of my planting beds near the west fence line, so I dragged it to an area in the yard where I would be able to work on deconstructing it later on. That sucker was HEAVY! I don't think the photo shows just how large and heavy it was.
Later on - after another series of storms rumbled through in mid-afternoon - I noticed some foilage that didn't belong where I was seeing it as I opened up the patio door to survey the backyard. I stepped out to investigate, down by the west fence line behind the "island" of trees and plantings. Sure enough, there was a very large limb down, straddled over the fence, sort of caught between two of the arborvitaes on the other side of the fence and one of the trees on my side. Much too large for me to attempt to remove myself. Thankfully, Mr. Don will be here on Saturday, so that branch can wait until then, when he can help me move the white trellis out of the way and then heave that branch from over the fence out into an open area of the yard where we can tackle it with clippers and saws.
In the meantime, before 8:30 a.m. this morning, I girded my loins (figuratively speaking), pulled out the clippers and heavy gloves and commenced to deconstruct the large tree limb I'd pulled up to the hill the day before. It's not finished yet. With several breaks dashing inside to cool off, I worked about 20 minutes and then I couldn't take it anymore. Most of the easy work is done (clipping off the foilage). I have to tackle what's left with a saw. I'm waiting for the shady part of the afternoon to come around (after 2 p.m.) Meanwhile, I suffered several new mosquito bites. I should have drenched myself in bug spray but it's absolutely unbearable to wear that stuff when you feel like you're swimming in hot tea! Yech! That's what the air is like outside right now. Me, I'm staying inside as long as I can. The grass will NOT be cut although it needs it - not until the dew point drops below 60.
That hazy look in the photographs - that is not intentional, or poor photography. That's how much moisture is in the air right now - it's like shooting through fog.
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