Posted in Photography, weather, tagged Grass, New Albany, Photography, Sunshine, weather on May 26, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
It is cold (again!) but bright this morning. As we walked along, the sun was low on the horizon. It cast its rays across a field of grass that has grown long and gone to seed, leaving the grass sun-dappled and golden in the chill morning air.
A beautiful morning — but cold!
Posted in Columbus, weather, tagged Columbus, New Albany, Seasons, spring, weather on May 24, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
We were at a nice function tonight when my phone buzzed and I got another “alert”: frost warning tonight.
Huh? Frost warning? What the hell? It’s May 24, for God’s sake. It’s well past time for it to warm up, already.
Sure enough, when we left the party tonight, the temperature on the car thermometer was 45 degrees and falling, and you could feel a distinct autumnal chill in the air.
Why don’t we have spring anymore? You remember that delightful season, when low temperatures were in the upper 50s and high temperatures were in the mid-70s? I’m convinced that season no longer exists. We just move abruptly from winter to summer at some random point in April or May, so within a matter of a day or two you go from wearing a coat to wearing shorts.
I miss spring.
Posted in America, weather, tagged America, Moore, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma!, Tornado Alley, Tornadoes, weather on May 21, 2013 | 1 Comment »
If you live in Oklahoma or other states in the Tornado Alley region of the United States, you learn to live with terrible storms that occasionally sweep through the region. But sometimes you can’t live with those storms.
Yesterday was one of those days in the Oklahoma City region, and the devastation — emotional and physical — is horrific. A series of tornadoes hit the area, and one of them tore through Moore, Oklahoma, leveling the Plaza Towers Elementary School, ripping off the roof, toppling walls, and killing a number of schoolchildren. The current death toll stands at 91 people, with hundreds more injured, but that number is expected to rise as search and rescue teams comb through the debris.
The storms were unbelievably powerful, with winds reaching up to 200 miles per hour. I’ve seen the tree-toppling punch of storms where winds reach 70 and 80 miles per hour, but I can’t imagine the strength of 200 m.p.h. winds that can shred sturdy buildings like humans can shred tissue paper.
I also can’t imagine the anguish of parents whose little children were taken from them by a storm. Our hearts go out to the battered residents of Oklahoma City as they search for survivors and struggle to deal with this extraordinary tragedy.
Posted in Family, Humor, weather, tagged Family, Flowers, Frost, Humor, Mother's Day, New Albany, Planting Flowers, weather on May 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
I’ve always refrained from planting flowers until after Mothers’ Day because my mother told me that is what you should do. This year, that piece of folk wisdom turned out to be wise, indeed, because the overnight temperature on Mothers’ Day dipped below freezing and left a significant layer of frost on the ground and on the boardwalk. I’m not sure it would have been enough to kill or damage delicate summer flowers, but because I held off on planting I don’t have to worry about it.
Sometimes old sayings are worth crediting. After our frosty Mothers’ Day experience, I’m now totally resolved not to jump off a cliff just because all of my friends do so.
Posted in Columbus, Photography, weather, tagged Columbus, Flowering Trees, New Albany, Photography, spring, weather on May 4, 2013 | 2 Comments »
The flowering trees in our neighborhood are beautiful, but they are losing their petals with every gentle gust of spring breeze. Be careful as you walk and talk — you might end up with a mouthful.
Posted in Columbus, Ohio, Photography, weather, tagged Columbus, Motorcycles, Ohio, Photography, spring, weather on May 1, 2013 | 1 Comment »
In central Ohio, when spring arrives and the temperature goes up, the motorcycles come out. Chopper owners take off the tarps, wheel their rigs out of their garages, and let the bikes wind out in the fine spring weather.
Seeing motorcycles is a good sign that it’s going to be a nice day, because most bikers know to check the weather and only ride on days that are certain to be dry. Once you ride a motorcycle in the rain, getting soaked to the bone and splattered by passing cars, you’ll do just about anything to avoid it.
And speaking of motorcyclists, let’s all be sure to keep an eye out for them, give them plenty of room, and let them share the road without incident.
Posted in Columbus, Ohio, Photography, weather, tagged Columbus, Flowers, Ohio, Photography, spring, weather on April 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
When spring finally arrives (and we in central Ohio are keeping our fingers crossed that it’s here to stay) is a feast for the senses — particularly the eyes. It’s such a pleasure to see flowers, and bright colors on the landscape!
Posted in Humor, Reflections, weather, tagged Fair-Weather Friends, Humor, Life, Reflections, shoes, Shoes with a hole, weather on April 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
You only discover a hole in your shoe on a rainy day.
It happened to me this morning, on a bleak day when the rain was pelting down, pitting the wet streets, and water was sluicing down the gutters. I was struggling with two balky and miserable dogs, their two leashes, a tiny, windblown umbrella, and a bag full of dog poop that needed to be tied off when I sensed an unwelcome flow of moisture into my right heel. Soon my sock was sodden, and by the time we made the last turn for home my foot was soaked and each step was like pressing down onto a wet sponge.
Curiously, my shoe had a hole in the heel rather than the sole, which is where the failure typically occurs. How that happened is anybody’s guess. But the location of the hole, really, makes no difference. The key point is that a shoe with a hole in it is perfectly serviceable on dry days; it’s only when you need the fully functional shoe most desperately that the defect presents itself. In that sense, a shoe with a hole in it is like a fair-weather friend.
Posted in Dogs, Humor, Kasey, Penny, weather, tagged Dogs, Humor, Kasey, Penny, spring, weather on April 7, 2013 | 1 Comment »
It was a beautiful day in New Albany today — bright and sunny, with the temperature reaching the mid-70s. The lure of the patio and the back yard was irresistible to me, and to Penny and Kasey as well. They enjoyed the chance to gambol in the grass and squint into the brightness, and I liked sitting out on the patio, doing some work and feeling the breeze ruffle my hair.
It felt good to get out into the sunshine and expose that white, dry skin to the sunshine. As for the questionable headline for this posting — well, I like alliteration, and technically the description is accurate.
Posted in Columbus, Humor, weather, tagged Anticipatory Attire Syndrome, clothing, Columbus, Humor, spring, summer, weather, Winter on April 6, 2013 | 1 Comment »
This morning Penny, Kasey, and I saw a good example of Anticipatory Attire Syndrome.
It was about 30 degrees, and the sun was still below the horizon. I was bundled up and wearing winter hat and gloves as we made our way along the Yantis Loop, when suddenly we saw a female jogger trundling past wearing only running shorts and a t-shirt. Her bare legs looked about the color of a boiled lobster and her face did, too. She was obviously freezing, and I don’t think the shivers and good bumps were helping her running style.
Her predicament is not uncommon this time of year. Winters in Columbus tend to be so gray and glum that, with the first hint of spring, some people go all in for the expected change in season. When the skies are clear but the temperature is still on the south side of 50 you’ll see people out in shorts, acting like it’s high summer. They are so eager for a little warmth they just can’t help themselves. Then they catch a cold.
Let’s be smart, people! Spring is a transitional period, made for sweaters and light jackets. Hold off on the shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops for a little while longer, will you?
Posted in Columbus, Photography, weather, tagged Columbus, Fishing, New Albany, Photography, spring, weather on April 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
This afternoon the temperature came close to 60 on a bright, sunny day. We barely dare think it, much less say it: but could Spring finally have Sprung?
A would-be angler at the number 5 pond apparently thought so, but his casting hit a snag or two among the buds on the tree limbs overhanging the boardwalk. He’ll have plenty of time to work on his technique in the coming months.
Posted in Columbus, Humor, Ohio, weather, tagged Clouds, Columbus, Humor, Ohio, Rain, weather on March 31, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Residents of central Ohio were relieved today when the mysterious flaming ball that appeared in the skies yesterday vanished. In its place is familiar, comforting gray skies, dull clouds, and rain.
The blazing brightness that the strange golden orb brought with it was too odd and unsettling. It gave rise to strange urges to remove shoes and walk barefoot in the grass, to dance a little jig on the lawn, to show some bare skin to the world, to smile at the brilliance, and to engage in other forms of unseemly conduct.
No, far better to listen to the patter of the rain against the windowpane, to gaze at a landscape that has been washed clean of vivid color, and to return to the grim perseverance that characterizes the stolid residents of central Ohio. Far better to remove the source of those curious impulses that we might not have been able to resist for long. One day, perhaps, that shining source of light and heat in the firmament may return to tempt us . . . but not today.
Posted in Humor, weather, tagged Humor, spring, Sun, weather on March 30, 2013 | 2 Comments »
Residents of central Ohio were astonished today when our accustomed cloud cover vanished and a large, flaming orb unexpectedly appeared in the sky.
The object is so bright that it is creating sharp, dark outlines of objects, like tree limbs, mailboxes, and even people, on the ground. It is so dazzling that mortal man cannot look at it directly without being blinded. If you wish to walk around in the brilliance, you must shield your eyes to avoid being stupefied.
It is unclear whether the object is dangerous, but there are warning signs that it may be hazardous. It appears to radiate some kind of energy, because exposure to the object leaves the back of your neck feeling warm and tingly. It also exerts a curious attraction. People seem to want to go outside and bask in the object’s brightness. Neighbors who have long remained indoors are outside and have discarded their coats. Have the authorities been notified?
Posted in America, Humor, weather, tagged America, Groundhog Day, Humor, Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil, weather, weather forecasters, Winter on March 25, 2013 | 3 Comments »
Punxsutawney Phil might be cute, in all his plump, furry, buck-toothed, rodentine glory, but he should be called Suxutawney Phil in view of his pathetic weather prognostication abilities. Overnight, we got several inches of heavy wet snow — when the Punxster predicted that winter would end several weeks ago.
No longer will I trust the forecasts of the furry fiend emerging from his burrow on February 2! From now on, I’ll rely on the weather auguries of Rochester Ralph, the floppy-eared rabbit forecaster who foretells the length of winter based on whether he eats lettuce or carrots on January 26, and Hanover Hal, the happy hedgehog who rolls into a ball when prodded with a stick on February 5 and veers right or left to predict how much snow will fall in the next two months.
In the meantime, Kish and I have declared that we just can’t take much more winter weather. When spring finally gets here, we’ll return from a quick trip to Pennsylvania and celebrate with a delicately flavored, nourishing groundhog stew.
Posted in Photography, weather, tagged house and grounds, Photography, Shrubs, spring, weather on March 23, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
According to the calendar, spring has technically arrived . . . but we know that spring isn’t here just yet.
Last year the bushes in our back yard became overgrown and we asked a tree service to trim them back. They did, and then some! Now we look out the kitchen window and see the barren shoots and branches thrusting out of the ground like skeletal fingers, and it’s a bit depressing. Here at Webner House, spring will be declared only when we see some buds on those stark, sharp, bony bushes.
