I said Welcome 2014

Posted on January 3, 2014January 3, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I guess we didn’t give 2014 enough of a welcome Jan 1. It rolled in with a vengeance. Almost immediately 2014 started dumping snow and cold on New England. The blizzard started quietly enough early Jan 2 but gained momentum as the day progressed really picking up steam over night.

There were reports of empty shelves at supermarkets as everyone raced to the stores to stock up on essentials, bread, milk, eggs, meat…funny the snack aisle was pretty hard hit too!

The Governor was on the news urging employers to send people home and close early. Schools were closed while kids rejoiced. 🙂

My boss encouraged everyone to work remotely from home and agents with tours were encouraged to reschedule. The message was clear! Stay off the road. Stay safe.

The speed limit on the Mass. Pike was reduced to 40 miles per hour. And the road crews only promised to try to keep one lane open overnight. Forecasters are saying white out conditions! Doesn’t sound like fun driving conditions.

At least the snow is dry and fluffy. Sorry, not good for snowmen and snowball fights but easy to clear…and there’s another storm on the way for Sunday/Monday!

Did I mention that I hate the cold?

It’s That Time of Year

Posted on December 1, 2013December 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you “Be of good cheer”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It’s the hap- happiest season of all

This is the week that launches the holidays. Already there have been tree lightings and parades and I’m not talking about the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. I’m hoping to get into Boston to check out the tree and decorations at Faneuil Hall. There was a 30 minute TV presentation for the lighting of the 95 ft. tree!

No snow yet. The weather folks were saying it was snowing on the south shore when I turned on the TV yesterday morning. I’m not sure where they were looking because here the sun was out and it was a beautiful, if cold, day. This morning, rainy and gray.

I think I might like the snow this year. I don’t have to drive in it. Working from home lets me relax and enjoy the changing New England weather without worrying about maneuvering through traffic to get to work.

Some of my neighbors have their holiday decorations up already. I’m still dragging my feet. It took 10 years before I was able to get a small Christmas tree up and keep it up with 2 curious cats. Each year they would systematically dismantle the tree. In the early years they pulled it down faster than I could put it up. Last year was the first year it really survived the whole season. Now I have a new cat and I’m debating if I really want to start the battle of the Christmas Tree all over again.

It’s not like I have little kids to impress. It’s just me but I did enjoy it last year. And the antics of 3 cats might make for an entertaining post.

Yes, I’m thinking I should at least try it out and see how Buddy reacts. See that’s why I write these posts. It helps me make decisions.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful!

Posted on October 6, 2013October 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

We’ve been talking about the “Dakotas” , North and South, so I couldn’t help but notice the weather out there. Wow! Have you seen the pictures? A blizzard hit the whole region!

Rapid City, where we went on vacation a couple of years ago, got 21 inches of snow. Temps are struggling to reach the 30’s when it was 85 last week! Here is a partial report from the AP.

news-national-20131005-US--Autumn.Storms

Brenda Nolting, of Rapid City, S.D., rolls her cart to her car after stocki…

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — In the span of 24 hours, the scenic Black Hills in South Dakota were coated in up to three and a half feet of wet, heavy snow, one of several Great Plains states walloped by a storm system that’s caused millions of dollars in damage.

Wind gusts of up to 70 mph were recorded in the Black Hills, National Weather Service meteorologist Katie Pojorlie said Saturday morning, but the snow was expected to end later Saturday, giving people a chance to start digging out from the unusual early fall snowstorm that set records.

But wintry weather wasn’t the only thing wrapped into the powerful cold front, as thunderstorms brought heavy rain, hail and tornadoes in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. No one died in the tornadoes, reports said, but snow was blamed in the deaths of three people who were killed in a traffic accident on U.S. 20 in northeast Nebraska.

Forecasters said the front would eventually combine with other storms to make for a wild — and probably very wet — weekend for much of the central U.S. and Southeast.

Pojorlie said the historic mining city of Lead, S.D., in the northern Black Hills had received 43 ½ inches of snow by 7:30 p.m. Friday and more had fallen overnight. Rapid City had 21 inches, but 31 inches was recorded just a mile southwest of the city.

Farther south at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary, the mustangs found themselves in a winter wonderland.

Tornados touched down in near Wayne, Nebraska but thankfully there were only minor injuries.

Is the weather getting crazy or what?!

Oh No It’s The “Brrr” Months

Posted on September 1, 2013September 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Meteorological Fall is now here. While fall doesn’t officially begin till September 22nd, the weather begins to shift a couple weeks before the arrival of each new season on average. For data purposes the National Weather Service calculates the season statistics from the beginning of June through the end of August. Since the first day of each season can vary, this makes it easier to calculate statistics and compare them from year to year. I admit, hearing the weather forecaster announce that last night made me sit up and take notice. It can’t be fall already. I never got to enjoy summer!

Around here we refer to September, October, November and December as the “Ber” months or more commonly the “Brrrr” months because they herald the onset of cooler and eventually colder weather. By December the shivers have usually really set in.

I remember when I was growing up in the Adirondacks that to go Trick or Treating on Halloween we had to be bundled in snow suits. More than once our costumes wouldn’t fit over the winter gear so all anyone saw when we came to the door were our masks.

After I moved east to Massachusetts the weather seemed to mellow and kids could go trick or treating without snowshoes but then in 2011 we got hit with a Halloween Nor’easter, the first significant snowstorm in October sine 1972!

Today I’m enjoying a rainy Sunday. There’s thunder and lightening and steady rain. It’s not too cold but at least I haven’t put the AC or heat on yet. I know a lot of people are hoping the sky clears and the sun comes out to give everyone a last taste of summer on this holiday weekend.

This summer was gone too fast, filled with changes and distractions but now children are headed back to school and vacations are over. I’m hoping my work schedule can settle in so that I can enjoy the fall. Maybe get to take some day trips leaf peeping with my camera. Anyway I’m going to chalk this summer up to the one I missed. Happily they come around once each year.

Oh I almost forgot…the Old Farmers Almanac is predicting a cold winter…BRRRRR.

College Fjord

Posted on June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the last day of cruising. We’re well on our way through the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound .

Glacier Bay to College Fjord 438 nautical miles 18.4 knots

College Fjord contains the largest collection of tidewater glaciers in the world each named after an east coast college or university.

College Fjord is beautiful. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

It seemed that we’d finally left the rain and clouds behind. The sun was bright, reflecting off the white snow covered mountains.

Once you enter the Fjord you will pass Holyoke, Barnard, Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers on the port side. Harvard is at the head of the fjord.