Tag Archives: weather

Some This and That and a Map

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This and That

We finally had a week of nice weather. Temps in the 70’s & even 80’s. Low humidity. Sunshine and a breeze. Prefect days And I was on vacation! How did I get so lucky? So how did I spend my vacation? Did I take an exotic vacation? Did I bust out my camera and go adventuring? Nope. I sorted and cleaned and still didn’t get everything done. But I made a dent. At least now I don’t look quite so much like a participant on an episode of Hoarders.

With the nice weather I wasn’t afraid to re-pot my Thanksgiving Cactus and move it outside.

That may save it’s life. Balboa was fixated on it and pruned (chewed on it)  it every day. I started some cat grass for him and hope that by fall when I bring the cactus back inside that he’ll be over it. 

 

Boxes – Gone

I crushed up the Chewy boxes and dragged them out to the recycle bin. There will be more but at least for the week I got my Livingroom back. I don’t mind stepping over the boxes as long as the cats are playing with  them but when they stop – out go the boxes.

 

And speaking of boxes. I cleaned out my file cabinet and packed up my taxes and bank statements so I can start filing all the paper that’s piled on my desk. Hey folks, we’re in the age of digital! What ever happened to a paperless society?

Travel

I follow several consumer and travel websites. I’m still not convinced that this is a good year to travel. Restrictions are being lifted all over. Next week Massachusetts is removing all COVID restrictions. The most recent advisory that I’ve seen on domestic travel  says we’ll still need  to mask up to fly but if you are fully vaccinated that’s about the only time you’ll need a mask. You won’t need a negative COVID test either.  The exception might be Hawaii. I haven’t seen an update on their restrictions yet. 

One issue that I’m still seeing in the news is the rental car shortage. In fact I recently heard a car dealership advertising that even new car purchases are being affected by the car shortage! I’ve been hearing of rental prices of over $1000 for a 1 week rental and that wasn’t a high end luxury vehicle either. That rental was from Fort Lauderdale airport. Rental car charges are one of my biggest expenses when I travel so I’m watching that closely. As rental companies restock their inventories I’m sure those fees will come down.  Until then I’ll wait.

The Map

I finished adding photos of the states I’ve visited to the map.

 

There are 4 states that I’m debating about.  Years ago I went to a drum and bugle corp. competition in Allentown PA. I remember it rained and our tent leaked. It wasn’t a fun trip but still I was there. I don’t have any pictures and I don’t feel like I really got a feel for the state.  

South Carolina is another one. My brother got married in South Carolina. My sister-in-law is from Charleston  and I attended their wedding. I bet I could get a wedding picture from them to mark off South Carolina but there’s so much about that state that I want to explore that I’m reluctant to take it off the list.

#3 is Illinois. Again it’s a really old trip and it was for work. I had a week long training in Chicago. It was my first ever work trip and one of my first times on a plane.  There wasn’t much sight seeing. I was too introverted at the time and remember being kind of overwhelmed.  No pictures of that trip either.

Last but not least was my brother’s retirement from the Navy in Kenosha Wisconsin. I think I have a few pictures of my brother in his dress whites in a photo album. 

Although technically these 4 states meet my criteria I didn’t really get much sight seeing done. What do you think? Should I add a picture (google has plenty) or leave them as “still to be visited”?

 

 

Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami warning

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NOAA buoy detects Tsunami

Stock Photo

Did you hear about the Alaska Tsunami warning?

Imagine if you had been cruising when the tsunami warning came on! I was about to tell you about cruise #3 which was to Alaska but I decided I wanted to know more about the tsunami and earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska. How do these events affect a cruise ship?

Earthquake under the Sea

Its pretty interesting. If you are on a boat and there’s an earthquake near you, you won’t even notice it. Imagine a cork in a bowl of water. Tip the bowl and the cork won’t move. Same idea but the ship is the cork and the bowl the ocean. If you are tied up in port your experience might be a little different. The dock will be affected because it’s connected to the land. Since the ship is tied to the dock tie lines may jerk and the ship may bump into the pier. All that energy is being transferred to the ship.

But What about a Tsunami?

Those are pretty big waves. It would seem that they would affect the ship. Remember the movie “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972 & 2005)? That is not what is going to happen. At least not if you are out at sea. If you are on a cruise ship in the ocean you might not even notice the Tsunami! Much like the cork above, your ship will probably just ride over it.

The Shock Wave that is a Tsunami

Tsunamis can travel at speeds of 500 mph in the open sea but it isn’t a wall of  water. It’s not until it hits shallow water in a harbor or along a coast that it is compressed into a big wave. Stay away from land and you should be good. Experts say that large cruise ships probably won’t be affected even when docked because they need at least 30 ft of water which is still considered fairly deep.

Alaska’s Alert

Although everyone was evacuated from the low lying coastal areas near Kodiak, the tsunami never materialized. By 7:30 EST the alerts and warnings along the west coast were being canceled. That’s good news for all!

 

Doo Doo Doo Looking Out My Back Door

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Remember this one? Creedence Clearwater Revival? The lyrics go

Just got home from Illinois, lock the front door, oh boy!
Got to sit down, take a rest on the porch.
Imagination sets in, pretty soon I’m singing,

Doo, doo, doo, Looking out my back door….

Well here’s the view from my back door (actually my front door) after the weekend blizzard.

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Lately my life is just a song! 🙂

It’s October!

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October 1st. Once again I want to share  my favorite Poem with you.  I first learned it in 5th grade and still remember it!

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October’s Bright Blue Weather

O suns and skies and clouds of June, And flowers of June together, Ye cannot rival for one hour October’s bright blue weather;
When loud the bumblebee makes haste, Belated, thriftless vagrant, And goldenrod is dying fast, And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fingers tight To save them for the morning, And chestnuts fall from satin burrs Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie In piles like jewels shining, And redder still on old stone walls Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things Their white-winged seeds are sowing, And in the fields still green and fair, Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks, In idle golden freighting, Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts, By twos and twos together, And count like misers, hour by hour, October’s bright blue weather.
O sun and skies and flowers of June, Count all your boasts together, Love loveth best of all the year October’s bright blue weather.

Helen Hunt Jackson

Hot, Humid and Hazy At Gristmill Pond

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One of the things that fell by the wayside as I made adjustments to my new life in Real Estate was my photography. I was so caught up in studying for my test and getting trained in my new duties that I stopped going out to shoot. After I passed my test I realized I hadn’t even had the camera in hand for a month! The last time was while I was in Seattle the beginning of June. That is unheard of for me! Since I bought the camera I have tried to take a least a few pictures every day.

I had a photo shoot scheduled to take senior pictures in Brewster Gardens in Plymouth  July 8 so I dusted off the camera and lenses and headed to the Gristmill Pond in Plymouth to shake off the rust before the shoot.

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When I got there it was sunny and the sky was blue, a beautiful day. The breeze off the ocean was keeping the temperatures down so I was expecting great light by the time of the appointment at 6 pm.

I pulled into the pond to see Mr & Mrs Majestic (your remember them, the swan couple) escorting one juvenile swan. I don’t know if they are still cygnets if they have their white feathers, but they were putting on a parade up and down the pond…a perfect photo op.

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I hopped out of the air conditioned car, pulled out the camera and started taking pictures. It felt great to have the camera back in hand. I noticed the lenses kept fogging up. I expected that when I first stepped out of the car but after awhile the temps should have equalized. That’s when I noticed the blue sky was gone and the fog was rolling in off the ocean.

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I wandered back to the car to remove the UV filter and of course the swans came swimming back again the minute I walked away.

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I slammed the trunk of the car and ran back for more pictures when it hit me…where were my car keys?….I’d just had them.  I used them to open the trunk.

I looked under the car. I checked my pockets. I looked in the car windows…nothing. Then it hit me. I must have dropped them in the trunk while I was rummaging  in the camera bag!

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Oh boy, I’m really stuck. I have AAA but my cell phone is also locked in the car. Where’s a thief when you need one. I started asking anyone in the area who had a truck if they had any wire or anything I could use to unlock the car. No luck or maybe no one was willing to admit they could break in.

Meanwhile the clock was ticking down to my appointment.

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Finally I walked to the Old Grist Mill and begged a phone call. AAA agreed to send someone but gave an ETA of 6:30. I couldn’t even call my appointment to tell them I’d be late because the phone # was on my cell phone which was locked in the car!

I know I was looking like a crazy woman. I was sweating and red faced because of the humidity. If it’s one thing that makes me crazy , it’s being late!

Well as they saying goes, all is well that ends well. AAA arrived early and had me into the car and trunk in minutes. They were awesome. I made it to Brewster Gardens 10  minutes early and the photo shoot went off without a hitch.

This is an example of the beautiful results. 🙂

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The soft light from the clouds and fog that rolled in gave me wonderful exposures and my client and I had a great laugh over my panic.