It Might Rain Today

I expected it to rain for several days, now, but have been disappointed every day until today when I was effectively trapped in the parking lot of my office building, waiting for the downpour to ease up or for a parking space to be vacated on the other side of the small river that had formed due to drainage overflow.  I eventually got a better parking space and donned my ever-ready rain coat and made it inside.  I love heavy rainfalls.  We can sure use the water here in South Florida.

Hello from South Florida

 Hello from South Florida, where the March temperatures make for some good swimming.  

 We enjoy the water so much that we store some in the sky.

Weather Matters, Whether Weather Matters or Not

I just could not help myself.  

It's December 1st and my iGoogle homepage reminds me, daily, of the weather conditions in the cities around the nation where my parents, my in-laws, and my children reside.  Oh, and it also tells me what the weather conditions are, here in paradise.  

So I just could not help but to point out that while my family is enjoying the cold, with freezing rain and slushy snow, I am about to be able to turn off my air conditioner at night and enjoy some outside air for a change.  I MIGHT even pull out a sweatshirt to wear when I go to Belle's soccer game on Saturday.

We're in Florida.  Come and visit, the weather is fine!

A Cold Day In Iowa

I just arrived in Davenport, where I had come to see my father.  Unfortunately for me, he must have known I was coming because he departed to Iowa City while I was en route!  That is dark humor, because he flew there in a helicopter, having had a turn-for-the-worse during the night.  He has been in a hospital for the past few days following an apparent stroke.  I'm about to drive to Iowa City now to see  him.  More later.

South Florida Weather

The sky is dark gray,
water obscures windows;
forbidding outside,
dry and cool inside --
I love thundershowers.

Out My Office Window

I was looking out my office window the other day,
thinking that the clouds were particularly pretty
because of the light and shadows and interesting formations.

I thought, "I should take a picture,
just for fun,"
when I noticed a smudge out there in the clouds.

I wondered if that smudge was a distant airplane,
and where those on-board were traveling off to.
What great adventure awaited them?

But when I changed my focus,
I came to realize
that the smudge was an
altogether different kind
of adventurer.

"Rest your wings, little bug.
It looks like a storm is about to kick up."

How Hot is it in Iowa?

While visiting my parents in Iowa, taking a relaxing break from my oh-so-hectic life, I was "invited" to help my Dad assemble a prefab shed. "It should only take a little while." he said, disguising the true nature of the job.

But by the end of the day, we had made quite a bit of progress, as you can see. You might also see how red and sweaty I look, and how clean and cool they look.

It would be easy, from these pictures, to think that I had done all the work while they stood idly by and offered suggestions, and even took a lunch-break to get outta the heat while I labored away.

But of course, that is NOT the case. All of us worked hard and sweat profusely and we were equally red-in-the-face by the time we were through for the day. If anything, those guys worked harder than I did. However, I have learned that not everybody reads to the very end of the story, so we will see if the truth of this story gets conveyed or not. :-)

By the way, no way was it only 92 degrees. 100 degrees is much more accurate, but even that doesn't capture the feeling of the direct sunlight beating down on us while we swam through the humid air in our sweat-soaked clothes.

Light Show

Last night the heavens presented us with a grand light show. The intra-cloud lightening strikes must have gone on for more than 30 minutes. It was fun to stand and watch the flashes overhead.

Real Florida Weather

After a long and cool winter, I realized this morning that normal Florida weather is back. Hot and sticky at 6am (78 degrees with 83% humidity) means hotter and stickier in the afternoon. Air conditioners across the state groan under the strain of higher demand.

Not That There's Anything Wrong With Clouds...

Not that anyone asked, or that it really matters, but there seems to be a really big difference in the weather between the mid-east coast and the north-west coast...

Morning Sunshine

The piano's silence filled the house as the sun dazzled a livingroom corner, cat curled into a ball out of sight.

There are more stars in the universe (200,000,000,000 stars in each of more than 300,000,000,000 galaxies) than grains of sand on the earth; but this beautiful little moment, in this very place, at this very time, was perfectly sufficient for me.

South Florida's Four Seasons

South Florida's seasons can usually be adequately described as last summer, this summer, and next summer. But with local climate change, a more specific classification system has emerged. Our four seasons are

• windows closed, air conditioning on (hot and humid, sticky, normal, probably 300+ days/year)
  
• windows open, air conditioning off (pleasantly cool and dry, wonderful, a blessing, hopefully several weeks a year but there is no guarantee)
  
• windows closed, air conditioning off (chilly, cold, sweaters, "glad we do not live in the north", rarely happens, maybe one week a year if at all)
  
• windows closed, heater on (really damn cold, "this is not supposed to happen", angry at our northern friends and relatives for sending us this inconvenient weather, almost never ever happens, electric blankets, furnace failures)

Notice that when seminary class begins at 6am, our temperature will be 34 degrees but it will feel like 25 degrees. That is below freezing! HELLO, We live in South Florida -- a tropical zone! The information was taken from the Weather Channel online website. I'll have to believe them, because I am spending my night under the electric blanket. Oh, wait, I have to drive Courtney to seminary in the morning............I'll get back to you about how tomorrow morning actually feels.

Whether the Weather Matters

Can you read the weather forecasts above? In case it is hard to read or understand, let me clarify. It says Florida weather is pleasant and Iowa weather is cold and forbidding. Just thought I would share.

Hello From Florida!

Sometimes I miss the "changing of the seasons" that our northern friends and family enjoy. The prettiness of the changing color of the leaves, the sense of satisfaction in struggling against the snow and ice, how cozy the inside is when "the weather outside is frightful..."

And when I get to feeling that way, I go swimming in an outdoor pool. :-) Here's to you, my shivering northern friends and family!

Garden

We have been so pleased with the way our bushes have grown and the pretty blossoms that adorn our house. We have also been surprised by how well our cool-weather impatiens have survived the onset of spring heat, continuing to bloom long past the cool Florida-winter weather that they like most.

It is fun to have a little garden. I miss the vegetable gardens we had in Utah, though. Nothing compares with vine-ripened tomatoes and cucumbers. What about you -- how is your garden growing?

Let It Rain

The ducks in our neighborhood enjoy the rain. It gives them a chance to get their feet wet and to have a drink of fresh water.

"Watch out, here comes a car!"

Belle liked the rain today because she got to wear, for the very first time, a really cool poncho!

South Florida Chill

I know that it doesn't seem cold compared to the weather that our friends and family have endured in the frozen north, but for us here in South Florida it is really chilly when the outside temperature is 45 degrees!  

Mild Weather For Christmas Visitors (Subject to Change)

For those of you who are interested, the table on the left (copied from the AccuWeather website) is the 15 day temperature forecast for our zip code here in South Florida, starting on Dec 13th.  The graph indicates mild temps from now through Christmas (position 12 on the graph), when it looks to be a high in the mid 70s and an overnight low around 60.  

For more accurate weather information as your travel draws near, you can click on 

http://www.accuweather.com and enter our zip code (33324).

The Weather is Turning Chilly...

The outside temperature was down to 70 this morning.  Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!  Chilly weather here in South Florida.  The A/C hardly turns on and if the temperature keeps dropping, we'll even have to open the windows.  

A Rather Blustery Day In South Florida

(A Song from the Winnie the Pooh classic film, A Rather Blustery Day)

Hum, dum, dum, dee, dee, dumHum, dum, dum
Oh the wind is lashing lusterly
And the trees are thrashing thrusterly
And the leaves are rustling gusterly
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to beIt feels that it will undoubteadly
Looks like a rather blustery day today
It seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubteadly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

Hurricane Ike stayed well south of us, with Cuba taking the brunt of the storm and leaving us nearly untouched.  We have had some strong winds and spotty downpours, but nothing that we are not used to seeing regularly.

Hurricanes have been very polite to us here in South Florida this year.  For that we are all grateful.