Posts from the ‘Weather’ category

Taking back the Front Porch

adders 

OutfitBy popular demand…the outfit….

Day 2 was much less stressful – it was cooler by 10 degrees and my anxiety level was less due to the success of day 1 – there were no visible wasps – a second dose of the foamy spray, knocked down the remaining 2 nests and done.  I did do another walk around and found one mini-nest – stragglers from yesterday rebuilding??? Not sure but I will have to keep a watch.

Last night I went out with a glass of ginger ale spiked with maraschino cherries – all quiet…  spritzed some fresh hair spray – still quiet.  We’ll see – hard to believe there aren’t some colonies in one of the wood piles but maybe reducing the population on the house will do the trick. 

Flowers and Bob 

At the moment, the front porch is ours!

Mad as a hornet!

Spray 

– at Yellow Jackets – I think they are Yellow Jackets… they are some kind of wasp anyway and they are yellow and black and attracted to sweet stuff as in my glass of wine, tea, my hair (spray or shampoo??).  I am pretty good at not swatting at bee type things and letting them figure out that I am not a flower (food) and they then go away.  But these guys – actually I guess it is the girls that go out for food – not giving up!  First sting on the back of my arm just walking and I assume she got caught between arm and the edge of my blouse – oww! but then not too bad until next day when swollen, hard, hot and red to nearly my elbow!  So looked around and found a nest – a ha! – next morning I sprayed it well and knocked it down. Mission accomplished I thought…

But then, standing in the yard – stung twice more on the leg!  Oh – maybe the first nest I saw was not the only nest so did a really good look around and found 7 more! 

Nest 

Most are small like the first, but 2 fairly large (photo left) and naturally in the peak of the roof.. requiring the extension ladder.  It is not a seriously high peak on my little cabin-house but still I don’t want to fall and it has required some serious psyching up – dealing with the anxiety of possibly missing a few of them and having to remember to take my time on the ladder.  I so BADLY want them gone!

And it is not just me – before tackling the 7 nests, I needed more spray.  I stopped at the home and ranch supply place – none… the cashier said they had a run on it.  Funny, I thought – I’ll stop at the hardware – none – same story… I go to a grocery and then thinking I’m being sneaky to a nursery and 2 convenience stores – None.  And there are other people looking also – we are kind of following each other around chasing after Wasp Killer spray. 

Apparently it is the summer of the wasps and no one can enjoy their decks or porches and lots of stinging.  Yesterday, I even received an email from the fire department warning about them and reminding everyone where the Epi-pens were located in the medical kits – Yikes! – not quite Hitchcock but…

The hardware told me that a truck would be delivering about 1:00 yesterday – I phoned at 1:05 and was told that 95 cans were being unloaded.  I wasted no time – hopped in the Jeep and went – grabbed up 4 cans and came home where they made me so anxious sitting on the counter that I had to hide them in a closet.

This morning, I donned my “outfit” – jeans tucked into boots, long sleeve denim shirt buttoned to the chin and wrists, raingear over with the hood cinched tight – ski goggles, gloves – no, I am not getting out the tripod to get a photo!  I was nearly poached by the time I got to the ladder armed with 2 cans of spray which I had tested briefly.  A little anti-climatic – it went well. I saturated the nests and didn’t fall off the ladder.  I knocked down all but the 2 nests in the peak – those I will give another dose of spray tomorrow morning before I knock them down. 

I’m sitting here dripping wet – it was 65 when I went out but still too warm for the amount of stuff I had on and it was closed down so tight nothing got in – not even air. 

Now – whether getting rid of these nests will allow me back on the front porch – that I don’t know … Killer frost, that’s what we need!  And believe me, I am not the only one saying that – the grumbling, whining and general misery with the heat wave is getting to everyone – I feel better not being the only grump!   From inside the house until further notice…

It was a tornado(s)…

News and some photos today – no one got a photo of the tornado – the photos were of the damage.  And it wasn’t a tornado of the Kansas – Iowa sort, but apparently the several strong cells that whooshed through did have signifigant rotation and one bit of rotation touched ground south of Polson and several other bits over Flathead Lake – one which picked up a 26 foot sailboat and spun it 360 flinging the occupants over the side – they were rescued unhurt.  In fact, no people were hurt.  The roof came off an arena where a barrel racing event was going on – terrifying to horses and people and one horse was killed, another hurt but looks like he will recover.  From “The Daily Interlake” (Kalispell newspaper)  – the following article   http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/07/20/news/news01.txt

 And when I stopped at the dump this morning – evidence of a recent storm…

Dumpsters

Nice Night

The day after the “Big” storm – 80 instead of nearly 100 – what a change!  Warm enough to feel like summer but not so hot as to make it miserable to be outside.  By early evening, it was extremely pleasant so we had some outdoor fun…

a little “Karl’s Rules Soccer”…

Karl 1

Karl 2

Karl 3

Done with soccer.

Karl 4

After soccer a little garden time – not a lot of raspberries but what a nice little snack with an evening cup of tea!

Raspberries

Bob had his own special way of enjoying the nice night…

Bob

Are we in Kansas Toto…err, I mean Bob and Karl?

Yikes, another wild night complete with a tornado warning – a tornado! – in Montana!!  It is a little confusing though as they announced a warning from NOAA… and a warning means an actual sighting, but no one actually SAW the tornado.  NOAA saw rotation in a thunderstorm cell.  This morning they are saying that there ACTUALLY was a tornado that touched the ground in Polson which is 40 miles south of me on the southern shore of Flathead Lake.  It was 8 p.m. which is still full light although it was darkish from the storm, still,  can’t believe no one got a photo and I haven’t heard there is one.  Also a bunch of NOAA people are rushing to Polson this morning to “VERIFY” the touch down.  We shall see…

There was a LOT of wind and thunder, lightning, rain and then that constant cloud to cloud lightning with no thunder after the storm had seemingly passed.  The wind was pretty spectacular, even at my place.  I have tried to get video of what the trees look like when there is a windstorm.  Because the trees here are mostly the very tall trunks with branches mostly at the top 3rd, they sway very dramatically and with a very high wind it looks like some wild dance out there all of them going every which way and they bend so much it is hard to believe they don’t break – well some do… see later…  It is more dramatic to me as I’ve gone out after and tried to push a tree from a ladder – and they don’t move!

Everyone will be relieved to know that Bob exercised some caution last night – late afternoon as clouds started piling up, he stuck to the porch like glue!  I had to coax Karl out – it wasn’t even dark clouds, but Karl looks suspiciously at the sky when things are changing and if he doesn’t like the look of it, back inside!  I had to shut the door behind him and then throw a treat into the woods – once there he thinks about what he needs to do…  Both came inside at first call – Karl to the closet and Bob hung in on the bed for a bit but then when the show really started he decided under the bed was better.  Given the tornado thing, he was not in a bad place!

I had a chance to try out a new low tech gadget – weather radio that is supposed to flash light and siren if there is a weather emergency of the take cover kind – well there wasn’t but it does get the NOAA loop loud and clear…  It is such a cute radio and includes a crank handle to charge a rechargeable battery, plus will charge my cell phone.  I’m running on AA’s and have been using it mornings and evenings to hear news.

Radio  

Yesterday was a bit cooler from the rain Tuesday night, so Karl and I braved a bit longer walk in the woods – not our usual path and saw for the first time some of the damage from a windstorm that occured when we were in CO – very sad – several trees lost their tops – just looks so horrible to see the broken top on the ground and the break in what’s still standing.  Then this poor guy who fell over entirely – these large pine do not have much root system and it’s shallow.  I see this alot at the park by the lake where we walk – wind comes across the lake and the trees at the top sometimes just uproot like this.

Tree 

Tree Uprooted

This tree was about 50 feet tall – well, it will be home to some animals and feed other trees and critters.

As a follow up to my “new attitude” post. I am doing marginally better at dealing with the heat – however, those around me – tv, radio, people in shops – they are getting crankier… It is not just ME! – we don’t like heat here, hey, if people like heat, they don’t live in Montana!!!  We are to have a few days a bit cooler at 90ish instead of 100ish – but no forecast for a return to normal 80’s yet – bah, humbug!

thunder, lightning and Bob’s Big Adventure

Yesterday afternoon, all is quiet – I’m working, boys are napping…

Bob and Karl THEN…..

Map

AND “the glass is rising” …..

Barometer

The sky darkens … whoops, need to get Karl out before it starts thundering – we just make it and Karl takes care of necessities as the wind comes up.  His ears go back and he heads for the house and my bedroom closet.  I call Bob but he is still out.  He’s not quite as sensitive about thunder but at the first rumble I expect to see him running for home.  He doesn’t – I’m sitting on the front porch watching and listening as the storm approaches – still no Bob.  I walk through the woods 4 or 5 times – lightning is still very distant but thunder is getting louder and more frequent.  Then it starts to sprinkle and finally rain.  I decide that he has found a hidey hole – and I doubt he will venture out with it thundering so I go in and leave his door open.  Several squalls come through and it is after 10 before things settle down to just a gentle rain with no thunder or lightning and in walks Bob.  I’m relieved but also have to laugh – he is dry on his front half and soaked on his back half… I have to guess that he found a good place to “hide” from the storm, but his back half was “hanging out”.  We had a good snuggle and a warm towell off before going to bed.  It must not have been too traumatic as he did not hesitate going out this morning.  Still, adventures that make one late for supper – no fun!  (sentiment expressed by Bilbo Baggins…)

The morning after…

Deer