Message Forum

Thank you, Nancy,

Yesterday was 84 and now at 8:45 A.M.PDT, it is 66 with a forecast of 86. Humidity only 34%, so it does not feel as hot as 86 feels in Wisconsin. We will be dressing in our shorts and tank tops today!

Here is one perfect rose for you!

04/16/14 12:10 PM

#1576

Thanks, Melody. Having been born in Texas, I think a yellow rose is just perfect!

04/16/14 10:40 PM

#1577

Planted my first CA rosebush last weekend. We'll see what happens.

I remember back in WI, you had to time it right so that your nose would finally clear up enough from winter so that you could smell the roses in summer.

04/17/14 08:16 PM

#1578

Nancy, an angel must have whispered in my ear...LOL!

Jim, good one!!!

04/19/14 04:33 PM

#1579

I give you: Peace. Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Happy Spring!

04/20/14 02:05 PM

#1580

Jeanne Zinser (Gottschalk)

“They have Easter egg hunts in Philadelphia, and if the kids don’t find the eggs, they get booed.” – Bob Uecker

04/20/14 02:25 PM

#1581

Jim--That's our "Mr. Baseball!" Gotta love him!

04/21/14 05:06 PM

#1582

Terri,

Absoluyely beautiful roses!

P.S. Our strawberries are not very flavorful, yet. Hope they get better as the season progresses.

But the watermelons are terrific!

Jim,

I thoroughly enjoy your sense of humor!

04/22/14 09:09 AM

#1583

Melody, that rose was perfection and Terri, the pictures of the flowers made me long for spring even more. Our last couple of days were glorious - in the 70's. What a wonderful Easter. Today is back to normal - cold & windy (wind is coming off Lake Michigan). Patience is running very thin - - - - -

04/22/14 10:16 AM

#1584

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoYrxmxFnio&feature=share&noredirect=1

Barb - This one's for you:

04/24/14 02:21 PM

#1585

Nancy,

Thanks for the post but something is not working on this end! I couldn't get it to go through!

Barb

04/24/14 03:24 PM

#1586

Barb, I think it will work now. Garry fixed it ( I knew he could ). Other way is to Google "The Grounds for Violence" in the Key of Bart.

If you like Simon and Garfunkel and hate the endless quality of our winter, then you'll like this.

Our lake ice broke up yesterday; so nice to see moving water again!

04/24/14 03:26 PM

#1587

Nancy, it came through on this end, and my heart went out to all of you suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous winter. (As long as we are parodying :-) I was looking out at my roses in full bloom, my lawn almost green and listening to the birds singing as I watched this video. Not fair. But we will get our just desserts late this summer in the grips of our drought, taking mini-showers - and less often - following the drought-season toilet flushing rules, and watching the plants and trees turning brown. The good news is, we are expecting an El Niño winter for 2014-15, which usually brings us mucho rain!

04/24/14 03:45 PM

#1588

Yes, I often think of you with your drought season rules (laws?) - especially while cleaning our decks with a hose. Yup, just turn it on and keep hosing.....we pump it out of the lake, and it all soaks into the ground and goes to the well or back into the lake. It's even better here than it was at the condo in Chicago, where you could use as much as you want, but paid for it both ways - coming in and going out. This is our reward for surviving the winter. And we DESERVE it.

I hope El Niño comes to you as predicted.

04/24/14 09:26 PM

#1589

Thanks to you, Nancy & to Garry, of course - I had to laugh out loud. This was so much more than appropriate!! At least we are in the home stretch. If this isn't the home stretch, I believe I will be moving to California. Can't take another winter like this one - and I was inside for a good portion of it. Water situation might be annoying but there's no freezing to death!

I'm thinking spring!

04/25/14 02:57 PM

#1590

Hey Barb,

California welcomes you. There's still room here. Weatherwise, you have your choice of 3 locations - nice, nicer, nicest.

Nancy,

Yes, the drought here may be rough, but my relatives back in northern WI had their heating propane rationed this winter. I'd rather skip watering the lawn or even a shower than freeze or not be able to cook.

04/25/14 03:22 PM

#1591

You haven't even heard the worst of it. Lots of people and businesses in Alpena (our nearest town - 23 miles) had their pipes freeze. I heard that the frost line went down to five feet! A couple down the street from us spent several weeks going to the local clubhouse/gym/pool for showers, and carrying water home for cooking..

Here's our horror story: just before leaving for Boulder in February we went to check our kids' house just down the road. Opened the door and thought we were in Siberia (remember the summer house called "Varykino" in Dr.. Zhivago?). Ceilings, windows, and all outside walls covered in ice. Furnace was off; two doors to the crawl space were left open (by the local heating and plumbing guy who had "winterized" the house, and says he's never seen anything like this). We spent the entire day, nonstop, raking the ice and shoveling it into buckets, then carrying it outside (can't use the sinks or toilets in a winterized house). Then turned on the heat and began running around with every beach towel we could find (lots of them, rotating back and forth from the dryer all day). Then, all upholstered furniture up on blocks with fans blowing underneath.

Because we worked like beavers, damage was minimal - just a new paint job on several walls and most ceilings. Had we not caught it, the melting ice would have meant all the wood floors and all the furniture would need replacements. Yuk. Anyway, we surmised that what happened was that the warmer air from the crawl spaces hit the windows and outside walls, condensed, and then - when the temperature plummeted for so long - Ice Palace!

"Da Nort" is not for sissies.

04/26/14 08:03 AM

#1592

My heart & my sore back goes out to you, Nancy. What a nightmare! I remember that movie. Caravan to California? The wind is coming off the Big Lake again today - I'm hating the term "wind chill factor" but we're living with it almost daily. Yesterday the wind was from the south & I was beyond happy! My sister lives in Marshfield & they still have snow on the ground - maybe I can have her join the California Caravan! Bet Ray still has snow too - in the "way Nort".

04/26/14 09:46 AM

#1593

We awoke this morning to 30 degrees and snow. Give me a break.

04/26/14 11:07 AM

#1594

Wow, Nancy. What a nightmare that must have been. Thank goodness you discovered it in time; was wondering if the heating and plumbing guy helped with the cleanup! We are having a bit of winter return too. We were going out last evening, I was in my thin denim jacket, and "brrrr" had to turn around and get my winter one. It rained all day yesterday - thankfully! Today woke up to 44° - not cold enough for snow down here - but when the rain moved eastward to the Sierras, they got a good amount of snow. That helps the whole state, because the melted snow is collected and sent all around the state through the aquaduct system. We're happy to take whatever precipitation we can get, and however late! Our rainy season usually ends after April, so that's all we get until next October.

04/26/14 11:40 AM

#1595

Neat system.......you're just like the Romans! Are your aqueducts as beautiful?

04/26/14 11:58 AM

#1596

Unfortunately - and I'm sure cost was an issue :-) - there is no architecture involved in our aquaduct. But still, whenever I drive over it on I-5 en route to Los Angeles, I never fail to be impressed at the cubic tons of clear, blue mountain water heading through central California; some is taken out on the way by the Valley farmers, and I believe the rest ends up in L.A. Jim, is that right?

04/26/14 01:17 PM

#1597

This pic of our CA aquaduct was taken at Tracy, CA. Our aquaduct is 701 miles long. It originates at the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta and flows at a height of 108 feet(when over the mountains) approximately an average of 33 feet wide at a speed of 13,000 cubic feet of water per second. There are eastern branches to water the fertile San Joaquin valley, etc., for our farmers, then the bulk ends up in Northern L.A. at Castaic Lake or Southern L.A. at Castaic Dam. So, snow on our mountains is vital for the whole state. We welcome any preipitation we can get here in the Sacramento Valley!

Sorry, could not wait for Jim. I wanted to show off...LOL!

04/26/14 02:24 PM

#1598

Right on Melody, Terri. A good part of CA is dry, arid desert grasslands, desert, and chaparral with soils that do not soak up and retain rain water. So, of course, that's where everybody chooses to live. The agricultural valleys and coastal city areas were never intended by nature to support what they have developed into. CA has a number of aquaduct systems, managed by both state and federal agencies. The main water source is snow melt from the mountains, plus whatever rain we can get in the rainy season. Every drop counts. Right now, the entire state is under drought conditions, with most of it considered either severe of extreme. When rains do come now, it's false security. Yesterday it rained quite a bit in the northern valley and delta area, and didn't change the drought rating at all. Last week, the rain we got raised the water level in one of the reserviors near here 50 feet. Wow, but the reservior is still below 50% of its normal capacity at this time of the year. Most of the aquaducts from the north feed the LA area. Along the way, water is siphoned off agriculture and for the coastal cities, from San Fran all down the coast. South of LA are different systems for Orange County and San Diego, which also get water from the Colorado River, which also feeds Las Vegas and Arizona. Water is the most precious commodity out here.

04/26/14 03:17 PM

#1599