Journal: Saturday, 11/22/08

►  Chilling down.  27ºF/-2ºC @ midnight.

►  Time for some sleep.  Clear, wind coming up  and 26ºF/-3ºC @ 4:00 AM.


►  Mostly cloudy, damp and gusty south wind and 36ºF/2ºC @ 11 AM. Jo says the day began mostly sunny. Our forecast predicts mostly sunny for this afternoon.

►  Sky well on its way to becoming clear again.  (44ºF/6ºC @ 12:30 PM)

►  PM weather summary:  49ºF/9ºC @ 3 PM.  41ºF/5ºC @ 5 PM.  Clear, moderately gusty south wind and 36ºF/2ºC @ 7 PM.

►  Started kiln on a glaze firing. (Clear, moderate south wind and 35ºF/1ºC @ midnight)



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Journal: Saturday, 11/22/08

Journal: Wednesday, 11/12/08

► Temperature and cloud cover have held steady for the past twelve hours. Fortunately, the wind laid. (54ºF/12ºC @ midnight)

► New day; same overcast. Wind calm. 57ºF/13ºC @ 11 AM

► Skies are trying to clear, but progress is very slow. (61ºF/16ºC @ 2 PM)

► Gradual clearing continues, but it's looking as if there will be no sunshine left by the time skies become completely clear. Oh, well. There's always tomorrow. (55ºF/12ºC @ 5 PM)

► Got a start on loading the van, but didn't get very much done before time for our afternoon walk and then darkness. Getting the two large dog crates worked in may prove very interesting. Normally, we board Rusty and Bucket because it's too hot to leave them in the van. Since the weather is cooler for this fall show, we decided to economize and bring them along. I'm hoping we don't regret that decision.

► Clouds persisting. Forecast calls for dense fog. (54ºF/12ºC @ 7:30 PM) (We never saw any fog up here on the ridge.)

► Skies have finally cleared revealing a big, bright full moon. (Clear, calm and 46ºF/7ºC @ midnight)




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Journal: Wednesday, 11/12/08

Journal: Friday, 11/07/08

► Started Jo's kiln on another glaze firing. (51ºF/10ºC @ midnight)

► Fully closed lid on kiln. The temperature is getting chillier tonight than is has been for a week or so. (44ºF/6ºC @ 3:30 AM)

► Checking in under clear skies with a moderately gusty north wind. (53ºF/11ºC @ 10 AM)

► Back from PM walk. Partly cloudy with a moderately gusty north wind blowing. (56ºF/13ºC @ 5 PM)


► I saw a pretty good sized buck down by the creek behind the house around dusk. There were too many branches in the way and it there wasn't enough light for me to count the points on his antlers, but he had a nice rack. It was way too dark for me to get a photo. He needs to start staying deeper in the woods. Tomorrow is opening day of modern weapons deer season.

► Yesterday's really nice weather led me to leave the basement/shop door open for most of the day. The open door led a little field rat to venture inside. I saw it several times while working during the evening. The thought of herding it back outside crossed my mind, but I rejected that idea, figuring the rat would chose to hide rather than be herded. Trapping would be necessary. Late in the evening, I heard scratching over by the door. The rat wanted out. I assumed it would flee when I approached, but it stayed put, letting me open the door and then scampering out into the night.

► Had to crank up the wood stove this evening for the first time in well over a week. (42ºF/5ºC @ midnight)



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Journal: Friday, 11/07/08

Journal: Sunday, 11/02/08

Finished working in my shop for the day. (63ºF/17ºC @ midnight)

My computer's clock just jumped back an hour, but I'm going to stay on DST until later Sunday morning. (62ºF/16ºC @ 2 AM)

Time for bed. (62ºF/16ºC @ 3:30 AM CST)

G'morning world. (66ºF/18ºC @ 9:30 AM)

More clouds and south wind coming up. No rain in forecast, though. (71ºF/21ºC @ 11 AM CST)

Found an extra hour because of the switch to standard time; lost it piddling around on the computer. (72ºF/22ºC @ 1 PM)

Finished our supply of store-bought potatoes; starting on home grown Yukon Golds. Our 10# harvest won't last long. (67ºF/19ºC @ 4:45 PM)

Jo's fixing sweet and sour chicken for supper. She has the dogs' undivided attention. (62ºF/16ºC @ 8 PM)

Another glaze firing started. (60ºF/15ºC @ midnight)

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Journal: Sunday, 11/02/08

Journal: Monday, 10/27/08

Early Morning:

► Midnight: Down to 47ºF/7ºC and dropping. Gusty north wind has not abated. Chilly out considering I'm dressed for our mid-day 77º.


► 3:00 AM: Down to 41ºF/5ºC outside and 65ºF/18ºC inside. Time to crank up the wood stove before the house loses any more heat. Surprisingly, the north wind seems to have mostly laid, at least for the moment.

Late Morning:

► Sunny, breezy and 42º/5º @ 10 AM. Thermometer says temperature only fell to 36º/2º overnight, but there's a thin ice layer on the birdbath. Methinks the thermometer pickup is located too close to the house.

► Sunny and 51º/10º at noon. It would be almost pleasant outdoors were the north wind not gusty so strongly. Always staying in the sunshine and out of the wind is tricky.


Afternoon:

► Back from PM walk ... 51F/10C @ 5 PM. The north wind that came up again this AM seems to be laying now. Seems warm inside the house after walking. Wish I hadn't thrown those last couple of logs into the wood stove.



► After our end of season harvesting over the past couple of days, we didn't bother turning the electric fence back on. There really wasn't anything needing protection from the deer left out in the garden. This afternoon I saw a doe cautiously approach the garden and then slip inside. She never made it as far as any ot the plants before getting spooked. Now, does the deer entering the garden on the first day the fence was off demonstrate how well the fence is keeping out the deer? Or, was it just a coincidence? I don't know but suspect a little of both -- and probably more of a coincidence. The fence has been off many times.

Evening:

► Spent some time in the basement getting som spoons made.

All photos take on today's afternoon walk.

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Journal: Monday, 10/27/08

Journal: Friday, 10/24/08

Early Morning:

Started Jo's kiln on a bisque firing. 49º F (9º C) at midnight.

Late Morning:

Sunny, but a gusty south wind trumps the sunshine if you are outdoors.. 54º F (12º C) @ 11 AM.

The garlic Jo planted a couple of weeks back is up and doing well. Unfortunately, so are the weeds. The garlic will remain green, but go dormant over winter, then take off growing again as soon as spring arrives.

Afternoon:

Jo just toted a jug of hot water over to her pottery studio. It's chilly enough she wants her throwing water warmed. There's no hot water in her studio so she usually puts a kettle atop her kerosene heater, but that water isn't warm yet. 60º F (15º C) @ 2PM.

Back from PM walk. South wind has laid a bit. A few cumulus clouds scattered around, all the better for adding interest to pix. 60ºF/15ºC @ 5 PM.



Losing the ball yesterday meant today's session of fetch with the dogs was played with a new tennis ball, a ball that still bounced. We usually play with the same ball until it's way, way past dead -- until the cover comes off.

This maple is one of the prettiest trees along the road we walk most afternoons.

(Speaking of playing fetch with a tennis ball... The Chuckit is one of the greatest inventions I've run across in a long time, unless you enjoy having hands covered with dogs slobber, of course.)

Evening:

Another fire this evening. The temperature was down to 44ºF/6ºC at midnight.

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Journal: Friday, 10/24/08