Journal: Tuesday, 12/23/08

►  Damp south wind kicking up. NOAA says freezing rain is on the way. (23ºF/-5ºC @ midnight)

►  Temperature holding at 23ºF/-5ºC @ 4:45 AM, but south wind gusting to around 30 mph/48 kph makes it feel a lot colder.

►  Don't think I'll be spending much time outdoors today: Overcast, gusty south wind, intermittent sleet and freezing rain, 28ºF/-2ºC @ 10:30 AM.

►  The last of our tomatoes picked right before first freeze are gone. Some went into a pot of black beans cooking on the stove; others went into the compost

►  Jo is making peanut butter cookies. She had the batter completely mixed before remembering she'd left out the peanut butter.

►  Jo's cookie dough is chilling. She's actually baking peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies

►  Temperature has finally risen to 33ºF/.5ºC @ 3:00 PM. Now we have just gusty south wind and drizzle. Hope the ice on the porch and steps thaws quickly.

►  We attempted a walk up the road, but didn't make it very far -- still too slick. 34ºF/1ºC @ 4:00 PM.

►  Ice gone.  Gusty south wind and drizzle remain.  43ºF/6ºC @ 8:00 PM.

►  Heat wave.  Foggy, gusty south wind and 49ºF/9ºC @ midnight.

►  Weather Summary:  High = 49ºF/9ºC.  Low = 22ºF/-5ºC.  Temperature @ midnight = 49ºF/9ºC.  AM = Temperatures rising, but still below freezing.  Received a light wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain.  PM = Temperatures continued climbing though midnight.  Rose above freezing mid-afternoon.



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Journal: Tuesday, 12/23/08

Journal: Wednesday, 12/17/08

► It looks as if our cold snap is broken. Temperature is gradually creeping upward as the night progress. Our forecast calls for messy conditions with temperatures above freezing for the next couple of days. (Overcast, calm and 32ºF/0ºC @ midnight)

► Temperature hovering right at the freezing mark at 4:00 AM. Still overcast and calm.

► Just barely above freezing with no noticeable melting yet. Remaining upright outdoors is still quite a challenge. (Foggy, calm and 33ºF/.5ºC @ 11:00 AM)

► Jo is into spurts of "spring cleaning". No, she isn't such an enthusiastic housekeeper that she just cannot wait until spring for major cleaning projects. On the contrary, let's just say we fell a little behind with housekeeping while heavily engaged in doing shows. Dust bunnies rule!

► Melting ice is beginning to drip off the eaves of the house. (Overcast and foggy, calm and 34ºF/.5ºC @ 1:00 PM)

► Walked up to and around our upper pasture. Not a slick as yesterday, but we still didn't want to venture up the road or down the trail on the pasture's north side. We were surprised by how much more frozen fog was clinging to trees and weeds at that slightly higher elevation.

► Weather seems to be stuck in a perpetual funky mode: Overcast, foggy, drippy, dreary BUT temp slightly above freezing. (33ºF/.5ºC @ 9:00 PM)

► I was wrong about our cold snap being broken. It was only bent a very little. Our temperature hovered within a few degrees of freezing all day.

► Weather Summary: High = 35ºF/1.5ºC. Low = 30ºF/-1ºC. Temperature @ midnight = 33ºF/.5ºC. AM = Overcast ... very light south wind. PM = About the same as during the morning with drizzle beginning near midnight.



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Journal: Wednesday, 12/17/08

Journal: Tuesday, 12/16/08

►  Sleet showers continue off and on. We’re beginning to get and accumulation of the crunchy stuff. On bare ground it’s melting and refreezing enough to become awfully slick. (21ºF/-6ºC @ midnight)   

►  Fallen Tree blog post on Nature in the Ozarks.

►  Our temperature has actually crept up a couple of degrees, but now a freezing fog/mist is putting and icy glaze on all exposed surfaces. I'm trying very hard to keep my surfaces unexposed when venturing outdoors. (22ºF/-5ºC @ 4:00 AM)

►  "Stay off the beaten path" is good advice for walking across our yard today. One can travel from Point A to Point B by crunching through the grass, but a layer of sleet glazed with freezing fog makes the paths treacherous. (Overcast, calm and 27ºF/-2ºC @ 11:00 AM)

►  Earlier this PM I finally got a good enough look at the tiny ball of fluff that's been flitting around on the porch to determine it's a Winter Wren. (Overcast, calm and 29ºF/-1ºC @ 8:30 PM)


►  Great Taste Is Everything:  Photo post of Yarnell's Ice Cream truck in the loading dock area of Statehouse Convention Center on Hodgepodgery.

►  No new icy precipitation in the past several hours.  Temperature holding at 27ºF/-2ºC @ 1 PM.  May be our high temp for the day.  (Wrong!)

►  Our afternoon walk was pretty much just a bit of wandering around in the woods, but the dogs enjoyed getting out.  The road and all the trails and paths were too slick for standing.  (Overcast, light south wind and 29ºF/-1ºC @ 4:30 PM)

►  South wind is bringing in warmer air.  Temperature is all the way up to 30ºF/-1ºC @ 10:00 PM.

►  Weather Summary:  High = 32ºF/0ºC.  Low = 20ºF/-6ºC.  Temperature @ midnight = 32ºF/0ºC.  AM = Overcast ... a little freezing fog during the early morning but then precipitation stopped.  PM = Overcast ... wind switching to the south and temperatures slowly beginning to rise as the evening progresses.



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Journal: Tuesday, 12/16/08

Journal: Monday, 12/15/08

►  Definitely time to rekindle a fire in the wood stove.  (Overcast, blustery north wind and 32ºF/0ºC @ 1:00 AM)

►  Made a trip over to Jo's pottery studio to apply our freeze protection regimen:  Letting the water faucet on the sink drip and putting a heat lamp on the toilet in the bathroom.  The house's front steps were wet when our temperature dropped below freezing.  The freezing mist they've accumulated since then hasn't improved their condition.  They are slick!  I had to crawl down and them back up to keep from slipping.  (28ºF/-2ºC @ 2:00 AM)

►  The turbine vents are really starting to squeal as the freeze up.  It's a good thing Jo is not a light sleeper.  (25ºF/-3ºC @ 4:00 AM)

►  Overcast, blustery north wind, sleet falling off and on with little accumulation thus far.  (20ºF/-6ºC @ 10:00 AM)

►  ISP finally back up at 11:00 AM after around 30 hours offline. Perhaps I should find an ISP for whom providing Internet service is a full-time job and not just a part-time hobby?

►  Overcast, blustery north wind @ 21ºF/-6ºC @ noon. Intermittent sleet falling. Hey, sleet is better than freezing rain since sleet doesn't tend to stick to trees and power lines. I have no idea what the wind chill is, but it's COLD.

►  We started out intending to brave the sleet showers and take the dogs for a brief walk up the road, but the road proved to be too slick for walking. We walked to the upper pasture instead. (21ºF/-6ºC @ 4:30 PM)

►  Hooked up our free (almost) converter to see if we could pick up a digital signal on the rabbit ears TV antenna we've been using for the past 20 years. FAIL! It looks as if there's and outdoor antenna or else no television in our future. (21ºF/-6ºC and sleet @ 7:30 PM)

►  Sleet showers continue off and on. We're beginning to get and accumulation of the crunchy stuff. On bare ground it's melting and refreezing enough to become awfully slick. (21ºF/-6ºC @ midnight)

►  Weather Summary:  High = 36ºF/2ºC.  Low = 20ºF/-6ºC.  Temperature @ midnight = 21ºF/-6ºC.  AM = High temperature occurred at midnight as temperature was still falling ... blustery north wind.  PM = Sleet showers continued off and on all day ... temperature remained in the low twenties ... wind finally laid after sunset.



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Journal: Monday, 12/15/08

Journal: Wednesday, 12/10/08

►  Freezing fog has "progressed" to sleet. Nice. Blustery north wind and 28ºF/-2ºC @ 3:00 AM.

►  Sleet still falling. Trees beginning to creak in the gusty north wind. (27ºF/-2ºC @ 4:30 AM)

►  Sleet fell overnight. Overcast, moderate north wind and 30ºF/-1ºC @ 11 AM.

►  If the temperature climbed above freezing today it was just barely and very briefly. Overcast, gusty north wind and 30ºF/-1ºC @ 5 PM.

►  Sky clearing. Now the temp is really going to drop. 28ºF/-2ºC @ 8 PM



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Journal: Wednesday, 12/10/08

Journal: Sunday, 11/30/08

►  Keep seeing stars overhead although it's supposed to be cloudy.  A chance of snow in our forecast for later today.  (40ºF/4ºC @ 2 AM)

►  Time to call it a day.  (38ºF/3ºC @ 4 AM)


►  Awoke around eight o'clock.  38ºF/3ºC and sleeting.  Went back to bed.  It was too early for me to get up anyway.

►  Still 38ºF/3ºC and a mixture of drizzle and snow is falling from the sky. The weather is not improving after my returns to sleep, so I decided to go ahead and start my Sunday. Coffee consumption underway.

►  Alternating between drizzle, sleet and snow.  The temperature is still 38ºF/3ºC @ 1 PM.

►  Afternoon walk: Not very pleasant in wet snow shower, but we made the regular trip to the gate and back. One of those times when Jo and I would not have been motivated to get the exercise were it not for the dogs. (36ºF/2ºC @ 4:45 PM)



►  I don't care if the thermometer does say it's 35ºF/1ºC; there's ice on the porch steps. (Methinks, the pick up bulb for the thermometer is too close to the house.)

►  The temperature fell into the upper twenties overnight.  Skies remained cloudy but the precipitation stopped around sunset.  We ended up with a light dusting of snow here and there by day's end.  I guess this event qualities as our first snow of the season, but just barely.





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Journal: Sunday, 11/30/08