tamarack

Hope the garden gets some rain while we're in Scandinavia. Wunderground shows almost nothing but rain for our days in Bergen and Trondheim.

Great! I'm not that familiar with all the cultivars. However, PWM has probably the most well-developed and thorough urban forestry program in the state, so their recommendations should be on target. My preference in red maple color is bright red with a hint of burgundy tone. The best and most reliable exemplar I've seen is about halfway up Sand Hill on Northern Avenue in Augusta. In autumn 2005, the worst year for color in my memory, that tree had the only true red that I saw. This true turns 7-10 days later than its neighbors, and often holds good color into early November.

That's the one, and 25+ miles farther inland it was 20-25" of moist powder that looked beautiful and broke very little. My snowfall order for 2017-18, drawing from personal experience since moving to Maine: OCT 2000 6.3" (New Sharon) NOV 1983 28.6" (Ft. Kent) Add the thunderblizzard of 11/21/89 to make it perfect. DEC 1976 61.5" (Ft. Kent) JAN 1987 49.3" (Gardiner) FEB 2017 46.9" (New Sharon) Only with Feb 2015 temps MAR 2001 55.5" (New Sharon) APR 1982 29.0" (Ft. Kent) MAY 1976 1.5" (Ft. Kent) 1984 had 2.2", but 1976 all came while I was rototilling the garden.

It's mainly curiosity. I do some work-related measurements on an annual basis, though not to produce peer-reviewed results - more of "hip-pocket" kind of research. I tracked a half dozen white pines for about ten years in our Gardiner dooryard before moving to my current home. Oddest year there was 1995, when very dry conditions stopped growth completely for most of July and August, then some late August-early Sept rains allowed some modest growth. Have to comment that I've never seen trees uprooted by heavy rain only, unless there was mass movement of soil. That said, waterlogged soil enables such damage from relatively light wind. Also what a winter weenie spot Tumbledown Pond must be. Had my annual physical this morning (all is well) and the exam rook had a painting of that exact scene. That work was done well, but this pic outshines it by far. And next time, bring a fish pole. Along with some other naturally fishless tarns, this pond gets stocked with brookies - here by air, while I think Speck Pond (Old Speck) has trout packed in, and I know that's the case at Horns Pond (Bigelow.)

Two of the little showers missed to the north, two missed to the south. Had a few distant rumbles and a 6 PM sprinkle.

All time largest snowfalls are remarkably similar for the I-95 corridor from DCA to HUL - all in the 27-32" range. Drop to #10 and big differences arise. Move down to RIC and their biggest is 21.6" and the only one hitting 20".

Cliff Notes version: The material used as aggregate for the foundation concrete was chemically reactive with Portland cement, leading to loss of structural integrity. The only fix, other than demolition/start over, is to remove/replace the foundation. $$$$$ The warm temps/less snow probably works out best as one moves south of, say, 41N (and climbing) in the Northeast. DCA/BWI are on the edge where 1-2F can make a huge difference, while 23 vs. 25 at ORH usually doesn't change much. The farther north of that parallel, the less chance that warmth will decrease snowfall and the increasing chance of just the opposite. Classic examples at my place include January 2014 (3.4F BN and least snowy of 19 Januarys) and this past February, 5.9F AN and 2nd snowiest for any month, 98-99 onward.

I guess I'm the weird one, then, because I despise HHH at all times, not just when I'm thrashing thru the woods. Of course, I've been blessed with general good health, and many folks our age are less fortunate. I still enjoy even bottom-of-winter cold, though I no longer go ice fishing on subzero mornings - maintaining my topwater traps becomes a real bear. The loggers who fund most of my salary want consistent cold with a fair amount of snow during winter. Minus 40 isn't desired (machinery becomes hard to start and easy to break) but +40 can have an even bigger negative impact on frozen-ground harvesting. And snowplow drivers live for the overtime. (I certainly agree that bitter temps aren't good for first responders, and especially hazardous for firefighters.) Except for the big rains evading my area (June-July precip is 3.96" BN), this month has been boring but gorgeous. Unless today reaches mid 80s, we'll finish with 10 straight BN means, though also with just 0.18" in the final 13 days. High for the month is 81 (2X) and low 42, this past Saturday. If today can top out below 80, the month will have 25 days with 70s for highs, and a max of 76 would put the month mean max at 75.00, quite fitting. (I think we get a bit warmer, though.)

For the past few years I've been measuring diameter growth on ten trees (eight different species) on an approximately 2-week remeasure schedule frm May 1 thru late Sept. Fastest growth is generally about June 15-July 15, but some of the hardwoods add a fair bit of diameter into Sept. The fir and white pine, the only conifers in the mix, start and finish earlier than the broadleaf species. That's how an August application of herbicide can take out hardwoods without damaging softwoods, though pine remains vulnerable a bit later than spruce and fir. Height growth is about done for them all by now, with the conifers setting buds for next year. 3rd straight morning in the 40s, and 29th-30th (42,43) were my coldest mornings of the month. July will finish about 1.2F BN here.

The difference is that March-May were also dry last year. The top layers of the garden are pretty dry at present but the well is in much better shape than a year ago. And last year it continued to get even drier, until a late October downpour (3"+) began a wetter period that lasted thru this May.

Coolest morning of the month here, with low 40s.

2013-14 ranks 2nd here for SDDs with 2,831, though way behind 07-08 and only a couple dozen ahead of this past winter. 30"+ in Dec, Feb, and March will do that, and your trip on 3/23 came shortly after the last major snowfall that winter.

The Augusta snow pile under the east end of the downstream bridge lasted thru August 25 in 2008. Its "tarp" was several inches of sand and gravel left as the upper part of the pile melted. Was weird to see on calm midsummer mornings with TD near 70 - fog rolling off the pile.

Probably depends on one's location. JJA 3-month average at my place was 0.10F above my 19-year avg. (Only 2011, BN by 0.08F, is closer to the average.) Of course, the Farmington co-op's average for those 19 years is 0.62F higher than their average for 1981-10, so I'm measuring against an elevated platform.

Drove thru heavy rain in Belgrade/Rome on the way home yesterday afternoon, only to find we'd had just 0.03" - the line passed overhead but strengthened after it went by. Same thing happened last Thursday, only with even heavier rain and just a trace at home. July will finish about 0.9" BN, after June's -3.1". Water table remains in good shape, but the top 12" is pretty dry.