vastateofmind

I'm glad for you and your bride's reservation....and since I wasn't able to get to all of the mowing today and it will be pushed to tomorrow, I'm (selfishly!) also glad the rain is supposed to hold off until tomorrow evening!

Me & Mrs. V, trying to figure out how to temporarily disable "schedule" mode (which itself required an engineering degree) and engage "manual" mode on the new wi-fi thermostat... Got down to "only" 32 last night...thank heaven.

Me, catching up on the hockey-related trash talk the morning after....

First, totally agree, @Mrs.J -- I'm not necessarily ready to shift into 5th gear (e.g., high 80s and humidity) at this point, but good Lord, not THIS wx. Second, big ups to you for using the Chummy GIF from "Call The Midwife." That show is almost 10 years old now (hard to believe!), but it is one of the finest period pieces....some of the finest TV, period...I've ever seen. And Chummy is my favorite character of the whole series.

I only learned this week that the "oak moss" (my name!) are called "catkins" -- and I forgot about the gutter messes they cause. We got those gutter screens years ago, which have helped immensely. And I feel your pain -- the back patios look even worse, as there are congealed catkin/spinner tumbleweeds and clumps everywhere. Only another week or two until all this crap comes down and I can pull out the power washer...oh, JOY.

Dear GOD, I hate them. Next door neighbor has the spinner-shedding tree in his backyard, and yet, these damn things manage to land primarily all over my front/back yards. He's been talking about removing the tree over the past year, since (extra added bonus!) one of its largest trunks is leaning precariously toward/threatening the rear addition off the back of my home. I suppose if I had to look for a silver lining in this instance, it's that our front beds won't be mulched for another two weeks. And we continue our vigil, hoping that the damn tree is gone when spinner season comes this time next year.

On radar yesterday at lunchtime, it looked like the line really got its act together right at I-95...I'm about two miles east of the interstate, and it seemed to "bloom" overhead pretty quickly (in terms of lightning, wind and rain), and intensify as it moved east to cross the Potomac into MD. For you mets and other smarter-than-me wx people -- is there something about our geography, or topology, or climate (or, or, or?) that causes lines of thunderstorms to strengthen between I-95 and the Potomac River, and pick up even more steam in southern MD? Is the Potomac playing a role in that? I can't tell you how many times I've noticed this phenomenon in the past 20 years -- a storm will approach us here in southeastern FfxCo in spring/summer, be "standard strength" while crossing overhead, but when checking radar and stepping outside to see the "backside" of the storm, you could literally hear/see it getting worse and building in strength as it moved toward the river...often producing warned storms in southern MD. I will never forget watching the "backside" of the thunderstorm that produced the 2002 La Plata tornado move east away from us -- the sun started returning pretty quickly after its passage here, and the "backside" of that storm was lit up, clouds churning and building so high to make it look like the coming (or departure, in my case) of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Beautiful pic...I'm jealous, I've been jonesing to get out hiking like that again! BTW, is that snow falling on the mountain or just distant haze, in the left-center of your picture?

Got down to 32 here overnight. And yesterday (and apparently today as well) reminds me how much I hate the wind in the springtime...

That is one of the most beautifully shaped/mature weeping cherry trees I've ever seen......it must be breathtaking in full bloom! I shouldn't get this emo over springtime flowering trees....weather is gonna weather, no matter my feelings...it's just that the most gorgeous blooming period for most of these trees typically aligns with that transitional period where our temps are most likely to have psychotic mood swings!

GAH. The house is creaking and moaning like an old hag with this wind, haven't heard it this bad in awhile...didn't expect the wind advisory after the frontal passage. Wanted to go on an extended walk after the front blew through and the sun returned, but with all of the maple spinners, oak catkins and God only knows how much airborne pollen out there forming/dissolving/re-forming into little allergenic tornados, that is out of the question.

Yep...I've seen at least one flash to the south, and have been hearing the thunder from your Spotsy storm for the past 10 minutes.

My mother-in-law used to refuse the light sedative they provided/offered for her colonoscopies, as she wanted to both be aware of what was happening during the procedure, AND be able to drive herself home after the procedure once she was cleared for release. She was a brand of tough I haven't come across in awhile.

The cedar adds a unique flavor....closest I can come to describing is slightly smoky tasting/smelling, but not overwhelmingly so.

Oh geez, I am SO sorry. Have had numerous members of my family who have suffered with these, and watched their discomfort too many times. While I haven't experienced it myself, I empathize with your pain on this....thinking about/praying for you today.

You perfectly hit all of the logical stuff right here, especially the redundancy part. Turbulence is just like hitting a bump in the road in your car! Statistically, it's the safest form of travel! It's frustrating as hell, as I know all of this in my head...and yet the emotion of the heart/gut kick in as soon as I strap into that cramped seat, and my pretend calm goes right out the window. Usually right over and off that flexing wing. And yeah, Mrs. V always stakes her claim to the window seat, and I'm all, "NO THANKS....I'm good right here on the aisle."

Whoa! Didn't think it would drop that much already, even up there! I forgot that you were going to OC and had to go back a few posts to see how your wx was down there! Sounds like it was cool....but I'll take that at the beach (along with the good eats/drinks!) anyday. Currently, sustained winds are picking up quite a bit -- temp at 63. I need to get a decent wx station that records wind speed....

I didn't realize how much more pervasive this fear was until I met two friends in recent years who suffer from this very real phobia. Me, I could watch folks push shots or blood donation needles into my arms all day long....but I don't know if I'll ever overcome my illogical fear of flying. Have flown since I was a kid...flew extensively for work travel in my 20s/30s. Oh, my wife still occasionally drags me onto a plane, but I hate EVERY. MINUTE. OF THE. EXPERIENCE. White knuckler, all the way.

Fresh salmon grilled on the cedar plank last night...rub some light (or dark, depending on your taste) brown sugar on each filet, top off with Wegmans or any brand cracked pepper seasoning. Grill for 13 minutes on a pre-soaked (for up to half hour) cedar plank. So simple, so good!

SIGH. Was really hoping we could avoid any more nighttime cold snap this season. I lost all but about ten blossoms on a full-canopied, 15-foot pink dogwood tree in my front yard two weeks ago during the last foray into the low 30s at night...unfortunately, I know a lot of you here have a lot more at stake than that.

Thank you for posting this! We hear these guys hootin and hollerin in the woods behind our house, at least several evenings each week. I've caught glimpses of their silhouettes swooping about from tree to tree at twilight, but never knew which species of owl we were hearing!

Indeed. Sun's been trying to break through for the past couple of hours with mixed success, but it still feels damp outside...tried opening the window for some fresh air, but still too cool (for me) at 62 with a light breeze.

Literallly LOL'ed at that....if only because I've considered doing just that, but also didn't want to use my nice, new, shiny, only-use-for-grilling-and-not-ground-temps meat thermometer!

I, too, thought this was a little early....even for the earliest emergents. But I'm telling 'ya....even after my post above outlining what I found in my backyard, I found probably a dozen MORE emergent holes in my front yard yesterday. Lots of empty holes....but I've hardly seen any nymphs! Weird.

So, finally got around to the first "big" weed-whacking of the spring season, and found literally dozens of these emergent holes from cicada nymphs, after I cut down the worst patches of weeds around my backyard shed and near the patio/house foundations: So, SOMETHING must be starting to happen. I haven't actually seen any nymphs yet, with the exception of this guy yesterday who briefly thought about popping out, but then decided to roll over and go back to sleep for a few more days or a week: I think it's almost showtime...