vastateofmind

LOL....it's not just you.

Yeah, @WxWatcher007 -- go to "HAIL!"

Checked the big backyard oak last hour....a lot of those nymphs I filmed molting over the past two days unfortunately seemed to have only made it only partially through their transformation. I've lost count of how many mature cicadas I just saw hanging out on the tree trunk with mangled, malformed, half-shriveled or not-even-unfurled wings. I wonder if the cooler weather overnight might have interfered with the complete "drying out" of the wings on the newly-emerged cicadas?

YUMMO! Cuke/Mater/Feta salad is one of my summertime favorites...so easy, and it tastes sort of refreshing after a hot day.

How's everything looking so far, at least what you've already got planted? Mid-40s for a number of nights in a row hasn't done any damage, has it? We got down to 47 last night, enough to kick on the heat this morning. I'm not looking for 90s and humidity yet, but please oh please, can we just have nighttime lows above 50-ish....

Meanwhile....it's currently 48 with yet another overcast morning. Hoping the sun makes its forecasted appearance this afternoon.

Very cool. He's a great beer connoisseur to have on staff, if that counts for something in your workplace. Good luck to you today, @Baltimorewx!

Just captured a short while ago after sunset on the big backyard oak -- there's a whole lotta moltin' going on.

The album of videos I posted here yesterday was apparently a preview of today's big show. Just went out under the giant oak IMBY where I shot those videos, and the ground immediately around, and about 4 feet out from the trunk was almost boiling with nymphs hauling ass for the tree trunk -- at least 10x as many as I saw yesterday. This fascinates me, as I missed most of this the last time Brood X made a visit! I did my part to save 15-20 of the nymphs at least a little travel time, by lifting them up from ground level to about 6 feet up the tree trunk, the level of the tree they seem to best love to start their molts. I'm guessing I shaved about 30-40 minutes off the trip for that small group...but there were sooooo many more. Felt like I should do that to give them a fighting chance, as there was a small group of crows hanging out around that tree this morning, gorging themselves on the cicada buffet. I'm sure they'll be back tomorrow morning...and many mornings to come.

Went to record the insane Labrador retriever during a spirited bout of "tug" last evening, but instead of hitting the regular record mode I accidentally selected slow-mo....hence this. The slowed-down audio of her growling and tags rattling makes it sound like you're standing in a torture chamber.

#PREACH Ended up buying a six-pack of that late Saturday, after trying one in the make-your-own-six-pack at Wegmans on Friday. It IS that good.

Getting real busy out there IMBY... https://photos.app.goo.gl/BFka7yr5uxfr9m84A

LOL...why do you think I've been putting off that half day of back-breaking work?? And I dare say, you have even more than me to do!

Bring it! I've a couple patios that desperately require power washing (that I've admittedly been lazy about doing), and a partly sunny afternoon in the 70s with low wind at week's end would just fit the bill. Currently though, it's 72 with clear skies....we busted a few degrees high, which is fine by me. It's a nice afternoon out.

Seriously. I've been within several hundred feet of lightning strikes before, which was bad enough....can't imagine it striking close enough to dislodge a chunk of pavement and send it hurtling at me and my vehicle at 100 mph.

Because of the originally forecasted cool-ish, semi-washout yesterday (which, of course, failed to materialize...thanks, NWS!), Mrs. V asked if we could stay in for Mothers Day and if I'd instead make brunch for her and the youngest offspring living in Arlington. I obliged -- whipped up a batch of Betty Crocker's morning crowd pleaser, Impossibly Easy Breakfast Bake, and then picked up on Saturday a fresh loaf of Great Harvest Bread's Xtreme Cinnamon Swirl bread to make her personal fave, French toast. Oh, and maybe a mimosa (or two). She never wants to eat "heavier" stuff like this, so I was happy to make it for her...and because she's an awesome mom, too.

Interesting....I'd have thought where you live would be chock full of the smaller wildlife. We have literally dozens of foxes and a fair amount of raccoons that populate our big-ass subdivision, which also blows my mind...why so many in close-in suburbia? Not sure, but I wonder if it's because our neighborhood is hemmed in on three sides by woodland/protected wetlands (Coast Guard, Huntley Meadows and Fort Belvoir).

Oh, yeah -- I actually HAD that Red Zep in my hand at Wegmans this afternoon!

Yeah, noticing that on radar...weird. The larger batch of precip moving across the bay is heading ENE, while the line south and west of the beltway is sliding southeast. Interesting.

Oh, yeah....if Weggy's has Get Bent in the "pick your six" cooler, I always grab one. One of my consistently excellent favorites.

Indeed. And I just returned from the "candy aisle" at Wegmans...

I've heard some good feedback on the Impossible burgers. Doesn't Burger King offer one? I've been meaning to try it, but I need to go like a whole DAY without eating before tackling a Whopper anymore.

Okay, I would try this based on giant cartoon artichoke on the label alone...just sayin'.

Something wicked this way comes. Not really, though -- that was about 10 minutes ago, and the dark clouds in advance proved to be more bark than bite, as we're just getting a breezy hard shower right now, with a couple peeks of sun already on the backside of it.

As are those isolated I and X brood clumps in SW Virginia....very weird.