Fall Banter, Observation and General Discussion 2018

[rimetree]

Raw night...42F cold rain.

[CoastalWx]

Needed that half inch of rain. Was getting dry.

[dendrite]

12 hours ago, moneypitmike said:

This bald eagle swooped past my window this morning.

 

Did it tell you to vote?

[Lava Rock]

This is probably all we can expect for growth of our latest lawn project. One semi-warm day tomorrow then into the ice box.

[mreaves]

34 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

This is probably all we can expect for growth of our latest lawn project. One semi-warm day tomorrow then into the ice box.

Sod it!

[HIPPYVALLEY]

 Man, I bet since the beginning of July we are only averaging 30% of possible sunshine.

 Another misery mist day here.

 

[tamarack]

18 hours ago, wxmanmitch said:

Interesting...I never bothered to count the rings, but noted that they were pretty wide compared to other species I've cut, indicating that fir is a fast growing species. The upper part of the tree where the newer growth was had the widest rings.

I have some larger firs on the property, one of which died a couple years ago by the road. It is a bit more than the diameter of my 16" chainsaw and leans toward the power lines, so I don't feel comfortable tackling it on my own. I will need to hire a tree service for that one or else ma nature could bring it down onto the wires.

Fastest growth for most tree species occurs at the base of the live crown (which is a moving target, as lower branches get shaded out and die.)

16" is upper end for fir, though I've seen a couple (now long dead) that were over 24".  Depending on how daring you are, a rope or two tied 20' up that fir and anchored solidly to trees opposite that pole, plus a double back cut and wedging, could probably get that thing safely on the ground.  It's only "probably" because potential internal defect could be an issue.  Years back, I had a 75' tall white ash double-backed and wedged, but hidden defect compromised the hinge on the side away from the tree's lean and the hinge broke sideways, the tree falling 90° from my intended direction and lodging in its neighbor.

[dendrite]

Looks like a tropical storm out there. ++++RA

[donsutherland1]

With 0.20" rain today, Providence's total precipitation for 2018 has surpassed 50.00". 2018 is the 19th year on record during which Providence received 50.00" or more precipitation. 2011 was the last year that saw 50.00" or more precipitation. During 2011, total precipitation amounted to 56.72".

[CoastalWx]

Monsoon out.

[kdxken]

6 hours ago, HIPPYVALLEY said:

 Man, I bet since the beginning of July we are only averaging 30% of possible sunshine.

 Another misery mist day here.

 

I think 30% is being generous . 

[kdxken]

1 hour ago, dendrite said:

Looks like a tropical storm out there. ++++RA

 I think you're the only reason I don't b**ch and moan more about the rain . Didn't think it was possible but you have it worse . 

[kdxken]

43 minutes ago, donsutherland1 said:

With 0.20" rain today, Providence's total precipitation for 2018 has surpassed 50.00". 2018 is the 19th year on record during which Providence received 50.00" or more precipitation. 2011 was the last year that saw 50.00" or more precipitation. During 2011, total precipitation amounted to 56.72".

 Great stuff thanks . 

[CoastalWx]

Over an inch now and more rain. 

[dendrite]

1 hour ago, kdxken said:

 I think you're the only reason I don't b**ch and moan more about the rain . Didn't think it was possible but you have it worse . 

lol

It just makes my new hobbies a lot more difficult. I really should’ve fixed the drainage issues this spring. Now I’m paying for it with everything going dormant and evapotranspiration dropping to near nil. Pushing another inch now and it’s currently another deluge. Radar looks pretty ominous to my SW. I need a healthy sultan up here.

[dryslot]

Some say we need the rain................

[J.Spin]

I was watching this evening’s edition of Weather Underground, and heard Mike Bettes say that the Erie, PA snowfall from last season had to be downgraded.  I was curious, figuring it was a collection interval issue (which can make a more substantial difference with LES/upslope), but it wasn’t.  It looks like a main issue was collecting on a board recessed in the snowpack.  I figured it would be interesting to some folks here, so I’ve excerpted some text from an article on goerie.com:

“Saunders said the committee found some of the measurements invalid for three main reasons:

‒ There was a large discrepancy between new snowfall and snow depth on several dates. Those dates included the 24-hour total on Dec. 25 and 26, when it was reported that 50.8 inches of snow had fallen but the snow depth was 28 inches, he said.

‒ The snow measurement board was not always placed on top of the snowpack after a measurement was made, which allowed for a cratering effect.

‒ Traffic cones were sometimes used to stabilize the snow board, which would produce extra weight on the board and cause it to sink, creating depth where snow could drift, Saunders said.”

Did they put a ground-based board back in the same spot after clearing it?  I’m sort of surprised if that’s the case because in big snowfall events with LES/upslope dendrites, it’s often immediately obvious that it’s a problem if you try to do that – if you replace the board in the existing spot, the snow on the sides of the depression usually caves right in and covers part of the board.

Simply collecting in a depression over the long term is a little bit less obvious, but we definitely highlighted that in last year’s discussion on the initial placement of Sugarbush Resort’s Lincoln Peak snowboard.  Personally, the depression effect is rarely a concern for my elevated snowboard since it’s almost 40 inches above ground level, but after that Sugarbush discussion I’ve been paying special attention to keeping the snow cleared from around my webcam snowboard.  I really can’t move that board around because the cam position is fixed, so I try to be extra diligent about removing extra snow from around it to avoid it being below the surrounding snow.

Anyway, the Erie, PA issue a great lesson for anyone measuring snowfall.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Has anyone here had any ant issues inside their home? Over the last few weeks, when I come downstairs in the morning, I see a few very small ants on the rug near the kitchen threshold. Some days I don’t see any, some days I see maybe half dozen or so. Doesn’t seem to be any particular pattern or reason. They seem isolated to the same area, as I have not seen any outside of the spot I keep seeing them. 

Im not sure where they are coming from, or why I’m only seeing a few only in the morning, and they don’t seem to be anywhere else in the house after inspection (including cabinets etc).

Any ideas on what the problem may be? (How wet it has been)? I’m looking at those Terro baits. Anyone had success with those?

[powderfreak]

48 minutes ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Has anyone here had any ant issues inside their home? Over the last few weeks, when I come downstairs in the morning, I see a few very small ants on the rug near the kitchen threshold. Some days I don’t see any, some days I see maybe half dozen or so. Doesn’t seem to be any particular pattern or reason. They seem isolated to the same area, as I have not seen any outside of the spot I keep seeing them. 

Im not sure where they are coming from, or why I’m only seeing a few only in the morning, and they don’t seem to be anywhere else in the house after inspection (including cabinets etc).

Any ideas on what the problem may be? (How wet it has been)? I’m looking at those Terro baits. Anyone had success with those?

We had a similar problem to what you are describing this summer near a deck sliding glass door.   Only like half a dozen very small ants per day. We put a couple bait traps out and they stopped coming within 24 hours and never saw them again. 

I just looked them up and we did use the Terro liquid ant baits.  Worked great, like I said problem gone almost immediately.

[Baroclinic Zone]

I typically see carpenter ants in the summer time.  Are they smaller or the larger ones?

https://www.walthamservices.com/pest-control/ants/

[dryslot]

30 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

We had a similar problem to what you are describing this summer near a deck sliding glass door.   Only like half a dozen very small ants per day. We put a couple bait traps out and they stopped coming within 24 hours and never saw them again. 

I just looked them up and we did use the Terro liquid ant baits.  Worked great, like I said problem gone almost immediately.

This is all i ever use, Nothing better at getting rid of ants.

[dryslot]

1 hour ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Has anyone here had any ant issues inside their home? Over the last few weeks, when I come downstairs in the morning, I see a few very small ants on the rug near the kitchen threshold. Some days I don’t see any, some days I see maybe half dozen or so. Doesn’t seem to be any particular pattern or reason. They seem isolated to the same area, as I have not seen any outside of the spot I keep seeing them. 

Im not sure where they are coming from, or why I’m only seeing a few only in the morning, and they don’t seem to be anywhere else in the house after inspection (including cabinets etc).

Any ideas on what the problem may be? (How wet it has been)? I’m looking at those Terro baits. Anyone had success with those?

There the best, Don't waste your money on anything else, You will see an uptick in activity once you place them for a day or two, Then they will be gone.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

31 minutes ago, powderfreak said:

We had a similar problem to what you are describing this summer near a deck sliding glass door.   Only like half a dozen very small ants per day. We put a couple bait traps out and they stopped coming within 24 hours and never saw them again. 

I just looked them up and we did use the Terro liquid ant baits.  Worked great, like I said problem gone almost immediately.

Good to know. I’ll pick a few up on my way home from work tomorrow. Looks like the active ingredient is Borax, which apparently is not particularly harmful to humans or pets ( we don’t have pets anyway).

 

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

37 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

I typically see carpenter ants in the summer time.  Are they smaller or the larger ones?

https://www.walthamservices.com/pest-control/ants/

They are tiny. I’m like 95% sure they aren’t carpenter ants. If I didn’t happen to see them at first, I’d never know they are there. I’ve been looking every day since I first saw them.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

14 minutes ago, dryslot said:

There the best, Don't waste your money on anything else, You will see an uptick in activity once you place them for a day or two, Then they will be gone.

Great. Looks like they are pretty cheap. I’ll buy a couple and let them do their thing 

[wxmanmitch]

I was treated to this spectacular pink/lavender sky at sunset just as the last of the rain was departing. It only lasted a few minutes, but it was easily one of the most surreal shows I've seen put on by Mother Nature. Everything was bathed in this color, which the photo doesn't pick up too well. Absolutely incredible!

 

[HIPPYVALLEY]

  Sunny, cloudless blue sky,  I almost feel like I should take the day off and celebrate!

[frd]

10 hours ago, wxmanmitch said:

I was treated to this spectacular pink/lavender sky at sunset just as the last of the rain was departing. It only lasted a few minutes, but it was easily one of the most surreal shows I've seen put on by Mother Nature. Everything was bathed in this color, which the photo doesn't pick up too well. Absolutely incredible!

 

Same site down here in Delaware , very surreal , looked twice as it almost could pass for an approaching snow squall - as in a a milky erie sky, was cool to see 

 

  

[Baroclinic Zone]

2.66" thru 7 days this month.  Any issues about dry conditions ended over a month ago.

16.28" of rain since Sept 1st. ~21" since August 1st.  August was the transition month as the WAR broke down.

[tamarack]

11 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Good to know. I’ll pick a few up on my way home from work tomorrow. Looks like the active ingredient is Borax, which apparently is not particularly harmful to humans or pets ( we don’t have pets anyway).

 

We use borax in the laundry (whites only), and a 50-50 mix with granular sugar has dealt with the carpenter ants that try to eat our cabin.  The critters apparently can tell that the sugar is worth carting back to the nest but can't differentiate it from the borax, which wipes out the home base.  I'd recommend putting whatever is used in places where pets/kids can't get them.  When I placed 4-5 this summer, one was on the front porch with a board set about 1/2" above the mix (was in a margarine container lid) and we found a dead mouse lying right on the stuff a few days later.

Still slightly (about 1") BN for precip on the year, despite 5.5" over the past 2 weeks.  The Friday and Tuesday storms should bring us up to par.