How to make friends.

Another January in Flagstaff with...

snow




snow




snow (6' fence)




and more snow



Me an' my snow blower (A.K.A. my mistress)



On my way to the neighbors to pimp out my mistress.

This better not last long

How hot is it?

1) So hot that the Phoenicians stay in the valley because it isn't worth the drive

2) The fish are fried right out of the lake

3) People head to the kitchen because they can't stand the heat

4) The folks in Flagstaff complain about the heat

Do Not Plant A Garden Yet!

This morning when I let the dogs outside, they both went for a slide as they slipped on the ice that had formed on the deck. I then looked at the roofs in the neighborhood and saw they were all covered with frost. Later on in the morning as we drove into town, we saw a fresh layer of snow on the peaks. It looked like it was down to 9,000'. This is why I refrain from planting a garden until AFTER the first week of June. I will have fun next week explaining to vendors what happens at 7,000' elevation next week when they ask if we are hot here in AZ.

Has Anyone Seen A Canoe Lately?

What is up with this rain? First we had a dry March, then a warmer than normal April which caused fears that we were in for a long hot dry summer plagued with forest fires. May came along and started normally, (dry and windy) but suddenly has been acting near monsoonal. Don't get me wrong, we really need the rain, but it seems out of place for May. I just hope we still have the monsoon in July.

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

I know I like cold weather, and despise hot days, but since it is the middle of April I should add a caveat. My love of cold is confined to November through March, after that I do permit days over 45 degrees. I know this is your down time and you are on vacation, but I would like a warming trend. It is okay if the trend ends at 75 degrees, after all if I wanted hot weather I would have moved to Phoenix.

Did I Mention Wind

How To Tell If It Is Spring In Flagstaff

1) Wind
2) One day is in 60+, a couple of days later it is 30-ish with snow
3) Two days later it is back to around 60
4) Repeat 2 and 3
5) Wind
6) Wind
7) People are walking around dressed in tees, shorts and flip flops when it is 30 degrees, windy and snowing as they complain about being cold.
8) Wind

How Many Snow Days??

Well it happened again. Both the public schools and NAU were closed today. This is the third day for the public schools and the second this week for the U. My daughter is taking the yard sale bit in stride and seems to have accepted the fact that it is unlikely that they will have it. As far as the U goes, the building I work in was closed this week for repairs, except for those who requested special permission to be there this week. The closure of the U trumps my permission, so I took the time off to stay with my daughter. Now we just need to see what happens tomorrow. My daughter gets out of school at 11:30 tomorrow, so even a two hour delay will mess that up. Oh, well. Snowbowl opens Saturday! Thanks storms.

It Started On The Ides Of December!

Let's see here. It is mid December, Southern California has been getting rain, and the A.M. temperatures are up by about 10 degrees from just a couple days ago. Yes up. The cloud cover and increased humidity hold the heat. Hmmmm I guess that means more SNOW. We have around 15" in our yard, and might get another 12-15' more over the next 36 hours. I have also discovered that using a snowblower makes life a whole lot easier. This would not have mattered when I was 18, 25, or even 40, but WOW how it makes things easier. It also added to my already extended weekend. I was STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to avoid work yesterday as workers would be testing the fire detection system and the alarm would be going off all day. So I took the day off. Today, my daughter had a snow day, and I felt a little guilty for staying home, until I found out the U was closed due to the storm. Tonight is supposed to be a break in the storm before things start again tomorrow. I wonder what round 2 will bring. Keep doing that snow dance; my ski pass is undergoing atrophy.

I Got To Try My New Toy

Well, we finally got enough snow for me to try that new toy I wrote of a few weeks ago. Just enough. The 4-5" was a good practice run in preparation for what we are told to expect over the next few days. The phrases "significant accumulation," and "A foot or more." are being used. One report mentioned 20 inches over 2 days. We'll just need to wait to see. This would be way cool for Snowbowl, and way uncool for the repairs to the acid neutralization tank at the building I work in. But I got to use my new toy. I am a happy camper.

I'm Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving.

As we zoom in on the end of "Ninth Month", the weather is finally getting cool and damp at the same time. Before you gentle readers pull that crap about November being the 11th month on me, consider SEPTember, OCTOber, NOVember, and DECember. Sometime in the future, I might comment on how these are the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th months when their names indicate otherwise. In returning from my Bozoish tangent,the weather sites are using the "S" word, but not mentioning anything about accumulation. In the dead of winter, this would be eyebrow raising as it usually results in 2 feet or more, but this early in the season it usually means little or no. On the other hand little spread over several days can amount to more than some. Unfortunately, because of my early Christmas present, there will be no snow down here. The peaks, however are already showing a dusting.

Can't think of a title.

Happy Thursday. Mornings keep getting chilly, in the 20's anyway. At least there was no wind today. Now if we would get some moisture, we could have some snow. This morning as I was riding to work, I saw a street cleaner on campus leaving a nice trail of a thin layer of ice behind it. How cool is that?

Capitalism in the forest.

As I had hoped for, there was a dusting of snow on the peaks today and I am sure it increased the turn out for the annual Flagstaff Ski Club ski swap. We headed out to the Flagstaff Nordic Center for their fall fest. A friend told us about it and the $5.00 parking fee. What she didn't mention was the $5.00 per person fee on top of that. I am still trying to figure out what the $5.00 per person covered. There were games the kids could play, but if they wanted to try for a prize, there was a charge. The food was not free, nor were the pumpkins. I guess the hay ride was free, as was the "stick buddy" which turned out to be a small paper bag with a face drawn on it, stuffed with straw and tied to a stick. The bird seed and peanut butter covered pine cone bird feeder was also free. Now where would one find sticks and pine cones in the middle of all dem pines? Overall it was a good time, but someone is makin' a buck off of it.

HUMID HUMID HUMID

Although the thunder boomed and the sky lit up today, there did not seem to be a whole lot of rain. The operative word is seem. As I was leaving work, there were numerous puddles, and when I got home, there was about 1/4 inch of water in the rain gauge, which I am sure leaks. Now you folks in Brownsville (Thanks, Dolly) may laugh at this, but for us folks in Flag 1/4 inch in less than an hour is pretty damp. As much as I love the monsoons, the down side is that the humidity keeps it from cooling down at night - here we are at 8:15 and it is still above 70 degrees outside and around 75 in the house. How can we be expected to sleep with it this warm? It makes it hard to believe that in about 2 months or less, we can expect freezing temperatures for the overnight lows.