Just upgraded to a Vantage
Pro 2 Wireless, and some of the station high and low settings were messed up in the
transition. Some animal managed to eat through the old Vantage Pro anemometer cable.
Instead of trying to track down another anemometer, I just decided to upgrade.
The ISS looks a bit more professional, but I am disappointed in Davis' instructions
as there were several bugs that required work-arounds. An addendum or errata sheet
would have been helpful instead of having to go to the website to find out why I could not
get the Envoy to work.
The worst gaffe was the instruction to remove the covering from the solar panels.
The only covering was a plastic protective sheet that, had an intrepid soul
actually removed it, would have exposed the solar panels to the elements.
Not much new here. Summer is definitely here. The June bugs were late again.
The Japanese beetles were not. After a slow start, the hummingbirds are
back to their old numbers.
April 27, 2005
As you may have noticed, according to our weather station we have had 98 inches of rain
a day for the past several days. Upon close examination, it was noted that a wasp
had built a nest on the rain measuring device. This has been removed, and hopefully
results will be a tad bit more accurate. If not, it will be time to upgrade to the
newest Davis VantagePro.
Dogwood winter has passed. We had a small snowfall this past Sunday. As
late as it was, the record for late snow was set in the 1880s on a May 20th.
April 9, 2005
Spring is officially here. At 1147 a male ruby throated hummingbird was spotted
sniffing around the honeysuckle blossoms at our back porch. At 1215 he was
observed sipping fresh nectar from a rapidly filled and hung feeder.
The redbuds are in full bloom and the
dogwoods are close behind. The Bradford pears have leafed out and the last of the
blossoms are drifting off in the light spring breezes.
The grass (AKA weeds) is vibrantly green
and will be subject to the fourth mowing this weekend.
For the first time, ever, we now have
purple martins living in the martin house. One male is adamant that he is going to
evict a pair of bluebirds from their bluebird house, but so far the bluebirds have
prevailed.
March 27, 2005 (Easter Sunday)
Weather forecasters have predicted severe
weather for East Tennessee. No sign of it as of 1600. A beautiful spring day
after church services where 7 children (including our grandson Joseph Michael) were
baptized.
After seeing only a single cedar waxwing
in the 10 years we have been here, we have been blessed by a flock of about 40 roosting in
our budding maple trees for the past two evenings. They are fun to watch, and their
flying patterns are pretty unique when flocking.
Now that winter is officially over, the
juncos have paid us a visit.
After a year's hiatus, a chickadee has
decided to build a nest in the metal pole I have the weather station mounted on.
Hopefully there will be no weather report outages caused by the little busy body trying to
pull the cables out of the sockets like she did the last time she was nesting there.
March 13, 2005
Yesterday was supposed to start out with 3
inches of snow during the night, with an additional accumulation of up to 2 inches during
the morning. It was 47 F when we woke up, and the high for the day was
68 F. So much for any chance of snow.
Recently we had approximately 24 flickers
in the back yard. They were busy after a brief rain shower. Usually we only
see a single pair at the most.
The winter has been so mild, the juncos
have been pretty scarce.
We now have the third bluebird nest up.
This is in view of my computer desk down here in the dungeon. Bluebirds have
been busy laying claim to all the nests.
I call my basement work area the dungeon
because it was a semi-finished basement when we moved here about 10 years ago. It
was dark and foreboding. The paneling was very dark oak and the carpeting was a sad
golden color. Recently we renovated the area and it is now bright and sunny.
Sadly, it is so appealing that my wife has placed her painting studio there as well.
So much for privacy. :) Click on the thumbnails below if you want to see what
the dungeon looks like today.
On March 5, 2005 we became grandparents.
To see pictures of Joseph please check out the www.12points.com
home page and follow the link at the bottom of the list.
December 25, 2004
Christmas Day started out with a thick
coating of white frost. Not quite the "White Christmas" as is traditional,
but a pretty sight just the same.
Winter is officially here as of 12/24/04
with the arrival of the juncos. The nuthatches have come back and the flying
squirrels are often caught raiding the sunflower seeds during the night.
I invested in some squirrel baffles for
two of the birdfeeders, but it took less than 2 days for the intelligent creatures to find
out how to circumvent them. :)
A few flurries earlier this month, and we
have (once again) escaped the severe weather that plagued a lot of the eastern portion of
the U.S.
The Bradford pear trees have finally
dropped their leaves, and the yard looks winterish enough now. Still a few stubborn
spots of green among the brown. No more mowing until late March or early April.
We end the year with just over 40 inches
of rain, while 35 miles to the west (Knoxville) reported 56 inches for the year.
April 13, 2003
A gloomy and wet day with snow predicted
for the higher elevations. 0.75 inches or rain so far today, but no complaints as we
are already about 3 inches of rain behind where we should be this spring. The first
hummingbird of the year was sighted at our front porch feeder at 17:12. It was a
ruby throated male. With temperatures expected to be in the mid-30s it sure seems to
have picked the wrong time to migrate. There have been several juncos around the
feeders as a reminder that the possibility or winter weather is still there.
My sister and brother-in-law were over for
Easter and someone got the bright idea to move our martin house. It has been up for
a year with no sign or martin activity, so we moved it to a more open area.
As for birds - we have seen a lot of
red-wing blackbirds this spring. They have been pretty scarce around here the past 2
years.
Last night I attended a Basic Storm
Spotter's course up in Speedwell, Tennessee. The presentation was excellent and the
hospitality shown by members of the Speedwell Volunteer Fire Department was much
appreciated. The drive up to the Cumberland Gap area and over Clinch Mountain was
worth the trip.
If you are interested in weather at all, I
would recommend taking a storm spotting course. You are under no obligation to act as a
spotter. The information given can help keep you and your family safe by recognizing
severe weather characteristics. Just click on the SkyWarn logo on the home page for
more information.
March 20, 2003
Spring, 2004 is officially here. It
brought the first lawn mowing of the season, which - while viewed with trepidation because
of the humdrum repetition required for the next 7 months - is always easier to take
because of the fresh scent of wild onions as they are cut.
While the nuthatches and juncos
have been certainly down in their numbers this past winter, there was a solitary junco
feeding as if he were thumbing his nose at the change of seasons.
I saw the first splendidly yellow goldfinch at
the niger feeder. I am reminded of one of my patients who was going on about life
and the general worthlessness of the male species in general. She used the goldfinch
as such an example. She was convinced the males flew south while the females were
left to fend for themselves during the harsh winter season.
The sharp shinned hawk who has been steadily
keeping his eye on the feeders seems to have gone on now that the new leaf growth offers a
bit of protection to the songbirds.
The mourning dove are quite happy about this.
They seem to be an often vilified bird in backyard birding circles. I
am not sure what they have done to deserve this. They are quiet, get along well with
the other birds and do not make a mess.
Even the bluejays and mockingbirds are well
behaved - unlike their cousins I (less than) fondly recall from central Florida.
I have added another half acre or so to our
"wildlife sanctuary meadow". This will encompass the shedding area of two
majestic black walnut trees. At least I will not put the mower blade in jeopardy
during the last few mowings later this year.
The Bradford pear trees in the front yard are
in full bloom. With the cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, daffodils, hyacinths,
peonies and forsythia bushes we are already in a virtual riot of color.
Sadly this also means the beginning of a long
season of allergies for those with such problems. Knoxville has just been given the
dubious honor of being the worst city in the USA for asthma sufferers. 3 other major
Tennessee cities made the top 10 list as well.
