Weather

[Zipper]

The Great Lakes are wide open with no ice in sight.

A big Arctic flow could result in record snow.

We had over 3' in early December in one major dump but it was gone in 4 or 5 days.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

hardly ever look at electric bill as i'm on autopilot so bills go on autopay. no doubt due to my participation on this forum, i happened to notice a drop in my dec/jan bill (to 881 kwh from 1094 kwh). this is usually higher because i only have elec reverse cycle air for heat during our chilly florida winters. so for what is usually one of my most expensive months, i only had to pay $102.75. thank you el nino.

edit: just noticed you can see where wilma hit back in 05. electric use dropped because we were out for 2 weeks, that's also when real estate dropped but we never knew because we didn't have much television, radio or newspaper delivery. and of course, by the time we finished clearing the debris, the profits cleared from the market as well.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

yesterday we hit 85 or 86 degrees, a new record high for jan 23rd. two of my bamboos are sprouting new shoots way early, including this sacred bali. first view is out the florida room (note the nice new picture windows which replaced the old jalousies & the way cool grape leaf bird bath on grape vine pedestal....

and here is a close-up showing how the morning sun lights it up from behind. i get a similar light towards sunset lighting it from the side but the canopy overhead keeps most direct light out during the day. when the sun hits this bamboo just right it lights up like stalks of fluorescent lamps. the stalks with the purple are the new ones. the new one up front is already as tall as me and it only started growing about 4 weeks ago.

 

[Martha]

Lazy, what a beautiful garden.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

thank you martha. i've got the entire property looking like that. almost everyone who sees it says i should open the gardens for public tours.

i'll post more pics later. i'm planning to do a watch-the-bamboo-grow post similar to nords' past pineapple exhibition. the sacred bali is averaging about 2.5 inches per day. i'm going to feature one of the black bamboos as i think it will show up very well in pics and it grows even faster. usually grows in summer but with this weather could be early as well. hopefully i'll be around during the weeks when it sprouts or i'll miss seeing it grow. i'll come home and it will be 40 ft tall.

 

[Dreamer]

Definitely a nice garden. Lazy and Nords have me wanting to go someplace warm again already and I just came home 1/13/07. I want to go back to Hawaii!

 

[laurence]

Lazy, what kind bamboo should I plant if I have a black thumb? Jealous of your garden, man.

 

[Khan]

Various plants sprouted in the December/January 'heat wave'; I wonder how they will fare when the temperature gets down to 10F.

 

[RAE]

Well, December and early January were way milder than normal here in the U.P. of Michigan, with much less snow than normal also. Now, it seems like we are getting back to a more normal winter pattern, with colder temps and a little more snow. 3 more years of this to go for me and DW, and then we will be retired and free to spend the winters in warmer climes if we choose to do so. But, even this winter, I have a 2-week vacation in the Bahamas to look forward to, coming up in early March. Hey Cut-Throat, when are you going down there.......February, was it? I believe you go to Andros....we head for Eleuthera. Getting my fishing and snorkeling gear ready now, I can't wait......

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Definitely a nice garden. Lazy and Nords have me wanting to go someplace warm again already and I just came home 1/13/07. I want to go back to Hawaii!

thanx dreamer. know what you mean about mine & nords' paradises. this is part of the reason why people pay prime bucks to be here. i've loved tropical living ever since my parents took this jersey kid to st. croix. my heart has been there ever since. will be tough to sell this house in five years but i think if i found myself on big island or on a boat or in or near the jungles in thailand, really any place beautiful, i'd be able to sell my garden for that.

Lazy, what kind bamboo should I plant if I have a black thumb? Jealous of your garden, man.

laurence, your thumb isn't black, you just haven't found the right nurseryman yet. now click your heals three times and then click here www.tropicalbamboo.com

this guy's great. robert is president of our local bamboo society & throws parties for his customers. he ships but also you'll find materials local to you. i posted his web site so you can see what grows in your area. he specifies temperature toleration, height & width of plants.

he only sells clumping bamboo which is what you'll want as opposed to spreading bamboo. a friend of mine unknowingly put a spreader in her yard which has taken over and is now coming up all over her neighbor's yard, a guy who was tortured in vietnam. so she's pretty much turned his backyard into his nightmare.

many of the clumpers are simply gorgeous. you'll make your selection by height, desired width (of stalk and leaves), color, texture and temperature range of your area. clumpers come in tight or loose varieties. bamboo is thick or thin-walled. the stalks come as smooth as golden hawaiian or as furry as teddy bear bamboo.

i think bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. that doesn't mean it will spread fast, you might only get very few new shoots each year. growth speed refers to how quickly each stalk attains height. it freaks me out every time. bamboo is actually just a grass and so if you can grow a good lawn you'll grow good bamboo. fortunately i've managed to have it grow in canopy conditions which tends to make the leaves larger to catch more light. they like a well drained soil. not a ton of water but they do not like to dry out. most people think of them as strictly tropical but they also grow where it snows. think panda bear.

i always buy the smallest (pot-sized) plant available, never paying for stepped-up sizes. when buying bamboo you will think you are getting ripped-off because, depending on species, it can be a lot of money for just a scrawny twig or two. but within a year you will be very happy with your purchase. keep in mind, when planting, what the plant will look like at maturity. within two years of digging that whole, you will be amazed at what your black thumb grew from that little twig.

edit: i should note that bamboo is a bit messy, loves mulch and makes its own as it grows. so if you are anal retentive about keeping a neat lawn, bamboo might not be for you.

Various plants sprouted in the December/January 'heat wave'; I wonder how they will fare when the temperature gets down to 10F.

you might just lose a season of growth. as long as the roots don't get badly damaged your plants should be ok.

 

[audreyh1]

We got caught in the great "50 year" Albuquerque NM snow storm between just before New Year's 2007. Just a week before, someone mentioned that Albuquerque "only" gets about 3 snows a winter and the snow usually melts before noon.

Then we got walloped!

Here are some pics. We ended up with a foot of snow on top of the motorhome. It took WEEKS for the snow to melt. In the meantime the snow kept the area in a deep freeze - kind of a self-perpetuating kind of weather.

Audrey

 

[Zoocat]

If you want to know just how bad the roads are in Denver in the aftermath of the three snow storms. Check out the stories on "Rocky Road" http://cbs4denver.com/rockyroad

I have never lived anywhere this bad. Do the streets in Minneapolis for example stay snow packed with big ice ruts all winter?

 

[Martha]

If you want to know just how bad the roads are in Denver in the aftermath of the three snow storms. Check out the stories on "Rocky Road" http://cbs4denver.com/rockyroad

I have never lived anywhere this bad. Do the streets in Minneapolis for example stay snow packed with big ice ruts all winter?

No, because we plow all our streets and use tons of salt and sand. We have lots of plows where I live (farther north) and they are on the road as soon as they can be.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

I've lived in Anchorage, Fort Worth and Indianapolis. Texas has more winter driving problems than the others, although every beginning of winter in Anchorage and Indiana there are a slew of ditched cars at the first snow to remind people you have to drive differently. (I figure these are snow noobs.)

There are two factors. One is that the northern areas have more winter weather and therefore have the equipment and staffing to deal with it. Secondly snow isn't that bad to drive on. It's melting snow and refreezing water that are really problematic, and in the more southern states you melt and refreeze during the day/night cycle whereas in the north things stay cold.

In Anchorage it stayed snowy enough we had a set of studded tires for wintertime. And there are different rubber types for tires that stay softer and have better traction in colder weather...northern cars are more likely to have those. They wear faster on pavement, though, so they don't make much sense for warmer climates.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Quite warm out here this week, and dry as a bone. Gabe and I played in the circle out front of the house most of the day wearing tee shirts...until the mosquito's came out around 5...

 

[mb]

It has been colder than normal in the bay area for the last couple of weeks. Lost some growth on my newly planted orange tree.

Back to normal this week, highs in mid-50s to mid-60s.

 

[Khan]

Warm temperatures in Dec/early Jan; now 2 weeks not even above freezing with no snow cover.

Daffodils and roses and crocus are so %^&*.

I hope the birds singing and courting didn't breed.

 

[Zoocat]

More complaints about Denver. After three days of plus 45 degree weather there is still 4 inch packed ice ruts on the roads in my neighborhood. Some of my neighbors broke up some ice so they could park and somebody hired some young guys with ball peen hammers to do the same. My city ran out of ice melt and started using sand. It is a mess. We have six foot piles of snow. I guess it will all melt by summer. Hope this is not a hint of winters to come.

 

[W2R]

More complaints about Denver. After three days of plus 45 degree weather there is still 4 inch packed ice ruts on the roads in my neighborhood. Some of my neighbors broke up some ice so they could park and somebody hired some young guys with ball peen hammers to do the same. My city ran out of ice melt and started using sand. It is a mess. We have six foot piles of snow. I guess it will all melt by summer. Hope this is not a hint of winters to come.

Amazing! That must be really aggravating. I hope it melts soon. I imagine you are really dreaming of Oregon or other warmer areas these days.

 

[Martha]

More complaints about Denver. After three days of plus 45 degree weather there is still 4 inch packed ice ruts on the roads in my neighborhood. Some of my neighbors broke up some ice so they could park and somebody hired some young guys with ball peen hammers to do the same. My city ran out of ice melt and started using sand. It is a mess. We have six foot piles of snow. I guess it will all melt by summer. Hope this is not a hint of winters to come.

Do you use ice chisels in Colorado?

These are heavy steel and are good for chopping up ice on driveways, etc. I have one, great winter light weight lifting work.

 

[73ss454]

Today in central Florida, 74 and not a cloud in the sky.

 

[dumpster56]

Heck we hit 12 degrees south of Raleigh a day ago!

I am ready to knock the wife in the head for saying that it doesn't get real cold in the carolinas!

 

[BUM]

20's during the day. Single digits overnight. Been that way for a week now and gonna be that way for another week here in the Hudson Valley. The good news is no snow! Normal is about 12" by Valentine's Day... so far near 0". OK by me!

 

[bssc]

81 today. People are starting to wear shorts into work at my branch of MegaCorp.

 

[Goonie]

Today in central Florida, 74 and not a cloud in the sky.

Hold on to that weather for a while, OK?! I'll be heading down that way a week from Sunday!!!

As for here....the high today was +13!!! Bright and sunny!!! It is currently +4.

We've gotten used to the "chilly" weather I guess....we drove over to the next town tonight to attend our garden club meeting!!! With all the gardeners (about 35) and garden talk going on, you wouldn't have even thought it was winter still!!! Nobody even mentioned the cold OR the snow!!! Just flowers, veggies, the annual garden walk, the Chicagoland Flower & Garden Show, an orchid show in the 'burbs, a bluebell festival in a nearby town. It was held in their small, but excellent library.....ranked #3 in the nation for it's population coverage. Had hot cocoa and cinnamin rolls....YUM......and a very large collection of gardening books to peruse!!!

BTW....did ya notice it's staying light later these days!!! Spring's just around the corner!!! YEA!!!