Murphy's Weather

Currently 52 degrees with an E wind of 10 mph dropping that down to feeling like 48. Dew Point 49, Humidity 86%, Barometer 30.20, Visibility 10 mi, Sunrise 7:52 am, Sunset 7:03 pm. Cloudy today with a high of 61. ESE winds 5 – 10 mph.

Cloudy with the chance of a few overnight showers. Low 54. S winds of 5 mph.

I feel so protected here. Watching the mess in Puerto Rico, the fires in California, the newest hurricane, Ophelia, heading toward the UK and Ireland…I can only offer up a sincere thank you for being where I am. I’m traumatized watching the scenes of what is left from the wild fires in California. So many people dead and missing. The colossal destruction of what is left of the island of Puerto Rico. Wondering and worrying about what the very strong winds of Ophelia will do once she slams onshore on the other side of the ocean. Just insane.

This is a wild world we live in. It’s managed to shrink into a small, small world all right, but in doing so, it has subjected us all to the woes and trials of everyone, everywhere. It’s almost emotional overload for me. Nature can be so kind, so comforting, so welcoming – and then turn into a raging terrifying monster at other times. Not good. Not good at all.

I just want to stay safe, watch my clouds, and feel like I live in a cocoon most of the time. Can’t be that way, I know, but if I had my druthers…..

Currently 52 degrees with a NE wind 17 mph dropping that to feeling like 46. Dew Point 51, Humidity 99%, Barometer 30.06 & falling, Visibility 2.2 mi, Sunrise 7:50 am, Sunset 7:07 pm. 100% chance of rain today. Low 50. ENE 10 – 20 mph.

Cloudy tonight, low 40. NE winds 10 – 15 mph with gusts to 25.

What do you know? Mother Nature opened the floodgates hereabouts and we got a good 1 1/2″ of rain overnight. Almost forgot what it sounded like to lay in bed and listen to just rain.  No wind, no thunder, lightening. Simply rain falling down. So peaceful. Made the listener feel like there was no other place on earth to be but nestled up in bed hearing nothing but that –  just rain. A lovely sound, especially after not having that experience for so long. I can’t even, honestly, remember the last time we got a good, steady, long-lasting rain.

Thank you Mother Nature. I take back all the mean things I’ve been thinking and saying about you. For now.

Currently 54 degrees with a NE wind of 10 mph dropping that to feeling like 51. Dew Point 45, Humidity 72%, Barometer 30.17 & rising, Visibility 10 mi, Sunrise 7:50 am, Sunset 7:07 pm. Partly cloudy this morning with a 30% chance of rain this afternoon. High 70. ENE winds 10 – 15 mph.

100% chance of overnight rain. Rainfall could measure up to 1″. Low 50. ENE winds 10 -20 mph.

Finally, it does sound as if we will be getting a decent amount of rain tonight. Not that I’m totally convinced. Our weather is contrary and not exactly to be counted on with any 100% degree of certainty.

The windows in this townhouse are horrid. No way to take the crummy screens off to wash the outside of the windows, not and get them back on in any great shape, so this morning, putting my faith in the possibility of rain coming, I went out and sprayed – drenched – the outside of the windows, right through the screens, with white vinegar. Now, all Mother Nature has to do is provide water to wash it clear. (Because another thing this place doesn’t have – outside water faucets where I could simply hook up a hose and wash them. Heaven forbid something that handy should be available.) So anyway…or…I shall have to go out there and spray – drench – the windows, right through the screens, with water, with my handy spray bottle. We shall see how it goes.

Either way, it can’t be worse than it is now. Sort of a game, an experience. Or something.

Currently 54 with a calm wind leaving it to feel like 54. Dew Point 54, Humidity 100%, Barometer 29.81 & rising, Visibility 10 mi, Sunrise 7:49 am, Sunset 7:09 pm. Plenty of sunshine today, high 79. W winds 5 – 10 mph.

Clear to partly cloudy skies tonight, low 50. N wind 5 – 10 mph.

Fire and wind. Fire so often our friend, many times saving our lives, warm, inviting…so many good memories sitting around a campfire. Wind drying clothes on the line, moving the ice out of the water when the weather warms, bringing the scent of flowers and freshness our way, moving air to cool us when we’re warm.  However, that fire, when combined with that wind, can also be a villain, a misery, a killer. The wildfires that periodically flare up around our nation, right now in California, driven by the wind which only Nature can control, are terrifying. Wild is the word. They go where they want, they demolish and destroy what they can.  Temper tantrums from an out of control, disobedient child that grow into something fearful and ferocious straight out of a Stephen King novel. Frightening and fraught with danger.

Brave, brave people are always at the forefront, fighting with all their strength and ability to try and control the wildness when these flames flare up, doing their best to help prevent the pain these fires can cause. My thoughts and prayers go out to those fighting and those simply trying to survive.

Currently 57 degrees with a S wind of 6 mph dropping that down to 56. Dew Point 56, Humidity 98%, Barometer 29.79 & rising, Visibility 10 mi, Sunrise 7:48 am, Sunset 7:10 pm. Sunny skies today with a high of 77. SSW winds 5 – 10 mph.

Clear overnight skies, low 50. Light and variable winds.

I love a sunny day, but in all honesty, I do prefer having some clouds up there to watch. My eyes are always rising to the skies to check out what’s going on up there to liven up the view, creating pictures or moods or whatever clouds do. Sometimes they speed by as if they’re on the clock – they only have so much time to be up there and don’t want to fail. The big fluffy guys like giant wads of pure white cotton candy, those are amazing. Little ripples, big angry swatches, curling, swirling…the variety is endless. I have hundreds of pictures on file, and I’m betting clouds take up a good many of those. Like snowflakes, they are always different. And I love watching them perform.

Currently 65 with a SSE wind of 11 mph making little difference, so it feels like 65. Dew Point 63, Humidity 93%, Barometer 29.70 & falling, Visibility 10 mi, Sunrise 7:47 am, Sunset 7:12 pm. Cloudy with a high near 80. SSW winds of 15 – 25 mph.

There is a 100% chance of overnight rain. Some thunder possible. Low 56. SW winds 15 – 25 mph.

Today won’t be a bad day. A day to watch the squirrels as they begin to bury everything in places they will likely never find again. It’s amazing to see them being so busy and I always wonder if they ever again see those bits of sustenance they are tucking away for winter. I’ve heard they have some sort of organizational ability – 3 ft west of that tree, 6 ft out from this fence post – but I don’t buy it. When that stuff gets buried under the snow, I never see these furry critters diving down and digging anything out. Who knows? But nature is urging them on this time of year and they seem to be doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing.

Makes me think about stocking my pantry and my book shelves, too.  Come to think of it, I guess I’d better begin to get at it.

Currently 49 with a calm wind. Feels like 49. Dew Point 47, Humidity 98%, Barometer 30.19 & rising, Visibility 9 mi, Sunrise 7:44 am, Sunset 7:16 pm. Sunshine today with a few passing clouds. High 71. W winds 10 – 15 mph.

Partly cloudy early will becoming mostly cloudy with a slight chance of a rain shower. Low 52. NNW 5 – 10 mph.

Downright nippy this morning and it’s rather foggy outside my window. The fog will rise and so will the temperature, so this day should end up fine and dandy. In the meantime, I’ll shiver a bit – being too stubborn to close up this wide open window – and enjoy the foggy beginning to what might be a fabulous day. I always think, and hope, that each day will turn out to be fabulous. Why not?

I love fog. Even driving in it. Not the dense, thick as trying to find your way out of a fuzzy gray blanket variety, but the usual, run of the mill fog. The sort that makes the edges of everything soften and look like a watercolor painting. This I love. There is a hush to a foggy morning, like an expectancy of something perhaps magical growing out of it. Now that I have yet to see, but the anticipation of such is there, lurking around the perimeter. But for me there is nothing ordinary about a foggy morning. It’s always slightly special.

Currently 69 with a WSW wind of 12 mph steering clear, so it feels like the 69 it is. Dew Point 67, Humidity 94%, Barometer 30.21 & rising, Visibility 4 mi, Sunrise 7:43 am, Sunset 7:17 pm. Cloudy skies early with the chance of a stray shower, then partly cloudy later on.

Clear overnight skies, low 44. W winds 5 – 10 mph.

So…we were scheduled for rain, but so far only a trace has fallen. A trace. September was exceptionally dry and we sure do not need October to follow suit. Thursday through Saturday are holding out promises of rain, but there’s no trusting Mother Nature. She’s a deceptive old broad and so I’m not laying any money down on any of that being a sure thing. All we can do is hope for the best. Which we’re pretty good at by now, but so far our hopes have been dashed. We shall see. Be nice to see rain…

Currently 73 with a S wind of 12 mph making no difference, so it feels like 73. Dew Point 58, Humidity 59%, Barometer 30.26, Visibility 10 mi, Sunrise 7:42 am, Sunset 7:19 pm. Mostly cloudy with a high of 80. SSW winds 10 – 20 mph.

Cloudy with an 80% chance of thunderstorms developing overnight. Low 66. SW winds 10 – 15 mph.

So anxious to get some rain and tonight, and at this point, Friday and Saturday appear to be giving us a good chance for some, too. Sure are in need of it.

Put away the Hummingbird feeders, hung a thistle sock out and it wasn’t more than a couple of hours before a Finch found it there. How do they do that? I’ve never hung a thistle sock out there before, but that feathered detective discovered it almost immediately. I find that amazing. Didn’t make the aggressive bees that had been haunting the hummer feeder happy to see it taken down and put away. Still getting a stray buzzing about trying to figure out why it was, exactly, that word had gotten out this was the place to find food. Not much around a thistle sock appealing to a bee, I’m seeing that.

The Finches are well into their color change, going from their brilliant summer yellow to the softer, quieter shades that probably protect them in the winter from being seen by predators. So, farewell to the tiny hummingbirds and hello to the Finch families. Seasonal changes in the world of feathers.