Usual Schizophrenic Spring Weather

Let's see...  Thursday and Friday we had a combined snowfall amount of almost fourteen inches in Boulder (up in the mountains, they had 2 and 3 feet of snowfall).  It was overcast and cool on the weekend.  Yesterday, we reached a high of 72, with some mild winds - the Chinook that was forecast didn't kick in.  It is currently 50 degrees (F), with 37% humidity outside.  The newspaper says that we'll have a high of 67 today, and we have a good chance of snow tonight.  Hunh?  Yep, it's the usual Boulder schizophrenic Spring weather pattern kicking in.  NOAA says breezy this afternoon and tomorrow, with snow tomorrow morning.  Both NOAA and the forecasters say we'll have snow Friday....  The one thing I have learned since moving to Boulder is that the weather is completely unpredictable - and that the average last day of snowfall in Boulder is May 6...  Folks are encouraged not to plant outside until after Mother's Day, which is on the 8th this year.
   And - just a silly question - why does the date of Easter jump around so much on the calendar?  I mean, the church has chosen December 25 as the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, no matter what day of the week it falls on.  I easily understand how Jewish holidays seem to change dates, but the synagogues use a lunar calendar that has been in use for thousands of years.  Why does the new, "modern" Christian church use some sort of hocus-pocus theory to set the date of Easter - which can occur, according to the church, in March, April, or May?  I have to admit that, as a child, Easter only meant the Easter Bunny and lots of chocolate, but it seems to me that it usually took place in the last half of April.  Again, that might just be my sugar-fogged brain supplying incorrect information.  But why does Easter float all over three months of the calendar?  At the time, the Romans were using their calendar, and the Jews were using their lunar calendar, so can't a specific date be set?
   Oh, well....  Off to walk the doggies.

Spring?

Hoping to get back to daily postings, as my penance seems to be over...  We had four inches of snow fall early yesterday morning, and while a couple of inches are still on the ground in shaded and north-facing areas, most of it has melted.  I got up early yesterday to be ready in case the lady wanted to walk the King Charles Cavalier spaniels despite the snow.  It was still spinning down in the parking lot lights in my apartment area, and at the restaurant next door.  I had told the house-sitter that I would call at 6:05 a.m. to be certain she wanted to walk, and that all I needed was a yes or no answer from her, as I would need the next 10 minutes to put on my boots, snow coat, hats, scarf and gloves and get a block down the street, and across it, to the bus stop..    When she picked up the telephone, she sounded amazed that I was calling her (maybe she forgot?) and asked why.  I told her it was snowing at my place, and asked if she wanted to walk the dogs, as planned.  She said it wasn't snowing at the house - how could it be snowing at my residence?  I said, "We're two miles apart.  It can happen."  But she had to put on her coat and go out and look.  The only thing is, she didn't have her boots on, so she had to take her coat off, put her boots on, put her coat on again, and then search for her hat...  Needless to say, I missed the first bus.  I arrived there at 7;15 instead of 7:00 and she was upset with me.  I had a major headache by the time I finished walking the dogs under her directions.  I came home and took medication and went to bed.  Thank goodness it was the last day I had to be in her company....  I might have lost my temper and unloaded on her, and she would have no idea why I was upset.  She's just that ditsy.
  The sun came out nicely yesterday afternoon, and a lot of the morning snow melted.  I relaxed last night by getting out my Tiffany Glass coloring book and applying colors to a wooden sailing ship on the high seas.  I am so happy that I can purchase adult coloring books these days, and don't have to print line drawings off the internet anymore.
   Even though it's only February 24, we've had a week of temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s, and our plants and wildlife are starting to believe that it's already Spring.  There were a pair of great horned owls in the pines in my sister's back yard this morning, and Rosie and I watched a male red-shafted flicker sing and dance and spread his feathers for his lady.  And another flicker was having the time of his life hammering away at a metal fireplace exhaust a few houses down.  The cottontails were out enjoying themselves in the sun, and sparrows were gathering twigs for nests.  I'm still not used to seeing blue jays in Boulder, but there were a foursome flying around the neighborhood this morning - it almost sounded like I was back on the east coast.  Bertie, one of the three identifiable squirrels that we feed, spent the majority of the afternoon sunning on top of the telephone pole between our apartment and Chez Thuy...  And a couple of the ravens are becoming accustomed to my presence - after I placed out some soft fruit for them this morning, two came and sat on the balcony and looked in the window while I was working at my desk.  Pretty soon I'll start placing food for them by the window - and I'll make certain that my cats are not on the balcony at that time.
 

Life's Little Pleasures

I must admit that, usually, life's little pleasures are the ones I enjoy the most.   Sitting by a fire on a cold night; listening to my cats purr; having dogs get excited when they see me; having a horse come to my call; being warm when it's cold outside; being cool when it's hot outside; having a roof over my head; having enough to eat; having plenty of things to read; not worrying about if I have enough money to pay the rent, or to buy cat food.  Life's simple pleasures.
   I'm typing this at my desk, looking west at snow covered mountains.  My female cat is cradled in my left arm - her butt on my left breast, her front paws hanging over my left shoulder, and her whiskers tickling my face and neck.  She is purring.  My male cat is on the cat tree, less than two feet from my reach; he's watching the neighborhood ravens and our friendly squirrel.  Bea is asleep, as far as I know.  (She's a night owl, and I'm an early morning person.) I have a full tummy, I have taken my medications, and I feel at peace with the world - having paid my rent and having a cupboard full of food for the cats, and for human consumption.
  We seem to be in the middle of a heat wave (heavy sarcasm here), as it was all of 11 degrees (F) this morning, and not in the single or negative digits.  We're supposed to have a high temperature above freezing, for the first time in over 8 days - it will feel good.  Bea has to work tonight, and then she's off for 3 days.  If flights are running smoothly tomorrow, I'll pick up the Brittany Spaniels family about 4 in the afternoon, and be back home for supper and a night in my own bed.
   After Beatrice got off work last night, I cooked our New Year's Day meal:  ham steak, black-eyed peas, mashed sweet potatoes, home-made garlic-cheese biscuits, applesauce (which I didn't cook), and fresh baked gingerbread.  We were so stuffed that it was difficult to even move last night - but I had the girls to walk and put to bed and sleep with.   We did laugh hysterically, watching Nedi and Lovey chase each other; and Nedi was playing with his string toy - throwing it around, attacking it, and charging through the apartment, dragging it after him...  It was a nice, pleasant, enjoyable evening.
   I hope this New Year of 2016 is full of such evenings for you.

Snow and Vikings

I misjudged the amount of snow melt in my sister's back yard yesterday.  I walked Rosie and Lucy wearing sneakers, not my snow boots, and found that snow was still six inches deep in Kathy's back yard.  There were a few patches of grass, so I had a good place to stand and play with the dogs.  And Rosie and Lucy had a blast in the snow - they ran and played, chased toys that I tossed, made doggie snow angels, shoveled snow with their noses, ate snow, and chased a few impudent squirrels.  I was happy that I was able to keep my feet pretty dry.
  Our weather forecasters are saying that we'll have highs near 60 degrees (F) today and tomorrow morning.  Then the Arctic Express will back into the area, and snow will begin to fall Friday evening.  At the moment, most computer models say that Boulder will get between 12 and 24 inches of snow.  Oh boy.  I don't mind snow.  We need snow.  But I hate having large amounts fall when I'm committed to making several trips each day to different houses around town on the weekend.  My main reason is that the buses only run once an hour in any direction - which can be extremely inconvenient.  I'll get my shopping and laundry done today, so I won't have to do either over the weekend.
   Tonight, in America, the third season of the History Channel's Vikings will premiere.  Ragnar's hair style changes during this season, and some fans don't like that, according to comments I've seen on "sneak peek" sites.  My only comment is to remind viewers that time is passing in the Viking world - Ragnar's first son is now an adult; his children with his second wife are growing up.  In actual history, there is a 35 year gap between the first Viking raid on the Holy Island to the sack of Paris, which will happen this season.  Ragnar is getting older.  And he will, eventually, die.  I also got a kick out of a comment from a viewer who keeps saying that Lodbrok (or Lothbrook) is not a family name.  That is quite true. Lodbrok means "hairy pants" and was a nickname given to Ragnar  to differentiate him from other Vikings named Ragnar.  Rollo had no such appellation.

Warmth, Lottery, Television

Walking back from the bakery this morning, I realized that only the lower part of Sugarloaf Mountain was visible, and that anything further west was hidden by clouds.  There's a bright blue sky to the east, and above us, but you can see where the forecast rain and/or snow for tonight will come from.  It is snowing over Eldora and Arapaho Basin, but that, too, might change to rain.  That would be disastrous for the Alpine Ski Championships at Beaver Creek - snow would be much better than rain!
   Lovey and Nedi have been enjoying the warm weather - I've been allowing them to stay outside for longer periods of time, since the apartment isn't cooling down so quickly.  Our usual high temperatures at this time of year are around 40 degrees (F), but the past few weeks, we've had highs in the 60s and 70s.  Crocus are blooming, and trees are budding. Our next big freeze is going to kill off a lot of plants, poor things.   The squirrels are filling up on swelling tree buds, and a large number of birds are acting as if it's really Spring - the second week of February...  When the cold hits, it will be hard on both flora and fauna.
   Well, I broke down and purchased a couple of Power Ball lottery tickets for the next drawing.  I know the chances of winning are astronomically huge against my winning, but I don't do it often.  The next Power Ball drawing is currently being estimated at $450 million, if there is only one winning ticket.  Oh, my.  What I could do with that amount - charity and trust donations, scholarships to set up, low-cost animal care programs to set up, TNR programs, and gifts to give...  And a house and a horse for myself.
   Having watched the previews for next week's episode of Gotham, I realized that I'm probably incorrect in guessing that Fish Mooney becomes the Joker.  I might be wrong, but I think we got a glimpse of the Joker in the preview.  I also enjoyed seeing Sleepy Hollow last night.  We know that the former Captain Frank Irving has gone to the dark side and is working for Henry.  The previews for next week indicate that Katrina decides to take a walk on the dark side, too.  Fun, fun, fun!  I'm hoping to be able to see The Blacklist and How To Get Away With Murder on Thursday night, but a jury meeting has been called for 6 p.m.  Of course, we've been summoned four previous times, and have yet to meet, with the things cancelled anywhere between 48 hours to 2 hours before-hand.  I'll believe we'll have the meeting when we all sit down inside the courthouse.

Boulder News

I spent 90 minutes with my sister yesterday.  Her chemotherapy has been hitting her hard, and she has very little energy and is now completely bald.  I first saw her and her husband near the bus stop when I arrived to walk the dogs yesterday.  We spoke for a minute or two, and then they proceeded on, while I continued to gather Rosie and Tess. It was a bright, warm day (we had a high temperature of 73 degrees), and I had walked the perimeter of the yard with both dogs to be certain there was no coyote presence.  SO I sat up my chair, and was tossing the bone for Rosie and the tennis ball for Tess, when Kathy came out and joined me.  We sat in the sun and chatted, recalling places we had lived and old friends and neighbors.  I was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, while my sister was wearing two sweatsuits, a scarf, a knitted hat, and a shovel-brimmed sun cap over the hat.  She is having difficulty with the regulation of her body temperature, poor thing.  I'll take both dogs over to Kathy's again today, and I hope she'll feel up to joining us in the sun again.
  The Denver National Western Stock Show ended up with the second-largest attendance number in it's history this year - 682,539 people visited the Show during it's 16 days of exhibits and showing.  That's almost 42,659 per day - and that's part of the reason I did not attend this year.  I am not fond of large crowds.
   A small box was left on the top step of the Main Post Office here in Boulder (at the corner of 15th and Walnut) yesterday morning.  When I walked to the bakery yesterday morning for my bagel, I noted a helicopter hovering over the downtown area.  As I walked back, I started guessing where, exactly, it was hovering.  I decided it was over Central Park or the Public Library, and wondered what was happening.  Upon returning to my apartment, and turning on the local news, I heard the bomb squad had closed down four square blocks of downtown Boulder, and had evacuated several buildings, including the RTD bus terminal at 14th and Walnut.  Less than 30 minutes later, an "all clear" had been sent out, with an announcement that the box was empty.  I guess the bomb squad needed some practice.
   I am looking forward to the Super Bowl commercials Sunday.  I have not looked at any of the early releases, which, I think, spoils the fun and surprise.  I will be half-heartedly rooting for the Seattle Seahawks, because I like their quarterback;  I will be rooting against the Patriots because I've never liked them, and I never will - especially while Kraft is the owner, Belichick is the coach and Brady is their quarterback.  What a trio of ogres!

Miscellany

Boulder has enjoyed bright blue skies and loads of sunshine for the past few days - highs in the upper 50s and low 60s.  (Our normal high is about 42 degrees, this time of year.)  The huge storm coming ashore at California, the Pineapple Express, will change things, though.  A slightly lower high on Saturday will be followed by snow after midnight on Sunday (or so the weather folks say).  The forecast models are all over the place at the moment - four different models predict anywhere from 2 to 10 inches of snow falling on Sunday.  -  I think I'll cook a pot of homemade marinara sauce and meatballs Saturday afternoon.  Later on, as it continues to snow, I'll make ham and bean soup and cheddar-potato soup...  But we're supposed to warm back up on Tuesday.  The soup will wait until it's actually winter.
   The kits have decided that my letting them out for 90 minutes in the morning, afternoon, and evening is a good deal.  They are both back inside and curled up in the sunshine shining through the window.  I think that Lovey is staying alert for the hawk - the sheer size of it seemed to thrill her, and she stayed revved up for over an hour after it flew away on Tuesday.  She really believes that she is a lioness and not a ten-pound tabby.
   Rosie's back is still inflamed and sore, so we are taking very slow, decorous walks around the neighborhood, and spending a lot of time lying in the sun in the Snow back yard.  I was surprised to see that Jim has replaced the fencing that was buried by the silt in the Great Flood over a year ago.  I haven't yet had a chance to ask if it was done to keep Tulo, a Sammie  who visited for 5 days,in the yard; if it was done to confine Woodsley and Mona, the grand-dogs; or if, after taking care of Tulo, Jim has decided to get another Samoyed...  We'll see.
   Thanks to my cousins, I now have photos of 8 generations of the Nocks family.  That seems so incredible when I write it, or say it...  It's just amazing to me that I can look at a photo of my great-great-great grandparents sitting with some of their children and the childrens spouses.  I guess it's so impressive to me because we have so few identified photos from my Mom's side of the family.  I have a ton of unidentified photos from Sweden and New York City, but I have no idea who they are, or how (or if) we're related...
   I hope that all of you have a wonderful weekend!!

A Pearl

Walking back from the bakery this morning, I saw that Mount Audubon and the Indian Peaks are snow covered again; Sugarloaf, however, is brown and green.  We had a high of 65 degrees yesterday and are expecting a high of 42 today, then 50s through Monday.  Is it really December?
   Last week, a woman stopped at the Great Machipongo Clam Shack in Nassawadox, Virginia; she purchased two bags of Atlantic clams and continued to her family gathering in Pennsylvania.  The family steamed the clams, and the woman who had bought them found something hard in one of the clams she ate.  She spit the pearl out, dried it off and placed it in her purse.  When she returned home, she showed the pearl to her husband, and he did a little research.  The clams purchased in Nassawadox were from an aquaculture company, and were littleneck clams that had been grown in Hog Island Bay.  The woman had paid $15 for each of the two bags of clams that she took to Pennsylvania.  The pearl that she almost ate was 4.5 carats, and was lavender in color.  It is an unusual pearl in that it grew in a clam that was raised by aquaculture, that it's size is so large for such a young clam, and for the iridescent purple color.  That $15 bag of clams returned a pearl that's worth $3,000...

   Rosie is a little better, so I'm off to take her on a slow walk and then to sit with her until the vet arrives to give her an acupuncture and laser treatment.  Tomorrow I'll meet two cats that will be new clients...