Where's the snow???

Well, I was really hoping for snow on Sunday, but it's looking like not much snow is going to fall. Blah.

Winter Weather Advisory

The first Winter Weather Advisory was issued this morning using the new "Commuter Impact" rule discussed here.

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FREDERICK...WESTMINSTER
649 AM EST FRI NOV 21 2008

..WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST TODAY

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STERLING VIRGINIA HAS ISSUED A
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON
EST TODAY.

AIDED BY COLD NORTHWEST WINDS BLOWING ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES...
SNOW SHOWERS WILL BECOME MORE NUMEROUS OVER PORTIONS OF
NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND THIS MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 2
INCHES IS EXPECTED ALONG THE MASON DIXON LINE FROM FREDERICK COUNTY
EAST TO NORTHERN BALTIMORE COUNTY...WITH CLOSER TO 1 INCH FURTHER SOUTH.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE
TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED
VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

Snowy Pattern

It looks like there will be more opportunities to see the white stuff over the next couple of weeks, including Thanksgiving week. Tuesday? Friday? Stay tuned. High temp today was only 35 degrees, which is very winter-like. I'd like some snow, but I have a lot of garden work to get done!

Nothing to Report Here

Black billowing smoke did not invade the northeastern Germantown sky early this morning. The Rockville fire department was not called to the scene to put out a raging dark fire on the roof at the Milestone Center school construction site. Hess construction crew workers were not spotted working on the roof later in the day.

Snow flurries were a mere figment of everyone's imagination this afternoon. It was a cosmic hologram similar to CNN's ridiculous Star Wars stunt on election night.

In other news, there was not a lengthy backup on I-270 northbound, just north of the scenic overlook, between 5:15 and 6:00 p.m. this evening.

Tomatoes

My tomatoes yielded very well this year. I've had so many that I take them into work. People there grab them up like crazy.

Hanna Banana

Today is a great day for ducks, with Tropical Storm Hanna bringing us major rainfall. It's been raining hard now for several hours.... hard enough to scramble our satellite TV.

For more info than you could ever have time to read on Hanna, click here: Hanna

Tropical Fest

The summer had been quiet in the tropics until recently. Now we have Gustav, Hanna, Ike and Josephine! The weather doesn't observe Labor Day. It's been quite dry since early August, so Hanna might be a good shot at rain locally towards the weekend.

Evening Serenade

I don't know what kind of bird, or if it's birds, but every night there is a LOUD squawking chorus of animals right when I'm trying to sleep. No, it's not cicadas... I know what cicadas sound like.

Robins, Version 2.0

The robin's nest from last year was so old and unoccupied, I took it down and threw it away. It was June and I figured we wouldn't get a nesting at the house like we did last year. To my surprise, there's a birds nest sitting in the other corner, under the deck. Yet another robin's nest with 4 newly hatched babies. I'm rooting for all 4 to fly out on their own. I'll try to get a picture.

Trip to Ohiopyle

I went rafting on the Upper Yough in early June. It was quite the bumpy ride and I don't recommend it for anyone who's never been whitewater rafting. It was a great day to raft. Sunny skies and warm temperatures ruled the day. Water temperature was awesome, near 60 degrees and river flow was excellent. I hope to try the Gauley in West Virginia next.

Home Improvement

What happens when 5 inches of rain drains into your gutters? Well, it means it's time to clear the downspouts! So, up the extension ladder I went to clear out the gutters. Unfortunately, we're still getting spill-over, so there must be leaks going on. Surely the gutters aren't clogged up again already, right?

I keep hoping for a dry stretch to take care of some outdoor tasks like spraying the patio with RoundUp and cleaning the deck. Crossing my fingers for a week of dry conditions... haha I am a Meteorologist so I should KNOW what's going to happen right?

Pongo

Molly

Watch Teddy Lose!

Here are two movies of the Presidents' Race I shot with my digital camera last year. I got a better angle on the second one. Enjoy!

This one was shot on Teddy Roosevelt Bobblehead Night. The other presidents won on their bobblehead night, but not Teddy.


The second one was shot towards the end of the season.

Will Teddy win?

Tomorrow evening, the Washington Nationals celebrate opening night at the brand new Nationals Park. Learn more about the park HERE.

The visiting team will be the Atlanta Braves, but many fans will be focused on who wins the promotional Presidents' Race in the middle of the 4th inning. Read about the history of this fun race HERE and HERE.

Given that it is opening night, and George Washington was the nation's first president, I predict that George will win tomorrow night. Who do you think will win? Who do you WANT to win? Post a comment to this thread!

Will Teddy ever win? My guess is, yes, Teddy will win a race this year. We'll see if I'm right.

Bird Report

It must be mating season, because the birds are downright raucous these days. This morning, it was a chorus of multiple birds. New birds sighted at the feeder include the goldfinch, tufted titmouse, and dark-eyed junco. The sparrows, cardinals and mourning doves come often. Haven't seen much of robins at the feeder, and just the occasional blue jay.

Annoying woodpecker rat-a-tats on the house at times. There's a small hole in the siding. Hopefully that will end soon. It's not like there aren't enough trees around here... HELLO!

The daffodils and tulips are coming up, and garlic is shooting up from the garden. It won't be long before I'll be mowing the lawn.

Saturday's Storm

For those wondering what happened last Saturday, March 8, a severe thunderstorm raked through Frederick County. I was in downtown Frederick coming from the YMCA that afternoon, and saw very small hail (bb to pea size) and one cloud-to-ground lightning strike. It was very gusty. On MD 144 (Old National Pike) near Terra Firma Road, I saw a cop car sitting in the westbound right lane where a tree had fallen, blocking that lane.

Also, on my way to work on Sunday morning, I saw a line crew working on Ijamsville Road near MD 80. The FNP has written a few stories on it. There were numerous power outages.

New Market, MD Wind Damage
Mount Airy Horse Farm Wind Damage

The Bag Bill Sponsors

Below is the list of bill sponsors for the ridiculous plastic bag bill. Take note of the names.

Delegates Schuler, Barnes, Barve, Beidle, Bromwell, Cardin, DeBoy, Dumais, Gilchrist, Guzzone, Hecht, Hucker, Ivey, Krysiak, Kullen, Lafferty, Morhaim, Olszewski, Ramirez, and Walker

Hecht is the District 3A House Delegate (Frederick County).

Bill 967
House of Delegates

Don't Ban Plastic Bags!

The Maryland legislature was supposed to debate a bill today that would ban the use of plastic shopping bags. The bill would require stores to use only paper or reusable bags. Stores giving out plastic bags could be fined $100. I don't know about you, but those plastic bags ARE reusable!!!

Plastic shopping bags are perfect for bathroom trash cans and picking up dog poop. This bill never made it to a vote on the main floor last year, so here's hoping that it dies in committee again this year. And if it makes it to the main floor, I hope it is RESOUNDINGLY voted down.

Power Outage

Last night, the power went out at about 8 pm. Darn, that means I didn't get to watch the second TPIR Million Dollar Spectacular! Oh well. Anyway, I called a friend who looked up Allegheny Power's website, and over 900 customers in New Market lost power. I also knew it was pretty extensive by looking around the neighborhood.

Based on my clocks this morning, the power was restored about 12:30 AM. I know there had been line work along National Pike in recent weeks, so I'm wondering if this was related to that. Weather wasn't particularly bad... just a bit breezy. Maybe one of the newer connections broke loose?

Picture Time

I've decided to photograph birds that visit as much as possible. Earlier today, I saw two mourning doves. I'm hoping to create a catalog.

Deer!

I just had a great vacation that included skiing at Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. All good things must eventually end, which meant going back to work. I was greeted to a field of deer close to the house. Work is busy as usual.

I find the political prelims interesting and entertaining. As usual, the Democrats and Republican get first rate billing, while viable third parties such as Green and Libertarian get fringe treatment. I don't like any of the "candidates".

Snow returns

Snow returned to the region yesterday. Four inches at the house. Very wet, and a good bit of it melted in the sun today. Frederick was in the 40s today despite the snow. 45 was the high today in New Market.

Lazy Blogger

It's pathetic that I haven't posted anything since the new year. So, I'll try to make my first post of 2008 a fun one. The commute to work has been rather uneventful with only one exception... deer. Deer are pretty common at 3:30 in the morning, so watch out if you drive curvy, hilly streets. One morning, I saw about 10 deer grazing within a half mile of the house, in between two houses on a grassy knoll.

Another interesting tidbit, is the traffic at 3:30 in the morning is practically non-existent. Don't get caught off guard by the Saturday morning folks returning from their Friday nights out.

If we ever get snow or wind damage again, I'll post that.