Month of March 2024 (Nat’l Avg $3.338

** edit by Gord as I forgot to start March thread **

Post your daily grind exploits here!

7:10AM....37degF, but snow is predicted. So far, there is no snow. We'll see if the light atmospheric haze on the western ridge is the snow coming in or not. Later there is supposed to be a bit of warming, with snow turning to rain. We'll see if these predictions come true.

PS.....Ha....the haze on the ridge is thickening.

 

Wouldn't that show on radar if snow? Or are you thinking it could turn to snow?

 

The radar indicates that higher hills are snowy, but the bottomlands are getting rain. With binoculars I can't tell if the hill haze is snow or rain. A trace of rain here, just above the bottomland.

PS, 10:15AM.....Between few rain drops I got a 2 mile walk & back to the library. Returning I saw just a bit of snow on the 1400foot ridge. If I was walking up on the ridge, I'd probably be slipping. No snow down here. Snow is still a bit of the forecast, but I don't think it will snow.

PS, 1PM....Rain fell since 10:30AM. Has quit, so I'll go for another walk....maybe to river.

PS, 3:23PM....Did get another walk in. Large black cloud coming in from the west. We'll see if I took my walk, better than if I took my walk now.
As the days pass, the setting sun is now moving across the western ridge, making for some interesting sunsets. Clouds are heavy & no sun, right now. But, the cloud squawl lines are parallel with the ridge top, so as I said.....interesting.

 

Today, watched another Mariner Cactus league game taped a week ago(?) against the Chicago White Sox. A long game that I'll mercifully shorten in the telling. Nothing interesting, both teams zip, till the 4th inning. Chicago finally scored 2 runs. In the top of the 5th, Seattle tied the game, 2-2. Sixth inning(?), Chicago scored 3 more runs. Surprisingly, the Mariners tied the game in the 7th! In the 8th, Chicago, went up with 2 more runs. In the 9th, Seattle rapidly got 2 outs & it didn't look good. Then, the Mariners got 3 runs after a walk & 3 hits in a row, going up 1 run! In the bottom of the ninth, the Mariner pitcher threw 3 walks in a row to load the bases. The next Chicago hitter hit a line drive & by the time the outfielder got the ball into the infield, 2 Chicago runners scored to win the ball game. Over & out for the Mariners.

 

7:36AM....36degF, chances of rain only in the teens. Cloudy, but increasing chances of sun in mid-afternoon. It should be a good walk to the Senior Center for a good lunch today.

I've had Pacific Foods Red Pepper & Tomato Soup in a carton before & some yesterday. It's different & pretty good if you want to get away from canned tomato soup. Has added milk so they can brag their product has protein. Has a fair amount of calcium, iron, & potassium. Too much salt, but less than other products which don't limit salt content. I've got a can of Campbell's low sodium tomato soup with 1/6th of the salt of the PF tomato soup. That's good. But, outside of a good charge of potassium, the iron & calcium are low. If I can continue my walking after my attack, I don't want to zero out my salt intake.

 

3-4-24, 2:30PM.....Today, I got two walks in, while the weather was sweet. But, now the hail is coming down. Just can't predict this weather.

4:10PM....Late in the night, temperatures are going to freeze, but little chance of precipitation. Looks like tomorrow will be a partially sunny day, better than the past week. We'll see if predictions come true. However, I see what looks like a good rain is hitting the western ridge, coming this-a-way.

 

3-5-24, 2:48AM....30degF, heading toward 28degF in early daylight. Cars are frosty. Cloudy, but big hole in the sky directly overhead.
Looks like the separated wife may need a front brake job on the manual Elantra at 105,000 miles. On my walk to the library early this coming morning, I'll stop at my mechanic's place & make an appointment.

 

Oh, my mechanic says the brakes are fine on the manual Elantra! He touched up the brake rotors a bit, so the squeaking should stop. When I bring the automatic Elantra in for maintenance, I'll ask him how the brakes are doing. I've heard squeaking on them, also. I've had the auto Elantra for 11 years. Something's gotta go wrong.....some time....or not.....We'll see.

Even the cheap Craigslist over-sized tires, which I got flack about, have been excellent on the automatic Elantra.

 

Just heard an article that ccp coronavirus may have lowered IQ of people catching the disease.

Duh....after my bout with ccp coronavirus....I can't tell if'n I'm dumber.....duh!

 

7:48PM.....37degF. Looked like temperatures would fall to freezing through the night. But now, predictions are that temps will stop falling at 12AM, & rise a bit. Early tomorrow morning, looks like it won't freeze. As I've said, I love it when temps stay above freezing.

 

3-8-24: 7:15AM.....Yes, temp did rise to 42degF through the night! Nice. Rain chance only in the teens, increasing to 35% till 11AM, then again decreasing into the teens into the afternoon. Looks like a good walk to the Senior Center.

PS, from 1-16-24:
The family that.....takes garbage out together, stays together. First, the little trotting son appeared with his equally little bag, maybe full of garbage, had to lead the way to the garbage drop. Then MOM appeared, with both hands full of much larger bags(full too). Third in line is the daughter, with a little bigger bag (pink too) than her brother's. Finally, Dad, understandably takes up the rear, with 2 very large bulging bags, nearly dragging on the ground. Everybody doing their duty & happy too.....maybe just the kids.
///////
PS I....The family that....takes garbage out together, stays together....Take 2:
Three little girls (daughters?), all carry white sacks of garbage towards the garbage drop. Then, mom appears behind them, carrying the largest white garbage sack. But, lo....what is she also carrying? In her other arm, she is carrying a 4th child, a baby. All the people disappear behind the walls of the garbage drop. Less than a minute later, they re-appear, walking away from the garbage drop.....Three little girls, unloaded, ahead of mom, unloaded, except for baby in her arms.

 

3-8-24: Looks like temperatures will be above 40degF tomorrow. Rain chances will increase. We'll see if I'll get a dry walk to the church breakfast tomorrow morning.

PS, 3-9-24: Did get my walk to the breakfast without rain, altho a few drops back to the apt. Now from the apt., it looks like a few more drops are falling. In the days ahead, mid to higher chances of rain are predicted.

 

3-10-24, 6:25AM....Been raining 10+ hours. We'll see how steady the rain is through the day. Bottomland walks are probably out. Any other walks I take will be with the umbrella.

PS, 11:28AM....Did get a walk in without the umbrella. & I got back without any rain...surprise! Rain chance up & down....& up to 100% by 5PM today. So we'll see when it does rain.

Having canned corn, tomatoes & beans for lunch. Added some pepper & oregano. Pretty nice. Later, I'll have some chicken which is really good.

 

Watched another taped Cactus League Mariner game. Here's the REALLY shortened version. The San Diego Padres used the Mariner pitching staff for batting practise. Fourteen hits later, the Padres mercifully put the Mariners in their graves, 12-4, & everyone went home.

Meanwhile for the next hour, rain chance is 90+%. No rain here, but rain is falling on the western ridge. But, but, wait? Ah, some drops falling now.
And now, a family is jogging to their vehicle to get in out of the rain.

 

3-11-24, 7:45AM....Presently, 42degF., only rising to 47degF by latter afternoon. Cloudy & rain chance in the low teens, slowly rising to 90% by late afternoon. If I walk early, I should also get a second dry walk to the Senior Center lunch, too. Oh, yeah, another breakfast of tomatoes, corn & beans. Again, the added pepper & this time Italian Seasoning topped off a nice breakfast.
Slight amount of clearing on the western ridge, so should get my first walk in soon.

PS, 10:30AM Got one nicely pleasant walk in. Still, no Ospreys have showed up at the Tower nest. Just reading a bit about Ospreys. They are considered to be the most populous hawk, living on every continent except for Antarctica. Locally here surrounding the Everett, WA area, Ospreys have the densest population of salt-water habitats on the West Coast. Near the city, many pilings in the waters have Osprey nests. I remember back in the 1970's one pair produced & raised to flight, 3 chicks every year. I think that pair re-populated the whole area between Everett & Marysville & who knows, maybe beyond.

PS I, 7:05PM....Yes, I did get 2 walks in earlier today, when the predictions were for increasing chances of rain later in the day. & yeah, its been raining for hours, now.

PS II, 10:35PM....For the next 24 hours, rain chances vary from 50% to 80%. We'll see how those percentages work out. Right now, 80% chances, show light rain, now. Not an exciting prediction at all.

 

3-12-24, 9:20AM....47degF. Looks like rain chance is decreasing temporarily & I see blue sky in the west. I might get a dry walk to the Senior Center lunch. I'll still take the umbrella. Know how sneaky the weather is around here.

PS.....1:20PM.....First, the bad news. On my way to SC, I forgot something. So I unlocked the door again to get it. Then, I locked the door & got 200 yards from the apt. & I had also forgot the umbrella. This time I didn't go back for it. Walking I steered around the mud puddles from the rain last night. The good news was that the weather WAS sneaky. Instead of rain, it was a very pleasant walk. Now back at the apt, the clouds are thick & moving, but its a nice day!

PS I....6:45PM....Looks like a nice day tomorrow, even some sun later in the day & a high of 49degF. Spaghetti at the SC lunch tomorrow, along with the church dinner. However, cooling through tomorrow night. Looks like only clouds could keep it from freezing.

PS II....11:34PM...Rain like crazy right now, but rain chances falling to single digits by 3AM. Repeating, a nice day tomorrow, temp to 50degF.

 

Oh, oh. Had to open 3 cans of tomato, barley & diced tomatoes, before I got an acceptable meal tonight. Added pepper & Italian Seasoning & that topped off the meal.

 

6:40AM.....Predictions of major cooling did NOT occur. The rain did stop, but it's 39degF right now. I think clouds & maybe Global Warming also kept temperatures well above freezing. Don't want weather to cause too little snow in the mountains & power shortages from our hydro-power dams. Just this morning its reported, at top of Steven's Pass that some EV vehicles could get stuck at the EVSE charger because of too much snow!
It is nice to hear that the California dams are also getting lots of snow pack, that'll help their hydro-works through the summer.

 

I haven't found this news article yet. Do you have a link?

Other than AWD or "traction tire" requirements, what's the difference with EVs?

From Yahoo News a couple of weeks ago:

STEVENS PASS
WSDOT says chains are required on vehicles over 10,000 gross vehicle weight. For other vehicles, traction tires are required. These restrictions are for both east and westbound traffic.

All oversized vehicles are prohibited in both directions.

SNOQUALMIE PASS
WSDOT says chains are required on all vehicles except all-wheel drive. These restrictions are for both east and westbound traffic.

Oversized vehicles are prohibited.

 

Thanks for reading my post. I wasn't talking about general snow conditions, but only at EVSE charge stations. When clearing snow off the highways, the snow is often piled on the sides of parking lots.....where the EVSE stations are. Highway crews still aren't being being trained about the absolute necessity of keeping EVSE stations clear. I've been on Steven's Pass when the snow is 15 vertical feet of piled snow right along the road, even covering highway guard rails. At Mt. Rainier's Paradise, snow is 25 vertical feet of piled snow along the roads. Yes, 25 feet of vertical snow, but the roads are clear, sometimes even DRY! Those snow markers along side the roads? Sometimes, they are completely covered & there is no where to put snow.....but vertically.