SE LA obs Jan 3 2012... Short-lived arctic chill...
Latest W Atlantic Basin AVN / IR Satellite Image...
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(No comprehensive update or review of 2011 stats yet, but needed to change the header to "something" more recent... which of course will be outdated soon, lol... As usual, updated info can be found within comments section)...
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Wed Jan 4 2012, SE LA Wx...
Expected warm up underway today with incr SE winds / humidity / dewpoints... Big contrast from yesterday when had amazingly low dewpoints across SE LA down to single digits many locations - one of the lowest was Slidell, had 2F dewpoint temp at 1 PM! Cold remained entrenched overnight, clear skies / light to calm winds, good radiational cooling lead to my 3rd light freeze of season and 10th frost, which was very thick... Temps fell quickly after sunset, this morn KHUM was colder showing a 28.4F low (but is really a range between 28.4F to 30.2F since it only reads whole degrees celsius), while my home thermo refused to drop below 31.5F, which I am certain can be attributed to massive urbanization / land-use change / habitat destruction surrounding my Bayou Cane, LA location above Houma...
Rather than compare to KHUM airport, a better comparison of this drastic temp difference is between readings at our Gray LA location, just 6-7 miles N of Bayou Cane, and to this point is still a truly rural setting in North Terrebonne (but not for long!)... Prior to excessive development in Bayou Cane, these two locations physical topography, lay of the land with mix of woods / adjacent open fields and no immediate proximity to a waterbody were identical... Last night was a good example of distinct changes that have been wrought - by the time I left there at 9 PM the Gray thermo was already trending below 30F, frost had begun covering the roof of the car and house, ice forming... Drove home within 10 minutes to find my home thermo at 39F - a full 10F higher - no signs of frost and it clearly FELT warmer regardless of whatever might nit-pick over the two thermometers accuracy!
In that matter, I'm certain the Gray thermo has a cold bias of 2-3 degrees - this morns low showed 24F - but accounting for that still reveals it's become several degrees warmer where development is altering the microscale local climate to a warmer state... It's often more noticeable on Winter nights under such conditions of calm winds / ideal radiational cooling than like wx conditions we had the previous night / morning before (Tue 3rd) - with widespread CAA and mod strong NLY winds mixing the boundary layer more homogeneously over the area and the lowest temp on both thermometers read near 30F yesterday... Nothing new of course, we've KNOWN the UHI impact for decades, guess my point is just that it's now GROWN to alter MY LOCATION noticeably over the very short timescale of a decade or two... So much for UHI being an "island", as fast as human footprint is expanding a better descriptive is needed to reflect today's reality...
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Tue Jan 3 2012 greetings,
Nice seasonally cold early January day under severe-clear skies, as dome of arctic high pressure edges across our region - noted climbed to 30.61" for highest sfc pressure reading *this year*, lol... Daytime temps slow rising, now into mid-40's at noon hr...
Overnight temps were slow to fall off as the initial cold air advection with this system was rather weak by "arctic" standards, but did fall to 30.6F low on my Bayou Cane home thermo to declare my 2nd freeze of season, albeit brief duration of about 2 hrs, not enough time for ice to form in my buckets... Seems a secondary surge of cold air got here near sunrise as I reached my low after 7 AM, much like Slidell hit their low of 25F then... Of course had another "WTF? / WUWT?" moment viewing KHUM airport readings which showed it, sigh, once again, bottoming out at an even 32.0F... Thanks, but no thanks, I prefer more precise reading than the span of a whole degree celsius - will assume might have shown a 30F reading had they dropped to -1.0C / 30.2F... But such is the case with the only weather station in Houma being "not up to NWS standards", or as described here at WU - "Averages and records for this station are not official NWS values", besides having frequently sporadic reportage issues...
N winds also held the temps up overnight and that combined with very dry airmass eliminated any frost chances... May be some tomorrow morn and low temps should be close to today's as Freeze Warnings remain in effect, "might" have better rad cooling here "if" E / SE winds don't kick up with the sfc high sliding EWD... Forecasting the low temp tonight is a crap shoot and very location dependent over SE LA, as I'd agree with KLIX NWS assessment in this morn's discussion on factors - "THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT...PROXIMITY TO WATER...AND LOCAL WINDS WILL CREATE QUITE A RANGE OF LOWS...SO THE DURATION OF FREEZING TEMPERATURES OVER A 20 MILE AREA COULD RANGE FROM 6 HOURS TO NONE."
We shall see and regardless, the moderating return flow warming trend will be underway tomorrow, some chance of shwrs Fri-Sat with next feature coming across...
Work calls, hey it's too clear / sunny to be inside... ;)
G'day!
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SE LA obs Dec 7 2011, coldest wx yet on 70th anniversary Pearl Harbor...
Wed Dec 7 2011... Cold, with Freeze Warnings...
70th anniversary Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
...a scant dozen years before I's born, us post-WWII baby-boomers are getting old!
Cold weather arrived / well-entrenched across our region... Actually the outlook mentioned last Friday - with couple days of highs struggling to get outta the 40's / widespread freezing across TX by this morn - appears close... Here yesterday, temp fell from 50's at midnight, stayed into 40's, windy and raw with cold rain shwrs / drzl, nasty overcast / overrunning conditions... And about par for course, minimal rain amts near 3/10ths" locally... (Sat: .02", Sun: none, Mon: .13", Tue: .28")...
Dipped to 37 between 8-9 AM at KHUM with clearing skies / strong but shallow-layered arctic CAA underway, slow rising into 40's now, might touch L 50's... but expecting a fast fall-off tonight, feeling a high confidence will see 1st actual light freeze tomorrow morn for coldest yet, mod-hard farther N portions... Earlier KLIX forecast had that low pegged at 35F (still saying that on TWC), latest from KLIX NWS now forecasting "low 30's" for Houma - Bayou Cane and I'll predict lower, expect to see near 29-30F at KHUM and my home thermo, and a colder temp reading would be less surprise than warmer... possibly with another frost, wind-moisture dependent - have observed 5 frosts so far this season... Unlike KLIX, KLCH forecasters are on the ball in posting hard and light freeze warnings across the SW / S Cen LA area...
Nice cool stretch of below avg temps ahead, reinforcing shot Fri, slow moderating warm-up into next week... and milder pattern might prevail going into Christmas... But overall, think December temps here likely to avg near normal, with equal chance of being slightly below or above... Rainfall amts? LOL...
Local November 2011 rainfall continued the overall dry trend - amts from 1.3" to near 1 3/4" from my 2 locations yielded about 3" deficit of the 4.55" November mean... Year to Date amts still running near 10" deficit locally... while Nov temps averaged within 1 degree range of normal.
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SE LA obs 11-11-11 - 1st Frost...
Fri Nov 11 2011 - Happy TGIF and cool wx Veterans Day greetings...
Hello!
Yeah, been a while... sorry to close the last blog abruptly but duties called, and remain far too busy to blog much, so just popping in to add a note or two here on our triple numeral date "11-11-11", Veterans Day... Nope, nothing much to report lately in local weather other than been stable, cool and nice, no earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, blizzardcanes, or subtropical storms here, and hardly any rainfall (no surprise), however that may change as slightly better rain chances appear possible over next week or so, and temps trend warmer...
Like it's been most of year, still well-entrenched in long-term drought conditions that quickly resumed as TS Lee departed early September... In fact, our typically dry October was even farther below average as only had a single rain day entire month when 1/4" to half inch amt fell locally on Oct 28 (.39" home gauge)... Probably one of the top 5 driest on record, but who knows since official records are no longer being maintained for Houma... So we're still sharing the regional dry misery with Texas and likely will continue for some time given the unfavorable long-term climate influences causing this - the warm AMO / cool PDO again combining with returning La Nina, although some short-term relief is possible for our region... Not an encouraging outlook ahead is it? IMHO, I see plenty evidence this pattern has more than less ruled since the AMO switched to it's warm phase in the 90's in how it's affected the usually wet immediate N Gulf coast region... Sadly, our pecan trees suffered badly from 2011's terrible drought as nearly all failed to produce any viable nuts (and now reflected at the grocery with bags selling near 10 bucks a pound!)... Lot of veggie crops were miserable failures, although have managed to get some local citrus - a bit smaller but still delicious satsumas and naval oranges... Only got a few of our Tamopan persimmons after discovering an unusual scoundrel was rapidly stealing them - nope, not the typical raccoon, deer, possom or birds might expect, but of all things never thought I'd see - a dang coyote! Guess he wanted something sweet to go with the rabbits, the coyote was able to climb a low limb to reach fruit above, unreal... Harvested the remaining dozen or less early before he cleaned 'em all! LOL, next year gonna hang water-filled orange balloons from the branches to thwart him... or offer him same fate as da cottonmouths got...!
On the bright side, temps have been very pleasant as Fall wx set in early this year - temperature data from CPC shows SE LA being 3-5 degrees cooler than average for both Sep / Oct... Notably on Oct 20 - and very early for such - Houma KHUM airport recorded 39F low and actually saw evidence of frost trying to form on a few roofs (not enough to call) that morn, certainly colder locations on the Northshore had frost that early date (with today likely being their 3rd)... The cool trend has continued into November up to this point - up to 5-9 degrees colder than typical across SE LA, although milder / more moist wx pattern appears developing, perhaps into Thanksgiving week if to believe recent GFS runs keeping colder air bottled up north...
Anyhow, was a beautiful Winter-like feel and view this "11-11-11" morn as confirmed our 1st widespread frost of season, rather light-moderate in crystal growth / thickness but full coverage... Low temp at Houma's KHUM fell to 32F (37F at home) for coldest yet, while some colder stations above also recorded their 1st light freeze (i.e. - 30 @ Slidell, 29 @ Tallulah in NE LA)... Alas, upper trough lifting out (and ripping STS / TS Sean out away from Bermuda), milder ridging to rebuild some as moderating zonal flow pattern takes hold...
Gotta run...
Happy TGIF and in honor of all our armed forces vets, a big Thank you!
Reader Comments
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In hiding? Not me, just ripping off one soaring riff after another between power chords on my... on my... uh, Yamaha acoustic while I keep my precious Gibsons hidden! ;)
Yeah, knew Oklahoma St Cowboy fans would be let down by the BCS picks, played a heckuva game blowing out da rival Sooners... ESPN's Coach Lou Holt was on your side, he's upset seeing the LSU-Bama rematch... Just can't see OSU ahead of Bama though, not comparing the one loss of each... even had Bama beat LSU, same deal would apply with OSU coming out 3rd. But - I sure like Kirk Herbstreet's (and many others) idea of a 4 game playoff or similar to decide the Championship opponents for more fairness...
Hey, see da snow inching NEWD closer to ya today, hope ya get a lil dusting! Yep, welcomed rain over TX / W LA while Arkansas is saying "Enough already!"
Watching the now thin line coming toward me today... Plenty warm and overcast / cloudy conditions last few but min amts of rain - had .02" Sat with drzl / shwrs passing, none to measure yesterday, another .07" of w scat sneaked in between 4-5 AM this morn... The lack of local rain was fine with me, got more work done outside over weekend, may come to halt today...
Cold temps won't be too significant by time gets here, prolly similar to last one at worst, lacking upper support - trof becoming less amplified / flattening as lifts off NE, more zonal flow over N Gulf region...
Nope, no snow. Looked like frozen precip on radar right over me for awhile, but nothing hit the ground, not even rain. Cold N wind today has kept the wind chill about 20°.
As far as BCS, the real disappointment was the loss to Iowa State, and, to some extent, the politics involved in the coaches' vote. The Cowboys will have a great time in Arizona, and I'm pretty sure the Fiesta Bowl will be a good game. Let the SEC duke it out in the Superdome. LOL
I know nothing about football, so I'll stick to weather :)
LOL on the "magic dust"!
Looks good for Santa's take-off from Finland:
Road weather today on main roads:
Road conditions are bad in the northern part of the country because of snow and snow-covered roads. Bad road conditions are expected in the southern and middle parts of the country because of snow or sleet.
32 F in Helsinki right now, but there is snow at his home up North, see the live cam :)
As you can tell as much as I mention it, I cherish that Yamaha about equally as the vintage Gibsons worth 20 times more... ;)
Quick musical note - if ya get a chance, CMT's most recent Crossroads concert series teaming Vince Gill and Sting is one heckuva brilliant performance! Playing each others songs, debuted on Thanksgiving, repeated often... Always thought "Every Breath You Take" needed some xtra guitar fire, and Vince provides some hot licks here!
Neaux sneaux yet? Hang in there, might come across yet tonight, appears some fresh bands trying dig down / wrap around some to your SW... Meanwhile the pencil-thin line rain came thru here near 6 PM - had mod hvy rain for about a minute as it flew by... Perhaps some post-frontal chilly shwrs tomorrow here before all clears out...
Hey indeed, some fine bowl games coming to hold our attention, look forward seeing OSU play Stanford! You got that right, a SEC duke-out at the 'dome it'll be... Should LSU manage to pull it out again, will add another to the already record number of SEC teams and ranked opponents they had to beat in one season!
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Heya Finn,
We know just enough about football and weather to get ourselves in deep trouble, but that never stopped us from talking 'bout either, lol!
ROTFL, Yep, that was the skit!
Thanks for the live report from da Arctic Winter hinterlands!
And just in time, the real snow returns where it belongs, Santa will fly off the slope, alighting the skies once again... I've got to keep tabs which batch of brownies to leave out for him, otherwise he and the reindeer will just lay around, never finish their appointed rounds... like that red-eyed, magic-dusted duo mentioned previously!
Cheers!
Never mind the brownies Doc (and milk is just a myth for wussies...) leave a shot of Vodka by the tree, that's what he REALLY wants! Can't blame him, man, he gets outta house only once a year - and it gets darn cold at them altitudes he's flying... He and the reindeer need a warm-up kick. The magic dust will take them back home, no need to worry about getting too drunk and not finding a way back. Be generous with the size of the shot :D
Gotta see that Crossroads concert, thanks fer da tip!
This is pretty cool - from a Grammys show. Dave Matthews, Sting and Vince Gill. Amazing how some music stands the test of time.
Hi (((Finn)))
Have a good night, you two!
:)
:)
Hmmmmm, Finn, apparently Santa's receptive to all our offerings... it's always gone the next morning! What a guy... I'd go full tilt like that too if only got out one night a year... Come to think of it, Santa's got me beat by exactly one night!
So true BF, was gonna mention no youtubes yet to link, but seems the whole concert may be online if ya wanna give it a shot - CMT Crossroads, full episode, Sting and Vince Gill... At about 39 minutes long never got close to loading on my comp, short time I gave it...
By chance, saw / heard it 1st time at breakfast in 'Bama motel dining rm, ya know they'd be tuned to CMT!
Now why is it, every time I've skimmed across blog topics list today... that I think Dr Jeff's header, including the words "climate change" and "zoo"... were a perfect match for reasons not intended with the article?
G'nite...
;)
Wed Dec 7 2011... Cold, with Freeze Warnings...
70th anniversary Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
...a scant dozen years before I's born, us post-WWII baby-boomers are getting old!
Cold weather arrived / well-entrenched across our region... Actually the outlook mentioned last Friday - with couple days of highs struggling to get outta the 40's / widespread freezing across TX by this morn - appears close... Here yesterday, temp fell from 50's at midnight, stayed into 40's, windy and raw with cold rain shwrs / drzl, nasty overcast / overrunning conditions... And about par for course, minimal rain amts near 3/10ths" locally... (Sat: .02", Sun: none, Mon: .13", Tue: .28")...
Dipped to 37 between 8-9 AM at KHUM with clearing skies / strong but shallow-layered arctic CAA underway, slow rising into 40's now, might touch L 50's... but expecting a fast fall-off tonight, feeling a high confidence will see 1st actual light freeze tomorrow morn for coldest yet, mod-hard farther N portions... Earlier KLIX forecast had that low pegged at 35F (still saying that on TWC), latest from KLIX NWS now forecasting "low 30's" for Houma - Bayou Cane and I'll predict lower, expect to see near 29-30F at KHUM and my home thermo, and a colder temp reading would be less surprise than warmer... possibly with another frost, wind-moisture dependent - have observed 5 frosts so far this season... Unlike KLIX, KLCH forecasters are on the ball in posting hard and light freeze warnings across the SW / S Cen LA area...
Nice cool stretch of below avg temps ahead, reinforcing shot Fri, slow moderating warm-up into next week... and milder pattern might prevail going into Christmas... But overall, think December temps here likely to avg near normal, with equal chance of being slightly below or above... Rainfall amts? LOL...
Local November 2011 rainfall continued the overall dry trend - amts from 1.3" to near 1 3/4" from my 2 locations yielded about 3" deficit of the 4.55" November mean... Year to Date amts still running near 10" deficit locally... while Nov temps averaged within 1 degree range of normal.
(Comment edited / added as header update)
G'day!
1st freeze of season observed at my Bayou Cane home and and Houma via KHUM readings, as I predicted... with home thermo dipping to 27.9F, KHUM to 28.4F... Noted a duration of near 9 hrs below 32F from about 10:30 PM to 7:30 AM... And little doubt colder / longer at our Gray location, which has indicated 3 sub-32F light freezes prior...
6th Frost of season also, was very thick w full coverage, everything covered in white... LOL, think of it like snow without the messy side effects!
But another interesting lil phenomena occurred - it all disappeared rapidly! In less than 20 minutes all frost melted so fast it was running off roofs / trees / powerlines like drops of rain, back to water without any of it evaporating as likely a small percentage does on cold morns w sunny skies / dry air mass... Noted between 7:30-8 AM the temp shot up from 30 to 36, also way faster than would expect... What the heck was the culprit?
Skies went from totally clear to solid overcast in that time period!
Well, appears couple things came into play... Shallow arctic air mass w sfc high passing overhead, excellent radiational cooling while skies had been clear and NW-N winds went light / calm overnight... Change began with a light and subtle but effective shift in low level flow to ENE near daybreak - at sunrise, saw a wisp or two of inconsequential cirrus streaks, however more notably saw lower level stratus rapidly developing "outta nothing", coming in from east... as the more ELY windshift brought moist Gulf air over the shallow-layered colder land temps, while a warmer inversion remains slightly above at what I'm guessing is near 1500-2K ft, judging by where saw base of clouds before became so totally overcast... nope, no rain / weather impact other than a thick cloud cover that was unexpected, a quick warm-up from quite cold to just kinda cold to play havoc on our daytime temp forecast progression... but rather educational to watch...
LOL, been shaking my head saying "no, that's not why!" as listened to a local NOLA tv met incorrectly describing this early morn's quick increase in cloud cover as due to cirrus deck overspreading in from WSW-SWLY flow aloft (which will incr as day goes on)... Okay, admittedly my rough comprehension / explanation of the process may be lacking, but darn, the tv met should have just walked outside and looked - "Maybe later, but right now - dem ain't cirruses blocking da sun, podnuh!"
And uh... uh, having to wing it in da 'splaining wx dept - absolutely no help in guidance from the N'awlins KLIX NWS this morn, for unknown reasons been offline since yesterday eve's previous, no AFD or sounding report yet...
Have to see how long takes to burn off the LL stratus event as sfc temps slowly rise... Oh look, a lil sun just poked thru!
G'day!
Did note Slidell, lot of more N areas above remained in LL clouds yesterday / overnight (detailed below), slower to freeze while Houma area had been clear / colder quicker... More ENE wind shift delivered the LL stratus to us... Now burning off... to reveal incr streaks cirrus as expected.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA
923 AM CST THU DEC 8 2011
.UPDATE...
.SOUNDING DISCUSSION...
NO PROBLEMS WITH THE FLIGHT THIS MORNING. A DRY AND COLD... SHALLOW AIR MASS IN PLACE THIS MORNING WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURES AROUND 30 DEGREES AND A PW OF 0.36 INCHES. A LARGE WARM-CAPPED LAYER ABOVE 950 MB WITH 850 MB TEMPERATURES WELL INTO THE LOWER 40S. A LIGHT NORTH TO NORTHEASTERLY FLOW IN PLACE IN THE LOWEST LEVELS...BELOW 750 MB WITH A MODERATE WEST...SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW IN PLACE ALOFT.
GP
.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 402 AM CST THU DEC 8 2011/
SHORT TERM...
SOME LINGERING LOW CLOUDS APPARENTLY THE RESULT OF SUBLIMATION FROM SNOW PACK LAID ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY WEDNESDAY MORNING. MUCH OF THE CLOUDINESS CONTINUES TO ERODE FARTHER SOUTH...THOUGH COLD AIR ADVECTION STRATUS PERSISTS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. THESE TOO SHOULD SLOWLY ERODE AS ADVECTION ABATES. EXPECTING A MOSTLY SUNNY BUT COOL COUPLE OF DAYS WITH SLOW AIR MASS MODIFICATION. SOME LOCATIONS MAY BRIEFLY TOUCH FREEZING AGAIN TONIGHT BUT NEARLY ALL OF THE FREEZE PRONE LOCATIONS HAVE HAD SEVERAL FREEZE MORNINGS IN THIS EARLY COLD SEASON. SO FAR THIS MORNING...KBTR HAD 6 HOURS BELOW FREEZING AND COUNTING...HAMMOND/HOUMA/MCCOMB 5 HOURS EACH AND COUNTING...SLIDELL 2 HOURS AND COUNTING.
On my way out to work and just stopped to report - my first frost of the year! Yep. Feaux-sneaux!
We got to 31 last night, but already are up to 49. I wouldn't be surprised to see the predicted high surpassed - I think it's 54 - but there are clouds moving in, so the rise may stabilize soon.
Back to read all the details later. Now that I'm all geared up for outside, it's too warm to stay inside! LOL
Well congrats on your 1st feaux sneaux frost! Know it's been a cold last couple days all across TX to the coast... Near same with quick warm-up, relatively speaking, my home thermo has jumped to 47 (admittedly some insolation / warm-bias issues w daytime highs)...
LOL, my frost this morn was pretty then tried imitating rain!
But I hear ya - about to do same, looks like great wx for outdoor work... although rather wishin' was a' fishin' instead!
Best wishes to ya!
Frost. Hmmm. Had some on the rooftops two days the past week. But nothing on the grass or anywhere else, so I don't guess we've had a frost. At least I don't count it.
:)
Came across it looking for Christmas music. Kinda cute and funny if you have a moment to watch and haven't seen it. Chuck Berry and Keith Richards
Thanks for the link. I just clicked it, and the show started. Guess what I'll be doing for the next little while?
:)
Thanks!
This is playing on PBS as "viewer's choice" - posted it on my blog yesterday. Stevie was gone too soon :(
Hi BF!
Warmer today with moderating trend taking hold, as cold wx departs... Glad to see sunshine return this early aftn after mostly cloudy / cold weekend (but more cloudy wx in the cards it seems)... Friday was nicest of past 3, had our 7th frost amid gorgeous pink / red cirrus streaked sunrise (and sunset)... but no additional freeze locally... May not see another frost or freeze for some time looking at GFS projections - a more typical La Nina mid-up ridge response likely to reestablish over FL-Bahamas-Cuba while deeper trof noses into W / SW US, and keeping the most active wx / hvy precip boundary over OK-TX-AR - the same pattern we saw establish back in mid-Nov / near Thanksgiving... With next cold front to reach here maybe before / by Christmas, but even that 2nd one doesn't appear more than temporary before backs up - any SEWD progression will be negligible unless the southern latitude ridge can get nudged... Some notable rain chances included here / there in the mix, while temps appear mild, but not excessively warm here either...
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Hiya Barefoot,
Oh, I hope you got to enjoy Sting and Vince!
LOL on Keith and Chuck... was about ready to slap 'em after oh say, "take number 9", but they got thru it finally. Ha! I thought Keith handled it pretty good!
Frost criteria?
Hmmmm, well I suppose it's rather subjective anyway, but I certainly count what I see on elevated surfaces as having had a frost... In my notes, usually try describe it's extent / duration, comparative air temp as occurred. Since some use term frost / freeze interchangeably, I'd guess it's a safe bet when "killing frost" is mentioned, a damaging freeze to vegetation has occurred too... But equally as ya know, can have frost without a freeze and vice versa...
***
Hey Finn,
Thanks, now that's a perfect pairing of two blues legends! More than less, Albert was one of Stevie Ray's mentors - you can hear it in their licks / phrasing... No doubt, both were excited to play together.
You betcha, lotta greats gone too soon, but... fortunately we have recordings of 'em to cherish!
G'day!
It would be wonderful to see some of these efforts succeed - and see somebody in government take up their cause and help them expand.
How you doing??? Hope all is well with you and yours these days.
Not sure how much more I will get to be around next week so wanted to pop in here and say
have a Merry Christmas!
And enjoy the weekend!
Winter Solstice hardly felt like it with temps into mid 70's but we've seen this plenty years before...
Cold front has finally pushed thru, some scat reports wind damage well N of here... nothing locally I've heard of yet... S / SW winds along line tstms did kick up in 25-30 range, now NW as temps fall in up 50's... Unlike the system which croaked upon arrival overnight Tue-Wed, at least got some rain with this - .21" amt so far, with light stratiform type stuff continuing... No surprise my rain tallies for Dec still way behind normal (nearing an inch / month), although additional wetness possible in days ahead... On the plus side, the abnormally dry wx has let me get outdoor field work done. Even better is the persistent rain recurring over OK / TX / W LA with the steering pattern we've had, keeping the most active boundary in that region... chewing away at the long term drought.
My cold season local tally up to the Solstice - 8 frosts (last on Dec 18th), 1 freeze... Mild Winter predictions for the SE still on target...
***
Hiya Shore,
Thanks for the article... By coincidence, Lance Nacio was on WWL talk radio other day, as inshore white shrimp season closed... mentioned one reason the Fall white season was so bad was due to extraordinary high numbers of large jellyfish! Shrimp were there, just couldn't get 'em, so lot of shrimpers just stayed in port! And from the local guy I occasionally buy from, the later part of season was better, as large shrimp were still being caught inshore thru coldest wx late Nov / early Dec.
***
Howdy Gams,
Doing okay, thanks, just busy times like most everybody these days! Actually checking the wx / radar and getting rain today allowed me to be here, lol...
Indeed, back at ya, wishing a Merry Christmas to you and family (and to everyone)!
Cheers!
A friend and I will be leaving for Breaux Bridge tomorrow - rain or shine, we're heading down to the levee for the bonfires on Saturday. She has shared Christmas with Mom and me for about the past five years, because she has no family now, either. We looked at each other and said, "Well, we can sit around and look at each other, or we can find something to do."
I didn't know a thing about the bonfires until about a week ago. I'm all up to speed on the history and tradition now, and am really looking forward to seeing what we can see.
When I told a friend in Breaux Bridge what we were up to, she said, "Oh, cher! We fix you right up!" What that means I haven't a clue, but I'm ready to go with the flow!
Apparently Tee Jules is really, really old news to a whole lot of folks, but he's new to me. I found a wonderful vid of his 12 Days of Christmas. It's sweet, and fun. And now I know the poule d'eau! Enjoy, and wish your Mama a Merry Christmas for me!
Wishing you and Your's the Very Best this Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas from Uptown NOLA
to my Leo/Snake/Bro!!!
Doc,
hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful
Christmas!
From our Home to Yours
Merry Christmas and a Healthy & Happy New Year 2012!
"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.
It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn%u2019t before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn%u2019t come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."
- Dr. Seuss
Here's Band Aid Xmas video from 1984. I'm taking the embedded video off to not slow the blog
SE LA temps stuck in low-mid 50's, rather cloudy / overcast, but dat bah humbug should burn off to more sunny aftn...
****
Hiya Ylee,
Thanks! Wishing the same for you in return, Merry and Peaceful it shall be! And lol, luv your seasonal avatar... Hmmmm, Santa Paws or Christmas Coyote Elf?
;)
Hello Finn,
Thanks for the music of hope!
I know you'll be enjoying this Christmas w dau and family gatherings, Best Wishes!
Howdy Leo/Snake/Sis Gams,
Thanks for the lovely Tropical Christmas greetings... and very wise offering from Dr Seuss!
Best wishes back to you and family this Holiday!
Hey Pat,
Thanks for that classic from Bing and Bowie... and love your Sneaux-bound NOLA Streetcar pic! Guess we might hafta wait a lil bit to repeat that scene... Back atcha bro, wishing a fine Chistmas Holiday to you and family this season!
Hiya Shore,
Thanks for da Cajun 12 Days! Well suppose your enroute to Cajun land by now, best wishes for you and friend to enjoy a very Merry Christmas! Yep, innovative, imaginative bunch dese Cajun-folk... mais cher, Santa gotta see-his-way-in-da-night, hence bonfires - they really do it up bigtime on da MS levees, river parishes but Breaux Bridge equally... Sure you'll pass a good time!
*****
Hmmm, is it nearing time for me to go shopping for gifts yet? Nahhhh, why do today what can put off till tomorrow... or next year... However, procuring oysters for my dressing can't wait any longer! Gifts or not, Cajuns do gotta eat!
G'day / Merry Christmas all!
But wasn't gonna waste the animal, no sir... So out back da house was cleaning it, had feathers plucked about time Mom and Dad drove up to visit and I halted Operation Coot-Clean, walked to front to chat and went inside only a few minutes... They chuckled / shook their heads at my ineptitude as revealed only had one bird for all my efforts that morning, endured eating lead pellets to get it, and was a lowly coot at that... We walked back behind the house to see my prize and... and... AND... IT WAS GONE! Not a trace of my beloved poule d'eau anywhere in sight! WTF??? I glared in stunned disbelief with my folks, continually stammering "where's my damn bird?" in desperation... Alien ab"duck"tion? ... I'd heard of such vanishings without a trace, but this? And it happened so fast, how?
Then I heard the slightest hint of a smacking sound coming from under the old elevated cypress shack I lived in at the time, and looked under to find the dang guilty culprit - one very happy, contented cat! I swear he looked up, smiling a sneaky sh*t-eating grin from his clever thievery while I unleashed a torrent of new and unsavory vocabulary, trying to cuss him out of existence... Dammit, how dare he steal my only bird! But the cat didn't budge an inch... Lucky for him was outta my reach, or both cat and what remained of the bird carcass might have gone in da stew pot together! The moment was so flush with irony - there I was in a fit of rage but when I looked at my parents, they could hardly contain themselves...
To this day, I only have to mention the words - "cat" and "poule d'eau" - to bring my Mom into a state of giddy, uncontrollable laughter!
I now thank that cat burglar for the smiles he (or I) never could have imagined that day would later bring... So be it, I'm certain he savored the poule d'eau more than I ever would.
;)
LOL on the duck thief story!
Looks like Shore and her friend are in your neck of the woods for the holiday. With no immediate family for either of them, a Christmas road trip sounds just the thing. And a Cajun Christmas, to boot. I know Bayou Woman has given them a great welcome and show them a good time.
Here's wishing you, Mom, the family (including Big Guy and the rest of the critters) a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!
Cool w temps holding low-mid 50's from 48F low, skies remain mostly overcast (only brief sun yesterday)... Winds breezy NNE...
Rather ironic considering the 2011 drought, this morn radar view shows lot of Texas covered in developing precip, West TX to have a White Christmas with some frz precip getting close to Ft Worth... A chilly rain / drzl for Christmas on the way for SE LA... More rain, poss tstm if warm front backs up on Monday, then cool off again a bit with fropa... Next week looks pleasant as dry out, sun expected to return, about seasonally normal temps... warm-up as approach New Year weekend...
***
Merry Christmas Bug!
Thanks for the greet, m'friend, wishing the same from my family to yours!
Yes, Shore and friend decided to check out da Cajuns this holiday, but from what she mentioned, not quite this far over / southeast... Think their plans were to visit over in da Breaux Bridge area, NW of here by about a hundred miles or so...
Oh - I think NBC to run "It's a Wonderful Life" tonight! Of course I'll watch it... again... ;)
Happy Holidays Miss Bug!
Merry Christmas, Doc!
We had a wonderful trip. Photos & etc. to follow, eventually. We did stay in Breaux Bridge, not with Wendy down in Dulac, but we wandered a good bit. Mary Lynn surprised us with Friday night tickets for the Acadian Village in Lafayette, so the first thing we did was backtrack - it really was neat, and well worth seeing. Now I know where some of the footage in the videos I posted came from.
On Saturday, we started pretty early and went over to Henderson, then down to Butte LaRose, then to Gross Tete and south through Plaquemine. We crossed the river south of Donaldsonville, checked out the bonfire structures, then retraced our route across the river, heading west and south to Pierre Part, along Lake Verret and down to Morgan City. Then, we followed the Teche back up to Breaux Bridge, with a stop in St. Martinsville.
One of the little stores in Butte LaRose was open - not Doucet's, another one. We had a really interesting conversation with the owners - such nice people. And I think I found Scrooge's house, in Butte LaRose. You know how people name their camps, and have signs hanging out front? I hope this one's a joke, but just in case it wasn't we didn't linger very long. Sure would have hated to end up like that poule d'eau! (ADD: Thought about it a bit and decided the sign might be a response to that flood of reporters, etc, who showed up last spring. Poor Butte LaRose was one of the few places for the tv crews and such to have a flooded river and anxious citizens all in one spot. After about a hundred requests for an interview, I might have put up that sign, too!)
We covered a lot of territory, but it was such a pretty day it was just a delight - there was nice sunshine from about noon until sunset, so I got some decent photos. And it helped me get my mind around a part of the state I hadn't been in - lots of fun. Oh - and we got to watch some cane harvesting, too. But no pics of that.
I sure do hope your Christmas was as enjoyable as our trip. Next up - the new year. My first resolution is to learn how to make Gateau de Sirop. When I took my first bite of that stuff, I thought maybe I had died and gone to heaven. Nope - I just was in Cajun country. ;)
ADD: I don't have any good winter pics of the Atchafalaya basin and was browsing the net when I found - well, you'll remember!
and the rain is moving in... but was fortunate it held off locally yesterday - had shwrs pass after midnight with a tenth inch or less, then during day as scat shwrs danced across lot of LA, had none here... Just more of same with temp stuck in 50's, cloudy / overcast to mist becoming dense fog overnight / this morn... Ready for a change from da gloomy stuff!
Had a fine Christmas gathering and meal w Mom / cousin and her BF, although it does appear that after-midnight rain shwr musta doused my Christmas Eve bonfire and Santa wasn't pleased... Not even a lump of coal from dat old fat bastid! Maybe I wuz jis a bad boy... ;)
Lot of wonderful Christmas Holiday songs fill the air, but another old song been stuck in my head last couple days...Hey, original version was America's #1 top pop song hit in late 1924, lol... Yeah, got a very wide range of tastes when comes to guitar music, present to past / all genres, including the sentimental classics from several masters of the instrument, so here's two versions of same tune from couple legendary guitarists -
I'll See You In My Dreams, Django Reinhardt
I'll See You In My Dreams, Merle Travis live
Huh, ... What? Hey punk, this stuff is NEVER out of style - without these masters blazing new trails back in da day, you wouldn't know a diminished G chord from a diminished G string!
;)
(Edit) As for Christmas holiday songs on guitar via You Tube one favorite remains Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here", played with sweet eloquence here by Rob Bourassa...
***
Beell,
Thanks for the greeting, bud!
Back atcha, old coot - hope you and family had a fine Christmas!
Hiya Wabit,
Uh oh, cat got your tongue along with da poule d'eau!
Hope your Christmas holiday has been enjoyable!
Hey Shore,
Excellent to hear from ya!
LOL, the coot shoot - hey, I bagged two with one shot, the bird and that idiot in the duckblind across who'd been shooting my direction! Okay, slight embellishment - the other hunter lived, lol...
Wow, y'all had a whirlwind tour encircling the Atchafalaya Basin, very nice! Only Santa could have made that route faster and seen more... LOL, on that sign ya found... Oh no, maybe I left mine out Christmas Eve night, will have to email Santa and clear it up!
Seriously, glad you had a safe, entertaining trip deep into Cajun Country and the weather didn't foul / fowl your enjoyment!
Glad a Merry Christmas was had by all ...
Good music, too. lol A while back you intro'ed Django Reinhardt - at least to me. Now Merle Travis. Listened to a few of his yesterday. Thanks. My brain stuck on a tune yesterday I found myself singin' out loud while cooking supper. Can't quite hit a couple of the notes right. Never could. A non-guitar, no lyric version from Charley Rouse... When Sunny Gets Blue (Sound quality not perfect but an outstanding rendition)
Please accept my belated Christmas Greetings and best wishes for a Happy New Year that is almost here! Glad you and Mom had a fine Christmas with family. What's with Santa snubbing you? lol. Scared to mention how nice the weather has been here 'cause I don't want to chase it away. Greatest gift for me this Christmas, two days one-on-one with my daughter - priceless.
:)
Wanted to mention a link found while perusing entertainment news in the Los Angeles Times. Kinda interesting, from Houma...
Louisiana official finds colorful graves gauche, asks for ban
Glad to see the Saints doing so well!
Hallelujah, the sun has returned! Got the ugly out, enough to give one da blues with all-day fog / mist / drzl / light rain as weak warm front briefly had us into L 60's, fell back to 50's with cold front / up low passage... dropped into low 40's this morn... Precip amt yesterday from it all was light - .38" on my gauge... Monthly total now to 1.42", near 3" below avg of 4.40"... My YTD amt now at 51.23"... and with 4 days of mostly dry wx to go, might be it for the 2011 rainfall here - will end up over 12" below avg / mean (63.67") and long term drought continues, esp this part of SE LA... Will have to give a closer look at Dec temps sourced from KHUM, as still think we'll avg closer to normal than what CPC has indicated lately... Chance of frost tomorrow morn lot locations with up 30's low... slow moderation after...
***
Hi Bre'r Wabit,
Yeah, I thought that's probably what happened, but hey - it's the thought that counts, so Thanks!
***
Hello Barefoot,
And belated Holiday greetings back at ya!
Indeed, best part for most of us this year has been time spent with family / close friends... alway true, but older we get / survive, the more it's cherished! Glad you and daughter had the time together!
Hey you're welcome on the music... and thanks! Awwwww, that's some smooth sounds from Charlie Rouse, great sax player! Probably my favorite instrument to listen to after the guitar... and the list of great sax players is as equally long... Funny how some songs pop into the head, then gotta go searching for it... One of greatest innovations of computer tech for music fans and players is clearly You Tube - the massive archive growing daily... LOL, wish I could more quickly translate to my clumsy fingers what my ears pick up!
Painted tombs?
Yep, that's our Terrebonne Parish govt officials for ya... one or two idiot "citizens" bring attention on an irrelevent issue that's nobody's business, intent on making it theirs! Makes for convenient distraction from important concerns they're too impotent to address... You saw the LA Times comments? Lot of folks feel same way here...
Hey Who Dat!
Congrats to Saints / Brees on breaking Marino's passing yards record last night! Like any great endeavor, bet he'd tell ya those last 30 or so yards were toughest to get - just prior, think Drew had the worst stretch of incompletions this season!
***
Hiya Finn,
Ain't it the truth?
I bet that thieving cat went to his last day proud of that slick maneuver he pulled on me! Pretty smart - waited till had feathers removed, nice raw meat untainted by human cooking to sink his teeth into, perfect! However, I hadn't the chance to remove all the shotgun pellets yet, might have gotten lead poisoning... ;)
G'day all!
not much time right now but saw your blog and wanted to pop in with a quick Hello and hope your Christmas was a good one!
Before you know it a new year will be upon us!!!
Enjoy your day!
Thanks for stopping by earlier today. I've got a nice, fresh travelogue up, with pictures and everything. A little music, a couple recipes - what could be better.
You know, I forgot to mention how strange/wonderful the weather was for us. When we got in Friday afternoon, it cleared off enough that we had sunshine. Saturday morning was gray/cloudy, but no drizzle or rain, and by noon it had burned off. We had sunshine that entire afternoon, up until about 4 p.m. By that time we were well done with our picture-taking anyway, so didn't care.
I was surprised to see how little rain we'd had in Houston when I got back. Between Lafayette and Beaumont/Orange, it looked like there had been inches of rain - plenty of fields full of water. I thought at first people had been flooding the fields for crawfish, but it was everywhere. Sure good to see. We have had about 4.5" in December. It's a start.
You were right - I had to take myself in hand and get back to work bright and early today. I did have the radio on for catch-up purposes, and heard a couple of sports commentators say it flat-out: Saints in the SuperBowl. Makes sense to me - and I was happy to see Brees break that record. He seems like one of the "good guys" in sports. Heaven knows there are a few of the other kind!
Oh - and I laughed at your bonfire comment. It was neat to see the "family" bonfires around - not big ones like on the levee around Lutcher, but just single ones that were in yards or farther down the levee.
When I was a kid, I put out the usual cookies and milk for Santa. When I got a little older - but still in grade school - my daddy told me that Santa might like 7-up or club soda better. I was much, MUCH older before I figured out what Santa was mixing with that soda! LOL
Another winner of a Winter day in SE LA, cool, sunny with some cirrus streaking in...
Saw my 9th Frost of season with da faux sneaux covering most everything, recorded a 34.7F low at home while KHUM showed 32F... I do find KHUM readings a bit suspect, realized a while back appears it may give readings only in whole degrees celsius(!) and interpreted to nearest Fahrenheit, which of course is a full 1.8 degrees increment... How pathetic and crude... Sheeesh, only in Houma ya know...
Anyhow, this morn was colder here than either the NWS forecast or my own, but expected the frost with clear skies / rad cooling... might repeat tomorrow if clouds stay thin enough tonight...
***
Hey Gams,
All fine, hope yours was too!
No kidding, ready or not here comes 2012... ;)
Hello Shore,
Enjoyed your travelogue - so well done!
Dropped by earlier 'fore came here...
Glad the weather cooperated for ya as you were in an area that's been wetter than here lately... Rain was on the increase there during Christmas Day - in fact seemed to be everywhere but here (other than the brief shwr midnight Christmas morn) during the day - to my west, north, and redeveloping east... But yeah, from what I remember on the radar, Laf-Houston had bulk of it... All good!
LOL, well ya know I'm a fan and cheerleader but so true - Drew Brees is a great athlete and class act by all accounts... Best move Saints ever made aquiring him along with coach Sean Payton!
Got my email response back from Santa - he tried, but the dang reindeer got spooked by the pack of coyotes prowling our place... especially since one was crawled up our persimmon tree, howling at 'em! But... after I deal with da 'yotes, gonna use a fool-proof method next year that Rudolf won't refuse - sprinkle a hvy dose of "doe-in-heat" scent all about!
;)
G'day all!
Overheard the WVUE tv met mention NOLA airport on track for the Driest December on record - with only 1.30"...
Close to mine, with 1.42"...
And my Year To Date rainfall of 51.23"...
for a 12.44" rainfall deficit from the mean of 63.67"...
And far worse to the west, as Lafayette's KATC reports - 2011 Likely Driest in 118 Year Record
"The year to date rainfall in Lafayette is 35.78", just 0.02" less than the previous record set in 1924 of 35.80". Normal yearly rainfall in Lafayette is near 61-62 inches."
"Interestingly enough, if it weren't for Tropical Storm Lee this year which delivered a 5-10″ rain area-wide in early September, much of Acadiana would be where Texas is this year...in the midst of a 300 to 500 year drought."
And, back to back years of serious drought...
While the dominant climate influences in place are not encouraging with 2012 ahead either, as any good investigative scientist looking at the combination of natural multi-year and multi-decadal patterns would tell... which is what logically should be fully vetted and understood before rushing to attribute the "likelihood of evidence" to AGW warmism in these events.
:(
Yep, Sax comes right after guitar on my list. Youtube is my favorite place to get lost. Amazing what can be found there music-wise, and in other arenas also.
Painted tombs. I don't see how the officials can stop it. Could become a worldwide fad.
:)
Haven't followed NFL much except standings so I did not realize Drew Brees had broken that long-standing record. Wow.
Well, I see tornadoes are the big story in 2011 weather. Drought... at least it's been rainin' some. Weather here is almost too good to believe. I hope it holds out through the New Year's weekend.
Have a good one!
Currently at noon hour - M sunny / PC with cumulus clouds about, temps rising into 70's on SE winds as is the low level humidity... Milder trend to end 2011 continues, and biggest concern next morn will be fog, which caused nasty fatal multi-vehicle pile-up I-10 east NOLA yesterday... Sheeesh, even with best wx, that stretch I-10 E NOLA is a fearful white-knuckle experience for me! Changes underway New Years Day with clouds / perhaps a few meek scat shwrs w slow moving system advancing EWD as we chill down... Colder blast likely during 1st week of new year, some hint of Eastern trof / ridge west set up, at least temporarily as the tropical SE ridge flattens some... Freezing temps poss over good part N Gulf region by Tue-Wed mornings, but nothing too drastic - likely on par with coldest we had in early December when I, uh, last updated da blog header on the 7th - and turning milder right after... Frigid arctic air remains bottled in Canada, no real indication the floodgates will open to spill too far SWD yet... Would think the arctic ice depth / extent should be exhibiting better growth this season than last two (esp Canada-Greenland) with the duration of positive AO / NAO we've seen, although trending near neutral now... That said, some arctic regions - Scandinavia in November, N Eurasia-Siberia recently have had warm ridging anomalies as per CPC 500 mb NH loop...
***
Howdy Miss Barefoot,
Yep, overall still looks like decent wx to hold fer yer New Years celebrating, although I know you're on top of da local situation better than I! Other than breezy / turning colder, no brutal arctic assault, no blizzard nor tornadoes... Hmmm, no mention of any type precip this go-round... Uh oh, Louisiana drought conditions spreading westward again... ;)
Gotta fly,
Wheeeee, Happy New Years back atcha gal!
;)
You'll be happy to hear that I've adopted a stray.
Yep, starting the new year off with vet bills and litter training.
The as yet unnamed cat is young, healthy (except for being severely underweight) and already neutered. Very sweet and loving, unlike my last two. Still very skittish.
The big problem right now is the litter training. I'm hoping the light bulb will go off over his head soon. Hubby isn't going to put up with too many accidents, however sweet the cat is.
Sure wish I had a garage to start him, the food and litter pan off in. Hubby and I will just have to work with him.
Enjoy the day - I'm planning to organize my entire life by 4 o'clock and then I'm heading into Houston for a free Bach concert on one of the city's premier pipe organs. Should be fun, and we'll probably find something to eat along the way. ;)
May 2012 bring you Sunshine, Fair winds and a good eyrster' crop.
Get ready, as da "coolth returneth."
Cold front passed around 9-10 AM and already have some minimal rain to measure this year, lol! Drier air / clearing skies evident, chill-down to follow...
Hope all had a fine New Year's Eve celebration to greet 2012 in... Was a smooth transition from my perspective, watched some on tv, outside enjoyed the sights and sounds of fireworks and flares, illegal they may be in Terrebonne but as usual defiant residents created a raucous rolling thunder of noise, lighting up the skies at midnight... ;)
***
Hey Bug,
Congrats on the newest feline member!
He'll click on the litter box thing soon, esp since he's young... Prolly easier than if / when ever get Big Guy down to the house - he's closing in on a being year old this month, all outdoors... knows nothing about such proper manners! Spent some "quality" time last night offering love to him before I left there...
***
Howdy Shore,
Keep passing the cooler air this way, I'll take it! Almost felt hot on Friday w highs mid-up 70's, leading to the SuperFog that night... lucky for traveling revelers, no fog issues last night thanks to wind... Outstanding multi-tasker you are - I could spend rest of year trying and remain disorganized, lol...
Enjoy the concert!
***
Hiya Pat,
Back at ya, and a fine New Year's Day game we just enjoyed as Saints beat Carolina 45-17... and multiple all-time NFL records fell! Yes sir, ready for more coolth... and oysters to go with the cabbage / black-eyed peas at supper!
***
AND - special message to Barefoot on "un-blogging",
Wrote a lenghty response, but email bounced back at me, so here's some of it edited down -
Hello Barefoot,
Well darn, got online to see if we all survived celebrating last night, and have to say, hearing you're considering leaving WU is disappointing news to start the new year! :(
Uh oh, wait a sec... please tell me you haven't defected... ya not hitting the pipe over at WeatherBong.com or whatever it is, eh?
Okay, didn't think so... and saw you tried offering helpful suggestions to a troubled blogger the other night, to no avail or little recognition for your efforts over at... (EDIT / Snipped my lengthy opinion relating to posting on Jeff's blog)
Ahhhh, saw you'd reopened your blog other day, noted your comments / intentions...
Dunno, maybe you're feeling a bit of post-holiday blues, or like me (or both), more real-life stuff taking priorities, but whatever the case, blogging does seem to run it's course after a few years and some time away to regroup, consolidate one's energy and outlook is a good choice... Heck after a bit, un-blogging is a necessity!
That said, I do cherish our long-standing friendship equally as ya know I respect / regard you highly and hope your leave of absence is a temporary one! Your posts are always a bright spot, informative and engaging... for that matter, if wasn't for a handful of old friends like you who are like sisters / brothers to me, I'd have dropped offline into the void myself long ago...
I'm saving your contact, but truth be known - I check or utilize my outside email less than I come to WU... and I do hope you read this response!
I'm wishing the New Year welcomes you in brighter spirits!
After all, the Mayan apocalypse is still several months away... and hope to hear from ya well before that date!
;)
Cheers, best wishes and love back at ya, Barefoot!
***
G'day all, thanks for stopping by!
This one of Cleoma Breaux and Joe Falcon is particularly interesting to me because I know I've got the tune on a CD somewhere - with different lyrics and no indication of its Cajun roots. While I go off and try and figure out what it got transformed into, you might enjoy listening!
ADD: I found it. The song is called "Branson". It's a humorous song about the has-beens that end up playing the Branson stages. It's by the E-Flat Porch Band, on a 1998 CD called Porch Music.
They don't have youtubes or mp3s, and it isn't one of the selections you can listen to on their website. But it's the same tune.
They do have a bit of "Tore Down" on their page - it'll give you a taste of what they do. "Tore Down" sounds a bit like David Bromberg & Chicago blues, but they have a pretty wide repertoire.
On cue, Winter chill has returned for couple days over N Gulf region.. Polar air slowly edging in, fell to low 40's this morn, clear skies / low humidity / low dewpoints will cont to fall today... Light Freeze Warning in place here tonight as we'll see temps fall into 28-32 range for a few hrs, should reach 2nd freeze of season here (with the "below 32F" criteria)... down into mid-20's N shore... Appears on par with coldest SE LA had in December, but those to the east in N FL will see their coldest yet this Winter with broad area under Hard Freeze Warnings down into low-mid 20's and by Wed morn some coldest locations across FL panhandle "icebox" expected to drop into up teens... while signs of the moderating trend will likely already be underway over S LA Wed...
Nice thing about being centrally located like SE LA is - whether it's cold to west or centered to the east, we usually get a taste of it, but often avoid the brutal stuff... ;)
***
G'day Shore,
Thanks! Wow, you've really dug deep into the earliest recorded Cajun music with those two! Seems a sad but not uncommon story about Cleoma, lived a musically rich but hard-scrabble life of those times, dying at an early age of 35...
Guess I better get a move on... some, er, more Gustav-destroyed tree processing work awaits my attention... If the temps don't fall as advertised tonight here, it'll be via moderation from a huge bonfire over N Terrebonne... ;)
G'day all!
And so we start another cycle, or rather just mark a spot in the continuing cycle. It was a beautiful day yesterday in the sixties with mostly light breezes but some hefty gusts. Colder today and expected to be colder tonight and even more colder the following day and night. I forgot to drain the pipes so hope that the plumbing in our "other" place doesn't get into trouble. As you are, but tilted 90 degrees, we often have weather systems to the north of us and weather systems to the south of us, living in the fringe.
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