Watches and Warnings

 This is the summer of wildfires and floods, and tornadoes!  

As I write this, on July 16, tornado watches have been issued for parts of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island until 3 PM EDT.

In the Chicago area, on July12,  there were watches and warnings. According to the National Weather Service, there were at least 11 confirmed tornadoes on the evening of July 12.  Fortunately, there are no reported casualties or injuries.

What is the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?

---  A tornado WATCH  means there are conditions that could produce tornadoes.   

Pay attention, and be prepared. 

--- A tornado WARNING  means a tornado has been spotted in the area.   

Take shelter immediately.  Go down to the basement, if you have one.  Or an interior room, away from windows.

 Have multiple ways to receive weather updates---TV, a weather radio,  regular radio, a warning on your phone. In spite of current problems, Twitter is a good way to receive the latest information from the National Weather Service, and @NWSTornado.  

Have your emergency bag ready, just in case. This includes important papers,  prescription drugs,  extra batteries, a flashlight.  Food and water.  Bring a  hoodie, just in case.  Wear sturdy shoes like sneakers--not flip-flops.  

Don't forget your pets!  They should have food and water,  too.  Keep a  leash or a carrier handy. 

Make sure your phone is charged. And/or if you have a landline,  have an outlet to plug it in.  Landlines are still a reliable way to stay connected. 

Even if you don't have to face an actual tornado or severe weather situation, having a plan and being prepared will get you thinking about what's important to you.  Family photos? The book you're currently reading? Your mother's pin?  Your cat's favorite cat toys?  

Like the perversity of tornadic winds,  people will also take the strangest things. Red lipstick. A treasured baseball card.  For me, it's my old  black cashmere sweater, whatever the weather. 

 

 

 

Days of Day Lilies

 Now it's July, and we have lost over 8 minutes of daylight since the summer solstice.  

The quarter moon on June 26 was kind of peachy colored, from the smoke from the wildfires in Canada.  For days, too, Chicago  and Detroit had the worst air quality in the world!  

But the recent heavy rains have cleared the air some.  The downpours also caused flooded streets and basements.  So, the clean-up begins, The drought has eased,  but dry conditions remain here.  

 Now, the alleys are in bloom with hollyhocks, milkweeds, blue spider wort, and orange day lilies. A rainbow of summer flowers, beautiful and resilient.

The full moon on July 3 was especially big and bright--a supermoon!

And July 4, fireworks and the still full moon, and fireflies....

This summer of fires and rain, still such beauty, here.  

 

June solstice

 

Happy Summer solstice!  The June solstice marks the start of astronomical summer for the Northern Hemisphere.  In Chicago, the solstice occurs at 9:57 am on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. 

 According to the old  pagan calendar,  this is Midsummer--the longest days and shortest nights occur at this time.  This time was the setting of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.  So fleeting, the dark, now. This is the height of daylight. 

This is also the height of the growing season. Gardens are becoming overgrown, in spite of the lack of rain. Peppers and tomato plants are blooming and growing now. The mulberry trees are dropping their berries like crazy!  Milkweeds and  day lilies are blooming in the alleys.

Last night, June 19, I saw the first firefly of the season!

Hurricane season has started. Already, there is activity in the Atlantic. Tropical Depression 3 has become the second named tropical storm---Bret.   

The first batch of mosquitoes has tested positive for West Nile Virus in Cook County. 

These are days of sun and haze from Canadian wildfires. 

This is summer here-- fireflies and mosquitos.  

And a sliver of a crescent moon!

The smell of the grass

 

 

 

Oh the aroma of fresh-cut grass!  The smell of rain. Fragrances of  summer days, more evocative than store-bought perfumes.  

 

But it's been so dry of late, the grass is turning brown.   People are watering their lawns and parkways,  an offering to the rain spirits.  Oh for rain in Canada, to help with the wildfires. 

Then, Sunday---gray sky, and light rain falling.Just a sprinkling  on the leaves and the grass, you can almost smell it.  Petrichor, the smell of rain.  You can read more about petrichor  here.

 

And after the rain, the lingering scent of the last of the peonies, the rose perfume of the thorny roses...

 

 

A Saturday in June

 

 

 

 

 It's a beautiful day in June here. Blue sky, and passing clouds. Tomatoes and peppers are growing in the sun.  People are walking their dogs, carrying grocery bags, riding their bikes.  

We sure could use some rain, though. Lawns are brown, and some trees are dropping yellow leaves.

 In New York area, the sky is orange like a science-fiction movie. The sky is orange from the smoke from the wildfires in Eastern Canada. The situation is so dire, firefighters from the US, South Africa, France  and many other countries have come to help control the fires. 

The Atlantic hurricane season has officially begun on June 1, but so far, there have been no storms that could turn into hurricanes.  Not yet. 

So rare, this day in June.  Pride parades and rainbows,  fires and indictments.  And tonight, a three-quarter moon.

Almost Summer for a Day

 

 

 

 

What can compare to an almost-summer day-- a warm breeze, the shadows and the light through the leaves, iris flowers and peonies blooming!

So, open the windows, get out the summer chairs, put on the shorts and T-shirts. This is the kind of day we wait for all winter.

And even if the winter just past was not so bad as winters go, it was still dark and cold, still ice on the sidewalks and there were days of subzero wind chills--that was brutal. What will next winter bring?

No, no, don't think about that now.  Winter will come soon enough.  Now, let's fill our heads with summer things. Laundry drying in the breeze.  The sound of push reel mowers that almost sound like rain.  

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer in Chicago.  June 1 marks the official start of meteorological summer, and astronomical summer begins with the solstice on June 21. 

June 1 is also the beginning of hurricane season.  NOAA predicts a near-normal season with El Nino and warm Atlantic waters setting the stage.  There is a probability of 12-17 named storms,  and 1-4 major hurricanes.  You can read more, here.

But today,  Memorial Day,  is more than a holiday of grilling and mattress sales and no mail delivery. There are people working today.  There is remembrance of wars past, and those who died.  Remember them. Honor them, today.  

https://twitter.com/NOAA/status/166176686980617345?s=20

A thousand days in May

 

There's a line in a song about a thousand Julys, but what about all the days in May?

Yes, May Day, the first day of pagan summer. about halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. Now, the longest days are coming.

Days of increasing green, and days of lilacs, bluebells, bleeding hearts, lily of the valley, dandelions and violets, and buds on the peonies.

Days of nests and sparrows on the roofs.

and roofers on the roofs, carpenters building new steps, and painters painting garages. 

Days of blue sky and clouds of white flowers. Days of gray clouds and rain. 

The sound of  power mowers and push reel mowers that sound like rain. 

Days of two seasons, or three-- lake-effect cold fronts,  jackets in the morning and evening.   

And severe weather days-- thunderstorms,  high wind warnings, hail, tornadoes.  Snow and wildfires in Canada.  Weather patterns changing, and hurricane season approaching. 

And the plague is still with us. 

Even as WHO  has declared May 11 the end of the pandemic emergency, those with immune system issues, people over 65,  and essential workers are advised to get a second bi-valent booster now, just in case.

Still, the lilacs are blooming again!

I wish you fields of dandelion wishes, and lovely May days to come....