The local & national news has had stories & articles each day on people stranded due to snow, be it on a highway, or in an airport, suffering the effects of too many canceled airline flights. It's never fun sleeping on the floor, or worse, in your car.
Here in Arkansas, we have had the cold temperatures, worsened by winds which have reached as high as 50 MPH. Temperatures in the 20's have been brought down to zero with the "wind chill".
The wind, rather than the cold, has been the problem locally. Many homes & business have lost electrical power due to the wind toppling trees & dropping them on to the power lines.
So far, in these cold weather conditions, we have been spared any ice & snow.
Knock wood !!
I can live with the cold. I can tolerate the electricity going off ... briefly. [It was off from 1:30 to 3 A.M. Monday morning. Thank goodness for warm cats in the bed.] I can deal with the snow.
Ice storms, I don't want, or need.
While all the nightly news shows were detailing the weather problems, there was a small blurb about the impending "meteor shower" which is an annual event every December.
Now that's something to catch my interest. I've always enjoyed seeing "shooting stars" in the night time sky, created as bits of space debris "burns up" upon entering Earth's atmosphere.
According to NBC News, the best time to see the "... 100 meteors per hour" -- from the size of a grain of sand, to football size -- was "... after midnight & an hour before sunrise".
Works for me. I get up early every day.
With fond hopes & illusions of seeing a sky full of meteors, I was out the door at 3:15 A.M. today, flashlight in hand. I was "layered" in my clothing & hoping I would find the sky cloudless for viewing.
I ventured to the far back of my property & was pleased to be greeted to just a few clouds, all on the Western horizon. The longer I stood & looked skyward, the more my eyes "adjusted" to the darkness & the many more stars I could see came into view. A perfect night for the "Meteor Shower".
Well, it was also a perfect night -- or early morning -- to freeze my fanny off.
Despite my heavy coat, hoody & sweater, I was rapidly getting chilled, no doubt due to the fact I had failed to put on a pair of thick pants. My "house pants" provided squat as to warmth.
I lasted about 25-30 minutes outside -- in 25 degree temperatures -- before I decided frost bite was not an option. As I was walking back to the house, it dawned on me that none of the cats had joined me in coming outside, as they might normally. I'll give them credit.
And as for the "Meteor Shower" ?? For all the hype & expectations ... I saw one brief flash of light, from one basically tiny meteor. It certainly was not "football size" when it burned up.
Thus ... I started today with a cold ... "shower".
Suburban hells strikes again for me, I have all these people around me with lights illumunating their landscaping making any real star gazing impossible. While there is farm land close at least somewhat away from lights you just don't walk on anyone's land uninvited.
ReplyDeleteNow that so many trees have shed their leaves, it is actually much lighter outside in the "dark" of night.
ReplyDeleteIn my area, several homes -- including mine -- have "security lights" installed by the electric company on tall poles. They take the place of "street lights". It's surprising how much of the landscape they do light up, especially now that the trees are devoid of leaves.
Thus, my need to venture to the "Back-40" to find the darkest part of my property for star gazing.