June 15, 2009
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Pretty Stormy Weather
We are having a wild late spring/early summer. We have had a fair amount of rain and milder temperatures, and for the most part, lower humidity. THAT part has been a huge blessing. With the cost of electricity having pretty much doubled in the last 18 months, cooling the house down in the hottest part of the year costs a blue fortune. The whole BG& E ordeal...raises prices X2 + when they were ALREADY MAKING A PROFIT...and it being allowed?! is totally unacceptable. Electricity is _not_ a luxury in our society...its a necessity. Yes we all need to be more "green" and conservative, and I would _love_ nothing more than to be able to implement solar and wind power at our home, but one has to have the initial outlay to do that first. Pricing that out it comes to around $20k or so. :::wince ouch pale::: Not happening anytime in the immediately foreseeable future, much to my dismay.
The blessing of the waiting-til-just-recently-to-get-hot is that we just are now installing the a/c units into the house. This house has 10 ceiling fans (yes, its a big-ole-farmhouse) and they are wonderful to help keep the air moving and keep things cooler. We have window units that we use conservatively and I have nice thick curtains up to aid in keeping the inside cool when the sun is shining strongly. We have a couple of windows and doors that need to be replaced, eventually, along with additional insulation and some thermal wrap under the house. All in good time. Meanwhile, we are doing our best to keep it comfortable in the house with minimal electrical use.
Today a whopper of a squall blew through that knocked the electricity out for a couple of hours. Thankfully the house was cool enough from the weather being lower-humidity and cooler at night that it didn't get uncomfortable in the house. But WOW did it rain hard. Its been doing that regulary for a month or more now---sudden squall blowing through, massive amount of water falling, then it cools down slightly and is beautiful out. I wonder if the weather patterns are shifting, as I seem to recall this type of weather in the summer quite often when I was elemetary and middle school aged. A couple of weeks ago we were at an historic mill and nature center up county (Eden Mill Nature Center). It had rained the day before, as the water in this image of Deer Creek shows. Can you say "mud much"? We were walking on the Creek Trail and were about a mile and half away from where the van was park. Suddenly the wind picked up and freshened and I smelled rain, looked North and saw that cloud formation that is above the tree line. Of course I had to get a picture of it!
We made it back to the van just as the rain started...and it was one heck of a gully washer. I am _so_ glad we made it back to the van in time, as I had my portrait camera with me, and the bag I had with me would not have kept her dry! Eep! My Precious!
The creek was muddy, the wind was blowing and the air was humid. Our walk back was definitely swifter than our leisurely stroll through the greening trees and croaking frogs, and I am sure we scared a beaver and snake and fox into skittering off. The walk was more enjoyable without the threat of the storm, but there is definitely beauty to be found in the midst of the storm if you take a minute to observe around you, instead of letting the storm overtake you.
