A Long Weekend Ahead

   And by the look of things, the Civic Holiday weekend will be a warm and sunny one. At least in my part of the world. We're looking at mainly sunny skies, and highs in the mid to upper 20's. There's a very slim chance we could get a shower Sunday.
   And while a lot of people will be heading to lakes and parks in our area, I think I'll be staying close to home this year. Some yard work still needs to be done, and highways will be busy. But at least I've got the weekend off as we end July and start August.
   I hope (if you get Monday off) your weekend is a good one. Back Tuesday.

TTFN

It WAS A Wet Day

   In fact, at the Yorkton airport, 22 mm of rain was reported last night. But that's not the whole story. Other parts of Saskatchewan, and my own region for that matter, got a lot more. Esterhazy got 75 mm (3 inches), along with Willowbrook. Regina got 78 mils, Coronach, in southeastern Saskatchewan, got 85.
   Coming into the office this morning I saw very few deep puddles on the main drag. After a heavy rain, there usually are. I've also heard no reports of flooding or damage from wind or hail either here or across most of the region. But that's not a blanket statement.
   In the far southwest corner of Manitoba, there was severe weather. 2 tornado's touched down, with one on the ground for a reported 3 hours! It pretty much tracked north on the eastern side of the boundary with Saskatchewan, and went from Pierson to Virden. There were reports of asphalt being ripped up, and a farmstead near Tilston was damaged. But other than that, no major damage is reported.
   And we're not out of the woods yet. A rainfall warning continues, with another 10 to 15 mils expected today.
   I knew I should have cut the lawn Sunday.

TTFN

It's Going To Be A Wet Few Days

   In fact, very wet indeed! Our area is in store for anywhere between 50 to 80 mm (2-more than 3 inches) of rain in the next 36 hours. And it's possible some parts of the region could get more in thunderstorms.
   That much rain in that short a time span is not good news. Even farmers suffering from drought, even though they do need the moisture, don't need that big a dump. The problem is, a lot of land is so dry right now, a "cap" has formed on top of it, and heavy rain will simply run off, at least at the beginning. That run-off could cause another problem: Flash flooding.
   I know from past experience that a lot of communities will be on edge as well, even though flood mitigation and run-off areas have been prepared after flooding last year.
   Still, if we do actually get that much water in a short time frame, there will sure to be communities suffering from flood damage.
   I'm just glad we live on "higher ground" relative to most areas of Yorkton.
   Stay dry!

TTFN

Gardening, Again

   In the past few posts, I've mentioned the fact my wife and I took in the annual Secret Gardens Tour in Regina, a fundraiser for one of the dance academies there.
   I thought I'd share some pictures of what she's managed to come up with.
   Please bear in mind it's only the 2nd year in our new house, so it's a work in progress. She's already started planning for next year.

   And yes, I am aware the lawn needs cutting.

TTFN

A Historic Day In Space Exploration

(Photo from NASA)

   It is a very historic day, because today an unmanned spacecraft called New Horizons will fly very quickly by Pluto, ending the exploration of all 9 of the major bodies in the solar system.
   Pluto, as you probably already know, was discovered in 1930, but was demoted from a planet to a dwarf planet in 2006. Some of the ashes of the man who first discovered Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh, are on board the spacecraft as it hurtles at 10 miles a second past Pluto and it's 5 moons. It'll be a very quick glance, but it'll also be quite the discovery. And I'm glad to say I've been alive for all of man's exploration of space.
   I was just 18 months old when the former USSR took the first step into space with Sputnik in November 1957. It was 1959 a Russian probe took the very first pictures of the "dark side of the moon". If you want the whole run-down of the timeline, do a wiki search for it. But suffice it to say in less than 60 years humans have expanded their knowledge of the solar system multiple times through space exploration.
   What's to be done now? I'd like to see another manned landing on the moon for starters. Then a mission to Mars, although I don't think that's going to happen in my lifetime.
   And yes, for the record, I am a space buff, and am eagerly awaiting images from Pluto.

TTFN

A Successful Tour

   We did get on the Secret Gardens Tour this past weekend as promised, and my wife and one of her oldest friends thoroughly enjoyed. I have to admit I didn't mind it either. And I'm not a big gardening fan (although I do appreciate what my wife does at our place).
   It was a hot, humid, sticky day in Regina, with the temp in the mid 30's, so we were glad to have air conditioning in the car.
   What did we see?
   Here are a few pictures from Saturday

   The interesting thing about the past image is the fact the fellow who owns the house hand-built a working model railway in the garden. All the cars and locomotive were made from scratch, and the detail was incredible.
   They used a mix of miniature real plants and fake ones (to keep things in scale), and even had miniature seagulls perched on miniature rocks. That garden was the highlight for me.
   So now, my wife's got me working on a couple of ideas from things she saw on the tour, while she's already looking forward to 2016.
   And as you might expect, the heat and humidity triggered some nasty weather. We were caught in an apocalyptical  rainstorm on the way home. It was so intense, we were down to 40 km/h on the highway. I couldn't even find a place to turn out and wait for the rain to stop. That was the only fly in the ointment on an otherwise nearly perfect day.

TTFN

A Big Weekend For My Wife

   She's been looking forward to tomorrow for a year. Every year, a Regina Dance Academy holds a fundraiser, where people volunteer to open their gardens to the general public. For about 35 bucks, people can buy what amounts to a passport, which gets you in to anywhere between 8 and a dozen private and public spaces.
   The Secret Gardens Tour's been going on quite a while now, and my wife's been going for at least a dozen years or so.
   This year will be my 3rd time on the tour. I'm not a big fan of gardens or gardening, and I'm more or less going as the driver/videographer for the event. I'll take my digital movie camera, shoot way too much footage, then try and package it on a DVD for my wife.
   One of her friends is coming along too, and she's looking forward to meeting up with her, and I guess I'll end up buying lunch for the 3 of us.
   Why am I going? Simple. My wife has never learned to drive, and since we're some 120 miles outside Regina, the duty has fallen on me. That, and the fact that since I give her grief the other 364 days a year, one day looking at pretty flowers ain't going to kill me.
   And besides, there's the old saying "Happy Wife, Happy Life".

TTFN

Situation Critical

   That picture from NASA gives some indication of just how bad the forest fire situation is in western Canada, more specifically Saskatchewan.
   As of this entry, 13 thousand people have been evacuated from their homes from many communities, including La Ronge, where more than 25 hundred people live. The fire line crept to within 2 miles of the town. While many have found temporary lodging in places like Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina, 5 thousand are being housed in Cold Lake, Alberta.
   As you can clearly see in the satellite image above, huge plumes of smoke are streaming southeast from the fires. And that's why there's been a special air quality statement in effect for the best part of 2 weeks across many parts of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It's no wonder why I've found it hard to breathe recently, especially last week when the smoke was so thick even in Yorkton it almost blotted out the sun. I simply can't imagine what it's like for the few people still living in the affected areas, let alone firefighters.
   And there was some disturbing news as well. It seems 6 of several new fires reported over the weekend were deliberately set near one small community.
   What's badly needed now is rain. Ideally, a good soaking rain lasting for at least 2 days. But the forecast doesn't seem to hold out much hope for that, with sunshine and highs in the mid to upper 20's.
   How much longer will this continue? Until weather patterns change, it cools down and the area gets a good drenching.
   Meantime, the critical situation continues.

TTFN

We Are The Champions Of The World

(Photo credit to the Associated Press)

   The 4th of July weekend was capped for Americans as their women's world cup soccer team took the title for a 3rd time, beating Japan 5-2 in front of more than 53 thousand fans at B.C Place stadium in Vancouver Sunday.
   The U.S got 4 goals in the first 16 minutes of play, more than enough to beat Japan, with Carli Lloyd scoring a hat trick. It was pretty much over after that, and you'd think the game would have been boring from that moment on, with the U.S sitting back protecting their own zone and simply running out the clock.
   You would not be more wrong.
   I watched the game, and even though it really was over and done with after that first 16 minutes, neither side quit. It would have been easy for the Japanese to "roll over and play dead", but they didn't. Once they regained some composure, they started pressing the attack, and created quite a few good scoring chances.
   It would have been easy for the Americans to sit back and protect their own zone. They didn't, but also pressed the attack, ending up scoring their 5th goal and also creating a lot more chances.
   Heck, if it hadn't been for the opening flurry of goals, the game would have been a nail-biter. Even so, I thought that (in terms of play) it was one of the best games, if not the best game, of the tournament.
   It also marked the end of some stellar careers. Amy Wambach has retired, as did Christie Rampone, who was the last hold-over team member from the 1999 championship squad.
   The game was also revenge for the U.S. Japan beat them for the title on penalty kicks 4 years ago in 2011.
   Congratulations to Team U.S.A.

TTFN

America Celebrates

   Just a quick note to wish my American viewers a very Happy 4th of July. I hope your Independence Day weekend is a safe one!
   Enjoy the day, and tonight's fireworks, in many places across your great land. And if you are traveling, have a safe journey.

TTFN

Some Relief Is In Sight

   And I for one am more than ready. Yorkton, and for that matter all of Saskatchewan, most of Manitoba and even parts of the U.S are still under air quality advisories due to smoke from northern forest fires. The reason we've been seeing, and smelling it, is simple. Upper level wind patterns have been from the northwest. That, hopefully, will change as early as tomorrow when those patterns shift and the wind will be from the south, at least giving some partial relief.
   The advisory is out, quite simply, because more than a few people (myself included) have breathing problems, and the smoke exacerbates it. I've been lucky, though. We have air conditioning at home, so it's been a simple matter of shutting the windows to keep smoke out. That said, we could still smell it very strongly earlier this week.
   And as annoying as it's been in my region, I pity the poor folks living in the north, where (as of this post) the smoke has already forced 41 hundred people from their homes. As of yesterday, there were some 110 fires burning in our province alone, with some quite large.
   What's needed is rain. Not just to help dampen the fires, but to help wash the smell of smoke out of the air. And while there are some showers in the forecast, what we need is a good day of steady, but not torrential, rain.

TTFN