Kansas. Today's high 69 degrees. Tomorrow night's low 9. (For my Celsius knowledgeable friends that's a high of 20.55 and a low of negative 12.77.) It'll drop down below freezing in a couple of hours today.
Wind is screaming out of the south right now, and pushing those low hanging clouds north. My friend and I were walking around downtown we looked up at the capitol building. Both of us stopped, stared at the copper plated dome, and then turned to each other. "Did you just see that?"
"Yeah! Did you?!"
The clouds, racing behind the building had made it look like they were hanging still in the sky and the building was swaying dramatically in the 32 mph winds with 44 mph gusts (they are running at 30, I just checked nws.noaa.gov*).
I've never seen anything like that before. I had to double check that my feet were on the ground. I had a touch of dizziness.
Sometime this afternoon/evening, those winds will be moving at the same speed, but from the north. Good news is that there are no tornadoes in the forecast. Doesn't mean it won't happen though.
And now for something completely different. For Christmas, my dad gifted me with a kick-ass SOG knife. The securely wrapped up knife/saw combo came with a one inch folding blade in order to be able to open the actual knife's packaging. So, I got a knife to be able to cut the packaging tape leading to another knife. I've never seen that before either.
*I would link to this site for you to be able to verify, but the site constantly updates given ever changing weather conditions.
UPDATE: Record high today of 71 degrees.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saxon vs. A Pile of Snow
Our bag that we use to tote firewood from outside unexpectedly gave in to gravity last night and fell over. This startled Saxon, the lovable hellhound, who had been mostly curled up by the fire. I say mostly because he has never seemed to master the ball. He curls up, but his feet always stick out like prongs.
The bag of firewood tipped over. His reaction, growl at it. This action reminded me of another story from when he was naught by an alien looking pup, the time he lost a fight to a pile of snow.
We had taken the dogs out to the Lawrence Bark Park, which is worth the drive. It's about 13 acres of fields, streams, forest and clearings for dogs to get into much trouble. We usually only take the dogs there in winter because there are rattlesnakes. I know this because a) my brother-in-law saw one and b) Saxon found the frozen corpse of one and thought it was the greatest toy ever.
On this winter day, the snow had all melted from the grass except for one large pile squatting near the edge of the field. I assume some kids had tried to build up a fort or something because there are no roads to plow in this clearing. Anyway, Saxon, who a little less than a year at this point, had seen snow before so I didn't think he would suddenly freeze with his hackles up.
I looked around for deer or a bobcat. Nope, nothing. And yet, there was the dog with a growl resounding in his throat. Meanwhile, the other dog was trotting ahead, nose to the ground, without a care in the world.
Saxon barked. Hackles up, he started to circle the pile of snow. It finally occurred to me that he'd never seen snow piled up before, especially when all the other snow had melted. The animal let another canine snarl tear from his throat, a sound to send terror into the spines of any small, furry animal. And, let's be honest, any ape-shaped animal too.
However, the snow staunchly held its ground in the face of the approaching, menacing dog.
Again, Saxon barked and circled closer. The snow still had not made a move. Ears back, hackles up, growling like a beast, he neared the snow. Finally, he'd circled within a few feet, and snow hadn't reacted at all.
The dog lunged.
I don't know if he was trying to bite the snow or if he was just trying to aggressively sniff the pile, but either way, as soon as his nose touched the icy coldness, the poor creature was off for the treeline like a rifle shot. He tripped over his tail twice.
Snow 1, Dog 0
Happily, the event did not traumatize the animal and today he is up to the task of subduing all manner of wild snows that dare enter our back yard.
The bag of firewood tipped over. His reaction, growl at it. This action reminded me of another story from when he was naught by an alien looking pup, the time he lost a fight to a pile of snow.
Here is the dog.
Here is a pile of snow.
(Not the pile of snow, because alas, I was without a camera.)
We had taken the dogs out to the Lawrence Bark Park, which is worth the drive. It's about 13 acres of fields, streams, forest and clearings for dogs to get into much trouble. We usually only take the dogs there in winter because there are rattlesnakes. I know this because a) my brother-in-law saw one and b) Saxon found the frozen corpse of one and thought it was the greatest toy ever.
On this winter day, the snow had all melted from the grass except for one large pile squatting near the edge of the field. I assume some kids had tried to build up a fort or something because there are no roads to plow in this clearing. Anyway, Saxon, who a little less than a year at this point, had seen snow before so I didn't think he would suddenly freeze with his hackles up.
I looked around for deer or a bobcat. Nope, nothing. And yet, there was the dog with a growl resounding in his throat. Meanwhile, the other dog was trotting ahead, nose to the ground, without a care in the world.
Saxon barked. Hackles up, he started to circle the pile of snow. It finally occurred to me that he'd never seen snow piled up before, especially when all the other snow had melted. The animal let another canine snarl tear from his throat, a sound to send terror into the spines of any small, furry animal. And, let's be honest, any ape-shaped animal too.
However, the snow staunchly held its ground in the face of the approaching, menacing dog.
Again, Saxon barked and circled closer. The snow still had not made a move. Ears back, hackles up, growling like a beast, he neared the snow. Finally, he'd circled within a few feet, and snow hadn't reacted at all.
The dog lunged.
I don't know if he was trying to bite the snow or if he was just trying to aggressively sniff the pile, but either way, as soon as his nose touched the icy coldness, the poor creature was off for the treeline like a rifle shot. He tripped over his tail twice.
Snow 1, Dog 0
Happily, the event did not traumatize the animal and today he is up to the task of subduing all manner of wild snows that dare enter our back yard.
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