It's raining again today.....

I'm moving to Marysville to get some of those mid to upper 80's. The only mid to upper 80's here is the approximate weekly electric bill to run the furnace!

I think Rob is right: June typically disappoints, but I like to keep in shape to complain about it annually and am in fine form this year! I don't even mind the cool, but the wet has just got to stop. Everything is sodden.

LOL I wish it was 80...note the parenthesis (down California way).

Oh, I didn't get it that you were in Calif. LOL I really was thinking, wow, is it that different or has Robert suffered a blow on the head? LOLOL

Gwen

That would be a microclimate to blow your mind wouldn't it ! I still wouldn't trade here for that Southern Oven, though it is beautiful Winter and Spring. I wouldn't discount the 'blow to the head' syndrome too quickly. lol

Hi All.

I lurk more than post but just wanted to share some observations I've made in my gardens through this cold, wet spring.

Though everything is later than normal, I noticed how much longer the blooms 'once they do open' are lasting. I too have rhodies still in bloom. I can't remember them ever making it into June before. Many of my lupins, foxgloves and other spring bloomers have lasted a month or more. Everything is so green and lush.
On another note, my lilacs are done but when we had that heat wave in May, I could smell them throughout my yard for the first time. It's usually too cool when they're blooming to smell them without getting close to them.
Now that I said some positive things about this weather instead of my usual complaining, it can warm up now! LOL

Joy

Hi All...sorry to hear you had another soggy day. No rain here today
but cloudy & gray . The sun did peek out around 5pm and the flowers were smiling for a bit.

This is a happy Nicole rose with all her little "buddies". Excuse the pun.
Hope the weather improves for us all soon! My one little tomatoe is still an only child. So sad!

Well, I had a nice Pixy Rant all typed out but it disappeared somehow, which spares you all a fit of my temper. Be glad.

Since we are looking at this entire weather thing from a purely scientific viewpoint,, (an extremely limited point of view in my opinion, but that's another story), let's take a look at some of the data being reported in the media:

From the NOAA Website:
RECORD REPORT

SXUS76 KSEW 110835
RERSEW
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
130 AM PDT WED JUN 11 2008

...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE SET AT SEATTLE WFO YESTERDAY...

A RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE OF 45 DEGREES WAS SET AT SEATTLE WFO ON
JUNE 10TH. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 46 SET IN 1996.

RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES SET OR TIED ON JUNE 10TH 2008

TODAY OLD RECORD

OLYMPIA 56 56 1990

SEATTLE WFO 58 58 2004

HOQUIAM 53 57 2004, 2000


I'm fairly certain that when it comes to being scientific, we need to gather as much data as possible. With that in mind, I did a little googling using the words 'record cold june puget sound', in case you think the experiment needs verification.

Here's part of an article from the Seattle PI:

"A June for the record books
Coldest start to month in history raises electric bills, stalls farm crops

By MIKE BARBER
P-I REPORTER

With snowplows in the mountain passes and the Seattle area's coldest June start in recorded history, the Northwest's freakishly chilly June gloom is a sunny contrast to climatic drama playing out in the rest of the nation.

We aren't experiencing the flash floods, .......

But with summer only 10 days away, Seattle residents are shivering at the prospect of higher heating bills, traction tires in the mountain passes and a shortened growing season for local farmers. "


(I'm almost positive they are not making this stuff up.)

From the same article: and a link to the entire thing, which has a easy-to-read chart : http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/366473_weather11.html?source=mypi

"Overall, daytime high temperatures in the region have averaged at least 10 degrees below normal -- while overnight lows have been only slightly chillier than normal -- translating into more gas and electricity use.

chart

"For the first six days of June, we've seen about 30 to 35 percent more natural gas usage compared to the average taken from the same six days in the prior three years," said Roger Thompson of Puget Sound Energy.

Thompson said the utility has seen an increase in customer demand for electricity because of the cooler spring."

In case you are still unconvinced: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004466972_webweather09m.html

and

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/19657944.html

I could go on, but I believe the point has been made and by people with more estrogen than I currently have available.


The defense rests.

Weather forecast: tomorrow's high is 65!! Back to 'normal'!!

Thanks, Pixy - that's the same one I used yesterday only didn't include the whole thing . . . it obviously has more impact when it's all there!

Pixy, You go girl!
Even tho I am not a native and have only been here since 1985, I know this is colder than any June I have seen. I don't need a scientest to tell me this is within the norm or a newsman to tell me it is colder, I have enough of my own data to know that...as do we all! It is normal to have a few days like this scattered among our May and June but to have weeks of it is not normal!!! maybe within the norm? but not normal!!!
Is that enough Estrogen? that is all I could muster this early in June another 2 weeks of this and I will be bald...lol

:-)

Excellent reporting Pixy.

I'm checking in briefly to say 1) there has been no precipitation here today and 2) drumroll............... I saw the sun! For about 5 seconds. It was on the Preston/Fall City Road in a patch of blue that lasted equally as long between cloud masses. It's trying ever so hard to peek out here too, so out I go........

Hang on everyone, July is on the way.

Oh my gawd PNW goes ballistic ! ! !




Shock waves felt in England!



(oh how interesting - I had put big spaces between all of the words but the system closes them all up - guess that is a no no - try it).

This message was edited Jun 12, 2008 8:02 PM

AND,

while its rainy, and you have a bit of time, read this charming charming article - honestly, you'll enjoy it

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1055/

The sun is out here today....supposed to get to 71°! I won't know what to do! Oh yeah, I'll still be in the house nursing this cold of mine....

Thanks Laurie,
What a great story! I have 200 different daylilies, also included is the ditch lily, it is the 1st one I ever owned. I received mine from a family friends Aunt who lives in Lacy, WA, it traveled with me from Lynnwood to Marysville, it will again take a trip with me to AZ when we move. I love the flower!

That's a beautiful bloom. I see in some trades where people will accept day lilies but not "ditch lilies" and I can't imagine why someone wouldn't want such a lovely plant!

I think it's mostly because ditch lilies spread by runners and they will choke out the newer hybridized (expensive) daylilies.

Sharon is a great writer - and a warm, wonderful person (an active "prayer warrior" on the prayer forum).

I love daylilies, too, and have some that should have been divided this year. Well, maybe next year it will happen.

THE SUN IS OUTTTTTTT!!!! I WENT GARDENING TODAY!!!!!!

Glad you liked my estrogen-free reporting. Gosh darn it, when I'm cold, I know it! So today we celebrate!

Sun was out at 3:30 and so was I. I checked on the wind damage and lost quite a few Iris blooms/would be blooms, my lupine is kind of salvageable? It is smashed in the center, like something bedded down in it. I am not sure if all the damage is from the wind or the hail, I guess it could have been either.
Things are looking up!

Well done Pixy! I loved it.

We finally got some sun today, still a chill in the breeze, but I didn't care. Worked on the sprinkler system, I'm anticipating.

Laurie, what a beautiful story, thank you.

You are all ahead of me, my Lupines are going fine but are small this year compared to last year, the only thing that flatten was my Poppy's and my Cornflower.
My daylilies are just starting to have buds

My bones are starting to warm up. Sigh. Yes, Laurie, as someone who has lived in the northwest yourself, you can understand, I'm sure, how ballistic we can go when the rain never stops. Combine this with cold, and you can be certain that our imaginations begin to run wild with thoughts of gun ownership. With low estrogen, this is a dangerous combination. It can get out of control!!!

So it's a very good thing that my pond water was sparkling, my iris were blooming, the daylilies are budding out, and the lavender is covered with fuzzy little bees. And.....drumroll.......I bought a chipper/shredder!!! Hurray! It needs a little work, but was such a good deal (especially since I won't be the one working on it) and will be a complete life saver as pruning season gets into full swing. I do so love to prune.

Pixy, it was about 7:30 last night and I asked myself, what can I do with the last hours until it is so dark I cannot see. So first I cut down, with hand shears, twenty plus feet of horsetails growing along side the road. Then I started pruning the ornamental trees, cherry, black plum, and finally cut two plain green shrubs down to the ground. So what do I have to do today? It's chipper/shredder time! I will be standing there for hours, feeding limbs through, but it makes a nice mulch. :)

Kathryn - I sure hope you have a headlamp . . . tell me you weren't doing this in the dark.

I do have a head lamp, but I always quit when I can't see well anymore.
Don't want to cut off a nice flower, or my finger!

I'm with you, Neofarmer! I was out there until I couldn't see anymore. I have a brushpile a mile high. Currently I'm in Salem, Oregon visiting my daughter. The weather here is awesome! Beautiful blue sky, and really warm! I'm loving it. The brushpile will have to wait. But I am so looking forward to all that mulch.

I am getting off work early tomorrow to do some gardening. I wish I could have been out yesterday and today but I work too long on my work days. But it looks like it is going to be good gardening weather for the next few days, maybe I can get some stuff done before I have to go back to work on Wednesday. That's funny about gardening in the dark, my husband has offered to set up his work lights for me to garden by. I've given it some though but I think the flying insects would like it too much.

This message was edited Jun 13, 2008 10:05 PM

I'd like to work late, but I go in....when the bugs come out. They love me no matter what I use to deter them and I get nasty welts.

But what a guy, anyway!

My mosquitos always get me at dusk (I need to keep the Off outside so I can put it on when that happens) but after it's dark, they are gone. Of course, with the headlamp there's lots of moth action, which is kind of weird.

We finally got some good headlamps in the store, got mine today. Also found some neat Skeetier bracletts, to keep them away from you, tryed them out work great, I get really bad whelts from them, and they just love me. LOL

Skeeter bracelets? Tell me about them please and where to find them.

They look like the coil type key ring that stretches, and have a citronella smell to them. I found them where I work, we had 2 left, both mine now LOL.
I'm not sure who would have them, check a cop-op or a feed store. and I trew away the package they came in. opps.

Just catching up - it was a beautiful gardening day yesterday - ALL DAY, and I, voluntarily, went back into London to go to a lecture (we are required to do CPD - continuing professional development - what a bunch of.....shredding, composting, and chainsaw courses should apply! That is the road to sanity!). And a cr*p lecture - the speaker didn't even get it right! Horsefeathers! You can't do half of a theory to make your point! You need the whole thing! This is like trying to sell someone a pair of too small boots, then cutting off the toes so they fit! "See how nicely your feet go in, lots of toe wiggling room!" What a twat! It wasn't even worth raising any question about it, it was just too wrong. I walked out at the Q and A point, and a woman was following right behind me - when we got to the door she asked me "what did I think of it?" - and I thought, 'I don't know you, don't know who is in earshot, and am a visitor to this institute" so just replied "I think it was an unresolved idea" - and she just broke out laughing and said "answered as a true analyst" - so at least I get points for staying true to the profession. But I still think the speaker was a twat.

Ahhh, a bit of Pixy rant - feeling much better now.

And I do love a good shredder - sooooooooooo glad the rest of you are intune with that.

ahhh Yuk Laurie. that's too bad that you had to waste such a rare chance of a wonderful gardening day on a crappy lecture! Hopefully it will hold out and you will get to get outside today. Is everyone finally getting some decent weather? I finally got in two days in a row of no rain!!!

Its good here! Just came in for a cuppa tea - still have hours to dig!

Good. Glad to hear that you'e finally getting some decent time to be out as well. Such a beautiful day to be out in the yard and I have to work as well :-(

Ohhhhhh, redchic - here's a cup of sympathy for you. Hope the weather is great on your days off!

ahhh.. thanks Laurie! In all reality though, it's probably my own fault for buying too many plants to keep up with my habit, so I have to work more. :-p