NATURE SPEAKS

I decided to upload a handwritten entry for a change, hope you enjoy 🙂

The article I refer to can be found HERE.

A journal entry handwritten on Kindle Scribe.

Mosquitoes in December

Mini Vampire

Alright… I understand it’s Florida. I understand it’s been a strange year for weather what with 15,000 named storms in the Atlantic this hurricane season (which started early and doesn’t want to end). But dear Mother Nature, can you please cut us a break? It’s bad enough to still be in the 80s entering December. The mosquitos though have got to go.

Mosquitos belong in the summer. Steamy August nights, a whining buzz in your ear followed by a slap on the neck. Wearing long sleeves in the 90% humidity even though you know they’re going to bite through your clothing anyway. They are relentless little vampires whose only purpose in life is to eat and breed.

Honestly though, I enjoy my time outside. It’s my space to breathe in the fragrant flora, the scent of rain. It is my space to defuse, to ground, and to let inspiration flow into me. It’s my space to just be one with the earth.


But I can’t *slap* rightly do any of *slap* these things if you *slap* won’t stop frikken *slap* eating me alive!


And when my presence outside isn’t enough for you, you take advantage of every gap in the house you can find to get in. You bite me while I’m working at my desk. You bite me in bed. Do you never sleep? For heaven’s sake it’s December! Go burrow underground or do whatever you do but go away!

Grammar Police

Sometimes my inner editor really needs to take a back seat…

Tis the Season… For Colds and Flu

MYTH: Going out in the cold weather will give you a cold.

FACT: While not exactly accurate, cold weather can make colds and related viruses more apt to set in. It isn’t the cold that gives us the sniffles however. When our body temperature drops, so does our ability to fight the viruses that we commonly come in contact with. Cold viruses are all around us however a drop in temperature slows down our immune response to these tiny invaders and makes us more likely to suffer the symptoms of them as we fail to fight them off at first contact. It is difficult to avoid contact with any of the 200 plus viruses that cause common cold symptoms, but there are things we can do to minimize the probability of catching a cold or at the least minimize the symptoms and shorten them.

WASH your hands regularly! Hot water and soap are your first line of defense after coming in contact with a person showing symptoms, after touching door knobs, phones, anything someone else may have touched. Cold viruses can live up to 48 hours outside the body on non-porous surfaces and flu viruses can stick around even longer.

DISINFECT commonly touched home and office surfaces regularly with disinfectant sprays or wipes.

BOOST your intake of Vitamin C and Zinc. Both stimulate and strengthen the immune system, reducing or preventing symptoms of the viral invasion.

Oh, HONEY! Unfiltered, unprocessed RAW honey contains both antiviral and antibiotic properties, as well as a wealth of vitamins and minerals and positive health effects including strengthening the immune system. Raw, locally harvested honey also has the added benefit of containing small amounts of local pollens which, when ingested, begin to help the person taking it to build immunity to the local trees and plants that cause seasonal allergies (which can be just as miserable as a cold). Factory processed honey is heated to a point that most of these health benefits are lost – the difference in benefits between raw and pasteurized honey is substantial.

Remember, prevention is the best medicine. If you do have any serious health concerns – ALWAYS consult with your doctor or pharmacist first for advice on treatment!

Stay healthy this season!

Good Freezy Goodness!!!

Just had to share some pics from Tuesday Morning… All that white iciness? Yeh – that was my windshield lol!!! I had to de-ice my frikken car – it was EPIC I so love the cold, don’t get near enough of it. But, now that it’s warming up, the giddiness has subsided and I’m all…. whaaa I want snow! Not like… tons and tons of it… just… enough to play in ^_^

Earliest Freeze Ever for Treasure Coast?

This doesn’t usually happen til late January around here… Just across my phone:

===============================
Severe Watches and Warnings for FORT PIERCE
===============================

URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MELBOURNE FL
353 PM EST SUN DEC 5 2010

..FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FOR LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
MORNING…
..FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
MORNING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MELBOURNE HAS ISSUED A FREEZE
WATCH…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY
MORNING.

HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING DOWN FROM CANADA WILL BRING THE COLDEST
AIR SO FAR THIS SEASON AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FREEZING TEMPERATURES
ACROSS EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING.

A FREEZE WATCH MEANS THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE FOR FREEZING TEMPERATURES
TO OCCUR. LOW TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REACH AROUND 30 TO THE
LOWER 30S OVER URBAN AREAS…AND FALL INTO THE UPPER 20S IN THE
NORMALLY COLDER RURAL LOCATIONS. NORTH TO NORTHWEST WINDS ARE
FORECAST TO STAY UP AT 5 TO 10 MPH AS WELL…SO WIND CHILLS IN THE
20S CAN BE EXPECTED AREA-WIDE BY SUNRISE ON TUESDAY.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A FREEZE WATCH MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE POSSIBLE.
THESE CONDITIONS COULD KILL CROPS AND OTHER SENSITIVE VEGETATION.

PERSONS IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA SHOULD TAKE MEASURES TO PREPARE FOR
THE UPCOMING COLD CONDITIONS.

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Holy Crap

Just thought I’d toss this up…

Currently
101.6 °F
Partly Cloudy
Humidity: 38%
Wind: 10.0 mph from the West
Visibility: 9.0 miles
Dew Point: 71 °F
Precipitation: 30% Chance of Rain
Pressure: 29.67 in
UV: 6.4
Updated: 3:54 PM EDT on June 22, 2009

So Casual!

No, not my dating life — it’s pretty much NIL at this point (and safer that way)…

I mean these forecasts that come across my e-mail and cell phone… gotta love how they just slip stuff in there so casually… (See Thursday).

AccuWeather Forecast
for <…my town…>
===============================

TODAY
Partly sunny
H 89

TONIGHT
Partly cloudy with a shower
L 76

WEDNESDAY
Partly sunny and breezy
H 88   / L 79

THURSDAY
Hurricane Hanna
H 88   / L 73

FRIDAY
Partly sunny and breezy
H 91   / L 74

SATURDAY
Partly sunny with a t-storm
H 91   / L 75

Weathered The Storm…

Despite the massive flooding here in the county, I have managed to weather TS Fay without too much damage.  The duct tape on the smashed-in window just *barely* held up against the winds that pelted us from the ESE to WSW the entire time.  It did not hold against the water however so there was leakage inside.  Thankfully, that is all that leaked.  I was concerned about some missing tiles on the roof as well, but they managed to hold.  Water did blow into the attic vent on the side of the house under the eave, and while a little dripping was heard inside the ceiling, nothing made it through.  I am hoping that will dry out on its own once we start to heat back up again. 

The storm did cause some damage to the siding of the front of the house where it pulled the wood away from the building.  Some pieces of that are going to have to be replaced ASAP and I am going to have to board that window up for good since I cannot afford to have it replaced.  This will be done with borrowed tools and hopefully the helping hand of one of my neighbors.  I will need to find some heavy-duty 4″ screws to go through both the wood paneling and the concrete of the building.  Yikes.  As of this morning, it was not immediately apparent that any other neighbors took any damage, save for a downed mailbox at Dana and Gary’s place.

Flooding remains the primary concern all along the Treasure Coast where we are still being pelted by heavy rains.  Today they are coming with 15-45 minute breaks inbetween the rains which is allowing waters to recede just slightly.  Many homes, especially in older areas such as along Delaware Ave., and in farming areas reported water entering the residences.  A large number of intersections, and in many places in the area entire neighborhoods, are completely impassible and this morning many were blocked off by officers directing traffic out of these areas. 

On my way in to work this morning, I was turned back twice, as Oleander was severely flooded between Edwards and Virginia, and Virginia was severely flooded between US1 and 25th Street.  North 39th Street in Fort Pierce also remains badly flooded north of Angle Road for at least 3 blocks.  This area however has not been blocked off.  Trucks and larger vehicles are able to pass through slowly, but passenger cars are having great difficulty getting through.  Most are turning around. 

With the ground being so saturated, I would advise ALL drivers to not exit the roadway into swales to turn around.  The ground is likely to give way and sink the vehicle a foot or more, as happened to a very good friend of mine the last time it flooded here.  He did not realize he was pulling into a grassy area until it was too late and the majority of the front end of his truck was under mud and water.

I will be going home to check on things again shortly, and I hope to God that tape has held up through today’s storms as I had to come in to work today and could not be there for window-rescue as I was up all night doing.

Here’s hoping anyone reading this either fared well or lives out of the area and did not have to deal with Fay.