The Weather in Washington State

by Wanda Lynch

Summer was late getting here but it is finally here.  It hasn't been extremely hot this year so it has been a rather pleasant summer.  The past week has been in the upper 70s to low 80s.  But we are suppose to have a hot weather system coming through with mid 90s but after that it drops back to the 80s and then low 70s.  I can handle that kind of weather!  We are suppose to have a cold winter with lots of snow this year.  Last year was almost an open winter!  Jay didn't plow once!  We are starting to buy wood and have over half of it already stacked up to use.  I think our neighbor is delivering more sometime this month!  I already made my fall to-do list....now if my back would just hold out for me!

June 13, 2010

We are having beautiful weather now.  The rain finally quit and it has been in the upper 70s yesterday and today.  Today is breezy too so it is perfect outside!   Yesterday we cleaned the porch off and it is really nice to sit outside and enjoy the view of two lakes and mountains.  What a beautiful place it is up here.  Makes me sad to think I will have to leave here some day.  But I do look forward to getting my own place and having my own garden!  Michael will build me raised beds too....bless his heart

June 10, 2010

Another cool, rainy day.  Last night we had a huge thunder and lightening storm!  I am not too crazy about them but being on top of this mountain and watching the lightening down in the valley was pretty cool.  The news says we are going to have another similar night tonight.  I enjoy the cooler weather but the garden doesn't!

June 9, 2010

Today is cloudy and cool.  It is suppose to be that way for the rest of the week and then jump up into the mid and high 70s and then 80 by Monday.  What a difference in weather!  It has been a cool, damp spring and makes it hard to get a garden in.  Yesterday was a break in the weather so Tommie and I took advantage of it and planted what we could. 

June 5, 2010

We finally got a break in the weather and today the sun is shining but the wind is cold.  I was suppose to go to a bluegrass concert today but I woke up not feeling well so didn't go.

June 2, 2010

Another rainy dreary day!  We had a bit of a break yesterday so I went down to the garden to weed for a while in the early evening. 

May 26, 2010

Today is raining and dreary outside.  A good day to stay inside!  It is suppose to be like this for the rest of the week so guess it will be good for the garden!

May 24, 2010

What a nice day it was today.  The sun was shining and we had blue skies.  But my joints are hurting so there is definitely a storm coming.  Some clouds are starting to come in but the sun is still shining. 

May 22, 2010

What a beautiful day here on the mountain top!  The sun is finally shining but it is a bit chilly.  We have had lots of rain lately so things will be really growing and greening up.  Tommie has beautiful gardens and they are all bursting with color!  I have noticed that all the lilac trees are  loaded this year too.  With a mild winter and early spring things came to life much earlier!  We haven't planted any of the garden yet except for root veggies.  It has been freezing the past couple nights so have been having to cover things instead!  What an on again off again spring.

March 14, 2010
 
FINALLY....sunshine today!  We were so spoiled by the nice weather we were having that when it turned cold we were very disappointed.  We got over two inches of snow on Thursday but everywhere but here was melted by Friday.  We are always the last to get rid of it because we live in the trees!  We still have snow here and there in the yards but with the sun shining hopefully it will be gone by the end of today.  I had all these great plans for working outside and then it snowed and those plans went right out the window!  Typical spring here!

March 6, 2010
 
It was a beautiful day today...56 degrees and sunny.  Kaity helped me rake the wet leaves off of the grape plants that are up against the house and there are a lot of bulbs coming up!  She did such a good job...she has a nice big pile of leaves in the yard for grandpa to pick up and dispose of. 

March 5, 2010

I checked the flower garden along the side of the house and the crocus and narcissus are starting to come up.  I love it!  Jay moved his boat so hopefully this weekend I can get the leaves off of the grape plants.  I also bought some Glad bulbs and want to plant them.  Mostly I just want to play in the dirt!!  The frost is pushing up out of the ground so the road is really muddy but with the nice weather we have been having it should start drying out soon. 

March 3, 2010
 
March is coming in like a lamb here and we are really enjoying it!  The temps have been in the 50s with lots of sunshine.  Today though is cloudy and suppose to rain but the rest of the week is suppose to be nice.  I can handle that!  I love being able to open up the house a little bit and enjoy some fresh air.  I saw a Towhee at the bird feeder yesterday and was all excited....they don't stay for the winter!  I am hoping the hummingbirds come early too.  I miss them!

February 28, 2010
 
The last day of the month...spring is just around the corner with March coming in!  We have been having beautiful weather the past couple days.  Yesterday was sunny and 50 degrees!  Unheard of this time of year!  Today is suppose to be just as warm if not a few degrees warmer.  I can handle that!  It did get a little warm in the house yesterday though and I opened windows and even took a storm window off and put the screen on.  We have to keep the woodstove going but sometimes it gets a little warm in here!

February 22, 2010
 
More sunshine today.  So beautiful but getting cold again.  We didn't get above the upper 30s and it has been in the teens at night.  According to the news, there is rain coming by Wednesday so there goes our sunshine!  The mud has been firming up more but with the rain coming it will be all mucky again.  Oh well, spring is here and I am happy!!

February 19, 2010
 
What a week it has been!  It seemed to go by quickly.  Maybe it was because the sun was shining!  It has been very cold at night...low 20s but during the day it is beautiful with lots of sunshine.  Makes us have spring fever even more!  The prim roses are coming up in my garden along the house and I couldn't help myself but I bought two more prim roses at the grocery store the other day.  I am loving the colors of the flowers!  This weekend I am going to be brave and walk out into my big garden.  Hopefully I won't sink up to my knees in mud!  Next week I will order my seeds over the internet....I wasn't too impressed with the catalog prices so looked up a seed company that I used to order from, R.H. Shumway, and they are a lot cheaper and have really good seeds.  So I will be ordering from them this year.  They don't have any of this year's catalogs left so I have to order online.
 

February 13, 2010
 
More sunshine today!  I love it!  The temps are in upper 30s and low 40s and it feels like spring.  The mud season has arrived early too!  Lance has to park his truck up in the driveway because the mud is so thick down by his trailer.  I have to clean floors everyday due to mud and stuff drug into the house.  But I know spring will be here early!  I can hardly wait to play in the dirt!
 

February 10, 2010
 
The sun has disappeared for a while and been replaced by clouds.  Rain is suppose to show up later in the week and through the weekend.  But all the snow is gone out of our yards and the only snow is around the house where it slid off the roof.  The grader even came by again today to grade the road...unheard of this time of year!  The county is doing a good job trying to keep up with the terrible pot holes!  It is still in the upper 30s during the day and I saw the weather forecast for next week and Spokane is suppose to be in the low 50s!  Wow.  We should hopefully hit the 40s out here.  It has been such a mild winter and Jay never had to plow once.  He is quite proud of that.  He is still trying to heal from last year when he tore his rotator cuff in his shoulder from shoveling 4 feet of packed snow off of our house roof!  He deserved a winter off.
 

February 7, 2010
 
Another beautiful day with lots of blue skies and sunshine!  It was cold last night though...frost all over everything and woke up to the house temp. being 55 degrees!  But the promise of an early spring is everywhere...bulbs trying to come up, my garden completely clear of snow and ice, very little ice left in the yard with mostly grass showing, and buds showing up on the trees!  I can hardly wait to get my hands into the dirt!  My son Michael told me today that when I am ready he will come out and finish digging the grass out of my raised beds.  I am very excited about that!  It has been in the upper 30s to low 40s here and we are loving it. 

February 4, 2010
 
What a beautiful day we had today.  The sun was shining and it was almost 40 degrees.  The ice is rapidly melting and now we are back to wearing boots due to deep mud!  According to the news we are suppose to stay with mild temps. for at least a week or more.  I loved having the sun shining in all the windows too!  Of course now I can see where they need to be washed too!

February 2, 2010
 
Another mild day in the country.  We had some snow yesterday but it was melted by afternoon.  It was in the mid 30s today but started to rain hard tonight.  Right now is calm though.  What a mild winter we have had.  Most people are really enjoying it! 

January 29, 2010
 
What a week I had!  Seems like I was always busy and running from one thing to another!  The weather has been wonderful and now the ice is even melting.  What a mellow winter for once.  Jay isn't the least bit sad that he hasn't plowed the driveway once this winter!

January 18, 2010
 
A beautiful day today.  The sun was shining and we had clear blue skies.  It felt like spring.  I even had the window open in the bedroom for a couple of hours!  It was great to see the sun!

01-17-10

Another cloudy day today.  It's been a while since we have seen the sun it seems.  The ice is going down a little bit...I was able to walk down to the pump house without falling down!  It was actually muddy in a couple of places.  Jay had accidentally locked Jenni's cat in the pump house last night so she was glad to see me this morning!  She had even killed a mouse for me...good kitty!!  It was almost 40 degrees again today with a little rain this morning and afternoon.

01-15-10

It rained again today and now the driveway and yard and hill are solid ice.  Treacherous walking that's for sure.  I watched Jay walk across it today and he was doing the old man shuffle trying to stay on his feet.  We need cleats for our shoes!  I won't even attempt to walk on it.  I would be an accident waiting to happen!  But it has warmed up....close to 40 today and windy.  It doesn't really seem like January at all!  My fingers are itching to start playing in the dirt and plant some seeds.  I will probably start some flowers in another month!  Can hardly wait!

01-13-10

It doesn't feel like January here.  We have had a lot of rain so what little bit of snow we had is going down quick.  Unfortunately there was ice underneath it so now the driveway is an ice skating rink!  I won't even try walking on it.  Poor Jay fell down the other day on the stairs of the back deck.  Thankfully he just bruised his arm!  We are getting too old to fall down...we don't bounce anymore!!  Today is another rainy day but it is almost 40 degrees outside.  Unbelievable!  This time last year we 80 inches of snow!  Arizona has had more snow than we have!

January 7, 2010
 
Another day of beautiful sunshine but frigid cold temperatures.  It got down to close to 10 last night and today didn't get above 19.  The wind today was horrible...I don't even want to think what the wind chill was!  But I did enjoy the sunshine!  We got a couple inches of snow the other day so it is nice and crunchy but underneath is ice.  Hate to think what will happen when the snow melts off...rain is forecast for next week!

01-04-10

Our roads were a sheet of ice this morning but now they have a couple inches of snow on them.  It was trying to turn to rain though so it may just be a big sloppy mess!  Guess we will find out in the morning! 

01-02-10

The snow is going down since it rained all day yesterday.  But it has warmed up to the low 30s so we aren't burning as much wood!  Poor Jay was really busy splitting wood lately.  We are sure having a mild winter compared to last year.  I am looking forward to going through the seed catalogs soon! 

12-29-09

We woke to a skiff of snow this morning but that is all we got.  The sun actually peeked out a couple of times!  It was still cold though...not above 20.  The news is predicting a snow storm within the next couple of days though that will dump a couple of inches on us.  At least it will warm up!

12-28-09

It was a nice day today...cold at 20 degrees but at least we saw a little bit of sun today.  The news is talking snow for New Year's Eve so I guess we will have a white New Year's instead!  Right now our driveway and yard are ice which makes for treacherous walking.  The birds have busy at the feeders too.  I guess this cold weather makes them eat more too!  Jenni's outside cat is eating twice as much as the indoor ones are. 

12-27-09

It has been cold again...getting into the teens at night and barely above 20 during the day.  It is suppose to warm up towards the end of the week and then it will snow!  We barely had any snow for Christmas.  Last year we had a good four feet! Feast or famine I guess.  We are going to feel it this summer though if we don't get some snow pack around here!  But on the other side I could start my garden sooner.  The garden catalogs are starting to show up in the mail and I sit and drool over the seeds offered!

12-20-09

It was pouring rain earlier today but I pray the snow doesn't all melt!  We are about the only place around that has snow!  I would love to have a white Christmas even if we only have a few inches of snow.

December 7, 2009
 
Today was very cold...only had a high of 10 degrees and the low last night was below zero.  Tonight is even colder at minus 3 degrees!  It will be even colder come early morning.  The woodstove has been running full throttle and still I get a chill especially by  windows!  Thankfully yesterday I bought a new curtain rod and Jay put it up today so we could hang the insulated curtains.  That made a difference!  The dog and cats have been huddling close to the woodstove too.  This cold snap is suppose to last close to a week.  I hope it ends sooner!  This morning neither one of us wanted to get out of bed...it was 50 degrees in the house.  Jay finally braved it and started coffee and put wood in the stove and then jumped back in bed.  He made the mistake of bringing his propane heater in the house and got it too close to his recliner....he melted the upholstery a little!  Poor guy!

12-06-09

It has been very cold here and is suppose to get even colder.  Today the temp with the wind chill was -4 degrees.  Brrr!!  The next week is barely going to get above the teens and the lows will be in the minus degrees.  I hate the bitter cold like that.  It makes my bones hurt!  And with no snow on the ground to act like insulation there are going to be a lot of people with broken pipes.  Thankfully Jay has ours all wrapped with heat tape.  Hopefully the winds don't get so high that the power goes out...then we would be in trouble!  Thankfully we have two generators!  But one isn't running right and Jay has been working on it.

12-02-09

Our weather is starting to turn bitter cold.  Yesterday morning we woke up to 18 degrees and today the temps never got above 20!  The low for tonight will probably be in the single digits.  The highs tomorrow will be even colder than today.  It sure burns up the wood for Jay!  He will be busy splitting a lot of wood!  The cold seems to get into my bones and joints and just makes me ache.  I hate this really cold weather!  I haven't been able to find a curtain rod yet so tonight I tacked up a blanket over the big living room windows.  Way too cold otherwise!

11-20-09

We got six inches of snow on Thursday.  I was surprised we got so much!  Spokane didn't get any and Deer Park only got about three inches and so did where Jenni lives.  We seem to have our own little world out here!!  The news is calling for more snow tomorrow night and Sunday...around 4-6 inches for our area. 

11-16-09

The weather was cold today but at least it got above freezing today!  It was in the mid 30s and we still have snow on the ground.  Not quite as much as before though.  The news is calling for rain and then snow by Thursday.  A mixed bag it sounds like to me!

11-15-09

On Friday we got almost four inches of snow and it sure is pretty.

11-09-09

No rain for today...hurray!  It was cloudy all day but at least it was dry.  The news is predicting SNOW for the end of the week, starting Thursday night.  Maybe I should try to get the last of the leaves raked up before then!  They are almost all out of the cherry tree now.

11-08-09

Another dreary day here.  Mostly rain and wind.  No sign of the sun today.  The week hasn't been too bad as far as the weather goes.  But we have had a couple of very wet days!  It doesn't seem to slow the birds down though.  They have already gone through one block of suet and are working on another one.  And lots of black oil sunflower seeds!

11-01-09

Today was another beautiful day.  Lots of sun but wind too which put a chill to the air.  The trees still haven't lost all their leaves but they should be off the trees soon!  It is very cold here tonight....21 degrees and only 8 at night!  It will be a chilly night for sure.  I will just put another snuggle blanket on the bed and love it! 
10-31-09

It was a beautiful day today with lots of sun but very windy.  It was in the mid 50s and actually felt warm!  This evening was also warmer than usual so the kids had good weather for a change to go out in to get candy.  We got our first snow on Thursday and it was about 1/2 an inch or so.  I found out that the all wheel drive in my Mazda works since it kicked in going up Tommie's steep driveway...it was a little slick!  So winter is just around the corner but we are suppose to have a milder than usual one this year and Jay sure is hoping for one after last year and all the snow we got!

10-25-09
 
Another cloudy and cold day.  At least it isn't raining!  Yesterday was beautiful with sunshine and around 45 degrees.  Great fall day.  On Friday it was raining all day and very foggy.  I didn't notice it as much though because I was quilting at Tommie's house!  Jay is taking advantage of the dryer weather and is working on the back deck for our hot tub.  The hot tub is sunk in the deck and will be easier to get in and out of.  He will probably have to put a small hand rail to help me but that won't take much!  He hasn't had a chance to go hunting yet so if he doesn't get out soon he will have to wait for extended season next month.  The extra meat sure helps out!

10-19-09
 
Today was overcast but not very cold...upper 50s.  It is almost too warm to have the wood stove going!  I have been opening windows in my sewing room and bedroom to help compensate for the heat.  I have been avoiding putting on the storm windows in the sewing room so I can open the windows.  We had rain yesterday and my body tells me the weather is going to change again!  But at least it isn't the bitter cold we had a while back.

10-16-09
 
We had sun this morning and almost 60 degrees but now the sky has clouded up and it is suppose to rain tonight and all weekend.  Snow is forecasted for closer to Halloween.   Fall came in with a vengeance!  My body is telling me the rain is coming too.  Sometimes I feel like a walking barometer!

10-15-09

Last week was bitter cold weather but this week hasn't been nearly as bad.  Rain came in on Tuesday and it rained all day yesterday too.  Today I had windows open and fans going!  The air is kind of heavy from all the moisture but at least it has warmed up to around 50 degrees today.  I haven't had to break ice out of the bird waterer for a couple of days now.  I haven't had to fill it either...all the rain did that for me!

10-11-09

The weather here has bitter cold the past couple of days.  We didn't get above 35 degrees today and it is in the teens already tonight.  It may get down to single digits!  Starting Tuesday it is suppose to rain and the word snow has been mentioned too.  Rain is in the forecast for the next week so that is why I am so stressed about getting stuff done tomorrow!  I will feel much better when it is all done.  We still don't have all our firewood but it is ordered so hopefully Mike will bring us some soon.  We still need about four cords.  But I guess if worse comes to worse we can burn presto logs.  Awful expensive though.

10-06-09
 
Today was a beautiful fall day.  The sun was shining and no clouds in the sky.  Typical wind though which had a slight chill to it...almost 60 degrees!  The leaves are turning color rapidly and the fall colors are so vivid!  So pretty.  The leaves are falling out of the fruit trees already and the grapes have lost most of their leaves.  Winter isn't too far off!

10-03-09

A new month started and we are running around trying to get things winterized as fast as we can.  The cold weather came up on us very fast and now we are scrambling!  We drained all the hoses the other day.  I had to break ice out of the bird waterer and we figured we better get the hoses put away before they break.  So I am done watering for the year!  But so far that isn't a problem since we got a lot of rain yesterday and a little today.  We really needed it too!  It is cold and windy today...the lows at night have been in the upper to mid 20s.  Brrr.  The high today so far has only been 49.  What a difference from a week or so ago! 
 
With the cooler weather I have been able to do a little baking.  I made spiced pumpkin bread the other day and it was wonderful!  We really liked it.  We used frozen pumpkin from Kaity's pumpkin patch a couple of years ago.  Really good!  Yesterday I baked frosted zucchini bars to take quilting last night.  It was a hit with the ladies!  I also made Jay breakfast burritos before I left to go quilting.  He has been wanting them for a while but it was too hot to turn on the oven!  So now I am more busy in the kitchen!

(I will gradually fill in these notes as I get the time, Nita)

06-14-08 

We are finally getting some warmer weather. The past couple of weeks have been cold and rainy. Last week my garden froze twice and the stuff was covered! I don't know if it is going to be a good gardening year but it isn't looking too good. Some of the tomatoes got froze in the garden but the ones in front of the house took it the worst. I lost probably half of them! Oh well, not much I can do about it! Last week the highs were only in the 40s and 50s but the past two days have been in the low 70s. At least we can get outside and do some work and dry laundry.

Our weather has decided it is spring finally. Actually it was acting more like summer. Saturday was 86 degrees! Two weeks ago we had snow on the ground. No one was ready for the dramatic change in weather.

It's kind of windy and cloudy today. I haven't seen any rain yet but we got half an inch night before last. The snow is pretty much gone and now there is lots of yard work to do. Makes me tired just thinking about it! I haven't been down into the garden yet. I was going to plant some stuff today but if it starts raining I guess I will have to wait! The plants in the green house are growing but they are way behind. Such a strange year! Well, it started raining just now so guess I won't be in the garden anytime soon!

We finally got two nice days of warm weather. Yesterday was 70 and today was close to that too. The snow is melting fast! I still had to walk around some piles though in order to hang up some clothes outside.

Today was a nice warm day for a change. It was actually 60 degrees! Kaity was enjoying it by riding her bike and playing outside.

It is still a very cool spring and we still have snow. It will be weeks yet before I can even get in my garden. One of the windows on the green house broke from the pressure of all the snow so Jay is taking it into town today to replace it. I finally got the plants started and they need to go out into the green house soon but it doesn't get nearly as warm with a broken window! We are also running very low on wood. 

It was warmer today...actually in the upper 40s and no snow! The news is calling for temps in the upper 60s this weekend. I doubt we will get that warm but if we do the snow sure will melt fast! Jenni is worried about getting flooded if we melt fast and she has a point. The snow finally let go of my clothesline but it is sure stretched out! Jay is going to have to tighten it up after the snow melts.

Another day with wild weather. Mostly it snowed, hailed and sleeted. It was still cold and windy too. Sure doesn't feel like spring around here yet. The snow doesn't seem to have gone down much either. 

It is snowing off and on today along with raining. We are definitely getting tired of seeing white stuff come out of the sky! Our driveway is finally back to be a big muddy mess but we still have a lot of snow. I still haven't started my plants yet. The green house still isn't dug out so there is no point in starting them. What a strange year!

Well it hasn't snowed for a couple of days so maybe we are done for a while. We are suppose to have record breaking low temperatures tonight! We were in fourth place for the worst winter ever on record but after our snow on Saturday we are now in third place! 

It actually had the gall to snow again today!!! But at least this time it didn't dump inches of snow on us. But it is still snowing so who knows what we will wake up to. We were in Spokane this afternoon and the sun was starting to peek through the clouds when we got ready to leave.

We have been having snow storms each day. Yesterday we got 4 inches of snow and today we got another 4 inches. We wonder if it will ever stop. The thought of gardening is depressing since there is so much snow on the ground. Our stretch of the road is back to being compact snow and ice. It has even been cold, barely getting above 35 degrees during the day and nights are very chilly! What a strange and long winter we are having.

We are having a mixed bag of weather today. We have had sun, clouds, wind, snow, hail and rain. Spokane had thunder and lightening! The weather report is for snow the next couple of days. Just what we wanted to hear! Half of our driveway is finally showing and we are talking about getting a load of gravel brought in! Guess we shouldn't get too excited about it.

Yesterday we had another three inches of snow on the ground. Sometimes it feels like spring will never arrive. People in Spokane are already raking their yards!! Like my niece says... we live in our own little world out here! We must be having a new weather system coming in though because my body is telling me something is about to change. Must be rain. So far the snow has been melting slowly so we haven't had much trouble with lots of running or standing water. Jay blocked off the porch so no one can park on it. The front yard was turning muddy. I wonder if we will have any grass left! Today is cloudy but that's about all. Maybe it will rain later on.

A beautiful day today. The sun is shining brightly and I even had to turn the fan on in the living room because it was too warm with the sun beating on the windows and the wood stove going. The snow is melting at a slow pace which is good. Our driveway is still snow/ice but is breaking up. Our dirt road is completely clear now and our Nissan shows that we live on a mud/dirt road! Jay said he will wash it for me in town tomorrow before I go to Spokane! We are all happy to see the sun and hear the birds singly merrily outside. I even saw a red winged black bird and they don't come around till spring. I saw robins in Deer Park but it will be another month or more before we see them out here. All of our yards, fields, and garden are still covered with about two feet of snow. At least now I can see the humps down in the garden that are my raised beds. It's been a while!

Another mild day. Temps were in the 40s today with some sun. It was nice! The snow is still slowly melting so things aren't flooding out yet. I noticed part of our road is washing away from the snow melt off but hopefully it won't get much worse. I even had the windows opened today and yesterday. The fresh air felt so good!!

The weather was cloudy today...not too cold, around 38 degrees. The driveway is starting to thaw a little but that means that soon it will be icy. I walked down to the pump house and looked to see how things were down there. Jay usually does all the trips up and down the hill so I haven't seen it for a while. I need to go down there and spend an hour or two straightening up. But for the most part it looked pretty good. The snow is off all the roofs except for a small amount that is butted up against the stove pipe on the house. That should slide off pretty soon. Otherwise all the roofs are clear. It hasn't been that way for months! The weather prediction is for milder temps and some rain later in the week. Saturday is suppose to be close to 50!! The dirt road is starting to break up and is full of pot holes. Half of the road is mud and the other half is compact snow and ice. Our stretch of road is still snow and ice in most places. In front of our place though where Jay plowed it is showing mud. Signs of spring everywhere!!

We haven't had any new snow since last weekend (3 inches on Saturday) and a little bit has melted but it has a long way to go! Sandi came over today and said we had more snow than they do and they have a lot! The sun was out yesterday and some of today. I love to sit in the Nissan and let the sun shine on the windows and warm me up. Ahhh the hopes of spring and warmer weather! We got up to 38 degrees today but the lows are in the low 20s to teens. Still plenty cold! Hopefully we will have a slow melting!

We still haven't had anymore snow and for that we are grateful. Some of it is starting to melt and the roads are in decent shape again. The paved roads are clear. We even had some sunshine today and it was beautiful! But it started clouding up this afternoon. Jay's mom said the news was calling for snow but we are hoping not! I noticed the squirrel at the bird feeder today and he only comes out on nice days. The birds have been very thankful to Jay for the suet and seeds he has been feeding them. He fed the birds the other day and didn't even have to put his snow shoes on! The ground was packed enough that he could mostly walk on it. It is going to be a while before all of our snow is gone. Probably May at least!

We finally got above freezing today and things are melting slowly. It is going to take a LONG time before our snow is gone. At least the snow finally slid off the green house. I was a little worried about it but Jay wasn't. Guess he was right! It has been at least four days now since it has snowed. We are hoping we have seen the last of it for a while. Jay doesn't have anywhere else to put it!!

We finally got a break in the snow. Thank God! I feel like I live in an igloo as the snow is up past the bottom of our windows outside. Today was beautiful though. Clear blue skies and warm sunshine. Felt so good!!! I even saw water dripping off the roof. But there is still quite a bit of snow on some of the roofs.

A day of no snow!! Hurray!!! Well, more is coming tonight but at least I won't have to look at it until morning. Our dirt road is still not plowed and is very narrow driving. The roads that have been plowed are VERY rough so I told Jay maybe we didn't want the county to plow our dirt road!! It was a bumpy ride to town but the roads were passable. We also drove down the highway a little ways and the single lanes are clear. Spokane has closed all of their schools for the rest of the week and we don't know if Deer Park will be closing tomorrow or not. What an interesting winter so far.

We are buried in snow!!!! We woke up to over a foot of snow on Sunday and then it snowed all day Sunday. Yesterday it snowed off and on and today it snowed all day. The amount of snow around here is unbelievable. Spokane has over 2 feet of snow and that is also unbelievable!!! School here was cancelled yesterday and today they let school out early. The winds are starting to pick up and the snow will start blowing and drifting. The roads are in terrible condition and everyone is having a really hard time getting around. There is suppose to be a small break in the snow tomorrow morning but then all it is suppose to do is snow, snow, snow. The parking lots in Spokane are having to have the big snow piles removed by dump trucks!! We might be wishing we could do that before the winter is over! It has been cold again so nothing is melting. Today was only 20 degrees! I thought it was warmer than that until I looked at the thermometer. I must be getting used to the cold!

We are buried in snow again! We have a foot of new snow on the ground and it is snowing heavily now. The forecast is for 8 inches or more by tomorrow. This is a strong snow system this time.

It warmed up to 22 degrees today and it actually felt warmer too. I didn't burn near the wood that I have been burning to keep the house at 70 degrees! The news is warning of a snow storm that is headed our way and is suppose to dump a substantial amount of snow on us. Guess Jay's break from plowing snow is over!! At least it has warmed up and isn't that subzero bitter cold. We are having a pretty typical winter here but it has been so long since we have had one that people think we are having a harsh winter. I can remember much worse than this!!

A beautiful but cold day today. The sun is shining and there are no clouds. But the temp is still below 20. The other night we got down to -9. Brrrrr. Last night was zero or colder. I didn't get the temp as I was busy with Kaity. It is suppose to warm up in a couple of days but then the snow will come back too. Jay has had a nice break from plowing! The county came through on Monday and opened up the roads as most of the flats were drifted pretty bad. We have the trees to protect us so our stretch of road was fine but Melissa's was terrible!

We got more snow last night. Only a couple of inches but with the high winds it drifted pretty good. Poor Jenni was trying to drive home in it around 3 this morning and was having a hard time. The wind gusts were around 35 miles per hour. We are having warnings come across the bottom of our t.v. screen for more high winds and blowing snow. Right now it is really windy here but the sun is shining so it is pretty outside. But going outside is another thing. The thermometer says 20 but it is much colder than that with the wind chill. We are suppose to be in the minus temps at night this week. A cold snap is definitely here! Poor Jay will be splitting lots of wood!

Another cold day. Yesterday didn't get up to 20 degrees and the night before was -3! Today is about the same. When it is that cold you sure can tell when the wood stove is turned down too long! I even slept with my nice warm socks on last night. Right now it is only 21 degrees and we are into the afternoon already. But at least it quit snowing!!

It finally quit snowing here but now it is bitter cold. The low tonight is suppose to be in the single digits. Brrrr!!! The high today was barely 20 and the wind was blowing. But the sun was shining brightly and it was so pretty. I think I got my dose of vitamin D today! But with the cold comes aches and pain for me. I had been doing so good and the past two days have been a struggle. It should settle down when it warms up! Me and my hot water bottle and heating pad are good friends again!!!

01-12-08

It is snowing again today. That seems to be happening a lot lately!! Jay is definitely getting sick of plowing! We got another 8 inches the other day and then a few more yesterday morning. I have no idea how much this storm will dump on us! Yesterday I was headed into town and met the snow plow coming around a corner. I tried to slow way down and move over and the next thing I knew I was in the ditch! Thankfully I went in front first and was able to finally get out by rocking the Nissan back and forth. Thank God for four wheel drives!!! The plow truck driver was nice enough to wait for me to see if I would get unstuck by myself. I was just a little embarrassed! I didn't realize how much ice was under the little bit of snow. The plow truck hadn't been putting any sand down but I noticed when I came home he had sanded pretty good. At least one good thing came out of me going in the ditch!! Jenni went in the ditch about four miles from here the other morning and Jay had to go pull her out. She was stuck really good! We have so much snow and everything is so white that it is hard to tell where the road is and she just got over too far and in she went! It took Jay a while to get her out too. He couldn't pull her out backward and had to come home for a smaller chain to pull her out forward. This is definitely winter now!!! We used to have winters like this all the time but it has been a while since we have seen this much snow. It is beautiful though!

We woke up to around two more new inches of snow this morning. But it started warming up towards mid morning and the snow started sliding off the roof and trees. Coming off the roof it sounds like a freight train!! Tonight it is raining so it should be a mess by tomorrow. Hopefully it won't turn into ice again.

It has been very cold here. Not getting above 20 during the day and getting into the single digits at night. It started to warm up a little today and it is snowing pretty hard now. This storm is suppose to dump a substantial amount of snow. We already have close to three feet of snow! Jay definitely has been busy plowing this year.

We have had a lot of snow dumped on us the past week. We probably have another foot of snow or more. Poor Jenni tried to come home from work on Friday morning and couldn't get up either one of our hills. She finally ended up getting stuck down at the gravel pit but luckily her dad had been talking to her on the cell and when she didn't show up he grabbed a chain and took off looking for her in our four wheel drive. She was mad as a hornet at the county but as Jay was taking her to get her car the county came and plowed the roads! They are a little slower when the kids are on winter break! I think we got over six inches of snow that day and she was pushing snow with the front of her car! We definitely have lots of snow this year!! It is so pretty but not if you are driving and trying to get home after working 16 hours!

The past two days our driveway and hill have been a sheet of ice but now we have a bunch of new snow on them and they are even more treacherous!! We got a good six inches of snow today and it is still snowing. The weather prediction is for snow all week long. I drove over to Bert's today to borrow a pie pan and got stuck for a bit in her driveway in an ice rut. 

Another snowy day. We have gotten close to a foot of snow in the past several days. It has snowed every day! Poor Jay is out plowing again tonight in hopes of taking his Volkswagen to Spokane tomorrow. It is still snowing so who knows how much we will get! We will definitely have a very white Christmas. 

We woke up to a good four inches of new snow this morning. It sure was pretty. We are suppose to get more snow tonight and every day for the next week. We will definitely have a white Christmas!!! Jay got us all plowed out but I don't think the county plows have come through. We probably won't see them until Monday or so. We are going to Spokane tonight for my niece's Christmas party so thankfully we have the four wheel drive! One of our best investments!!!

The weather is warming up a bit so of course it snowed. I don't think we have an inch yet but it should make driving interesting for Jenni this morning. I have to drive to Valley, WA tonight for our quilt club Christmas party. Sure hope the roads are clear by then!! Thankfully I have a four wheel drive if not.

It has been a very cold week here. Not getting above freezing and barely getting above 20 during the day. Last night was in the single digits! Brrr. It was snowing by the time we left church this morning and the roads were very icy. Hopefully Jay remembered to turn the hubs in for me on the Nissan as I have to leave tomorrow morning on these roads. I will be crawling along like a grandma!! We had a lot of rain on Monday and Tuesday and then everything froze so it is very icy around here. Poor Kaity has fallen a couple of times. If anyone can afford to fall, it is her!! Her mama bought her some new water proof snow boots yesterday but she promptly fell down on the ice with them! Guess they aren't slick proof!

The temps are starting to cool down again. It rained for two days and made a huge mess out of all the snow we got. We still have some but not near as much as we had. Poor Kaity looks sadly out the door and says she wishes she could build a snowman! I tell her there is plenty of winter left to do so! It didn't get above 30 today so the water/snow on the hill going down to the pump house is solid ice. I had to walk down there today and it was treacherous! I don't know how Jenni and Kaity do it all the time.

It has finally warmed up above freezing and was almost 38 degrees today. It rained all night, or rather poured and has been doing the same all day. It is flooding down by Jenni's trailer since she is at the bottom of the hill. Kaity calls it a river! We still have plenty of snow though but she is disappointed that her and grandpa can't make a Frostie snowman. I told her she had all winter to make them!

It was extremely cold today! Our high was only 23. There is a thick layer of ice on the Nissan that is sitting in the driveway and it never melted off the rig or the windshield. I have had the stove cranked up quite a few times today due to the cold. It goes right through my bones it seems.

Our weather has started to turn cold and the other day it felt like snow. Tonight the news said we are going to have snow on Monday. Hurray!!! Spokane will be getting around an inch so we will have more than that out here. Jay got the plow on the tractor today and it is ready to push snow! I always look forward to the first snow. I love it! The highs this coming week are only going to be in the low to mid 30s though. Brrrrr. Just the right temps for snow though. Monday we had a bad wind storm come through and I could hear trees over on the state land snapping and cracking. Thankfully our power stayed on. The coast of Washington had winds up to 90 m.p.h. and ours were around 50.

More rain last night so everything was soaked this morning. One of these days soon we are going to wake up to some white stuff! The sun actually came out this afternoon for a little while. It was nice to see even though it was still cold. Tonight it is down to 23 already! Brrrr.

We have been getting some much needed rain yesterday and today. It could turn to snow out here by the weekend! Poor Jay doesn't even have the plow on the tractor. He is just about done with everything else though.

Another beautiful fall day. The sun is shining but the temp is very cool, barely 30 degrees! Yesterday was a little overcast but warm enough to be outside in long sleeves with no coat. Nice weather.

We are having beautiful fall weather with lots of sunshine and blue skies. The wind makes the temps a bit chilly though! The news was saying that we could be getting some snow by the middle of the month. That isn't very far away! So far it has been in the mid 40s during the day with lows in the teens or low 20s. Good sleeping weather.

Our weather has been really nice this last week and today. Lots of sun shine! But it has been cold at night...down to 17 degrees! A little taste of winter for us. It doesn't get really warm during the day, only around 45 but the sun is nice. It is good weather to work outside but I don't get a chance to do that.

Today was cloudy and rainy so a good day to stay inside. It didn't get above 42 degrees here today so it was chilly. Jay let the fire go out last night (accidentally) and hasn't started it back up yet. I had to change into warmer socks and a sweat shirt! I even baked some brownies and warmed it up a little.

It is still around 64 degrees in the house. A bit chilly!! The mountains north of us above 5,000 feet are suppose to get 5-10 inches of snow. I think it is going to be a good ski season this year!!

Our weather has been beautiful the past two days. Lots of sunshine and in the low 60s. It was nice to go outside without a sweater! But it's not going to last. I think we are suppose to get rain this coming week. Jay still wants to get another load of wood in if he can so hopefully the weather will hold for him.

I love this month!! Yesterday when I was driving to Sandi's I was so thrilled with all the beautiful colors of the leaves on the trees. God is so amazing! I don't have any trees to speak of in the yard or very many in the woods that change colors so I notice the brilliance of yellows, reds, and oranges everywhere else. I think the tamarack trees are my favorite when they turn yellow and get that fuzzy look to them. Our weather has been cool except for Tuesday when it hit 75 degrees! What a heat wave it felt like! We had rain yesterday but today the sun is shining with some clouds here and there. A very nice fall day.

Today we saw the sun for a little while this morning. It was still very cold though--only 35 when I went to work in the garden! It gets down in the 20s in the evening and is barely getting above 45 degrees for a high during the day. Fall is definitely here! The mountains north of us have snow on them already! It should be a good skiing year for the skiers!

A very rainy day today. Not very warm either, only around 45 degrees. It is already below freezing tonight and will probably be in the 20s. It seems strange that this time last month we were roasting from the heat!! I prefer the cooler weather though. The weather was great on our trip...mostly sunny and semi warm. We only wore sweaters if we got chilled. But by the time we got home it was cooling down tremendously!

09-21-07

Today the sun actually came out and it warmed up to the upper 60s. It was very foggy this morning when we got up and it took until early afternoon to burn off. Yesterday we got some much needed rain and it was cold, only in the 50s. I am still trying to adjust to remember to grab a jacket before I go outside! The garden is completely gone now so I will have a mess to clean up next week. The tomatoes in the green house are still fine because Jay shut the door and windows. The tomatoes in the house are just now starting to turn color.

Our weather has taken a complete turn about from what it was! Sunday was only 69 compared to the 80 degree temps we had just the day before! Now the weather is in the 60s and freezing at night. Fall has definitely arrived here in the north! Jay even had to start a fire this morning since it was only 55 in the house. Fall sure came on fast!

We had some rain yesterday but not enough to measure. Just enough to keep the temps low and cool. Monday Jay went out and cut another half load of wood. We almost have all our wood in. He thinks one more truck load will do it. What a nice feeling to have it all in already. We took all the air conditioners down and closed all the windows to help keep it from being so cold in the house. I spent today putting on storm windows, washing windows and curtains. So now we are all snug in the house again. I even had time tonight to wash some of the outside windows. The rest I can't reach so Jay does them for me. Maybe tomorrow!

09-16-07

I think some cooler weather is finally here for a while. Today was only 70 degrees and we got a slight frost last night. We enjoyed the cooler temps today. Kaity and I actually snuggled under a blanket for our afternoon nap! The weather forecast is for rain tomorrow which will be much welcomed. It is still very dry here and we need moisture!

Our weather is starting to warm up again. It seems that cooler weather will never arrive! Today was 80 and tomorrow will be 86! Too hot for me. The garden has had a couple of small frosts. Not just mine either! People in town are actually experiencing frosts too.

Fall is starting to show it's face around here but the temps have still been fairly nice. We haven't had any rain this month so far and none showing in the forecast for the next ten days. We did get some rain at the end of August, almost an inch! The past two days have been in the 70s and it was nice. But the future forecast shows 80s again soon! I am tired of the heat. We have had a very hot summer this year. The leaves are starting to turn a little on the trees and it is cool at night. Just a nip in the air to let you know that fall is on its way. I look forward to it! 

Another very hot day here--96 degrees! Yesterday was in the 90s also. I just am not a summer person and so I look forward to cooler temperatures! But the garden is doing well with all this heat. I have been harvesting the cabbage and the cuke plants have small cukes on them so I will probably be canning them next week.

Another warm day here, 90 degrees in the shade! Thankfully it is Sunday and that is our day of rest so we are resting inside as usual! But the two air conditioners are helping it stay very comfortable in here. When the temps reach the upper 90s and 100s is when it is hard to keep the house cool.

Another hot day today at 92 degrees. We have only had 1/4 of an inch of rain this month with no more rain in sight. What a dry summer. According to the weather forecaster, it is suppose to stay hot and dry clear through to September. September seems a long way off right now. The air conditioners run all the time and we had a scare on Wednesday when the swamp cooler quit working. But thankfully Jay was able to work on it and get it going again soon. But he is the only one who can do it because he knows what to do.

The heat is back! Today was 92 degrees...12 degrees hotter than yesterday. It hasn't been cooling down too well the past two nights either. Guess summer isn't done with us yet!

Our weather has finally cooled down and I am really enjoying it. It rained for the first time in almost a month on Wednesday night and some on Thursday too. I got up around midnight just so I could hear and smell the rain! We left our window open that night so we could fall asleep to the rain! Today was cool also, only 73 degrees and cloudy. Yesterday was about the same. It is nice not having to run two air conditioners and actually having a cool house at night. Tomorrow is only suppose to be 80 so we will probably be a little cooler here. The rain helped the fire fighters in the state and in Idaho too. 

07-15-07

Another hot day but not as hot as it has been. It was only 93 today and is suppose to be 94 tomorrow. Our swamp cooler has been running day and night for three days now and it will probably go tonight too. Last night at midnight it was still 70 degrees outside! Ugh! Toward the middle of the week it is suppose to cool down into the mid to upper 80s but thunderstorms will most likely come too. There are already several wildfires in our state due to a storm that came through on Friday. Spokane got rain but we didn't get anything. High fire danger this year.

With this heat it has been hard for me to cook so we have mostly been having cold dinners. Today I took pity on my family and made some left over steak into a crock pot meal that I put outside. I even made bread pudding in my other crock pot that I had outside too. I hate the thought of having to think of something for dinner when it is so hot. Tomorrow is going to be another challenge! Eating something hot in this heat just isn't very appealing to me! Poor Kaity can't go outside and play with this heat either. Yesterday Jenni took her to the lake to a birthday party for one of Kaity's friends but she was tired by the time she got home from being out in the heat even though they were playing in a pool. Poor kid!! Hopefully by the middle of the week she can play outside for a while.

What a scorcher of a day it was today. The temperature got up to 100 here! It was 95 by 10:30 this morning. It is just too hot for me!! I did go down to the garden this morning and cut some Romaine lettuce. It is doing better than the other lettuce and is crisper so I think I may do another planting soon so that we have lettuce all through the summer. I spent the rest of the day in the house with two air conditioners running and all the fans. It still got up to 80 degrees in the house by 5 tonight. A little uncomfortable but much better than outside! Tomorrow is suppose to be worse--103 predicted instead of 104. I doubt 1 degree would make much difference. It is just going to be plain hot and miserable!!! Another day of hiding in the house and poor Kaity has been housebound too since this terrible heat wave has hit.

We have been having a very hot summer this year. Last week it was in the 90s and one day 101! We mostly stayed in the house and hid from the heat. It was too hot to do anything. This week we are warming up again. Yesterday it was 92 and today is 98. Tomorrow is going to be 101, then 104, then 100. Sunday is only suppose to be 93! This is unusually high temps for us this early in the summer. Our usual temps are suppose to be in the 80s. The grass is drying out fast and so is everything else. About the only green around here is the garden! And that has to be watered every night for hours. 

This year is already half over! I can tell summer is here though. The news is predicting 102 degree weather by the end of the week (Thursday Friday)! Too hot for me! So far it hasn't been too bad though. We had a strong storm come through here the other day and it poured rain with heavy winds. We got 1/4 inch of rain in less than a half hour. It flattened my Delphiniums and Lupine plants. They were just getting full and flowering. Now they are busted and laying flat. Poor plants. Hopefully they will come back next year. I was worried about the little trees in the garden (the apricots) but they held up okay. Today was overcast and only 75. Just right! Hopefully we will get some rain tonight. I love it when God waters my garden for me!

We had a slight frost in the garden two nights ago. Jay and I were down there at midnight covering the crops that couldn't take a frost but we forgot one thing and it ended up getting slightly frosted. A tomato plant of course! But I think it might live. We had a frost just a few weeks ago too! I think it might be a tough year for gardening. Thankfully we have a lot of row covers! We bought two grape plants yesterday on the way home. One is for juicing and the other is a red seedless. I am excited to see how they do!

A nice hot day today. The high was 85 degrees and clear skies. We definitely had the air conditioner on today. I had to take Daniel into Deer Park to meet Gloria so he could go with her. Thankfully there was a nice breeze so the wait wasn't too bad.

We are finally getting a break from the rain and cool temperatures. Yesterday was mostly cloudy but it was almost 70 degrees so it was nice for me! Today is still cloudy but warming up. According to the news it is suppose to be in the low 70s but rain returns tonight. 

I have enjoyed the rain in the sense that it is watering the garden for me. With Daniel here I am having a hard time keeping up with things so it is one thing I don't have to worry about!

What a busy week we have had! Daniel came into town on Tuesday to 75 degree temperature and he was melting. But he adjusted quickly that day. Unfortunately we started having temps in the upper 80s and the past two days have been in the mid to upper 90s! The poor Alaska kid hid in the house a lot.

Today was a mixed bag concerning the weather here. This morning the sun was shining when I left for church and when I was just a few miles from town it started pouring rain. When I left church the sun was shining and it was a nice day. It was nice when I got home too but within a couple of hours clouds moved in and so did rain and thunderstorms. We definitely needed the rain! But I made the mistake of putting a load of towels out on the line and they are getting a second rinse. The rest of the laundry I hung up in the house!!

We have been getting some much needed rain today. We got some rain yesterday but not as much as today. We also had some bad thunder and lightening storms! We have learned to unplug the phone lines to the computer since we had lightening hit our phone line and fry the modem on our computer. I had fun tonight trying to figure out where to plug them in at though. 

We are having some much needed rain today. I could tell the weather had changed too since I had trouble getting out of bed this morning. I got up long enough to have breakfast and my pills and took the heating pad back to bed with me. I slept until early afternoon and feel a little better. This rain should tame down the dirt on the road too. I felt kind of strange when the oil truck oiled the neighbor's road and our spot is empty! 

Another nice day but not quite as warm as yesterday which was near 80 degrees! It was 75 today with a nice breeze. We didn't even have to turn the air conditioner on but just ran fans in the house and had the bedroom window open. I took advantage of the nice weather and got all my laundry done and dried outside! It is suppose to cloud up tomorrow and then rain this weekend. We need rain badly plus the road is dusting up bad so I am hoping for rain for a couple of days! 

It was a beautiful day today...76 degrees and a nice breeze. Poor Kaity even got a slight sun burn because her spacey Grandma forgot to put sun screen on her. It doesn't seem to bother her though! Everything is greening up really nice and we mowed the lawns today for the first time this year.

What a beautiful day we are having today. It is almost 80 degrees with a slight breeze. Yesterday was 75 so we really can't complain about our weather. Of course I feel terrible for the people who are living with the tornado and flood damage.

It was almost 62 degrees with a wind. Perfect! I got all the laundry done and Jay helped out with the housework. Good thing too because by the time I got all the laundry in and folded I wasn't feeling too good.

Our weather was cooler today with showers early this morning and last night. Everything is starting to green up and grow and looks so nice! Tomorrow is suppose to be in the mid 60s so that should make for a great laundry day. It is still cold at night though. The other night it got down to 20 degrees. The plants can't stay out in the green house at night yet!

Yesterday it poured rain most of the day. We got over 1/4 inch of rain! Of course my family was coming out for a bbq! 

I was glad to hear that it is suppose to rain tonight and tomorrow. We could use a break!! It has been cooler this week but not so wet that we can't get chores done. It has only been in the upper 50s for highs and in the 20s at night. Still too soon to plant anything outside!

It was overcast skies today and quite a bit cooler than the past couple of days. It only got up to around 60 but it was still nice. The oven being on helped warm up the house today but tonight Jay insisted on starting a fire again. It is suppose to be cooler and maybe rain this coming week. Jenni did more yard work today and she looked very tired tonight. She will have to go to work tomorrow to rest!

Our weather has been beautiful this week!! Today it was almost 70 degrees and tomorrow is suppose to be warm too. It was nice and windy too so the laundry dried in record time for me. Next week is suppose to cool down and possibly rain but that's okay too. I love this time of year when things start to green up and flowers start poking their noses through the dirt. I had to wash the outside windows so I could pull down the sun shades on the front of the house. We haven't had a fire in the house for two days now. I love it! Sometimes I forget it is just the first half of April.

The weather has been very nice until this weekend. We even had temps up in the low 60s! All of our snow is gone now too. It rained all day yesterday and last night. Today is cloudy with wind and it looks like it could rain any time! According to the news, it is suppose to warm up this coming week so hopefully just this weekend will be cool and rainy. It's hard to get any outside work done with this weather! Jay has already had the tractor up to the building site and did some leveling off with it yesterday. It poured rain right after he got in the house. We even had thunder! Last Thursday and Friday I put laundry on the clothesline. I was so thrilled to be able to do that! It's nice to get all the laundry done instead of only two loads at a time with the drying racks. I look forward to drying all the clothes outside now.

Today started out cloudy but this afternoon is beautiful. It is close to 50 degrees with a typical spring breeze. Lovely! We only have two small piles of snow left and I noticed some of the yard is starting to dry out enough to be raked. It rained yesterday so we didn't do much but stay in the house. It did get cold the other night though...down to 20 degrees. So it is still chilly in the evenings!

Today is cloudy and dreary with a little rain. I don't mind though. Most of our snow is finally gone!! The garden is completely clear of snow and about the only snow left is around the side of the house where it fell off the roof. It is still warm though, in the upper 40s. I have the windows open and a fan running! A couple of days ago we did some yard work and it felt good to be outside. I didn't do a lot of raking but I did pick up sticks and tree limbs and threw them on the fire. Jay did most of the raking. Kaity helped me pick up sticks and even rode in the wheel barrel! 

03-20-07

Our snow is almost all gone now! The front yard just has some piled up where Jay pushed it with the tractor and along the house. Kaity and I even saw some crocus blooming today! I noticed also that the Primroses were also getting ready to bloom. I may attempt a little yard work tomorrow. We have a bunch of branches in the yard that the winter winds blew down. I think Kaity can help me with it too. I can see all of the garden now but don't dare try to go down there yet. I think I will wait another week or two!

What a beautiful day we had today. Spokane got up to 62 degrees which was a new record and we got up to 60! I can't believe how much snow is gone. It's amazing what a nice warm day can do to melt the snow and ice. I even have yard showing and I can see my raised beds and even a little dirt!! Hurray!! It will be a while yet though before I can go in the garden. It has a tendency to turn into a mud bog! We have had high winds all day and that has been a great help to dry things up so we don't have any flooding going on. 

Signs of spring are starting to pop up all over! We are finally seeing parts of our driveway and the snow is really melting in the yard and garden. The garden though is still completely covered in snow! The grader came through the other day and smoothed out some of the worst spots in the road. At least it isn't full of potholes anymore! It did make the road rather muddy though. Most of it hasn't thawed yet! On Monday it was almost 50 degrees with clear blue skies. It felt wonderful. The rest of the week has been in the low to mid 40s and it rained Wednesday and yesterday. That helps take down the snow!

Another new month already. The time seems to be going faster every day! We aren't seeing any signs of spring yet but it will be soon. Last weekend we got 8 inches of new snow and two days later we got another six inches. Now we have almost three feet of snow! But when we drive down the road a ways it is almost spring like and only has a little bit of snow. Spokane doesn't have any and Deer Park doesn't have over five inches. It is suppose to be warm this coming week (in the upper 40s and some low 50s) and rain so our porch will probably flood from the quick melting of all that snow we have! I am not looking forward to that. But warmer weather would be nice. We have had a couple of nights that were in the single digits! When we were in Spokane the other day we even saw some robins. So spring isn't too far away. Thankfully Jay got the tractor fixed so we are back in the snow plowing business again!!!

Yesterday we woke up to 8 inches of new snow on the ground! We were shocked. It started snowing before we went to bed but we never dreamed we would get 8 inches!

Another beautiful day. The sun was shining and made you wish for spring to arrive soon! It was very windy though. Windy enough to knock down one of Jenni's full propane tanks! Our roads have finally been plowed and much more passable. The driveway is still snow and ice but the roads are thawing out once again. The road weight restrictions are already up for Stevens county (we live in it!). I'm sure Mike isn't too happy about that! Part of the yard is showing under the big tree in the front yard and a little bit is showing right next to the porch. The snow banks along the house though are still up past my waist! It's going to be a while before they melt.

We woke up to about six inches of new snow on the ground this morning! Just when it starts to warm up and we start thinking that maybe spring isn't too far off!!

Our weather has been warming up quite a bit and we have even been in the high 30s! I noticed today that the snow has gone down quite a bit in the past week or so. Last weekend I walked down to the garden and I couldn't even tell I had raised beds in there! Now there are humps showing! It has been raining all day today and that is taking the snow down too. Unfortunately it has turned the driveway into an ice skating rink! We have to be in four wheel drive just to get up on the road! The roads are clear now but the pot holes are everywhere and very deep! 

It has been cloudy and cold but it warmed up a little bit. Yesterday it got up to almost 25!! It wasn't as cold last night either. Tonight it is 17 degrees but not as cold as it has been. Hopefully this cold snap will be over soon. We haven't had any new snow but I have noticed that under the little bit of snow and sand on the dirt road is a solid sheet of ice. Once we warm up our road is going to be an ice skating rink! The driveway will be just as bad too. So maybe we don't want it to warm up too much!

Another cool day. It didn't get above freezing today. It hung right around 21 degrees. The trees and everything looked really pretty with frost on them! The paved roads are all clear now so we actually get to take our Nissan out of four wheel drive once we get to the pavement which is only about two miles. Our roads of course are still compact snow and ice as well as our driveway.

It was cloudy today but no snow or rain. It only got up to 20 degrees but it didn't feel too bad. I guess we don't complain much now after all the arctic cold we had!! More snow is predicted for this coming week though.

Another cloudy day but not too bad of temps. It got up around 30 and the lows last night were only in the teens. We woke up to about four inches of new snow on the ground so Jay had to plow today. He figured he would be! I was surprised to see the snow plow come through this morning too. They usually don't bother to clear the back roads on the weekends! The merchants in Spokane are complaining about all the snow that Spokane has been getting because the ice skating competitions start this coming week and they were hoping for the skaters to spend their money but it is so cold that they are pretty much staying at the arena or their motel.

It has warmed up a lot since just a couple of days ago. We got up to 31 degrees today and I know the low last night wasn't below 10 above. The snow finally slid off the roof today. It snowed off and on some today but we only got a little over an inch. Tonight we are suppose to get a couple of inches so Jay will probably have to plow tomorrow. Jenni said the roads last night were very slick and we heard on the news today that two young teens from our area were killed last night on the highway going too fast for conditions. Too sad. Jenni and Kaity were in Spokane tonight and I worried until they got home. Jenni said it was just starting to snow in there so the roads weren't too bad yet.

The weather is warming up a bit. Our high today was 20 and it only got down to minus 2 last night. I can tell it's warmer because we aren't burning near as much wood as before. It started snowing late this afternoon and we got a new dusting of snow. Just enough to hide the ice again!

Another beautiful but cold day! At least it was above 10 degrees today. It actually got up to 20 and the low so far tonight is only 5. It still feels very cold and we are burning up the wood to stay warm. When we get up in the morning the house is only 50 degrees!!! We get dressed FAST around here!

Our weather is still arctic cold. The low last night was better than ten below zero. We probably got close to minus 15. The high today was only 9. The news is predicting minus six tonight so we will be colder than that. We sure have been burning the wood. Poor Jay is busy, busy splitting wood!! But at least we are nice and warm and have no broken pipes.

We are having a bit of arctic air the past couple of days. Today's high was in the single digits and the low last night was 5 below zero! Brrrr. But the sun was shining today and it was beautiful outside. Once it warms up it will probably start snowing again. Most of the roads around here are all ice but the county has been good about putting down sand so they aren't too bad. It is 5 below zero again right now so we may get colder than last night. Even Licorice was shivering and wanting under the covers last night! He wouldn't even get out of bed this morning so I just made the bed around him. I have no idea when he finally got up! Spoiled cat! It's hard to keep the water bowls from being frozen solid for the dogs and cats outside. We have to dump the ice several times a day.

The plows finally made it out here late this morning so our road is much more passable! It is very slick though but by the time we got home from Spokane the sand truck had been here too. It is amazing the difference from our place and Spokane. Spokane has no snow and it is like spring time in there. But coming home was like coming to a winter wonderland and much cooler atmosphere!

The roads were treacherous today. It snowed Friday night about six inches or so and no plows ever came. Then last night it snowed again and then started raining this morning. It was a real battle going to church this morning.

Another snowy day. The weather man was predicting power outages tonight so I am up late doing laundry! I already had everything else done and ready in case we lose our power. Jay was given a generator this summer by Tim (we helped them move and helped with their yard sale) and he had it running within a very short time.

We have close to two feet of snow on the ground and it is definitely white and winter looking out here. We haven't been above freezing in days. It snowed some today and Jenni said the roads were really icy. But I am glad the holidays are behind us now so that I can rest and relax a little and work on some quilt projects.

February 12

Another gorgeous day with full sunshine and clear blue skies. But looks were deceiving since it never got above freezing here today! No snow melting around here! We still have plenty but there are a few bare spots here and there. Mostly in the driveway which is now a sheet of ice. Caution is to be taken if we attempt to cross it!! Jay has to put the rig in four wheel drive just to get up on the road. But spring will be right around the corner and then there will be plenty of work to do so I'm really in no hurry!

It has been cloudy all day and cold. The news is calling for possible snow tonight so out at my house we will probably get some. Hopefully it will clear up soon so the pollution can clear out of the town. It isn't near as bad as some towns but with the fog hanging around it is really troubling to people with breathing problems.

It is finally acting like winter again around here. We got a fresh six inches of snow a couple of days ago and it hasn't melted off. We haven't been above freezing for it to melt off! This morning the roads were very slick with black ice too. I hate driving in that! Everything is touched with frost and looks so pretty. I will be sad when it melts away. The quail are back at the bird feeders again too. Seems they only show up when it is really cold. I was excited to see them again and Jay even enjoys watching them.

It has cooled down temperature wise and we got down into the low 20s last night. Still mild for our area though. Today was cold, only 30 degrees with snow starting to fall in the late afternoon. We have a winter storm watch in effect for our area that could dump 4-6 inches of snow on us through the night. The ground was barely covered with snow just before dark. I made sure that I put out new suet for the birds so they will handle the cold weather fine. Of course they probably don't need that to handle the cold but I like to watch them eat on it!

We have had some mild weather as far as temperatures go but lots of rain and that is starting to cause the creeks and small rivers around here to overflow. On one stretch of our road there is already water in the road a little ways. Much more rain and it will be over the whole dirt road. That should cause some problems!! According to the news tonight, it is suppose to snow most of next week. We got two or three inches of snow yesterday but it is all gone from all the rain. We have piles of mud all over from Jay plowing. Yuck! Snow would be a nice change and hopefully it will freeze to firm things up again. I hate mud season!

Yesterday we woke up to beautiful snow coming down and we ended up getting around five inches total (two inches from the day before). We left for Spokane around one in the afternoon and got home around nine and we barely got down our dirt road and into the driveway--and we were in four wheel drive! It had started raining and boy did that make a mess. It was deep and difficult traveling. Last night it started raining and what a mess we had this morning! Jay told Jenni not to even try to come out here until things were plowed out. But the plow came through this morning sometime and Jay got our driveway all cleaned out but it sure is a terrible mud mess now. The ground is thawing and we almost need hip waders just to cross the driveway! Hopefully we will get some more snow to cover it up soon. The weather station is calling for high winds this afternoon and they could be up to 45 m.p.h. I noticed that we are getting some wind now but not near what is predicted. We are a little more sheltered here in the trees so hopefully it won't be too bad. There is a chance though that we could lose our power if it gets too bad.

Today is very dark and dreary. It has been raining since last night and it is a good day to curl up with a book! Deer Park and Spokane have no snow and ours is melting quite quickly with all this rain! I hear people talking about an early spring already.

It started snowing before we left and by the time we left this morning we had almost a half an inch of snow on the ground. It snowed until we got out to the highway and then it was just slushy and by the time we got to Spokane they didn't have any snow. We still have snow but it is starting to rain now so maybe it will turn to snow again over night! All this bare ground (in Spokane mostly) is making me think dirt and time to plant!!

For a while today we got a small glimpse of some sun but now it is just pouring rain! We got some snow the other day but the rain is making quick work of melting it off. We seem to be having another mild winter with little snow. But at least the mountains are getting hammered with snow so that should help to eliminate any drought this year. I may be able to start gardening early again this year. I have received a lot of seed catalogs and it is time for me to sit down with them and decided what I want. I am going to have to really control myself myself because my planting is limited to the raised beds only. Jay is going to build me a couple more this spring so that will help.

Our weather finally warmed up and it actually rained today! We were around 30 degrees today and I thought it would snow but no such luck. But now everything is very icy and I almost fell several times today. Not that I'm all that graceful anyhow! According to the news it is suppose to really warm up but no snow in the forecast. Bummer! Hopefully it won't all melt before Christmas! I noticed that we haven't burned near as much wood as we have been burning. Jay will be glad about that!

It is still very cold here. Right now it is 8 degrees and it will get even colder before tomorrow. We almost got to 18 degrees today though! According to the news it is suppose to start warming up to the low 30s and in the mid teens at night. Much better than minus at night and barely 10 during the day! When we headed home late this afternoon it was so cold that the inside of the Nissan windows were ice. Jay will be glad to slow down on splitting wood I'm sure! The poor animals have a hard time finding water that isn't frozen. Jay and I thaw their water at least once a day if not more. The cats and dogs are eating much more just to stay warm! Hopefully this arctic cold won't last much longer.

We have close to a foot of snow and it has been very cold this past week. Last night our low was -6! Very cold!! Yesterday I went out to feed the birds and the temp. was around 8 but the wind was blowing so there was definitely a wind chill. I had to wrap up in gloves and ear muffs! We haven't been above 10 in about a week. I don't mind snow but this arctic freeze gets to my bones! All the roads (back roads especially) are compact snow and ice. With it being so cold the ice isn't too bad but once it warms up it will be tricky again! I drove to church last Sunday and it was a little scary. We had new snow and then ice and on top of that it was foggy. I was white knuckled by the time I got there. Coming home wasn't so bad though. Maybe I was getting used to it. The highway and Spokane's main streets are clear but all of Deer Park's streets are snow and ice. I guess we could say it is winter here!! At least we will have a white Christmas. I'm glad because we have a bunch of family coming out here on Christmas and we were hoping we could do some sledding and snowmobiling. It would be nice if the snow wasn't quite as hard as it is now though!!

We were suppose to get snow last night but it never came. According to the news it is suppose to snow off and on all weekend. Jay even had the tractor all ready to plow snow! Oh well there will be other times I'm sure! It has been very cloudy and we haven't seen the sun in days maybe weeks. It is still cold too...barely getting up to 30 degrees in the day. We have a cold snap that is coming our way and the lows will be in the teens again. Good sleeping weather! We still have some snow but the driveway and roads are clear and the snow we have isn't really measurable anymore except along the house where it slid off the roof. I hope we get some before Christmas!

We woke up to a winter wonderland outside this morning. We had just around two new inches of snow on the ground and everything was covered in white and looked so pretty! We still have a little over two inches of snow but Spokane doesn't have any! This is going to be a great year for the ski resorts though. I didn't go to church because there was too much snow and I hate crossing the highway when the roads are slick. This is the first big snow so people have to get their driving gloves on and get used to it! I don't like to be on the roads then!

November 8

Another cold day here in the Pacific Northwest. Today's high was only 35 but at least it wasn't snowing or raining! Yesterday it snowed off and on all day but barely accumulated since it was very wet.

Every where else it was raining. By around 5 last night the snow got serious and Jay had to take the broom to the Blazer so I could leave! But just a couple miles down the road it was just rain. It is strange how the snow belt is around here! Of course we live right in the middle of it. The low is suppose to be in the low 20s tonight and we may even see upper teens out here. Brrrr!!!

It rained most of the day today and was dark and cloudy. It wasn't as cold as it has been though. The wind picked up pretty good tonight so I quick jumped up and did the dishes!! It is not uncommon for us to lose our power during high wind storms so I have learned to look around and see what needs to be done....just in case! The news is predicting snow by Friday so I am eagerly looking forward to seeing some white stuff on the ground! Of course I don't have to drive in it either! I want to see Kaity's expression when she sees it and plays in it.

It has been very cold here the past couple of days. Yesterday didn't get above 40 and neither did the day before that. Today is cold too with the temperature only reaching 38! Snow is starting to be talked about in the weather forecast. Winter will soon be upon us again.

The weather has definitely taken a change from the warmer weather. It never even made it to 50 degrees today and the temperatures dropped quickly when the sun went down. It is barely in the 30s right now. I wouldn't be surprised to see snow in the next couple of days! The cold weather sure makes my old bones ache though!

We had rain last night and more tonight. It has cooled down into the 50s during the day and feels a lot more like autumn. Kaity loves to run through the leaves that fell out of the cherry tree. I don't have any piles for her to jump in so I taught her to run through the leaves dragging her feet through them! She has a blast! It doesn't take much to entertain her!

It was 62 degrees today but this is suppose to be our last warm day. Cooler weather and rain is on the way. My bones can feel it too! But today was nice and we had the windows open in the house. It is still warm in here but Jay got the fire going again tonight. We slept with our bedroom window open last night! Might tonight too!

Another beautiful day here. Almost 60 degrees outside with lots of sunshine! According to the news though that is all going to change by Wednesday and rain is suppose to move in with much colder temperatures. Just in time for Halloween! Hopefully the weather will be nice for the trick or treaters.

Another beautiful day today! It was a little over 60 degrees and the sky was a beautiful blue. Kaity loves this weather so she can play outside! We enjoy it too. I noticed in the garden in front of the house that dill is trying to grow! I hope this doesn't ruin it for next year! Jay will be picking up the straw tomorrow so it will cover it then!

It rained all day yesterday and is still cloudy today but warm. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like October but other times it definitely does! We still have some outside work to do so hopefully it will clear up enough that we can get things finished up. The tomato plants in the green house are still bearing fruit so we enjoy the fresh tomatoes while we can. I gave away a bunch of them the other day because I didn't know when I would be able to stand for long periods to get them canned. I'm sure we will be getting a bunch more ripe ones soon! Most of the cherry tomatoes that are on the table are ripening nicely and we get bowls at a time to enjoy! There aren't a whole lot of them left though and they are Jay's favorite! I will have to plant more next year!

Another nice fall day. A bit windy but otherwise lots of sunshine! It was even close to 60 degrees today. Spokane was even warmer. But it is already in the 30s tonight so it will probably freeze again. Oh well, I love the cooler temperatures even if my body doesn't!

It is raining lightly tonight and is a lot colder. It will get down into the 20s tonight. Burrrr! The sun was actually shining today but the wind was still cold. The leaves are falling off the trees quickly now and sadly for Kaity we don't have enough for her to jump in! But I'm glad we don't have to rake!! Bubba seems to be just one huge ball of fur with all of his winter fur on him. Lady doesn't bulk up nearly as much as Bubba does! So winter isn't too far away. I'm wondering if Jason has snow yet up in Alaska. I tried to call him a while back but he is working out of town. I should call again and see if he has snow!

We have spent most of the week working on getting our fall work done. The weather has been holding out for us and we are very grateful for that! It has been chilly but the sun shines for part of the day so it isn't too gloomy. I can tell the sun doesn't get up as high as it did last month because it doesn't warm up in the house as much even with the storm windows on. Mt. Spokane had some snow on it earlier this week (elevation around 5000) and I saw a couple of snow flakes when I was at the Napa store in town the other day. The wind has a bite to it and we are definitely wearing jackets and coats when we go outside. Winter will soon be here! I love the color of the leaves this time of year. Such brilliant colors!

Another beautiful fall day. The high was close to 71 with lots of sunshine. Towards the end of the week it is suppose to get cold and rain so we are enjoying these nicer days.

We have been having cooler weather and it feels great! It has been in the 80s the past couple of days and it is suppose to cool down even more this coming week. It has made for great canning weather and Jerry and I have taken advantage of it too. The past couple of nights have had very low temperatures and I have prayed that it wouldn't freeze. It did get down to 40 but no frost thank God! It is starting to get hazy from all the fires in the state and we even had lightening and rain on Friday. Thankfully no fires near us from the lightening though.

Another hot day in the mid 90s. I hate it when it gets that hot! Jerry and I even had to can in it yesterday. Ugh! It is good for the garden though so I shouldn't complain! The worst part is that the weeds grow right along with the plants. It is to the point now in the garden that Jerry and I are way behind in weeding because we spend most of our time picking! Jay went down tonight (bless his heart!) and did some tilling for me. But it still needs hand weeding and hoeing. Hopefully tomorrow night I can get down there and do some.

Another month almost over. I never look forward to August since it is the hottest month of the year and I don't do too well in the heat! Yesterday it was 93 degrees and I got sick from the heat because I was going in and out hanging up clothes on the clothesline! Today is even warmer at 95 degrees and we even went into Spokane as Jay needed to buy some molding for the door that goes from our bedroom into the hallway and our small town hardware store didn't have what he wanted. I had him just drop me and Kaity off at Wal Mart and we did some shopping and stayed cool! The ride home was miserable though because the Blazer was heating up terrible from the air conditioner so we had to roll the windows down. Ugh! I hate hot air!! I look forward to the cooler days in September! I didn't even go to church today because it has no air conditioning and is very hot inside the chapel! Too hot for me.

Another beautiful summer day. Clear blue skies and temperatures close to 88 degrees. Tomorrow is suppose to be much warmer and the rest of the week and weekend in the 90s. No rain in sight either. There are already a couple of wildfires in Washington state but thankfully none close to home. Of course if the hot temperatures continue along with the wind it will make things dry out quick and raise the fire danger in our area. I noticed a DNR truck already checking the area around here the other day. August is usually our worst dry month and living in the woods can be kind of scary!

We are having beautiful weather and a very mild summer so far. According to the news though we are suppose to warm up into the low 90s. We have enough rain that I haven't had to water the lawn once this summer and Jay is complaining about having to mow the yard!!

This morning started off with pouring rain but by the time we got to Spokane the sun was shining and it wasn't too bad of a day. We took mom and Jerry car shopping and thankfully found a mini van at the second place we looked. What a relief. There is nothing worse than not being able to find a decent rig and running all over town looking. They bought a 1995 Plymouth Voyager and the price was right. It is a real nice van and they love it. So now they have wheels again. They took us to lunch at Taco Time and Kaity was very good. She is getting easier to take places now that she is learning to mind better!

It rained a lot last week but we sure needed the rain. My rain gauge says almost 3 inches just for the month of May! And in the past few days we have gotten almost two inches! Everything is very green and lush and looks so nice. Poor Jay just mowed last week but it sure doesn't look like he did! We haven't had to water the garden except the tomatoes that are in the mini green house shelter. The county just graded our road so we can get it oiled. We usually have our oil down by now but it has been too wet. Hopefully sometime this week the oil truck will come before the road dries out and the dust really flies! Our temps have mostly been in the mid to upper 60s which is just right for working outside. It has been very windy though and that dries things out much faster.

07-30-02 through 05-14-05 CLICK HERE