I admit, I must be one of the most blessed people on this planet. This is what I am seeing tonight out my back door. When the world is in turmoil, wars are being waged, the economy is in the tanks, our road is closed, and we feel isolated, Mother Nature gives us this:
Month: April 2011
The Road less traveled … (part 2)
No new updates from Cal-Trans on the road conditions, no new weather reports of significance, and while I see if I can put together a series of links for the Rachael Short benefit last night (I could not attend), I will share more visions from the road from Salinas to Soledad.
Reader’s Recent Photos of Big Sur
I have a number of photos from readers taken over the past few days I’d like to share. I’ll try to identify the location, date, and photographer, if I can.
I chose this one because I love the way the light is reflected off the water, and the color it becomes. Thanks, Debbie!
Messing with Mama, is the comment Simon made about this photo. Thank you, Simon!
Thank you Gabriel!
I also have some by Rob Weeler taken on his trip across the N-F Rd yesterday, but unfortunately, they are quite large, and the 17.9 MB file is hanging up the others. When they finally download (if they do) I will add one of two of those.)
Okay all but the 17.9 finally downloaded, so here are a couple!
Remember, folks. I live in the wilderness with no high speed internet. I’m cellular and photos can take a while, unless you make them a bit smaller.
More Friday weather photos
Many of you were blessed with the sight of a rainbow yesterday afternoon.
And here is another from the yard, yesterday. I also understand that Nacimiento-Fergusson, which is almost as high as I am at the summit, created challenges for some drivers due to the snow. It is a difficult, and at times dangerous road, so be careful.
It was such a sparkling day, once the sun came out. Cold, but sparkling.
Schizophrenic Spring
I’ve decided that Spring is not bipolar, this year, she is schizophrenic and has delusions about being winter.
Today is a case in point. This was taken before 2 pm.
By 2:15, I had a couple inches of snow. It has continued ever since. I am trying to upload photos, but, the internet is apparently cold, as it is acting sluggish. Either that, or my provider is slowing me down! When I can, I will upload more.
At 4;30, it continues to snow, and is getting quite thick in areas. At least 3-4 inches now. I’m being lazy this afternoon – I don’t want to get dressed up to go out in it, and I don’t want to get wet and cold, so photos from the inside looking out are all I am taking.
This one was taken at 3:30 pm. Note all the dog tracks in the snow.
And this one was taken just a few minutes before 5. Note all the dog tracks are buried in snow. Also note the progression in the photos as the green of spring slowly dissolves into the white of winter. Like I said, Schizophrenic.
For a moment in time, the clouds lifted, the sun came out, and the snow covered Santa Lucias were revealed. My iPhone and I were ready. She is so beautiful when she is dressed up like this!
I have a few more shots I’d like to share, perhaps tomorrow, as the I must feed the dogs and fix dinner for myself. It is a high 35 degrees, at the moment.
Cold & a little of this and that
1:45 pm – Cal-Trans update just released includes the usual, but also this language: “• After closer analysis, completion time for providing limited vehicle access with traffic signal control on the existing northbound lane is now estimated to be early May.” It is the same as yesterday, but it seems to me it has gone from April 16th, the last week in April, to end of April, to first week in May, to early May. It is a fluid situation, and the weather has not been ideal for this work.
12:30 pm – my SLO forecaster just reported:
” A cold upper-level low pressure system, currently over the
Central Coast, will continue to produce widely scattered rain
showers, at times heavy and well below seasonal temperatures.
Today’s rainfall totals will be highly variable, with some
locations not receiving any rainfall while other areas getting
up to a half of an inch.
The cold and unstable air combined with this afternoon heating
will produce possible thunderstorms this afternoon through
tonight with hail and periods of strong and gusty winds.
Note: Chris of SLOweather.com reported hail the size of
garbanzo beans at his home in western San Luis Obispo.
It hailed at his home for 15 minutes, with accumulations
of one half to three quarters of an inch on the ground.”
11:30 am – Whoa!! Serious snowing going on up here, AND it is sticking!!
10:00 am – Cold, it is very cold. My fingers can’t type until I warm them up. Another cup of coffee in my morning. Currently, it is 34 degrees. I stepped outside and was surprised to see these little tiny white balls floating down – not snowflakes, more like tiny little balls of hail. I wasn’t even under a cloud? Now, they are covering the deck. They are “floating” rather than hailing down.
Also, a number of people here in Big Sur have asked how to find my blog more regularly. It provides a type of anecdote to other types of communication, sometimes. The easiest way is to scroll to the bottom of the sidebar to the right, and sign up for an email subscription. Then, whenever I put up a new post, you will receive an email with ia portion of that article, and you can click on a link to read the rest. Easy? AND if you don’t want to subscribe, google, bigsurkate or big sur kate or big sur blog or any combination thereof. I am always at the top.
Back when fingers thawed.
Drilling & the Rocky Creek Parking Area
Sent to me today by a friend from Big Sur Valley, who picked up a friend coming home to Clear Ridge for a few days.
The Evolution of bigsurkate
Today, I found out quite by accident that WordPress has been running google ads on my blog without my knowledge and without payment to me for the last couple of months. These ads are completely hidden from me, although at least one reader in Fresno (my blogging buddy and friend Firefighter Mike) can see them.
I guess I’ve hit the blogger big time or something. I don’t like the fact that I have no control over these ads or which ones are displayed. I don’t like that it might look as if I am endorsing or giving preferential treatment to one local business over another. I am trying to find out how to resolve that and the lack of payment for hosting advertisements.
One way, is to sign up for ads myself, which I just did, but I am not sure that is the best way. I don’t know that I will have much, if any, control, and I would still have to share advertising profits 50/50 with WordPress. I have been proud of the fact that bigsurkate has been commercial free, completely independent and self-sufficient. That might have to change in order to keep blogging.
Another possibility is to migrate my entire blog over to my own site with an independent host. I can have that done for $99, and save all content, and supposedly my standing with google. This is a bit expensive, and I am not confident about the loss of content. As to standing – well that is both a blessing and a curse, so not a particularly big issue, unless I am selling advertising space.
So, in the meantime, bigsurkate is evolving and changing, but the content will not change. It is not going anywhere, or if it must, you will be redirected.
April Showers
1:30 pm – had snow flurries today, but nothing stuck. The is as advertised – sunshine, then quickly it clouds up.
9:00 am – Frankly, I expected to have the morning to get things “ready” for this afternoon’s storm, but that was not to be. I only had a few things out in the rain, which I took care of immediately, and so far, it has not been a hard driving rain. Still, it is not really welcome with our highway being so fragile.
Fortunately, this is what NOAA has to say: “SHOWER ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ALL DAY…WITH COVERAGE INCREASING SIGNIFICANTLY BY THIS AFTERNOON. HOWEVER…EVEN WITH COVERAGE INCREASING…THE RFC 24 HOUR QPF FORECAST FOR TODAY IS BETWEEN A HUNDREDTH OF AN INCH FOR MUCH OF THE NORTH BAY…TO NEAR TWO TENTHS THROUGH THE SANTA CRUZ AND SAN LUCIA MOUNTAINS.”
CHP is listing no closures except Rocky Creek (MPM 60)
BSMAAC Meeting Canceled, Cal-Trans report; & Weather Advisory
Big Sur Chamber of Commerce and the CPOA (Coast Property Owner’s Association) both put out emails reporting on today’s meeting. The bottom line is that currently the Rocky Creek closure is hoped to be opened the first week in May. Of course, this is highly weather dependent, and we have two weather events coming our way this week and next, so look for the possibility of further delays. Everyone is working hard to open the road back up as expeditiously and safely as possible.
Received from Dave Potter’s Office this afternoon:
“Due to the Highway 1 road closure, the April 15th BSMAAC meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on July 15, 2011.”
Also, this weather warning was attached: “ON THURSDAY NUMEROUS SHOWERS WITH SMALL HAIL AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE
FORECAST THROUGH THE DAY. THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE CONVECTIVE MEANING PERIODS OF SUNSHINE COULD QUICKLY TURN TO HEAVIER DOWNPOURS WHICH CAN OFTEN LEAD TO TRAFFIC PROBLEMS ON BAY AREA ROADWAYS. DAYTIME HIGHS WILL BE MUCH COOLER WITH HIGH ONLY IN THE 50S. THIS WILL BRING SNOW LEVELS DOWN TO AROUND 3000 FEET AND POSSIBLY AS LOW AS 2500 FEET IN THE HEAVIER SHOWERS. ANYONE WITH PLANS TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO AND MONTEREY BAY REGION SHOULD EXPECT WINTER LIKE WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THURSDAY.”
This Spring is turning out to be bipolar, isn’t she?