Mr. Rogers would be proud...

I missed the big blow last week by a few days, but I have finally installed my weather station. And it's pretty cool being able to look at the monitoring device here in the kitchen to see what the wind is like, or the temps. and the barometer. I looked on line on eBay for one of these stations, and could have purchased one there. They sell the wireless LaCrosse stations that do all the basics (measuring rain, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, relative humidity, temperatures, wind chill) and also connect to your computer so you can track data for periods of time.

I assume you would then print out graphs and charts on wind, rainfall, and temperatures. I suppose if you're really into weather, or chart making that would be the way to go. However, I'm not into it that much. I'm pretty much a "what's it doing now" kind of guy, so I picked up the one at Wal-Mart. It is the same as the more expensive ones, except it doesn't connect to the computer. It does have an internal history mode which can give a visual readout for some period of time (I have not finished digesting the whole instruction book yet, so I can't tell you how long that period is). In any event, it's kind of fun just stopping by the monitoring device to see what is going on. Since I have convinced myself that the wind blows here every day, I have not been disappointed. Those little cups go flying around under the pointer thingy all the time. Kind of impressive. I just hope when the big winds come back, those things don't get to going so fast that they lift that whole end of the building off the ground like a helicopter.

The little box on top is the rain gauge and the bird house is really a cover for the Thermo-Hygro sensor (how's that for a fancy name for a thermometer-thingy). The instruction book suggests that this piece be installed in a bird house to keep it out of direct contact with the elements. So, I drilled some holes in it all over the place and stapled some screen on all the inside walls to keep the birds and bees out and there you have it.

I'm sure someone who just happens to be driving by and notices this on the shed (a.k.a. Lakefront Cottage, a.k.a. Remote Climatological Readings Gathering Station) will be impressed and think some real smart guy lives here.

Well I guess you've figured out by now that retirement gets boring in February and this is just something to play with. You would be correct. However, one thing I have noticed is the little thing on the display that shows climate and temperature trends shows that everything is moving in the right direction-- which means golf and fishing can't be too far down the road.

Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella. (Pepper Giardino)

Hooah

I hear you calling...

Following our weekend trip to New York earlier this month, we spent another day with an agent, looking at more real estate, concentrating on the Delaware Water Gap area in Pennsylvania -- specifically looking in the boroughs of Milford, Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, as well as Bethlehem and Nazareth Townships. The latter are outlying areas of the towns of those names. These Townships are pretty nice areas and have lots of things to offer -- shopping, community events and festivals, downtowns, modern hospitals, and are all within 1-2 hours of Brooklyn (depending on traffic). Some other things they all have in common are the beautiful scenery and proximity to fishing, golfing and other recreation venues.

The creek shown here is called The Bushkill. It is very cold and a pretty swift creek with a mixture of river rocks for a bottom. I'll bet there are some pretty good sized fish in there. I don't know how people there fish it -- using a fly rod or bait casting, but I think I'll have to find out. The trees on the sides could be a problem to normal fly fishing, but I guess roll casting would do the trick.

Now that I have a better idea of what fishing opportunities really look like over there, I'll have to do some "'splorin and practicin" so that when Quinn is big enough to go with me, I'll know how to open this up to him.

The gods do not deduct from man's allotted span the hours spent in fishing. (Babylonian Proverb)

Hooah

Quinn, the Subway Guy...

Pam and I just returned from a trip to NY to visit Doug, Danika and Quinn. What a nice visit it was, complete with two very nice days of upper 50s/low 60s. It was a bit windy, especially on Saturday, but that didn't stop us from going out walking on both days.

Saturday, we bundled up The Quinn and got on the subway and went to a place called The Dumbo (I think) -- it was down by the river and near the Brooklyn Bridge. It seemed like a very nice, up-and-coming place. Lots of people down there walking, jogging and just being out of their apartments.

Quinn is shown here riding the train, acting just like a native New Yorker -- minding his own business, not making eye contact with anyone. He did have to look up once though to see what Grandma was up to and what that crazy guy next to her (me) was doing.

While we were in a Starbucks, some girl came by, walking two pot bellied pigs on leashes. They had little blanket coats on like dogs do, and they were certainly getting lots of attention. I know Doug used to say that guys liked to walk dogs on the Green at college because that was a chick magnet. If she is using this as a guy magnet, I'm not sure I like the underlying message. Oh, well -- such is life in NY.

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. (Walt Streightiff)

Hooah