esrosedotblog

Here we go.

Resetting all the goddam clocks again.

The inevitable confusion of what it means to set the clock back.

Spring forward, fall back.

I think it is nuts but then I am an outlier on most things.

I really am indifferent to whether we stay with one time or the other but let's just have one. Please.

It is all horseshit anyway. Originally for the farmers or someone, DST was invented in a time far away.

For me. it means walking the dog before dinner rather than after. He will not mind. Nor will I for that matter.

For me, it will mean a little less more light coming home from the gym. I will get to see the sun on the mountain, I think.

I suppose it is a good thing just to shake us up.

But don't we have enough things that do that?

My computer was still on the old time when I got up and now it suddenly set itself to the "right time". Is that done in Cupertino? Another question about authority and its far reaching consequences. Hah.

Labels: life, seasons, time

There have been a lot of films reviewed, but no personal news.

No political comments either.

I suppose that I am lying low.

On the personal front, we are back from vacations. Resettling.

I am back at the gym and not to badly out of shape. I kept up this morning pretty well and only looked at my watch about ten times. But I stayed with it. It will get easier.

It is time to renew some activities like the condo complex Board. Signing the checks has been normal but we have not met since June. No one is here and there is not a lot that requires our attention. But we are gearing up for the new season which begins in a few weeks.

There is an owner who is asking to do his own landscaping on common land. Not possible. Gotta get the Landscape Committee on that one. The expenses are under budget. I am ready for the next Treasurer's report as soon as our managers write it up for me. So much for that.

The family is doing fine. I am on dog watch this afternoon. Feed and short walk, while John is off on some business.

The weather is cooling and this morning all the doors opened to temperatures in the 70s.

Welcome autumn.

We even have a few falling leaves off the hibiscus and lantanas which do molt but not quite in the same way as back east. Seasonal but not dramatic. They turn yellow and drop. New small leaves break out and the next thing we know, in October, the bushes will be full again.

There are some tall sycamores on the other side of the complex which are going to have a leaf falling autumn and some of that has started. Love them every year.

So change. Cooler. Back to work.

Labels: condo, life, seasons

It is always a bit sad to end Daylight Savings Time.

On the other hand, the light returns to the morning when I get up early to go to the gym and we get to change our dog walk time from after dinner to late afternoon.

No ruts.

Well, ruts but not year round ones.

There are some strong arguments against doing this every year. There is a whole web site (and more) devoted to this. I think that it all depends on how one spends time. If you are an outdoors person then it is probably important to have a longer light time after work. If you work.

I find that since I retired many years ago (18 now) I don't give a shit one way or another.

I am up very early so benefit from the non DST and walk the dog later in the afternoon so benefit from that side.

I have left the battlefield if I was ever on it.

Labels: life, seasons

Sunset is dramatic and final. Dark. Bang.

Marcus and I ran into it tonight. Left at 545 and ended up coming home in the very dark just an hour later.

That means we start the 3PM walk tomorrow.

I was going to wait for daylight savings time to end this coming weekend but that will be too long.

We had a good time but the world changes at dark.

The coyotes come out. Just down the street. He never really saw them or them him as far as I could tell.

Then people start getting weird too. More panhandlers. Odd walkers.

So tomorrow, we leave in the light and come home that way. For the duration. March probably.

Labels: desert, seasons

So, the AC is off for the winter.

We came back from Las Vegas to find a temperature drop. It was expected. Just like that. Life in the desert.

This means that for awhile there will be no artificial climatizing. Eventually we will need some heat but not yet. This is the unassisted living period.

We took Marcus for his first Sunday walk and it was quite a success. He goes out front as if he knows just where he is going and is good at picking up the non-verbal cues from us to make the right turns.

He walks very fast. A good pace. Good for us. We took a large but not the largest loop and took 45 minutes. He was slowing a bit at the end (as were we).

The air is crisp and dry and just about perfect.

Now, the dog and husband are napping and I am not too far after. In an hour. I do have my schedule to keep.

Labels: seasons

Autumn starts today somewhere.

We used to have it when we lived in Boston.

No more.

If we want to see leaf color we could drive up the mountain.

Any one of them.

I am not really nostalgic about leaves. Colored or otherwise.

There are some maple trees in our condo landscaping. On the other side. The original section.

It is surprising to see that they perform pretty well. Autumn and colors included. I think that there are three trees.

I would get to see them when walking the dog.

Which, I will be doing again by the end of the week. We go Friday to pick up Marcus.

Las Vegas. Where we got Booker.

If Marcus is half the pal that Booker was we will be well served.

I have no intention of comparing them. It is not Marcus' job to replace Booker. He will be himself which will be plenty.

Labels: condo, dog, seasons

First snow of the season on the mountains.

And lots of rain for us down here.

And the temps last night were in the fifties.

Short lived autumn.

Life in the desert.

Of course, today, the temps will get up to the 80s and it will be gorgeous.

The snow up there will probably not last long except in the crevices and cracks of the mountain rocks where there will be snow as late as May next year.

I had to put the heat on for the house this morning and the heater in the Volvo.

Did I mention that, like it or not, the Volvo has heated seats?

It is, after all, made in the land of ice and snow.

Our Saabs had them too.

So, laughingly, I turned them on this morning, noticing in the process that John had evidently turned his on last night.

As predicted by Bob, the Volvo salesman, I was surprised at how nice it was to warm my ass on the way to and from the gym.

I don't wear a jacket there even in the coldest mornings so this is a good sign.

Labels: desert, seasons, Volvo, weather

We are getting the annual ten degree drop this weekend.

Traditionally, at this time, the day temps fall to the 80s and the nights to the 60s.

It is nice to see or feel.

This morning it was actually kind of cold going out.

At my meeting, guys actually wore jackets. Well, some guys.

In SoCal some people will start wearing their fur coats when the next ten drop happens so we are close to deep winter.

No fur coats for me but I am probably going back to sneakers now.

Soon, the jeans will come out.

I used to wear shorts all year long and last year I got achey legs and when I tried jeans that stopped.

Better than aspirin all the time.

Pride taketh a fall.

So, this year, I am ready and willing to make the change. I have tops that are just waiting to be matched with the jeans.

As jeans are kinda plain, the shirts over them can be a little more interesting.

Summer "dress wear" such as it is involves mostly Gap sleeveless sport shirts. Cool, thin, a little baggy and airy.

Winter goes to some long sleeve "dress shirts" and maybe, just maybe, I will be wearing my new collection of tshirts with graphics. More about that later.

Labels: seasons

SUMMER ROUTINE

Suddenly, it is summer.

Bang.

Two things.

Pacific Daylight Savings Time has opened up the post dinner Booker-walk period. The best time really.

Booker doesn't like the direct sun that much except when it is chillier and with the hot days now, that makes the night walk even more desirable.

This will last eight months and, in the fall, we will be able to cheat a little bit after PST comes back.

As far as the light is concerned, we are a little different here. The mountain takes an hour away from the "normal" flat land day.

The shadow is on us by 615PM. And we are further out now than we used to be. A good thing.

Of course, we are no where near official summer (JUne) but that is life in the desert. Anything but normal.

Ahhhh. Summer.

Labels: desert, seasons

EARLY SPRING

Today is groundhog day. Today is groundhog day. Today is groundhog day.

OK.

Old joke.

Phil has spoken, or, actually has not.

No Shadow For Punxsutawney Phil

Phil has been at it for a long time, so I am hanging with him. There are a lot of pretenders. One on Staten Island has stolen the NYT attention. Many more.

Phil is the only true groundhog predictor.

I also grew up in Pennsylvania so Phil was a local boy. Loyalty.

It is now a circus atmosphere because of the movie and, probably, it is inhumane by today's rules.

But Phil and his handlers carry on. Do you have any idea how much this is worth to the local businesses? A lot.

Labels: seasons, weather

LOWEST OF THE LOW

Today is the winter solstice.

At 11:12 UTC.

Right now it is 9:48 PM UTC so, well, is the 11:12 PM or a 24hour time?

See here.

There is a complicator this year because people picked up on the end of the Mayan calendar on this same date.

Solstice/Mayans. Voila!

In any case the world doesn't seem to be ending in a lake of fire. If anything, we are colder than average.

I normally don't pay attention to any of this but even the sophisticates who know the Mayan thing is just a crock of shit are into it and joking about it.

"See? It didn't happen--ha ha ha".

But maybe it is happening in another time warp and we are just not seeing it.

I like the Stonehenge simplicity.

The sun hits the slot and we are at the lowest of the low. The darkest day. From here on it will be brighter and the days longer.

This happened this morning.

Labels: seasons

HIGH ABOVE

Yesterday or today are the longest day of the year.

Franklin and I can look forward to after supper walks that get cooler and cooler and darker and darker.

Because we are behind the mountains on the west our day is already shorter than a lot of other people. But since there is no moisture in the air, when the sun is out we get the full radiation.

Of course the heat will continue all the way to September. But this is the first sign of a change for the "better".

Actually we like the heat or we wouldn't be here.

Here. Everything you wanted to know and more about the summer solstice.

Labels: astronomy, heat, seasons

DARKEST MOMENT

Today at some time I can't figure out from the Universal Time (let me look on the converter).

YIKES

It was last night

21:20:00 Wednesday December 21, 2011 in America/Los_Angeles.

Anyway.

Here is woman made version of Stonehenge from APOD.

Explanation: Today the Sun stands still at 05:30 UT. Halting its steady march toward southern declinations and begining its annual journey north, the event is known as a solstice. In the northern hemisphere December's solstice marks the astronomical start of winter. And if you're in the Great Basin Desert outside of Lucin, Utah, USA, near solstice dates you can watch the Sun rise and set through Sun Tunnels. A monumental earthwork by artist Nancy Holt, the Sun Tunnels are constructed of four 9 foot diameter cast concrete pipes each 18 feet long. The tunnels are arranged in a wide X to achieve the solstitial sunset and sunrise alignments. In this dramatic snapshot through a Sun Tunnel the Sun is just on the horizon. The cold, cloudy sunset was near the 2010 winter solstice. During daylight hours, holes in the sides of the pipes project spots of sunlight on their interior walls, forming a map of the principal stars in the constellations Draco, Perseus, Columba, and Capricorn. Fans of planet earthworks and celestial landart should note that the Sun Tunnels are about 150 miles by car from Robert Smithson's (Holt's late husband) Spiral Jetty.

Labels: APOD, seasons

WINTER

I recently said that our autumns are short.

Two, three, at most four weeks.

Today is the end of it.

Dark, rainy winter hit along with the end of long afternoon light and, of course, lighter mornings. A tradeoff for the better actually.

Cold fronts off the coast and strong enough to get over the mountain. Lift, moisture and force.

It is gay pride day in Palm Springs, an event which begs the truth that "it" all happened and is celebrated in June all over the world.

But we have tourists and the tourists come back in November. Voila!

Hard not to be cynical versus proud.

So we don't attend. And not many other people as the rain is coming down on events. I think it was clear for the parade. Then not.

In our house, John just said it was quiet.

That is so.

Booker and I will venture out a bit later but for now we are biding our time.

Winter? Yes. That means, on the average, 70s days and 40s nights.

As cold as it gets.

Did I mention that a short burst or rain earlier this week left snow on the mountains?

It did. And now there will be much more. The stage is set. The snow up there and the temperate air down here. Palm Springs at its best.

Labels: Palm Springs, seasons, weather

CHANGEOVER

The leaves are changing now. Somewhere. But not here.

It is one of the things that I miss.

I suspect this craving to see colored leaves comes from today's cool, sharp weather. A bit of wind. Cooler all day and night.

The very blue sky. October's bright blue weather.

We have a few deciduous trees here. And there.

Right here in the complex there are sycamores.

They look like maple leaves and turn all colors in December. Not because of frost but because the sun has gone down "there" and the other signals that they are supposed to change are delivered as a broad hint.

I will bring a few leaves in December. They will sit in a jar and eventually turn a lovely brown.

Fall in. Fall out.

In the meantime, there are photos of leaves everywhere.

Labels: seasons

FLYING AWAY

On our threesome Sunday walk yesterday, we saw an "older" couple (probably younger than us but looking older) loading their WA plate car with stuff to go home. We didn't mock them but did say that they were missing the best weather of the year which is true every year.

They all pull up stakes when we get to the 90s forgetting that it is dry 90s and never in the night when it falls to the 60s. Heaven.

But it is good. I will be able to get a parking space under a tree and not have to feel like I am on the Boston expressways in the middle of the day.

Goodbye snow birds.

The Canadians have to leave as most of them need to be there 6 months minimum to get the health insurance. Others, US, are leaving so they don't qualify as Californians and have to pay the income tax.

Last night and again tonight, Booker and I noticed that there is a new level of quiet in the complex. Another sign. We used to walk through a condo development in the old place which was a majority snow birds. Dead quiet. No soul.

Some of that here as well.

Gone but not forgotten.

Labels: Palm Springs, seasons

HAPPY HOLIDAY

Solstice today.

Whatever you particularly worship right about now, there is a tinge of the winter solstice to it.

The darkest days.

The time of anxiety.

Looking for a bright spot, people started having a feast of lights.

They found the sun.

Some guys saw a star.

And it just kept on rolling along.

And, here we are.

LED icicles.

Labels: seasons

STICK TO YOUR RIBS FOOD

It is winter so I am making some beef stew.

I will make three meals of it and then, probably, that will be enough.

It was 75 today and I went to the pool and lay in the sun for twenty minutes.

A paradox?

Somehow, no.

The winter feeling comes upon me anyhow. Weather or not.

I use a spice mix and then vary it. I found precut celery and onion today. They just say to boil it. I have it softening in oil right now.

They don't mention celery.

You can't have a stew without celery.

There are carrots and potatoes to go in the last half hour and then peas for the final five.

I may thicken it a bit.

Not really serious cooking but more serious than I am usually up to these days.

The last few weeks I have added to the menu. I found a good curry recipe so I could eat chutney as I wrote. I got a slice leg of lamb today. No ribs, too fat.

I am going to have chicken ala king. Also clam chowder.

These are also kind of cold weather foods.

So the idea here is that cold weather foods have nothing to do with the cold weather. It is in the position of sun somehow. We are heliotropic. The sun moves south, the culinary tastes changes, yens return from long ago when we lived in cold country and the menu changes come out.

Labels: cooking, seasons

COLD SNAP

We are having snow on the mountains and a chill in the desert.

I wore an overshirt on the Booker-walk this afternoon. Well, the morning also but we expect that.

This will last a week.

I don't know if it will be warm enough in the sun to resume pool sitting mid-day.

But probably.

And a swim. The water is at 85 degrees.

I know that it is colder elsewhere. 30s back east. Whew.

I am only talking 60s here.

Well, it is Thanksgiving week. Over the river and through the woods sort of thing. Snow. A great song if you don't have to do it.

Labels: holidays, seasons, weather

THE LEAVINGS

I brought home two pretty maple leaves tonight from Booker and my walk.

The trees are in the western section of our complex along a walk that goes behind, between the back yards of units.

These are not your red and golden leaves. They are more a nice ruddy brown and yellow. But they are autumn leaves and the only ones that I know about here except for a stand of maples way out by where we used to walk on Sunday mornings. Near our old house.

But those dropped in January and the leaves were little. These, here, dropped almost on time and the leaves are huge.

So much for the excitement. It is nice to find a touch of back east in such a different climate.

I don't know what we will do with them. Look. Touch. Smell.

I might burn them. I was writing to my son about the smell of burning leaves the other day. Maybe we will have some here.

Labels: horticulture, seasons