Reflections

Feb. 23, 2015   Understanding the Weather

I've always been vaguely interested in the weather.  Once we retired I started checking the radar more often, as we had more time to get outdoors, and I wanted to know when rain was forecast.  But now that I follow blogs across the continent, I'm getting a much deeper understanding of just how much the weather varies over the seasons!  Blogs provide a widespread look into the otherwise hidden record of the weather in different locations.

At the moment, I'm seeing pictures of crocuses and daffodils blooming on the west coast of Canada and the U.S.  I'm seeing crowds of birds wintering in the sun in Florida, and groups of RVers enjoying the warmth in Arizona.  But we're shivering in the coldest winter ever, and today was the coldest day of the winter, at -33°C (-27°F), even though we are south of most of those blooming flowers on the west coast!

The fact is that the Arctic air masses that control our winters are prevented heading west by the Rocky Mountains, but they can drop all the way to Florida on the east coast.  The jet stream tends to be the leading edge of this mass of cold air, and it has been parked far south of us in southern Ontario, for most of the past two months.  We haven't even had that many serious snow storms, but every single flake that has fallen is still with us here - so we have about 2 feet on the level, and snowbanks from 3 to 10 feet tall.

Storms arise where the cold northern air meets warmer air from the south, coming from the gulf coast or from the east coast.  Boston seems to have been hit with the worst of the snow, but the leading edge of the cold air is so far south of us that we only get a few gentle flakes in some lake-effect flurries.  Tennessee had serious ice storms last week, but it's been far too cold to even think about ice storms here.



This map, with credit to the Weather Network, shows how the 'much-colder-than-normal' winter we're having extends far down on the east side of the continent.  The west is actually getting warmer than normal weather, and much less snow, which will make the drought worse in the coming summer.  But it underscores the wide variation in weather which has only a passing relationship to how far north you are located.

So reading blogs has opened my eyes to understanding the widespread variation in weather across the continent.  We're certainly not going to get any of those daffodils and crocuses blooming here, but at least I increasingly understand why.


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Jan. 3, 2015   Blogging ‘Friends’

It was only 18 months ago that I discovered the fascinating, diverse world of blogs out there in the electronic ether!  I had been writing a blog purely for my own enjoyment, but of course didn’t get many visitors except for a few relatives and friends.  One day I got the idea of seeing what other blogs were out there, and voila!  Thousands of interesting blogs, all personally written, on any topic you can imagine.

I quickly found blogs that I personally enjoyed reading regularly.  My favourites are those that describe hikes, walks, and explorations of the natural world, preferably with great pictures – and there are some excellent blogs like this out there.  I quickly learned that writing a blog is only half the fun, or perhaps even less.  Reading other blogs and having visitors read your own is the real joy of blogging.  The comments left by visitors really do keep you going, and are something to look forward to.

I’m not one to enjoy Facebook, though I do have a Facebook page in order to keep in touch with the world inhabited by younger relatives.  I don’t understand the mystique of ‘friending’ someone on Facebook, and the inclination to share so much of your life.  And I particularly don’t like the ads!

And yet here I am, sharing my life and feeling that I’m ‘friends’ with a number of other bloggers who I only know on-line.  Today I gained my 100th ‘Follower’, and I get quite a few comments usually, every day.  It’s remarkable how exchanging comments, and getting to know other bloggers through reading about their lives leads you to feel that you’re actually ‘friends’.

Now that I’ve reached this point, I wouldn’t change it for the world.  Every morning I sit down to check updated blogs, and again in the evening read blogs rather than watching TV.  Writing my own blog has been a big inspiration for me to work on my photos and to practice writing, two things I really enjoy.  On any given day it’s only a little that I write – a few pictures, a few sentences.  But over time it adds up – now over 600 posts, and over 100,000 visitors!  And I feel very connected, especially to all those who leave comments.

I must admit that my own weakness is not leaving comments on other blogs as often as I might, and when I do the comments are usually brief, but as you become ‘friends’, you feel more and more like exchanging greetings.

One plea to my fellow bloggers.  Like many I’m sure, my vision isn’t perfect, so if you use a tiny font size I simply won’t be able to read your blog, and will have to forego visiting.  So if possible, please keep it big enough to be readable!

When I started I tried to keep my blog anonymous – having taught University as a career, there were pretty strict expectations about privacy and confidentiality.  Over time though I’ve read many personal details of other bloggers’ lives, and become more comfortable sharing mine.  So now I have ‘friends’ scattered across the continent, and they in turn have their circles of ‘friends’.  It’s a new and fascinating world!  I’m beginning to understand how the next generation enjoys ‘Facebook’!


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3 comments:

  1. Since you started following me on Flickr, I know your other name, Furry. But over the years I've found that I tend to think of other bloggers by the persona they have created, and you will always be Furry to me on some level. Thanks for expanding your blog, I may be doing the same myself one of these days. Not soon, though. :-)

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  2. You struck a chord with me when you mention small print. Yes, lets start a movement for bigger print.

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  3. Small print and hot pink print just wear me out. I have made many many friends...I simply enjoy blogging:)

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