Cold and Disappointment

The weather is the topic that most everyone seems to be talking about these days. And with good reason because the weather is harsh! 

There is talk in the region of setting record low and of hitting temperatures not seen since 1996. It is that cold!

I worry about the grapevines in the region. I wonder if they can handle the sustained cold? According to some of the models that I have been looking at, bud and vine damage could begin to occur. 

The disappointment that I refer to is the 10 day forecast for Elkridge on the first day of March. Presently, and the forecast changes wildly between now and ten days from now, March 1st is forecast for a high of 34 degrees and 5-8 inches of snow! Ugh! That of course ignores the forecast for tomorrow of 5-8 inches of snow and temperatures achieving a balmy 31 degrees.

I think tonight I will curl up next to a roaring fire and enjoy a bottle of wine while watching a sappy movie. Tomorrow, well, I will face tomorrow after surviving -20 degree wind chills of today.

I am really writing this to document that yes, I am looking forward to the first 80 degree day of the year and it will not be too hot for me. I got so excited the other day when the temperature achieved 23 degrees that I wanted to put on shorts and sandals and run outside to celebrate.

Warmer weather is coming. Take care of yourself. Stay warm and be happy.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

In Search of March

The temperature this morning is 10 degrees and there is about three inches of snow on the ground! Next month has got to be better. February has become a snowy, cold month that deserves to be forgotten as soon as warmer temperatures can be found.

Wherever they are! The grip of cold is pretty tight!

As the deep freeze continues, I almost hate going outside. I've dodged frostbite--narrowly, and kept my fingers warm enough to shovel snow and put air into the tires of my truck.

I looked at the extended forecast and there are only two days between now and the end of the month where the temperature is expected to exceed 32 degrees! We are in a deep freeze of epic proportions!

The ornamental grasses around the pool are cut and ready for warm sunshine to signal rebirth and begin growing. I long to remove the cover from my pool and see the water again. And don't even talk to me about leaves on the trees--the naked gray trunks swaying in the gale force winds are not a vision I care to remember. 

Blue skies, 80's, leaves, grass, and the feel of a lawn tractor underneath me--these are the things I long for. 

On the good side--Orioles pitchers and catchers report today. I wish I were in Sarasota where the expected 52 degree high today seems cold unless compared with our expected high temperature of 18 degrees. That is an important 34 degrees of difference. I long to live in a place where 52 degrees is called: cold!

I have never wanted a month to end as much as this one--but February 2015 has earned it all across the nation!

Did someone say that baseball season is getting under way? I think I will focus on that and stay warm.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Dog in the Snow

Makayla in the Snow

I am not a fan of snow and there was three inches of the white stuff waiting for me when I woke up yesterday. Someday, I want to live someplace where I only have to read about snow and not experience it first hand.

I had already coordinated with the neighbor to start up the snowblower about 8:30 AM and as a result, clearing the driveway was a fairly short event aided by the fact that the snow was very fluffy. It almost took longer to clear the frozen newspaper from the blades of the snowblower than it did to clear the entire driveway. I really wish people would pick-up their newspapers.

Makayla loves the snow. She especially likes the freshly fallen snow and she likes to roll around and run through the snow. She is very cute about everything associated with snow. I'm so cold that I don't even remember to take pictures of her antics. But, I snapped a few yesterday as I was clearing the snow from the driveway and sidewalk.

She has been weird the past couple of days with the cold. She runs outside and seems amazed at the weather. She accomplishes her task and quickly returns to come inside. Then, in a few short minutes, she wants to go outside again hoping the weather will be different. Sadly, it isn't. I should have made a movie of her with my GoPro, but I haven't.

Keeshonden (yup, that is the plural form of the name) seem to really like the snow and cold. It invigorates them--but at the same time I think they get cold, too. They are house dogs, after all.

Makayla is really a kid in disguise the only big difference is that I do not have bundle he up on coats, mittens, hats, and boots to have her sojourn outside for only a few brief minutes.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Holy War Expands

The Christian Crusades

Like most civilized people around the world, I was appalled at the ruthless murder of 21 Christians by the adherents of the Islamic State (a/k/a IS, ISIS, ISIL) in Libya. The murderers attempt to legitimize the act by calling it an execution, but what crime was committed? They were innocents and this was persecution! What I noticed in these medieval acts, however, was the direct attack upon Christianity and the globalization of the jihad.

In one Fox News article, an analyst calls it a "a major, tectonic shift."

Another interpretation of the beheadings reported that after beheading Coptic Christians, Islamists say they will ‘conquer Rome’ next. Is it any coincidence that the seat of Catholicism, Vatican City, is located in Rome? I think not.

I have been reading a number of articles about the threat posed by the IS, but one trend I see is that the group is being successful in areas that are susceptible to chaos because of a weak political structure. The Egyptians were taken in Libya which has been in the middle of a civil war for the better part of a year--but the western powers are steering clear of that area providing a ripe region for the infiltration of IS adherents. The US evacuated its Embassy and personnel on July 26, 2014. 

For historical perspective, I read an article published in the New York Times titled, The First Victims of the First Crusade, which provides some background on crimes visited upon the Jews by the Christians during the First Crusade almost 1000 years ago. 

Note to self: Turning our back on the problem and running away is not going to make the situation disappear or resolve itself.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - February 16, 2015

1. Happy Presidents Day! It is a good time to celebrate the Presidency and the greatness of the United States. Of course George Washington did it first and best!

2. Grover Cleveland is supposedly the most honest President ever according to an Opinion piece in the Boston Globe. 

3. How cold is it? Pretty cold! Officially a new record was set in the area today.

4. I thought it was too cold to snow but the news media is threatening that we will receive 4-8 inches of snow beginning tonight and into tomorrow! Anyone have a snow blower?

5. If the situation in the Middle East and North Africa with the Islamic State (a/k/a ISIS, ISIL) wasn't personal before now, the heinous execution of 21 Egyptian Christians should change that view.

6. 163-158 the final score of the NBA All Star game highlights everything wrong with professional basketball. I attended a Jackson's game yesterday. The final score was something close to 12-8 and it was a lot more exciting than seeing a bunch of guys just running up and down the court and scoring.

7. Pitchers and catchers report to Orioles Spring Training in Sarasota, Florida, in three days.

8. It seems that I am not the only northerner trying to get further south. A record setting six cruise ships with about 30,000 passengers were docked in Port Canaveral this weekend. I wonder if any of them were from Baltimore?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

How Cold is it, Really?

I watched the temperature drop this morning from 7 degrees at 2AM, yes I was up, to just over 5 degrees when I woke up and then even further down to just 4.5 degrees in just 45 minutes.

Yes, we keep the house cool in the 63 degree range during the night.

So in a shout out to my family living in the frozen wastelands of the Northeast, my smug attitude of missing the biggest and coldest storms is finally catching up with me.  We are getting cold. 

It is really cold.

February 15, 2015
7 degrees cold

The wind chills are below ZERO! As I write this it is being reported at -13 degrees.

I may not even shovel the snow it is so cold. The forecasters are  saying that it will be below freezing all week!

I do note, it is warmer in Key West, Florida.  I even checked airfares to Florida this morning to see if I could escape--I could, but I won't.

Well, maybe. The high will be at least 70 there!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

5 year olds on a soccer ball--It's true

Lucas (#20) with the Soccer Ball

I attended a youth soccer game in which Lucas, my youngest grandson, was playing yesterday.

I had a great time being reminded that the phrase "5 year olds on a soccer ball" is still as true as it ever was. 

The game occurred in an elementary school gym with no seating and so the parents were arrayed along the playing field and had the task of moving the soccer ball back onto the field of play and into the crushing mass of 5-7 year old humanity when the ball went out of bounds. 

Play was stopped only for goals, injuries, and when the ball landed on the back of the goal. 

It was great fun. Lucas is just five years old and hence was the youngest player on the floor, squeaking in just under the age wire. It shows in his play. He is wearing #20 and I took a few videos, much to the chagrin of his Dad, on my iPhone for posterity!

This was my second youth sporting event of the day, as I had earlier watched Ethan play basketball, and later today will be attending Jackson's game. 

Youth sports is a lot more entertaining that some professional sports.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Optimistic is . . .

Tractors in the Evening Light at Lowe's
February 13, 2015

Walking into Lowe's last evening to get some supplies to assist in fighting the impending arctic conditions, I saw something that Chris called, "optimistic." 

It was a line of brand, spanking new riding tractors ready for the upcoming Spring sales. There was not a snow blower in sight, despite the threatening prediction of snow in the forecast.

The line-up of tractors was almost as optimistic as I am when looking at the seven-day forecast and seeing 3-5 inches of snow. I am pretty sure it isn't going to happen this year. So far, there have been four forecasts for our area of heavy snow which has resulted in almost no precipitation. 

Another optimistic view was when I looked at the current weather on my phone yesterday while I was headed out for a medical appointment and saw that the temperature was 23 degrees. I started counting the days until Spring starts and determined that it was a short 35 days until March 20th. And the sun was shining!

Optimistic is knowing that Orioles pitchers and catchers report in five short days and that despite the calendar, Spring will begin in Sarasota, Florida!

Optimistic is looking at the calendar and seeing that daylight savings time begins again on March 8th.

Optimistic is knowing that the weather will be warm somewhere, despite the temperature at my house.

Optimistic is watching golf on the Golf Channel and realizing that warmer weather is not far off despite what is happening outside my window.

Optimistic is looking at a Valentines Day bouquet and feeling warm despite the freezing temperatures.

Happy Valentines Day--be an optimist!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Legislators Out of Touch

Woman in Yoga Pants

I read an article about a legislator in Montana who is apparently abusing his elected authority by submitting a new law to outlaw yoga pants and speedos in public.

As reported by Fox News, The proposal would expand indecent exposure law to include any nipple exposure, including men’s, and any garment that “gives the appearance or simulates” a person’s buttocks, genitals, pelvic area or female nipple.

The Republican from Missoula said tight-fitting beige clothing could be considered indecent exposure under his proposal.

“Yoga pants should be illegal in public anyway,” Moore said after the hearing.

Moore said he wouldn’t have a problem with people being arrested for wearing provocative clothing but that he’d trust law enforcement officials to use their discretion. He couldn’t be sure whether police would act on that provision or if Montana residents would challenge it.

Interestingly enough, the law outlaws shirtless men in public. How would this affect public pools and swimming teams? I wonder what the definition of public would be under the law?

This is clearly a case of misguided morality and using a publicly elected position to push a personal agenda. The ramifications of this kind of law would be far reaching well beyond their intended impact. Why do I believe he is misusing his elected authority? Because he is forcing a narrow personal belief upon the electorate. 

Why can't legislators review laws and get rid of old ones that make no sense anymore rather than writing new ones that needlessly restrict personal freedoms?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Dog who Loves Cat Treats

Cat Treat Toy

Makayla, my Keeshond, is a funny dog and everyone who knows her understands that this is true. I know why she is so different, she learned to be a dog from an old Yorkie and I can see many of Zachary's traits in how she reacts to many things.

Makayla is not a huge fan of dog toys. She doesn't fetch and she only rarely plays. But, she is mine and she is a great, intelligent dog. 

Well, until I saw her yesterday morning working over the cat toy that dispenses cat treats. She was totally into the treats--and she had already consumed breakfast and her morning cookies for doing her business outside.

Yesterday, however, it was all about the cat treats. Riordin was unceremoniously pushed aside and Makayla took control. I made a short movie of her antics.

The dog who loves cat treats. Something to enjoy.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD