This time, last year

 

 

 

 

 

 Hurricane Katrina

 

Remember last year?  August ending, and school starting again. The Delta variant was in the news.

Remember  last year on August 29, Hurricane Ida struck southeastern Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane.  "The nation is here to help, " President Joe Biden said, as he toured the damaged places. You can read more about Hurricane Ida here. 

August 29 also marks the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina which made landfall in the same area in 2005, still the most destructive storm to make landfall in the U.S.  

Katrina is a reminder of how vulnerable people are displaced in disasters, how we are not  prepared for such catastrophic events. 

Some people who could leave left for other places.  Many had nowhere to go.

George Bush has the legacy of  Katrina.  You may remember Donald Trump altered a weather map of the path of Hurricane Dorian with a Sharpie, and tossed rolls of paper towels to the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.  Now, there's a hurricane of stolen top secret documents scattered over his floor.  A Sharpie won't help him this time. 

This year, there is flooding in Pakistan from the monsoon rains.  Over 1000 people dead and swept away. 

And what happened to the Atlantic Hurricane season this year?  So quiet, so far. This is the first time in 25 years that there have been no named storms in August.  But that may change...

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And today---the last day of August,  yard bags and a new black notebook!

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The taste of summer

These are the days of ripe tomatoes. From the bite-size cherry tomatoes to the big Beefsteak tomatoes, there are hundreds of varieties--heirlooms and hybrids.  

Did you know that tomatoes are the most popular plant to grow for home vegetable gardens?

 The tomato is a flowering plant of the nightshade family.  It is grown for its edible fruits, but it is considered  a vegetable for nutritional purposes. Tomatoes are a good source of vitamin C and the phytochemical lycopene. 

If you're thinking of growing your own next summer,  I hope this article from the  Old Farmers Almanac inspires you! 

How I admire those who can start plants from seeds, and devote time and space to them. This year, I am growing one tomato plant I got from the Jewel. It is a small Roma variety, but it's a big plant now!  The tomatoes are a little larger than cherry tomatoes, and they are wonderful in salads. 

Nothing can compare to the taste of home-grown tomatoes, warm from the sun.  The aroma clings to your fingers. It is the aroma of summer, ripening. 

What to do with all those tomatoes?  Think sauces, soups, salsa, salads. Try them with sliced cucumbers and a simple salad dressing of vinegar and olive oil. Now that's the taste of summer.  Enjoy!  

You can share them, too---Food banks, friends, neighbors, the mail carrier---who wouldn't want some home-grown ripe tomatoes? 

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Last Days of August

 

 

Last days of August, the sidewalks decorated with chalk art drawings of the sun, tiny yellow locust leaves, and discarded cicada shells.

This past weekend was the Chicago Air and Water show.  Thousands of people come to the lake shore to see the jets. For some, this is the highlight of the summer. This year will be something they will always remember--a spectacle of fighting spirit, victory over deadly plague and depressing and uncertain times.

For others, it's not a celebration--it's intrusive and traumatic.  I find the noises really scary, and I am not the only one! I have seen a flock of pigeons, gathered peacefully in the North Garden of the Art Institute of Chicago,  scatter in absolute terror when the black helicopters flew in formation overhead!

This year, the air and Water Show was delayed by clouds and fog.  The noise and crowds were not so bad. For that I am thankful. 

I have been more than thankful for the summer here. No deadly new variants and virus surges, heat waves, floods, tornadoes or West Nile mosquitoes. 

And now, days of highs in the 70's and low 80's,  and cooler nights. Afternoons of flickering light through leaves. A dream of green,  summer every day.  

August speeds by on a bicycle--a long-haired girl wearing  shorts and a t-shirt  Days of day lilies are past.  Hostas are blooming now.  Soon, mums will replace the summer flowers in the planters.  Labor Day Weekend is just days away. The feeling of another summer ending.

Thoughts turn to flu shots and fall projects, hoodies and sweaters. There is a feeling of beginning again--new school routine, new notebooks, new things. But summer isn't over yet!

There is still time to enjoy these days of summer chairs.

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Alive Here Now

 

 

 

 

 

Hello again!

This is the new location of Chicago Weather Watch, a blog about life and weather in Chicago, changing seasons,  climate, nature and other things. 

Below is the very first post I wrote for this blog in  March 2013, for ChicagoNow, which was a blogging community affiliated with the Chicago Tribune.  The site was shut down on Thursday, August 18, 2022.  We scattered like milkweed seeds.

But here I am, Alive Here Now---

Hello, and welcome to Chicago Weather Watch, a blog about  life and  the weather in Chicago.

As I write this, weather is happening everywhere.  We live in a world of weather.  It affects everything from the stock market to airline schedules to the numbers of violent crimes.

We  live in changing weather, here. That's one thing we all have in common!  Whoever we are, whatever we do, we share this weather. We  talk about it, too--in elevators and at bus stops, we comment on the weather. We're all weather-watchers, here, and the real meteorologists are held in high esteem.

Forecasts really matter. What's the weather like, today? We need to know what to expect.  We need that five-day forecast, and long-range projections if possible. It's a glimpse of the future, even if it could change at any moment.

Our  weather has history, too. There are meteorological records of  seasons past, blizzards and heat waves, rainfall,  average temperatures.  We have our personal measurements of these numbers. Remember  that heat wave of 1995?   How about Snowpocalypse  (or  Snowmageddon) of 2011?

Yes, it's personal, here. Each of us has our own memories of  falling snow, a spring day,  a summer afternoon, a blue October sky.

Weather is time moving through us. We are living in it, alive here, now.

Consider this blog, if you will, an alternative weather report. As this is my first-ever post, I thought I'd give you  an idea of some of the things I would be writing  about, including, but not limited to--

raincoats

sparrows

bees

milkweeds and native plants

what to wear

snows of winters past

signs of spring

summer grass

living by the Lake

public transportation

"good book days"

working outside

moon-viewing

architecture

the wind at Wrigley Field

seasonal poetry

power outages

growing tomatoes

the smell of rain

cloud appreciation

climate change

the difference between rain, and freezing rain

trees

winter afternoons

resort weather

patchy ground fog

the art of layering

meteor showers

oatmeal weather

fireflies

colors

light

Even some meteorology!

Really, that's just the beginning. This  blog will evolve and change with the weather and the seasons. I am so happy to share this weather with you.  I hope you will share your own weather experiences, too. Your questions, comments and suggestions are much appreciated.

Welcome to Chicago Weather Watch!

 You can find more ChicagoNow blogs and bloggers here----

Chicago Now LIVE – Former CN Bloggers Doing What We Do Best