Maybe Spring is here. We really don't like to risk saying that kind of thing in March in the Northwest Chicagoland area. We can get slammed really hard for at least another month. A 15" dumping of snow can arrive on tax day (April 15) that usually sends hundreds of us out to building ledges with some high-school graduate state official yelling through a megahorn things like, "Step back from the ledge. You're not ugly ... you're just fat from your long winter nap." Sorry, yes ... that was yet another slam on any form of government. If you are a government official ... sorry, but I'm not sorry.
Today was a lazy day for me photographically speaking. But I did get excited to see and take this picture of my patio without snow. I actually have been in a long patio time drought. It started around June 1st last year when I began the wild west photo rodeo for the NikonSniper blog. It just seems to have been lousey weather every time I have been home. Rain, crazy high heat or that other Chicago suburb weather phenomenon known as "mosquito season". Mosquitos in the midwest are the only thing we have that is even remotely comparable to earthquakes. You can be sitting having a conversation with a friend and suddenly realize that you are quickly losing blood and need to seek help fast. You start swatting yourself in a convulsing manner that can leave you as much as 100 yards away from your original patio easyboy in a dazed state of mind due to lack of blood making it to your brain. You can sit there for a few seconds (while mosquitos relocate you again) in a stupper wondering, "What just happened.". When you return to your patio you may discover that a small fire has started because you knocked the mosquitos (candy) candle over and set fire to your patio dining cloth. My dear wife who never seems to be troubled with mosquitos might say, "I think that was a 4.7 on the Andy Richter scale." Cheer-y sort she is!
Anyway, I always love the Spring before mosquitos, between the rain, before the steam and during the sunny weekend days. Gosh, it's great to see the patio! It was 83 in Los Angeles last week and the hummingbirds were busy. I would definitely say that I THINK we are finally within 90 days till the patio is in ideal condition.
I hope your weather is looking up too! And if you are on the other side of the earth, Bruce ... just remember that a great day in the Chicagoland is not quite as good as a bad day in an Australian winter.
I am now preparing for a few trips to ... Colorado! This will be very cool because I haven't been there in years and it will be a first for the NikonSniper blog. I will give you all more details as soon as I know what I am doing so that you can tell me cool stuff to see along the way. These trips will be during April and part of May.
All the best to you!
NikonSniper Steve
7 comments:
The second worst snow I ever encountered in Chicago was on April 2!! There's a reason I live in Texas now. lol!
Lovely brick work on your patio.
Enjoy your patio & your beautiful weather Stephen. You are so right about our winters here in Australia, well at least in Queensland. You very seldom need to don a jumper/coat for an entire day. We are very lucky like that!
Safe travels...oh yeh, I love your patio!
Ha! My family uses the Andy Ricter scale too!
Beautiful. Just beautiful. love the second picture.
cheers. :)
Hmmm, I can relate to your mosquito tale. However, you can wear mosquito repellant, which is recognized as perfume here in Fairbanks, and do various things to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Of course, if you go out in the backwoods, you'll want to take a bath in the repellant first. The little critter that I have trouble with is the yellow jacket, and some years they are very heavy. If you don't mind sharing your food with them or getting stung every now and again you can sit out on your deck. (We're a bit more rustic than Chicago, and so instead of a patio almost everyone has a deck instead.) When the YJs are bad I spend a lot of time looking out on the deck and cursing the YJs. I'm looking forward to seeing your view of Colorado.
elaine,
i seriously kill YJ's in my bare hands. i just clap them to death. i will say that i am a product of the texas public school system so maybe my porch light is a bit dim.
nikonsniper steve
My hubby does that too and he's a product of the Pennsylania public school system. I'm not sure how that compares to Texa, but in his case I think he just has rhino hide. When a YJ come around me I tend to hyperventalate and have to run away, but then if I get stung it swells up like a nice rosy apple.
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