That is the $64,000 question, isn't it? There must be someone over here that imports it. I will have to look.
Latest updated forecast shows continuing rain/showers until tomorrow (Friday) evening. The next five days look good! Mostly sun and partial cloud, highs ranging from the low 20's to the high 20's from Saturday to next Wednesday.
It looks like June is going to be lovely for everyone, I think we all need some warm outdoor time now. 'It's been a long Winter'.....
As of this morning, it is still raining...but they did predict this last Wednesday. So not unexpected at all. But I think we are getting a lot more rain than the meteorological prognosticators estimated. All well and truly socked in and still coming down. Radar indicates this portion should end in another 2 1/2 hours or so, only to be followed by another batch a few hours later.
A very damp looking scene Keith, but if it gives everything a drenching before the three Summer months then that's got to be a good thing.
Sunny and warm today, 24°C this afternoon. At 14:30, I joined a neighbourhood jam session, we played "the Symphony of Lawn-mowers" ^_^
D, we have one of those re-chargeable electric ones, and compared to those noise generating, pollution belching gas mowers it is very quiet indeed. Plus the blade is easy to remove for sharpening and it cuts like a dream.
actually, I'm more of a pi** artist... <LOL> NB: from the definition given to me by a local (an art student) in Salisbury in the late last century : One who falsely claims to have knowledge about a topic.
I must look for that, it's not very mainstream yet here. As an eco-friendly person, I like electric machines and devices : a large part of our electricity is produced by nuclear plants, which is a way or reducing drastically carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. ;-) Take it as a joke, though that's what I think, I just don't want to start an inflame, or lenghty discussions.
Out here in western Canada the electric mowers are quite popular. Naturally, they are all made in China. The first one we got ran off a 40 volt Li-ion battery, but there was a problem with the starting switch on that particular model. It died after just a few uses. There was no trouble returning it and we opted for a 60 volt model which has run perfectly ever since. It will run for about 20 minutes or so on a single charge and seems to take a couple of hours to fully recharge.
Our daughter and son in law have a robot mower that mows through the night silently. It then re charges from a solar panel for a couple of days, then off it goes again. All their neighbours are gradually getting one, as they have been so impressed. No noise pollution and perfect for very busy people as they are and still want a lovely lawn.
Yes, they are quite the gadget, aren't they. There is a local supplier of these mowers but they do have specific requirements, which we cannot provide. We did investigate that idea quite thoroughly, but the cost, along with the mower requirements, made it impossible to take that route. Besides, it doesn't bag the clippings, and you still need to rake up the cuttings if you want to compost any of it. But it is indeed a very slick little machine.
Yesterday we were threatened with sunshine for today and the next four more in a row. As of now (5:58 am as I type), it is still drizzling. Yet the radar shows no precipitation at all within at least 100 miles from here. Something is wrong. The patio table is full of water and the cloud across the lake is slightly below where we are, at about the 1,800 foot level. Grumble, grumble, grumble.....
But just imagine how much all the trees and plants will welcome this, when in a few weeks we are all talking about droughts !! So let's put a positive spin on the wet stuff and at least there are no frosts, lol.
Cold and rainy weekend here. I am very happy about the rain. It has been very dry and hot for the past three weeks… The moss in the yard is finally happy, and so are the maples in the ground (which I never water). You can see Sensu behind the railing on our back deck.
Well, it's about time! Photos taken just after 5:30 a.m. here and the sun is clipping the mountains across the lake. Looks like a magnificent day in the offing. Incidentally, the Shuswap Lake has four long arms to it and the total shoreline length is something in the vicinity of 900 miles!
You know D, when we first came here, I thought that maybe the lakeshore might have been 100 miles long, and even at that I thought my estimate was on the high side. But then once you consider that the lake has four arms, and all of them are quite long, you realise that 100 miles doesn't even cover one arm. The shoreline length changes quite measurably with the seasons. Before the spring runoff and after the runoff concludes, I think the difference is something like 50 miles. I will have to search that to see how close I am. While it isn't tidal, as with the oceans of the world, it is seasonal annually.
You got me so interested Keith I've been reading about the Shuswap Lake on Wiki and on the tourism site for the area. What an amazing place and so much water sports also. I can see why you moved there. D
Quite honestly D, the move was prompted by Val buying the property after both her parents had passed away. None of the other siblings were interested, or had the funds to buy it. It was nothing but a disaster when she first got the place, but fortunately, we have recently finished an entire rebuild of the whole house. The only downside to the waterspouts is that we get a few of the high powered, (read noisy here) very fast boats racing up and down the lake. It's one of the very few places that has such good water for boating that still allow these noisemakers to operate. A number of lakes have banned the very loud boats. When the weather warms up enough for us to venture down to the "beach" I will see if I can get a few photos for you. One thing that is very common to see are the big houseboats. At least they are quiet and just motor along slowly and sedately.
Apart from the odd noisy boat, it does sound idyllic Keith and all the hard work you have both put in is now paying dividends. Although we live a reasonable distance from the M3 motorway here in Southern England, the car noise never goes away. So I hope that has made you feel a little better about the boats. I look forward to seeing a few pics of the beach. Try to keep them botanic, as I'm sure someone will mention it to me if they are not. D
No worries there D. There is a narrow band of semi cultivated ground between the parking lot and the beach, and last year we borrowed some cuttings from a few of the plants. I'm not sure if the plantings there are natural, or if the district has planted anything. In fact, now that I think about it, all along the road on the waterside, there is all kinds of growth, from small bushes to fairly big trees. That, of course, will be what Mother Nature has provided.
