Adventures With Ari: Life as a Canine Naturalist

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Anatomy of a Misplaced Tropcial Storm

In college, my roommate had a boyfriend named Kyle (she also had a hedgehog, a 6-foot long boa constrictor, a freezer filled with frozen rats for said boa constrictor, and a very badly trained little white dog named Chessie, but that’s another story). Kyle, although relatively pleasant, was really kind of a slouch: he’d show up an hour late for dinner, or linger at our apartment for days—not going to class or doing his dishes or anything other than laying around, monopolizing the t.v., and often eating groceries that I had purchased.

Tropical storm Kyle seemed a whole lot like third-wheel-roommate Kyle when it arrived today: late, pretty soppy, and capable of creating low-level annoyance. Instead of drama and winds and pelting rain, we got soup, soup, and more soup. And not the fabulous cheesy broccoli soup or even a hearty lentil stew. This was a thin, uninspired, poorly seasoned storm—one frustrating enough to turn even the most agreeable caninaturalist into a singularly grouchy dog.

8:00 am: Our morning walk
Temperature: 63° F
Barometer: 29.93
Wind speed: 5 mph
Visibility: 10 miles

11:00 am: pouring rain
Temperature: 64° F
Barometer: 29.87
Wind speed: 3 mph
Visibility: 1 mile

1:00 pm: Time for a bathroom break

(aka, “really, go ahead and try to make me go outside again”)
Temperature: 66° F
Barometer: 29.30
Wind speed: 8 mph
Visibility: 4 miles

3:00 pm: check on household drainage
Temperature: 67° F
Barometer: 29.8
Wind speed: 12 mph
Visibility: 10 miles

5:00 p.m. NOAA radar check

7:00 pm: Misty stillness
Temperature: 65° F
Barometer: 28.5
Wind speed: 3 mph
Visibility: 3 miles

9:00 pm: No really, I DARE you to make me pee one more time outside
Temperature: 63° F
Barometer: 29.3
Wind speed: 3 mph
Visibility: 10 miles

11:00 pm: Good luck, Nova Scotia!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Batten Down the Hatches

High: 64° F
Low: 58°F
Conditions: Rain with increasing winds.

Kyle (or would that be Khyle?) is on the way and expected to make landfall here in Maine sometime on Sunday. Meteorologists are forecasting winds of 70 mph (with gusts exceeding 100 mph) and six inches of rain. All of the local critters have already taken cover, but we thought we’d go take one last stroll nevertheless. That's all for now, then. We’ll have more to report on Monday—stay tuned!

Issued by The National Weather ServicePortland, ME 1:13 pm EDT, Sat., Sep. 27, 2008
... TROPICAL STORM WIND WATCH IN EFFECT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING...
... NEW INFORMATION... AT 1100 AM EDT... THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM KYLE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 32.1 NORTH... LONGITUDE 69.6 WEST OR ABOUT 280 MILES WEST OF BERMUDA AND ABOUT 635 MILES SOUTH OF NANTUCKET MASSACHUSETTS. ... AREAS AFFECTED... THIS STATEMENT RECOMMENDS ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY PERSONS IN... WESTERN MAINE. INTERIOR WALDO COUNTY.
... WATCHES/WARNINGS... TROPICAL STORM KYLE WILL THREATEN PORTIONS OF THE WESTERN MAINE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING... A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST OF MAINE FROM STONINGTON TO EASTPORT. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA... GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE COAST OF MAINE SOUTH OF STONINGTON TO CAPE ELIZABETH... INCLUDING THE PORTLAND AREA. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA... GENERALLY WITHIN 36 HOURS. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR BERMUDA. KYLE IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH... 24 KM/HR. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH AND AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY... AND A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST IS EXPECTED TONIGHT OR SUNDAY. ON THE FORECAST TRACK... THE CENTER OF KYLE IS FORECAST TO BE NEAR EASTERN MAINE OR THE CANADIAN MARITIMES LATE SUNDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 70 MPH... 110 KM/HR... WITH HIGHER GUSTS. SOME STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS... AND KYLE COULD BECOME A HURRICANE LATER TODAY. RAINFALL TOTALS AROUND ONE INCH ARE POSSIBLE ON BERMUDA THROUGH TODAY. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES WITH MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 6 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE OVER EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES... NEW BRUNSWICK... AND NOVA SCOTIA THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Common Ground

High: 67°
Low: 40°
Conditions: Mostly sunny and calm

This week marks the start of autumn, and we can think of no better way to celebrate it than the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardener's Common Ground Fair. One of the largest of its kind in North America, Common Ground brings about 60,000 visitors to Central Maine over the course of three days for food, fun, and a little social activism. The fair is a special kind of place: its fried dough is 100% organic whole grain, its midway is filled with folk artisans and peace and justice groups, and the only rides there are the ones you catch on a friendly horse or two. It's a great place to be a canine naturalist--whether you have two legs or four.

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