I like an overcast sky with photographable clouds.
But I don't want to hear thunder. This is how it looked just before a big downpour.
We sought shelter in the library in Deerfield. I read the Utne Reader (after Meade handed it to me) and Meade read the Mayo Clinic Newsletter until the librarian said she was closing in a minute. The worst of the rain was over, and we pedaled back over the trail, dodging chipmunks and frogs and one dark brown rabbit.
Posts
35 comments:
That is a totally cloudy sky in the pics. We have also had clouds like that for several days in Georgia. It sure has cooled things off around here.
A nice gullywasher at my house. I planted seeds yesterday.
Coincidence?
I'm glad you got a bike ride in.
But this is important, I heard it on the radio today.
At Taste Of Madison, this weekend, DANNY GOKEY WILL BE SINGING! It so very much pains me that I will miss him.
Where are the glaciers?
The dodgey chipmunks say, "Tag, please?"
Check the weather radar to see what's coming for the next couple of hours before setting out.
If you commute daily, about once a year you'll get caught, which is good odds of escaping.
That library seems like a socialist government extravagance.
Times are tough: we need to shut down libraries and encourage folks to pick themselves up by their boot straps by using Althouse's amazon link to buy their own books instead of sucking on the government's tits.
And, bikers should carry rain gear instead of seeking refuge in government housing.
"The dodgey chipmunks say, "Tag, please?""
LOL. I don't like creating new tags. The frogs and rabbits already have tags. So... tough for the chipmunks I know, but they'll be dodgy no matter what I do,
"Check the weather radar to see what's coming for the next couple of hours before setting out."
Ha. You need to meet Meade. He's all about checking the radar. We headed east, etc. etc. because we saw where the storm was.
"And, bikers should carry rain gear instead of seeking refuge in government housing."
Oh, screw you. You're the one that insulted my counter. Anyway, I don't care about the rain. I just don't want to be hit by lightning. Is there some "lightning gear" that I should buy?
Ah! But then you could add the tag to the old post about the nearly dead chipmunk.
Historical reference.
I forgot to add that chipmunks are the only rodents I tolerate.
There are photos of me, wearing a sailor hat, feeding chipmunks at our vacation cottage on the shores of Lake Nippising in Ontario, Canada. It was July 1965, and I had no fear of bubonic plague. My brother reeled in a snapping turtle that summer with a simple fishing line.
I'll scan a shot when I get around to it.
"...we need to shut down libraries..."
NO MORE UTNE READER FOR 1pbj!!
Gee, I would have thought Ann and Meade would find a convenient cave and do a re-enactment of Aeneas and Dido.
Irene said...
I forgot to add that chipmunks are the only rodents I tolerate.
There are photos of me, wearing a sailor hat, feeding chipmunks at our vacation cottage on the shores of Lake Nippising in Ontario, Canada.
If you and The Blonde ever meet, I'll have to get her to tell you her story about feeding Goldfish to the prairie dogs and petting the elk in Yellowstone.
@Irene Yeah, I thought about that old, broken chipmunk every time one of those little devils froze and stared at my bike.
But then you could add the tag to the old post about the nearly dead chipmunk.
Was it a chipmunk (dead) with the ant in its eye? I don't recall. Chipmunk, squirrel, or bird?
And why is the tag frogs and rabbits and dogs (plural) but only singular for squirrel?
Those were some nasty cloud to ground bolts during the storm in Madison. Glad you were able to find shelter.
On weather radar, look for
1. Which way are the storms going, and
2. Are they growing or shrinking.
Large areas of descending air kill off storms, and so decreasing storms are a sign of a protected area that may persist even if huge storms are approaching.
Conversely, growing storms, or little dots that are springing up nearby, as a sign of rain trouble. The air is rising and the storm that gets you may not even exist at the moment.
Strike Alert II is an entertaining lightning detector to carry or just set up in your window at home.
Drawbacks are a slightly high price; an on button that will require you to press it very hard very many times to turn the thing on after a while (but it does work eventually); and detection also of static electricity on your clothing and refrigerators turning on and off.
Of course it doesn't actually do any good. You're caught in the rain when you're caught in the rain.
Althouse, I love that old post about the nearly dead chipmunk! I think of it now, too, when I see the one of those little critters with her "lakes for eyes."
MadisonMan, it was definitely a chipmunk. At Picnic Point, I think.
edutcher, I feld prairie dogs at Yellowstone, too!! Wow, nuance!
"fed," not "feld."
Freudian sliplette.
Less gummint ≠ No gummint.
Libraries ≠ Socialism.
Radar ≠ Dry.
Utne Reader? I always knew Althouse was a crypto-Communist, now I've got proof!
I'll add her name to the list and send it to Dick Armey. Welcome our newest Enemy of Freedom!
That is a beautiful trail
Pack a backpack sometime and ride the Glacial Drumlin Trial all the way east to Waukesha. Stay at the beautifully restored Clarke Hotel in downtown Waukesha, and have dinner at the hotel's wonderful Black Trumpet restaurant.
Haha, I had a subscription to the Utne Reader back in the day.
The Mayo Clinic Newsletter? I hope all is well.
Isn't this SO much better than sitting alone in a coffee shop with your laptop, taking photos of your cup of coffee and speculating on other people's lives?
Congratulations.
:-D
Irene said...
"fed," not "feld."
Freudian sliplette.
Maybe you want to run away and join the circus. Doesn't Irving(?) Feld own Ringling Bros. Circus?
WV "pledola" How Eddie Rendell became mayor of Philadelphia.
edutcher, I had the poker term in mind.
"Maybe you want to run away and join the circus."
Lost opportunity. Imagine what I could have done with the poodles.
("Irina.")
If you like biking those old railbeds check out the Sugar River trail sometime. Maybe a fall outing when the leaves have all turned. There's even an old tunnel I think.
As for drumlins: I checked my trusty The Physical Geography of Wisconsin by Lawrence Martin. After a lengthy spiel concerning the area you just biked through he remarks:
There are drumlins at Madison, however, for example the hill near Lake Mendota traversed by Langdon and Gilman Streets.
The colors are gorgeous on the first one. I couldn't believe it when I saw the Utne Reader at our library last week too...reminded me of my foolish youth...
Life on the wild side!
My grandmother grew up watching the family barn for lightning strikes. "That was a close one", was the pronouncement she make whenever a strike occurred within the danger range. My mom ended up repeating the phrase and something inside of me still cringes and declares the same whenever I'm surprised by a close one. My kids don't seem to notice, but the dog worries with me.
Michigan is still waiting for Wisconsin's rain to move in.
A sunshiney shower won't last half an hour.
I remember reading the Utne Reader in the late 1980s or so. A Stuff White People Like magazine, from a time when the world seemed to work along those lines. Wasn't it pretty to think so?
And hello from newsletter land.
vw bleng: Bling, 50% off.
My spouse and I would occasionally wonder what the absolute polar opposite magazine from Utne Reader would be. We decided the opposite of a fretful congeries of liberal overthinkers would be a smug solid group of conservative theists... thus, First Things.
WV: moness. You don't need a lot of moness to buy your Ed Hardy chav-wear and cheap bleng.
With my new bright green biking vest on, I was packing up my bike to head home from work yesterday when the same storm hit (and btw, I had checked the radar and thought I was safe heading generally SW on a storm that seemed to be headed NE on parallel tracks...but no).
Anyway, I waited 20 minutes for the worst to pass and took off. Waiting my turn through 5 lights to cross Midvale, I realized, what's the hurry? This was kind of fun - I hadn't been soaked to the bone, while on my bike, since I was a kid
When I used to cycle a lot, bicycle and motorcycle, I got very good at short term weather prediction. Out west you can see storms from such a great distance that you can race them.
"Haha, I had a subscription to the Utne Reader back in the day."
Me too.
"The Mayo Clinic Newsletter? I hope all is well."
Yes, fine. I think he was reading about getting old, which we are. Actually, the stuff in Utne Reader seemed aimed at old men too -- an article about running while fat and another about growing old in prison. I think the readership of the UR has aged -- old lefty guys, such as one sees everywhere in Madison -- and new readers are not coming in.
Post a Comment