Ingrid, I'm about half a block from the shore line of Lake St Clair. That's the heart shaped lake between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. It's fairly shallow so it doesn't take much wind to get it rolling. We're praying for west winds because east winds will bring the lake in. (Sorry Canada, I know west winds are a problem for you!) The Army Corp of Engineers has checked out our subdivision berm and stated that it's good (still 4ft of clearance) but the canals on either side of the subdivision (which we do not own and can't sandbag) are to low and need to be sandbagged. Unfortunately those associations haven't done their part yet. We've been working with the city and the Army Corp. to get them to do their part. The city is supplying the sand and bags for free and we've volunteered to help them do it but they keep lagging on it.

Oh, boy Seil, they better get going. My midwest Minnesota sister has horrible gnats/black flies too in her area because of all of the rain.

That seems ridiculous. Sometimes bureaucracy it's hard to understand. I hope you get help soon.

Hey Mike, c’mon down to GA! We’ve had plenty of sun AND rain. Our temps will be low to mid 90’s this weekend. Hope you guys catch a break soon!

I figured it out !! In Massachusetts, they will tax anything so they probably said you will pay a $50.00 tax on days when you can see your shadow. The tax payers have arranged for a permanent cloud cover.

Just keep in mind, in the old days the wealthy from New York City would vacation in Maine during the height of the Summers because it could get pretty hot and humid in New York, whereas the temperatures a little further to the North in Maine remained brisk and cool.

The famous Bretton Woods was one such retreat, which was a popular resort in its day.

I'm sorry if my kidding offended, truly! Everything I wrote was meant to be humorous except the part about Maine's economy. That's true. If everybody else, especially Massachussetts, didn't spend money here we really wouldn't have an economy at all. Other than that, I apologize and have deleted my post. Socalnolympia, we still have a large number of people from New York City who summer here. They are always interesting to talk to!

Back to the sun, which has been in hiding while we got at least 1.5 inches of rain today and yesterday... The annuals in my containers are still teeny weeny, waiting on warmth and sun.

I know. We just had 7 inches of rain in the past week oh. That's too much.

It's already entered the dry season in the "rainy" Pacific Northwest. We won't get any rain until late October at the earliest.

I have to go out and water the citrus plants to keep them alive.

Another note on all this rain. Some plants, and almost all annual "weeds" like jewelweed which I allow to grow in some areas, almost had a hissy fit when the sun came out and temps hit nearly 80. They were wilting and sulking. Even some perennials. I'm wondering if all this rain has resulted in very shallow new root growth.

Even my vegetables - cabbages, broccoli plants - are wilting in the sun today. I think they just get used to the shade and then have to get used to the sun again.

seil, I looked at your weather forecast and see more rain coming next week. I had no idea you were so close to the lake. Stay safe!

Well, I looked at mine and I see low 70's at the end of next week. 50"s by night. Strange. It feels like September today but at least it's sunny and coolish. No A.C and no watering. Just strange for a summer when it is suppose to be in the 90's by July. No 90's yet. All my plants are still growing slowly, but how ironic that the weeds are going gang busters!

I here you about the sulking plants. It's like they have to get use to the U.V rays after each period of cool and dampness. I guess we could be getting the snow they got in Colorado today then the high 9-;s in a couple days at the same place. That's cray.

Mike

I just started getting main crop figs showing, September 23 or thereabouts.....

So now, while be bask in falls weather for days, Europe which is suppose to be cool like this is bracing for one of the hottest summer on record and earliest to boot. I think I know where our summer is. It's very backwards. Just crazy and scary at the same time.

Here is what Europe is getting while below is what we have been getting for weeks now.Probably months into the future too.

Last Summer was pretty hot in Europe also. Central Italy was as blistering hot as Northern Africa.

Southern France was uncomfortably hot, rather than the typical comfortably hot.

In NJ/Zone 7a, the first 90 F day has lagged behind normal (normally in late May). We had the same nearly sunless Spring but temps were normal and the last frost occured in mid March without any frosty surprises. About to have the first heat wave of the season (three consecutive days over 90 F). Incredibly humid today, cannot work outside. Soils are absolutely saturated. It really needs to dry out. I need to do SERIOUS weeding, but it's like weeding in a jungle at this point..., pointless! Citrus are doing fine but not the same degree of flowering due to dark conditions.

P.S., There has been a lot of writing regarding the changing jet stream. To summarize, it is more sluggish than it used to be and has more pronounced north/south orientations.., rather than being more vigorously zonal (west/east). The jet stream gets STUCK more now, and so do weather systems.So, you get weather that is abnormally..., cold, hot, wet, arid, etc.

Blue, I can sympathize with you! The funny thing is that we are not getting the much needed deeps rains that everyone else is getting and this happens evry year. The roots zones to all my plants are bone dry although it has been cloudy and drizzly.

blue bayou, I appreciate your explanation of why weather seems to be "stuck". That explains the abnormally cool weather we've been having here which makes every day such a pleasure, where normally it would be too hot for me to venture outside during the day. I feel almost guilty when so many of you are caught in miserable weather conditions that seem to have no end.

FINALLY, FINALLY. FINALLY!! Now that the sun has started retreating towards fall and the days are shortening by an hour a month, we got a sunny warm day. 60's tonight. Maybe my tree will finally enjoy for a month or two along with all my other plants, espcially my orchids! I just wish we would get some deep rains and thunder. I can't win. lol

I share your pain, with this soggy spring. But the shrubs don't mind.

Many of my annuals have suffered. I've replanted some. I'm thinking about ripping out some soggy stunted annuals and starting from zero. By now, at least roots would have settled in to the point, they get blossom popping. Not this year. soggy

Lexington, Ky. lots of rain and clouds, however getting some sun and 90 degree weather, blooms are popping open and Japanese Beetles are feasting on them...I didn’t get my spring mulch done because couldn’t schedule with the rain forecasts. The bushes have grown better than usual with a lot less attention from me.

the rain is gone and its in the 90's....yowza, if itisn't a true heat lover.......plants are wilting

Please send us some of the rain and clouds and coolness,lol! It's hellish here in Tuscany, Italy-temperatures between 90+ and 100 degrees, sun and humidity, day in, day out...and the weather forecast doesn't offer hope. SO depressing...

Bart - You have my sympathies. What are your normal temperatures for June? We are heading into 80 and 90 degree temps this next week. I understand much of Europe is having higher than normal temperatures and humidity and lack of rain. We seem to be having weather that I imagine more resembles what England used to have. I read that Paris hit a record 115 yesterday! I sincerely hope it cools down for you soon. I have no illusions that we are going to miss horrible weather ourselves at some point.

I just wonder if it's possible to persuade enough people that climate change needs to be our biggest priority. If we don't start doing something about it, this is not as bad as it's going to get, it's going to get much worse.

Agree, Prairie, the sooner people catch on the better.

do any citrus'ers believe in global warming

Steve, there is something wrong with the whole world weather pattern as far as rising temps into the 90's for the first time ever in Alaska for as long as it has been. It worries me, so yest I do along with many other factors, pollution being a main one.

Well, so far it's been an unusually cool overcast Summer here in Western WA. 62 yesterday and 67 today.

If temperatures are rising or falling its part of a natural cycles related to earth/sun/magma inside the earth/changing magnetic fields/etc. etc. (I remember all sorts of predictions from the 70's). Frankly, I'm old enough to remember every combination in every single season, and NY experiences all 4 seasons (hot summers, cool summers, wet summers, dry summers.....use that for every season). The idea that we must give up fossil fuels entirely to replace air pollution with essentially ground pollution is ludicrous and un-achievable anyway. Frankly, the air and water where I am is cleaner than I remember as a kid.

How old are you exactly,bklyn circus?

Climate change is not just about weather patterns, it's about glaciers melting at a record rate, the ice caps melting, the destruction or near-destruction of many life forms within the last hundred years or so and wildfires and flooding of an unprecedented scale, and steadily getting worse - you have to have your head in the sand to imagine that this catastrophic confluence of events is part of a "natural" cycle.

When records are being broken at an unprecidented rate, something is terribly wrong..What ever the reason, it's going to affect the way we live, eat and breath and there is nothing anyone is doing to stop it before we all suffer dramatically from it.

I have noticed some unusual weather over the last couple of years.

The 2017-2018 Winter was milder than normal on the Wester Coast, so much so that ornamental basjoo bananas in Seattle did not die to the ground and managed to survive, with their leaves still on them. Camellias were all in Bloom on New Years Day, even roses were trying to blooming, and it was unsusually warm, sunny, and no rain during the Winter. This was the same year that had a devastating freeze on the East Coast. Rosemary plants and palm trees in Maryland were killed. Then the 2018-2019 Winter was colder than usual on the West Coast, a thick blanket of snow in some areas that normally barely see any snow, while the East Coast was fairly mild.

But I can also remember some times in the past that had unusual weather.

There is an old saying records are meant to be broken. Areas of this earth were once under water are now dry and vice versa, uninhabitable areas are now habitable, whole continents have moved apart - and continue to, etc etc. I have 2 degrees in science BTW and am 58 years old. I take anything of that nature with a big grain of salt. My head isn't stuck in sand, is corn still growing in the midwest? Is Coney Island still there? Is bangladesh still flooding and full of famine? If you think that wind and solar will satisfy the power needs alone of the world you are sadly mistaken. Much of the proposed answers is wealth redistribution and Now if you are correct that a global warming is being caused by humans and everything must stop, then I suggest a plan be quickly put forth to eliminate about 75% of the worlds human population, keep it at that size, and that should take care of everything. My apartment building will not be heated by solar or wind anytime soon.

Things changed here..We have been getting plenty of sun for awhile now..

The real problem is over population, There should not be more than 1.5 to 2 billion people on this planet. Most of this planets surface should be forested so the ground will hold water and not run off. It would help if we built things that use much less energy, but I don't see this coming with cars/SUV's in my life time. SUVs are too much fun to drive. I am 62 and I remember the 1978 prediction of an ice age coming. I am comfortable working outside in 90+F heat so I am not worried and I enjoy the 2- 6 weeks increase in growing season. with this warmer weather.

Steve

SUVs are too much fun to drive? That seems like a poor trade off. Clearly, you don't seem to believe that we have damaged the planet and that is causing a change in climate. Sure you can now enjoy a little longer growing season. I'm not really enjoying it because the weather is too unpredictable in the spring to benefit from it here. But regardless, that is now. If these changes are due to our continued abuse of the planet, then they are going to continue to worsen and it will reach the point where you won't be enjoying it at all and perhaps by then, there will be no way to fix it.

I would say that those in parts of the country who are experiencing prolonged drought unusually high temperatures for unusually long periods of time and flooding are not enjoying it. The people in Europe this summer are having a lot of drought and extended periods of high temperatures. They broke a record in Paris at 115 degrees this summer. And the temperatures in Alaska hit a never before experienced 80 degree temperature this summer.

To me, I can't help but wonder, if we have an opportunity to fix something now, if we could all get on the same page and just do it, and maybe we will pass the point of no return, where there will be nothing we can do to fix it and we will regret our lack of resolve and consensus to get the job done.

Nice summary Prairie.

I agree, prairie, your make many good points. Steve of course is right about the rampaging population being a major cause of what is happening now, and that is a very intractable problem. What it would take now is probably zero population growth (which will not happen) and a concerted, world-wide effort on many fronts (reforestation, clean energy etc.) to at least slow down the catastrophe that is coming towards us at breakneck speed. The latter shows no sign of happening., and so we will be spectators of a tragedy that now seems inevitable, and which will for the most part befall the least guilty, those who are children now, and the animals, wild and domestic, of the world.

Well put.

I might ad that the deforestation is just not in the tropical rain forest either.

I remember 5 years ago when route 114 in my area was all forest and farms. I just came from there for the first time in 5 years, and all I saw was pollution, tons of traffic stop lights, huge box stores and lots of malls. Not one forested space for 10 miles on my way home. It's pretty screwed up and they wonder why we get drought here in the summer months, where thunderstorms in my neck of the woods are dependent on forested areas to promote moisture and clouds. Screw my summers.

And you are right, it's gotten to the point where I can't keep much in my yard alive because our winters are thaw, then freeze, they get warm then frigid, springs get frigid and then too warm, summers too cold then extremely hot. Nothing is consistent like the old days.

It just keeps getting worst. Wait until we have to pay an arm and leg for simple farm goods because we can't grow them anymore.

Did I mention the fact that the pollution in China is so thick to population explosion that they have to wear masks and the jet stream can not penitrate through it which cause it to buckle, causing a world wide change in weather patterns. Not looking good.

Mike

I just can't believe it is not possible to make changes that would make a difference. When I look at the amount of money and resources we squander on things that are less important, it's hard to understand human beings.

Yup. all GREED . Money speaks higher volumns than the environment I guess.

We are still waiting for the new "NORMAL". We are not there yet..., thus the record cold, heat, drought, floods, unpredictabilty in all seasons. World climates are moving to a new "homeostasis", we're not there YET. Think of it this way, think of the annual, seaonal transition between Winter and Summer. Not smooth, there are three steps forward and two steps backward. Weather is temporary, climate wants to be more permanent. In the meantime, expect more bizarre weather to be the new normal.

P.S., there are air quality warnings from Connecticut to Maryland. Not sure if this is related to the Canadian and Alaskan wild fires buring out of control, but the local news is reporting that the smoke is in the area, visible on radar, and causing colorful sunsets.

Alaska Hit 90 not 80

My first car got 37 mpg, second and 3rd got 52 mpg. My 4 car ,a 4 cylinder 5 speed manual trans minivan, got 33 MPG. My house uses 40% the fuel of a normal house my size and I eat foods low on the resource draining load. I have 0 children as I have genetic health problem that I did not want to pass on. I have done more than my share and have nothing to worry about because I have no children. I am waiting for others to kick in their responsibilities for they do have children.

68 million years ago our planet was pole to pole 30F warmer on average than today and life was BOOMING to the hilt. The south pole was heavily forested and dinosaurs were plentiful/plenty-full'

I will continue conserving but I still love the heat and growing season I now have.

Steve

I wish the "pull up the ladder, I'm up" thinking would end, and we could save the planet for the long haul.

The planet will survive. Eventually, Humans who are like breeding like cockroaches with that technology and health care induced long life span may not. Wildfires are normal but used to be people had common sense to not live in areas that were prone to that. When you built a farm you cleared the land especially in the direction of prevailing winds. Hurricanes are normal, we had a house on a hill near the ocean but not on the ocean - common sense, but now look at the crowded shorelines. After a disaster property values plummet, 5 years later its a boom town again. Yes, we should continue to try to be cleaner, the waters and air in NY are cleaner than ever (no industry anymore we sent it to China where they pollute themselves creating crap we need, to make money to feed the billions there). Another conventional world war or global pandemic would do wonders. Computers pollute, phones pollute, modern life pollutes - reality. Killing any semblence of an economy or a way of life to save nobody isn't helpful either....the sky is falling. multiple deadlines for armegeddon have passed we're all still here. In NY activists and pandering pols refusal to allow a natural gas pipeline (pretty clean burn) has now stopped all new gas hookups and upgrades for NYC and Westchester - a great green victory - maybe a solar panel will heat the house and office tower in winter in the northeast. True ground breakers of cheap limitless clean energy are a century away. Nuclear fusion (not fission) may yet happen...in another 100 years. They may yet find a way to harness hydrogen efficiently in another 50 years. Solar panels and windmills wont do it. Many current scenarios of GREEN only makes matters worse

I wish we had 50 years or 100 years to clean up our act, but we are in crisis NOW, and the clock is ticking. As long as we have the self-serving 1% running not only this country but most countries in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and much of Asia I see little hope of change. If the billionaires of the world would get together I still see some hope that this crisis could at least be stemmed to some degree, although we are coming at this much too late to halt anything, I'm afraid. We were already warned in the 1970's and now, almost 50 years later, almost nothing is being done. You can't say we weren't given the chance, but we squandered it.

They just tore down another 60 acres of trees near my home to make room for another mall, which we have no need for. It's getting pretty bad around here. Now a bear was found wondering in the neighborhood. When will this stop?

No it won't mike. perhaps you will get more sun now