This weather is for the birds

A family of geese seem to be the only ones walking in the rain, but I'm enjoying the cooler temps.

It has been a wet and rainy spring in Kentucky, and this week, it has felt more like winter. Lexington had a high of 49 degrees Tuesday, which was the lowest high temperature for that date ever recorded, breaking the previous "low" high of 58. It's only been in the 40s and 50s for highs this week, and it's been cloudy and raining every day. I love it! :) It will warm up into the 60s and 70s by the weekend.

We waited until after my birthday to plant flowers outside since there were frost and freeze warnings during the first week in May. We potted a plant in my sunflower pot that broke during the storm (David glued it back together), and also put a planter on our back deck railing.

We tried to plant two small shrubs in the front, but there are tons of small rocks when we dig down. I don't know what happened, but someone must have created a rock garden at some point.

I finally figured out a way to keep my small flag from flying away by putting a binder clip on the end of it. Several flags have flown off, but I've been able to recover all of them except an adorable Easter flag I had.

Here is a short video of the planter we have on the back deck and our bird feeders.

I hope some of the rain makes its way south to Florida, where I know they really need it. Also, I am not complaining about the cool and rainy weather. I prefer it over humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s, the weather we'll probably experience when we visit Florida again!

A heat wave in Kentucky...highs in the 50s this week

The last time I didn't wear socks in the house was mid-November. Since Thanksgiving, we've had cold temperatures and snow on the ground each week. For more than two months, highs have generally been in the 30s and lows in the 20s or even colder. We've even had lows in the single digits near zero and wind chills below zero. It's 50 degrees outside as I write this post, a temperature we haven't felt in a while.

According to Lexington's LEX 18 chief meteorologist Bill Meck (read his weather blog at http://www.lex18.com/bills-weather-blog), Lexington has had 27.4 inches of snow, which is the 9th highest on record. This is almost three times as much snow as an average winter. The average high since December 1 has been 35 degrees, and there have been 53 days when the temperature did not rise about 40 degrees. We've had 32 days when we didn't get above freezing.

I started taking photos of the ice and snow in early December.

This amount of snow on our back deck was enough to get me excited. Little did I realize what winter had in store.

This first dusting happened while I was decorating for Christmas, which was nice. Within a few days, here is what the back deck looked like.

Remember the sunflower...how about snow flower.

We had a white Christmas. It started snowing Christmas Eve and continued through the morning.

Cash went outside in some of the first snow.

 During a period of melting, giant icicles hung from the roof.

I really like to see the snow fall at night. It makes everything so bright.

Spring is technically more than 30 days away, but we're having a warming trend for now. David and I agree this is as far north as we'd like to move at this point. Last Wednesday wasn't a fun driving day, but I still think I prefer this much cold and snow for a couple of months compared to many many months of Florida's heat and humidity.

There is a small amount of snow on the back porch now, but it will all be melted by tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day!

Six more weeks of winter

Punxsutawney Phil emerged earlier this morning on Groundhog Day and saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter weather. Whether you believe in this tradition or not, Tennessee experienced a lot of winter weather this past weekend, and we were in the middle of it. (Most of the photos I took were from inside the car for obvious reasons.)

We traveled to Memphis Thursday for reasons I'll explain in a future post, and we knew the weather might not cooperate. We thought we'd be there until Saturday morning, but the reason for our trip ended early on Friday, so we decided to leave around noon and make it as far back to Knoxville as possible.



I can now say I have seen snow and ice from one end of Tennessee to the other, and it's not an experience I need to repeat. David is a great driver, and Heidi is a great car, but most of the other drivers weren't sure how to handle driving on the icy slushy mess we encountered.

It took us almost six hours to drive 172 miles to Dickson, Tenn. We stopped around mile marker 100 to eat lunch, and most places were closed, but Chilis was still open. They were waiting on a call from the corporate office about when they could close. We tried to make it to the Nashville area, which was around exit 200, but as it grew dark, conditions worsened, so we stopped and spent the night.

The restaurants in the area closed early, so we ate sandwiches from a gas station...not the greatest, but that was all part of the adventure. During our trip, we saw numerous cars in ditches, a firetruck that was turned completely over and several semi trucks that had overturned. There were a few close calls when Heidi lost traction, but we made it!

On Saturday, we started the 200-mile trip home, and the roads still weren't that clear near the Nashville area. David spent almost 30 minutes trying to get the ice off the car, but cloth gloves aren't best for that. We used the car's heater to dry them.

As we made our way to East Tennessee, the interstate was a million times better. It still took us about four and half hours to get home, and we were nervous about driving up the icy hill we live on, but it was clear.

There is still snow on the ground, but the "blizzard of 2010" could have been much worse for us. They had initially said Knoxville could see up to 15 inches of snow, but it was more like five inches or less. It's just good to be home and have ourselves and our car in one piece.

Final Thought for August (130+ Animal Adoptions and an Earthquake)

I wanted to post one more entry during the month of August, and I didn't know what to write about earlier today. I have some ideas, but they will take longer to write, and I've been grading all day, so I didn't want to write a ton.

I just checked some local news sites and found a great "good news" story, especially for an animal lover like me! The Young-Williams Animal Center, where we volunteer, received a $10,000 donation, which means more than 130 animals can be adopted without adoption fees in Knox County. Once those animals are find good and caring homes, the anonymous donor will give another $10,000 for the same cause.

Read more about it at http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=97501&provider=rss. This donation probably couldn't come at a better time since the shelter has had more than 500 animals, but is designed for around 400. God bless that donor!

In other area news, we experienced a 3.3 magnitude earthquake earlier today. Well, I didn't personally experience it, but it shook neighboring Blount and Loudon counties around 10 a.m. this morning. The epicenter of the quake was six miles from Lousiville (pronounced Louis-ville and not Louie-ville), which is fairly close to Alcoa and Maryville.

In other weather news, we didn't make it out of the 70s today, and we're having lows in the 50s tonight. If you live in Florida, I hope you are very jealous!

Bring on September!

April Showers

I realize it's May 2, and I'm finally blogging about a lot that happened in April, which is one reason I'm so far behind. The end of the semester and several trips have kept us pretty busy.

The first week in April we had some snow showers in East Tennessee. It's hard to believe, but up here we have a different kind of April shower. Here are a few photos I snapped as proof.





Dolly enjoys looking at the snow but not being in the snow.



Sammie has taken Dolly's lead and now likes to work on the computer. Dolly is about the same. She doesn't have as much energy as she used to, but she still enjoys being Dolly.

Missing the Mountains

We didn't get any snow in Knoxville over the weekend like many parts of the South did. We're in the valley, so the areas around us experience harsher winter conditions. However, when I'm driving through parts of Knoxville, I have a wonderful view of the snow-capped mountains. It's a gorgeous view and one I will miss if we move away.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I teach until 5 p.m. By this time, rush hour hits and heavy traffic on Interstate-40 along with the glare from the sun since I'm driving west, make driving conditions not ideal on this route. Sometimes, I opt to go home another longer way because I'd rather be driving the entire time instead of sitting and inching along in stop-and-go traffic.

However, there's another reason I enjoy driving home on Alcoa Highway. I have the chance to see the beautiful Smoky mountains, and on afternoons such as yesterday, the snow-capped beauty of this wonderful area. I will definitely miss the mountains and am so thankful we've had the opportunity to live here.

The results are in...

I had the oral defense of my comprehensive exams Friday afternoon, and my committee members were pleased with my responses, so I officially passed. I can now call myself a Ph.D. candidate instead of a Ph.D. student. It's also known as "ABD," or all but the dissertation. Ironically, ABD are my initials.

We also had a discussion about my dissertation, so I have lots to think about and figure out in regards to the research I want to do dealing with the ethical ramifications of journalists who blog.

I haven't felt much like celebrating this weekend because I'm battling a nasty cold. I was losing my voice during Friday afternoon's meeting, and now I can't stop coughing.

The weather changes up here as fast as it did in Florida. It was 59 degrees yesterday, and this morning we woke up to snow on the ground and highs in the 20s today. It's just a dusting, and much of it has melted, however, I was able to get the girls to go out in it briefly. The evidence is below since they quickly made their way back inside the warm house.

No Snow Day for UT

When I started teaching at the University of Tennessee in 2006, a colleague told me that UT rarely closes for snow days. Since I have been here, the university has only delayed opening for two hours one day, and this was after I had driven on icy roads to teach my 8 a.m. class, only to receive a text message when I pulled into the parking garage letting me know about the delay. What perfect timing!

Some UT students have suggested that UT rarely closes for snow days because of a snowball fight near campus that happened more than 40 years ago and is attributed to three deaths. The administration has denied this is why UT never closes, but it is still an interesting story. I told my students to research the snowball fight, and they found articles in two local papers, The Knoxville News Sentinel and The Daily Beacon
written several years ago that recount what happened on February 25, 1965.

Essentially, UT students were on Cumberland Avenue near campus (the equivalent of University Avenue in Gainesville for my Gator friends) and throwing snowballs. At some point, the students apparently opened the door to a truck that was driving on Cumberland and started throwing snowballs at the driver. He reacted by taking the gun he carried in his truck and shooting into the crowd of students, fatally wounding a male student. He was tried for murder, but was not convicted. The city of Knoxville was outraged about the students' behavior. You can read about the other two deaths that are blamed on the snowball fight by clicking on the story links in the above paragraph.

I've never been a part of a snowball fight since I grew up in Florida, so it's hard to imagine that what seems like innocent children's play could lead to death. But if the circumstances are right, anything can happen at any time.

Snow Days!

We've gotten the most snow in Knoxville during the past few weeks since we've been here. Fortunately, it's beautiful to look at, and there hasn't been major traffic disruptions. Knox County schools closed early yesterday and are also closed today, but UT never closes. Below are some photos I've taken during the past couple of weeks.












Dolly was not happy about being outside in the cold snow, but she loved eating a snowball!







I built a very small snowman on a table on our back porch. It took it several days to finally melt as you can see from the photos below.

Fall Weather and Football

It's been really warm in Knoxville during the past few weeks, but today is truly starting to feel like fall weather. It's been cloudy and windy, and I don't think the temperature has climbed much past 72 degrees. I'm looking forward to the seasonal changes. It's one of the main reasons I enjoy living in East Tennessee.

With fall, comes college football, and this Saturday will be an anticipated match up between my alma mater and my soon-to-be alma mater, UF and UT. My Gator friends can't seem to understand how I can live up here with all this orange and white, but when in Rome...so when in Knoxville, I'm a UT fan. We're not going to the game since it will be a crazed event, but we'll definitely be watching it at 3:30 Saturday afternoon. May the best team win! Go Gators! Go Vols!

By the way, for the first time in history, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has five teams in the top 10. (For those of you in other conferences 5 is half of 10 or 50 percent, which is a really good statistic). No other conference has ever been able to boast about this accomplishment. Florida is #4, Georgia is #3, LSU is #6, Alabama is #9 and Auburn is #10. I hope Florida destroys Georgia this season and inches closer to the top spot!

It's HOT!!!

So it's been rather warm, OK, hot, up here in East Tennessee during the past week. In fact, it's a lot hotter this June than last year, and it's painfully reminding us of Florida's hot and humid weather. We hope it cools off soon. It was in the lower 90s today with a heat index in the shade of 100 degrees, and in the sun it felt like 105-110 degrees. Not fun!

The lack of rain in many southern states has made it difficult for farmers, including my dad. There isn't any grass for cattle and other livestock to eat, and hay bales and other food items have skyrocketed in cost due to supply and demand, higher gas prices, other reasons, etc. One of the local radio staions in Knoxville, WIVK, is holding a benefit concert for farmers in East Tennesse in late July. They're hoping to raise $100,000 to buy hay for area farmers. Let's hope they raise that and a lot more!

On a lighter note about the heat, I'll always remember a saying posted on a familiar business where I grew up in Gainesville, FL. During the summer it read, "Spring has sprung, Fall has fell, Summer weather is hotter than Hell!." I used to love repeating it as we drove by in the car since I wasn't supposed to say the word "hell." Do you remember that Mom and Dad?