to record highs, and beyond!

 Dry season is one thing, but heat season is another beast entirely. And fear fire foes, it is upon us - several weeks sooner than usual!

As stated succinctly at Cliff Mass' blogsite, the forecast is consistently forecasting that high-temp records will break throughout the region. Even more bizarre, the expected changes that weather models make when a big event is closer to starting - well, the models have become even more certain of major heat! Usually when 110° shows up on the west side of the Cascades, a subsequent model shift removes it - but this event could be the exception.

Only the immediate coast is safe, as the thermal trough will sit atop the Willamette valley and allow the coast to remain at a mere 80° plus or minus. The valley itself will bake, and the Cowlitz and Puget areas are in on it as well. Monday was supposed to bring a reprieve, but models are even relenting on much of it; a low will dent the high but not remove it entirely. 

Portland's 107° and Kelso's 108° all-time records are at risk (see bottom of post), while June records could be set wherever airports actually keep records from Tacoma to Medford - and east side as well! Late June records in Portland are barely over 100° so the perfect (heat)storm has hit at a good time to leave its mark in the record books.

Thursday's WUnderground forecast for the hill-top. WU forecasts are often near the extremes - but it could happen this time!

So - this year's plan for planting a spring lawn is officially over. The one spot that I had plowed did not sprout (old grass seed) and the rain disappeared before the new seed was spread. Dry weather March-May, a week of drenching rain and now parching heat means it's going to be an autumn effort this year. Ah well.. the last big storm did allow for (exactly!) 100% of average rainfall for June. On to July!

In other news, that drenching rain filled a few containers outside that were not intended as such.  I was set to overturn one to keep the mosquito larvae from hatching out.. but the wriggling forms did not act in the appropriate way for proto-skeeters. 

That's because they are Tadpoles! 

Now to watch their new 'pond' and keep them cool through the hot spell.

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Update - Thursday evening forecast is a pinch cooler each day. Many new records will still be in the making at the lower temps, so trifling differences overall.

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Friday AM update: cooler end of period - but a bit warmer on Monday!

Also, an updated post at Cliff Mass' site.

Truth: Portland broke its all-time high record three times with 108, 112 then 116° Sat-Mon. Ugh! Kelso and Longview set new records at 109°, and also had three-day streaks of 100 or more (as did Seattle!). 

Here on the hill-top we hit 99.5 102.4 and finally 105.6° by 3PM Monday - then the west winds took over and we dropped to 61° at midnight. That evening low erased the morning minimum temp of 78.6 on Monday morning. When I was a child a low of 60 was awful. We hit mid-60s lows soon before leaving Portland. Now this one. 

Dreadful.

into the dry season

After a few last showers early this week, dry and warmer is the forecast, with a touch of cooling after Monday. Those last showers took us to 2.55", which is exactly the average for June! Last weekend was quite wet with a one-inch Saturday, so on to July and its mere 0.92-inch average.

The Swainson's Thrush really began to sing as the rain came back - we hadn't made that association before, but the song was really sparse in the previous few weeks. Now they are singing in many locations, and my wife's favorite tune can be heard on many local stations. I'm also now acquainted with the Towhee's fast call so I can better notice their prevalence; the black-headed Grosbeak I already knew and that also is common.

Phase one of the re-lawning did not go well due to very old grass seed. We now have fresh seed, so I'll return the soil in that plot and expand it a bit before seeding and watering. It would have been best in the showery days before this, but it was worth trying the old seed which we had in abundance. Ah well, we do as we must.

spiral songs at last!

The Swainson's Thrush arrived at their usual time, May 18-19. Alert hweep!s and relaxed hwips were abundant the past ten days - but no attract-a-mate up-spiraling calls? Those usually begin within a few days, but perhaps the females arrived a bit later this year. No point in showing off one's best singing with no attractive audience to hear it!

I should probably stop hwip∙ping at them when they announce their presence; I might be canceling an appropriate alert before it's prudent, or telling them 'this spot is taken' and driving them away from us to sing up a new family!

pay no attention to the towhee at left, but instead his sneaky Swainson's shadow on the right!

Lórien is feeling quite cheerful now that her favorite bird call is in the neighborhood. Cheerful is good.

from allaboutbirds.org - Swainson's Thrush

a dry spring

 Three dry months have taken their toll. We've received just over 50% of our typical moisture for March-May, a heat spell removed most of Oregon's snowpack, and 2/3" today is helping but will only do so much. More dry weather is forecast for the upcoming week. This is our wettest day since 3/24, so not many noteworthy storms have rolled through this spring. Aside from being wet, today's winds were pretty strong too - but only the highest trees, as the SW winds could not find us on the north side of the hill-top.

My dad's old roto-tiller actually started last weekend, which I found quite surprising; it's probably been a decade since it started last! I managed to plow under a segment of our yard and toss down some old lawn seed, then sprinkled it yesterday before rainfall took over. Hopefully in the next week we'll see some sprouting, if not then another bag of fresh seed is in order. The yard is substantially dandelion with a smattering of daisies and moss, so even bad grass seed will be a better look overall.

It is also Portland's driest March-May on record, by a comfortable margin. Assuming they don't get 1.8" tomorrow..

thoughts on eM1/eM5ii

The eM1 Classic and eM5ii arrived the same day. After all the research and readjustment of my swap (eM1ii for Nikon –er em5ii –errr Ni .. nope em5ii) the original M1 is getting most of the attention. It was a tremendous bargain and most likely does all that I reasonably ‘need’ for this hobby. As long as both are here though, let’s find out for sure!

Differences are interesting, in part due to the lack of them. The sensors are different, yet DxO tests show them to be nearly identical in their particular tests. Neither sensor keeps up with the eM1ii, both are a pinch better than the GX7. Both eM bodies have 'better' IS within, a single memory slot, weather seals and no AA filter. 

With that out of the way, what do I have to choose from on the Oly side?

1. Phase detect AF (eM1) though not for every AF situation

2. Tilt screen (eM1) is my preference by a decent margin
3. Battery life is better on eM5ii thanks to its specific quick-nap mode
4. Grip is superior on eM1 without supplemental aids
5. eM1 is a bit larger/heavier.. but the better grip is a part of that
6. Video specs are substantially more versatile on eM5ii
7. eM5ii is silver.. OK I’m reaching now
8. In my particular case the eM1 is over $250 cheaper!

So of these first-blush points, what matters to me? 

Numbers 2 and 4 are big. My 70-300mm 4Thirds zoom might appreciate #1, though it’s cdaf-friendly by design. I’ve fallen for video specs before and shot no videos to speak of - so #6 isn’t as relevant as I pretend it is. Both cameras feel fine as to bulk, so #5 is a draw. With three batteries for the eM1, item #3 isn’t a big deal, and I can fine-tune some time-out settings too.

So items 2, 4 and especially 8 provide my answer. Therefore, unless I am disappointed in shooting with the eM1, it’s the better of the two for me. And if it's not a great fit, it's hard to imagine the 5ii being the right answer either - but it can give me its best attempt and possibly win out.

snowpack and yardwork

 A dry April and a warm spell has brought snow totals down in a hurry, most notably in the southern parts of our region. We expect totals to be falling by May 1st, but the rate can be quick in the spring - like this year.

NW Washington has been cool enough to retain its high values, so the variation in the PNW is pretty impressive. The Sierra had a miserable year and fire season looks ominous for California; my Wyoming granite range is just a bit below normal so my dreams will turn east not south for 2021. I don't expect any multi-day trips to materialize in fact, so dreams will have to do.

I've done some ache-inducing yard work, moving a few blueberry shrubs from the precipice of a steep hill and a tangle of wild vines. The blueberries should be happier and easier to manage along the side of our garage. I thought to add our raspberry twig there as well, but came home with a grape vine instead - once it's established a few feet above the ground a few lower berries can join it to shade the soil and make the wall a tasty place to hang out in the summer! We have a couple of apple trees as well, but they are on the opposite end of the property; can't make things too easy, I suppose..

Insanity plea

The last two weeks were self-induced crazy. I felt it a great time to step up with some new gear, only to scramble and derange my kit in surprising ways before the proverbial dust finally settled.

It began with the idea that I could swap e-m1.ii for a D610 and get a pinch of money back. I did that quickly, well before thinking.

While doing that I acquired an Olympus E-3 to use with my three  four:thirds lenses. I did what? Three lenses?!? Hm, that was silly.

Oh yeah, and a new gx1 body stole my wallet briefly and ordered itself. Who could resist having a brand-new one of those? 

Chaos rules!

I then spent a weekend of active recrimination and swift action. I offered my hasty e-3 kit and gx1 and gx7 online, hardly caring which ones left or when. To my surprise the e-3 sold with two 4:3 lenses and the gx1 nearly sold. I was able to send that back to the seller instead, and sent a note about the D610 to the dealer, intending to get the em1.ii back but letting them keep the Lumix 20mm.

The day that camera reached the dealer an em5.ii showed up on their site for sale/trade! In the end (and after some quick research) I decided on the silver eM5b, battery grip and a spare Olympus battery instead, yielding more cash back than the D610 deal or the em1 return would provide.

Edit - never mind!

Soon after my posting the above, an eM1 Classic went up for an irresistible price. Worked hard and given a new shutter, it's ready to keep working for a new owner. The sensor is a dxo match for the eM5ii, tip not flip screen, and a better grip without additional accessories. Hm, sounds like my kind of camera!