As the image above illustrates, that pesky meandering jet stream has been all over the map lately, resulting in things like this:
… a huge avalanche yesterday just outside of the town of Valdez, Alaska, and on the other side of the continent we see images like this:
icicles on a tree in Ocala, Florida this month.
As the Arctic ice continues its inexorable decline to zero sometime in the very near future, these meandering conditions will probably amplify, causing all sorts of unexpected results. It promises to be a wild ride all along the way. California has severe drought, and because it is a major food producing area for North America, we all will be feeling the effect of that over time in the price of food. Perhaps this would be a good time to start thinking about that diet that you've always talked about. I'm just sayin'.
Closer to home, this persistent high pressure system that has parked itself off the west coast has resulted in dry conditions even here in Maple Bay. Abby the dog is happy, because we have good weather for walking. Bill could care less as he spends the majority of his time sleeping inside. And there in lies the rub. One would be hard pressed to find anyone out this way who isn't happy with the weather conditions, even though the majority of people wouldn't understand what is causing this dry and relatively warm period. In addition to that, on the eastern side of the continent, the frigid temperatures have allowed the ever diminishing group of global warming deniers to have a field day, because how can there be global warming if it's so damn cold?
But enough of all that for the moment. Today is my final one here in Maple Bay with my four legged friends Abby and Bill. It's been a real love fest over the past three weeks, and very relaxing as well. Late tonight, the owner arrives back home, and tomorrow morning I will be off to Nanaimo, just up the road for my next housesit with Piper the cat. During my time here, Abby has been happy to go on daily walks, and play with her ball,
while in the meantime, Bill has been content to do what most cats do very well, and that is, sleep.
So while the four legged animals continue to do their thing, this two legged one will continue to observe that meandering jet stream in order to try and work out just how much peskier it will get as time goes by. Perhaps a winter vacation in Alaska to catch up on some tanning might be in order in the not too distant future. Or how about outdoor ice skating in Florida?
Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
Bill the cat says: "Nice blog Paul, Gimme 4."
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