Sunday, September 10, 2017

Watching the Weather


Olga and I took a long walk to Hampstead Heath Extension yesterday, where we saw this shirtless older guy practicing Tai Chi. I watched him for a while and he seemed so focused.

I felt a bit jealous. Even though I'm obviously not in any personal danger, I'm rattled by Irma and the storm predictions. I know so many people who live in her direct path, now that she's swung westward and is predicted to pass over or near Tampa, my hometown. My Facebook friends are talking about evacuating and securing their homes. My stepmother and stepsister plan to stay put in their houses, at least at this point.

You'd think the science of meteorology would be better able to predict the path of a hurricane. But here we are, in 2017, with weather apparatus that can tell us in advance not only that it will rain but at what time, and the largest storm systems on the planet are still a mystery. They can be nudged fairly easily in this direction or that. I just hope Irma weakens as she moves north over land and/or cooler water.


Meanwhile, at our hurricane-free house, it's finch-a-palooza! The finch feeder was swarmed yesterday by lots of goldfinches -- young ones, I think. They must be migrating, or preparing to migrate. I've never seen this many at once.


Olga was feeling extra spirited on her walk. She ran and ran, after squirrels real and imagined.

8 comments:

Yorkshire Pudding said...

It's nice to see that Olga is able to bag up her own faeces. No wonder she's laughing. Or perhaps she was still thinking about the tai chi guy.

Red said...

I had never thought about the comparison of ordinary weather forecasting and forecasting a hurricane.

Catalyst said...

That's a great picture of Olga.

jenny_o said...

I have noticed some comments on news articles about the hurricane that people are complaining the forecasters got it wrong ... clearly they have no idea of the number of factors that affect the eventual course of the hurricane! Your finches are adorable, as is Olga with her grin :)

Sharon said...

I haven't seen any news yet today but I did get a breaking news update that the storm had made landfall in the Keys. I agree, it's so interesting that we can see a storm clearly on satellite pictures but predicting it's path is still a mystery.

Ms. Moon said...

Be glad you are far away from this mess.

The Bug said...

It really is a scary storm. Love those finches, and of course, Olga.

37paddington said...

I'm really focused on the storm too. It goes on and on doesn't it?