Jupiter - Venus Close together

  It wasn't a conjunction - it wasn't nearly close enough for that - but I've been reading that for several nights Jupiter and Venus would appear fairly close together in the sky.

 Here's what I saw last evening:

05-28-26 - 9:40 pm

 This is looking west about a half hour after sunset. Jupiter is on the left and above Venus on the right.

 Here's a wide angle view of the same sky:

 We were luck to have a clear sky, especially after a week of heavy rain.

Credit: Stellarium

  And here's the same view with my planetarium software.

 The view was really nothing special but I appreciate anything the night sky has to offer, regardless of how mundane.

Weather Cam

  I thought I'd install a security camera dedicated to the weather. I'd point it SW to watch approaching storms. When I found an Arenti (I have two and like them) that fit the bill I ordered one.

 It's a model PW3 Kit1-MRHK, branded Laxihub, and its described as a "Arenti Solar Camera Outdoor Wireless, 3MP 2K with 340° Pan, PIR Detection, Color Night Vision, 2-Way Audio, Battery with Solar Powered Wireless Cameras for Home Security Outdoor, Works with Alexa".

 It arrived last Friday. I charged it this past weekend and programmed it to work on my WiFi.

 Everything setup easily. Yesterday I mounted it on the post I have my Tempest weather station mounted on. I had checked the location ahead of time, making sure the WiFi signal there was sufficient.

 I don't like the plastic mounts at all. They're very hard to get the angles I wanted and the camera is tall enough to not be particularly solid. I figure one of the 70 mph winds like we had on March 13 would take both the camera and the solar panel out.

 Here's the first picture I got late in the day to check for my aiming:

 The WiFi signal showed 60% or two bars (of four). That sounded reasonable as the post is easily fifty feet from the WiFi gateway. By later in the evening I was still able to get pictures:

 But I found once the sun went down I was unable to communicate with the camera. Go figure. The sky was clear so conditions should have been perfect.

 I also found that the camera does not record to the SD continuously but only when it detects movement. It's battery-powered so that's reasonable, though disappointing. And I didn't see that noted in any description.

 The next morning all was well again.

 But I think if it's not going to be dependable there the location is not going to work for me. Back to the drawing board.

Later: Continuing to test:

 I was near Cincinnati yesterday and the camera never failed to return video. And then during the evening it continued to work.

9:40 pm - 05/26/26

 Of course it was totally dark when I took this shot. Tom had been out with the dog at 9:30 pm and had to use a flashlight. And yet the camera's night mode shows the scene well lit.

 Then I checked again about 10 pm and ... nothing. The camera returned no data at all.

 I checked during the night (3:30 am) and all was well. Great foggy picture.

 This morning it was raining very hard and I took a look at the camera and it delivered this picture quickly.

7:23 am - 05/27/26

 The camera seems to be at the edge of its range even though it's delivering a two-bar signal. To be dependable I'll need to move it closer to the house. But that defeats the idea of a good view of the SW sky. It'll remain a work in progress for some time.

 

Window Washing

  Windows were a priority with Mom. They had to be sparkling clean for her to be happy. It was a grueling project because our windows aren't the modern tilt-in type. They have to be taken apart, carried out into the yard, washed and then carried back in and reassembled.

 There was a time when I did this every year. I dreaded it.

 Now that Mom's gone, I still feel the annual compulsion to clean the windows (and for those of you who do yours twice a year, just go away. I don't want to hear about it).

 I decided last spring (when I was still 75) to hire the work done this year. Now that the time has come I have decided to tackle it (somewhat) again. I have come to the conclusion that I'm too old to do between the windows and that doing the insides and outsides would have to be good enough. And I wouldn't do the outside of the second floor windows at all. I just can't handle working atop a ladder any longer.

 Mom would turn over in her grave.

So on May 10 I began ...

 And on May 25 I "finished" ...

 My bedroom window is the worst of all because it is behind the bed. But when I woke this morning I decided to not make the bed so I could walk around on top of it and do my best to get the inside cleaned.

 On May 18 I crept up the stairs while Tom and Miss Parker still slept. Soon I heard the dog at the bottom of the stairs checking me out. She has to know everything that is happening. Was it really me up there or might it be someone she wasn't aware of? And could they be eating?!

 Anyway, except for the porch windows I'm done. I'll get to them soon.

 Here's how I keep track of which windows I've washed. I date the inside and outside on this sheet as I get the job completed.

 Like my window washing, it's a bit crude. But it works. And as Dad always said: "It's good enough".

The Cottage of Mason

  With a close family member* now residing at The Cottage of Mason (since 05/09/26) Tom and I drove down for a first time yesterday and we were both mightily impressed by the place. Both the physical structure and the people who work there were wonderful.

 Here's a quick photo tour ...

6491 Reading Road, Mason OH

 Our  family member's room...

 Looking from the bed to the bath...

 Interior view of the bathroom...

 Serving area for the dining room...

 Paintings such as this make the place feel more like home...

 The sauna area is available to all residents...

 We stayed about an  hour and a hald for the first visit but plan on going back weekly.

* I am not going to identify the family member publicly nor have I posted any pictures with people shown.

Epiphyllium Hybrid Red Orchid Cactus Blooms

 

05/10/26 - 7:24 am

 Tom bought this cactus at Crystal Gardens in Frankfort, Michigan . We think it was three or four years ago. It had a large bud on it when he bought it and we remember it blooming as soon as we got it home (it commanded the sunny window of the car the whole return trip).

 It hasn't bloomed since. I water it lightly every Thursday and a few days ago I noticed new growth. That soon turned red and it was obvious that it was a bud.

05/09/26 - 3:23 pm

05/09/26 - 7:06 pm

 By late day yesterday it began to open. I don't know if this cactus is considered a "night bloomer" but  it didn't begin opening until the sun was very low in the sky.

05/09/26 - 8:17 pm

 Only just over an hour later!

05/09/26 - 9:19 pm

 Before I went to be I checked it in the dark (I turned on the porch light for this shot).

 Information on the cactus can be found here.

Will the Corn Survive?

  Back on 04/13 the fields around us were planted with corn. That's very early and I worried if it wouldn't be killed by either a frost or a freeze. We've had both since then.

 The morning of 05/01 it dipped to 38° here and I noted some patchy frost. The next morning bottomed out at 34° and I observed heavier frost. And then on 05/02, we dipped below freezing (30°) and there was again a general frost.

 I'd think that would be a lot for seedling corn to take. But Google says: "Seedling corn can survive a light frost because its growing point remains below the soil surface until about the V5-V6 stage (5-6 leaves), protecting it from above-ground tissue damage. While leaves may turn black or yellow, the plant can recover if the underground, creamy-white growing point remains healthy."

 And that's exactly what I am seeing this morning:

 The damage looks pretty severe to me. And the ground is fairly dry so that can't be helping.

 Here's a wider view of the field behind our house. It looks normal from a distance.

 I'll continue to watch what develops. Or doesn't.

----------

05/06: The storm that just ended overnight dropped 1.23". As though the corn didn't have enough to overcome, a large expanse of it is now underwater ...

8:13 am

5:18 pm

Stormy Night

  Stormy nights aren't unusual at Pinehaven. I've lived here nearly 40 years and they're a regular occurrence. Spring, of course, is the worst. And though the numbers might not reach the level of some other storms, last night's midnight thunderstorms are ones I won't forget.

 I went to bed at 10:20 pm and Parker crawled in beside me and we were both out like lights. It had been raining hard all evening. The Tempest said we had exceeded an inch. The was plenty of lightning and thunder earlier but when I went to bed we were in a peaceful lull.

 By midnight we weren't.

 I woke to a crash and saw that the power was out. I got up and looked out the window but saw no trees down. I was going to call the outage in when the power came back on. This repealed three times.

 But it wasn't the power, nor the rain that concerned me most. It was the wind. The Tempest always reads low, probably due to its design and the fact that we have so many pines surrounding the yard. Here's what it showed:

  The wind I was hearing was buffeting the house like a hurricane. It certainly seemed to me to be in the 50 to 60 mph range. To check the Dayton airport I went to iWindSurf.com:

 That also seems low to me but I have two stations that are giving similar readings.

 Things began settling down about 1 am. Parker didn't seem to be bothered and I eventually fell back to sleep, too.

 This morning I found 1.82" of rain in the gauge. And I also found a skylight from the barn roof torn to pieces and scattered across the back yard.

 I walked into the barn expecting to find a gaping hole but everything was still covered. The fiberglass panel must have been installed as a sandwich atop an older one. Though the concrete floor was wet, the area was at least not open to the sky.

 

 Here are the pieces gathered together and laid on the back porch.

 No doubt this was a memorable storm. But it could have been worse. There's no critical damage and the house roof looks intact with no shingles lifted. All our trees still stand.

..........

Now just a minute ...

 Our neighbor's son texted me this afternoon asking if I knew a skylight was missing on our barn? I told him I though one that was doubled up was missing but I wasn't aware of a hole.

 Holy sh-t! Look at this:

 Bottom line: I need a roof repairman ... soon. It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. Oh well, everything got wet last night.

Repairs completed:

 On 05/15 James Blom, a friend of Jarred Erisman, came by and made the needed repairs to the barn roof. He was here earlier in the week taking measurements. While he found metal roofing at Menard's it was not the same as the metal already on the barn roof. That's understandable: the barn rook was probably placed there half a century ago.

 Rather than have a fiberglass skylight, we both thought metal would be better. It cuts the light in the barn but I've found just opening the door wide solves that problem pretty well.

 Here's the repairs: