What a difference a year can make!!!
WoW!!! i just accidentally found my way back to this blog on THIS particular Saturday morning!
the last time that i posted on this blog was . . . EXACTLY one year ago!!!
so i got to take the time to document what all has happened since last year. Cool!!
ya know - i was just surfing around on the web this morning - watching funny youtubes - it's been a nice relaxing beautiful morning with fresh cool temperatures . . . windows open, breeze softly blowing . . . in LATE AUGUST!!!! Sorry folks back home in the South - but it's true - when yall moving out here?
Sooo . . .
Besides being the Year of Mom Independence!!! it has also been one WHACK wEaTHeR year - 2011.
There is so much information & disinformation about the big picture meaning of this year 2011 - that i don't know yet how to assimilate it all so i will refrain from making any more comments about it except to document what all has happened since this time last year.
Last year - at about this time, "they" finally plugged the ocean floor, stopping the BP Gulf oil spill in the Gulf Coast - 200 millions gallons of oil spewed from April 19, 2010 to August, 2010. David profited greatly from this awful man-made natural disaster by cleaning oil off of thousands of sea & shore birds, working at the southern most tip of Louisiana. And amazingly, I got to actually watch him working through a webcam!! That was sooo cool!!
In December, i become aware of the possibility of the New Madrid fault zone being triggered and the effect it would have on the nation.
Then on New Year's Day, 2011 - hundreds of thousands of birds die off in Arkansas & Louisiana (New Madrid fault zone) and then in the coming days more reports of massive bird & fish die-offs - all over the world. Weird.
By February - major snowstorms & arctic temperatures throughout the nation. Unusual sub-zero temps experienced here in Northern New Mexico and the whole eastern part of the state!! lost access to natural gas, shutting off the heat to whole towns, thousands of people - in extreme cold weather conditions . . . and yet - this event barely reported to the rest of the nation - totally ignored! Weird.
March 3, 2011 - 9.0 Earthquake in Japan followed by a tsunami of historical proportions - documented in real time by the citizens of Japan with their hi-tech video possibilities .- for all the world to watch and see. This was the 2nd massive earthquake in the past year that has knocked the earth off it's axis a few degrees. The first was in Chili in April 2010.
April 2011 - two massive F5 tornadoes wipe off whole towns from the map - Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri - about 2 weeks apart- in the New Madrid fault zone.
May 2011 - the Mississippi River floods to such a degree that levees are dynamited to control the flow (in yet again - the New Madrid fault zone) and eventually the Morganza Spillway in South Louisiana is opened to keep Baton Rouge & New Orleans from being catastrophically flooded.
June 2011 - Unprecedented snow melt off in the Northwestern states causes the Missouri River to completely flood Minot, North Dakota - which is flooding in an unheard of area of the nation.
July 2011 - From Oklahoma & Texas across Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi & Tennessee, a high ridge pressure systems settles causing unprecedented triple-digit heat for the next 60 some days. (in New Madrid fault zone)
August 2011 - a 5.5 earthquake in southeastern Colorado and the very next day, a 6.0 in Virginia - rocking New York & Washington D.C. - guess what's in the middle of these 2 two areas - the New Madrid fault zone.
And now - Hurricane Irene is shredding north, up the whole East Coast - from North Carolina through New England . . .Wall Street in New York is supposed to be flooded.
which brings me to this moment - i got the Weather Channel running in the background - watching how this hurricane actually turns out . . .
Like i said - some really weird weather this year and i'm sure more to come.
But in and amongst all these crazy happenings, I have experienced a very happy and satisfying year.
David graduated from college as a 2nd Lt. and nurse for the Air Force - his goals since he was in 9th grade!
and Evan married her beloved Matt - who proposed to her last August - the minute she got back from that trip she & David took last year to visit me out here in New Mexico.
Their wedding was just a month ago and it was wonderful, elegant and lots of fun for the whole Jennings clan. So yes it's been a good year for me, ol' Momcat.
Some other highlights:
i got my braces off
and love my fabulous new smile!
my flower garden in the back yard is spectacular.
i still love my job and the beginning of Fall semester this past week went so smoothly - i think i actually know what i'm doing now!
i've gone on lots of exploring trips throughout central northern New Mexico - Jemez Mts, Abiquiu, Los Alamos, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos - always Taos.
Flown - not drove - 2 times back to Louisiana with another flight coming up in December
Here's what the Rio Grande Gorge looks like from overhead
Drove to my niece's wedding in Estes Park, Colorado in the northern Rockies.
and drove thru extreme weather snow conditions when David helped me haul back the stuff i still had stored back in Tennessee (what relief to close that chapter of my life finally).
Snow!!! stayed on the ground from the end of December to the first of February!!
But in the early spring, I was really bummed when the electric company came out and cut the 2 trees down in my back yard . . . . but now i have tons of free firewood!!
Danny came down and visited me and split it just right for burning in my fire ring.
and i had plenty of wood to make new walkways - which gives me new ideas for my garden next year!
so all in all - been having a good time, loving my life in northwestern New Mexico.
Now i'll just keep on keeping on . . . watch summer turn to Fall and the cold weather setting in. Then ill fly back to Louisiana one more time this year to see Evan graduate from college in December and then hope & wait for her & Matt to move out to Colorado next summer after he graduates pharmacy school!!!! What fun!!
and in the meantime, i'll be watching how the rest of 2011 turns out weather-wise and if any of the stuff that is supposed to come to pass - comes to past - hopefully not - cuz i'm already looking forward to 2016 when i can visit David in Tokoyo!!
Oh yeah! I turned 50 this year!
me & my little kittens from back in the day
1 comment:
Here's the official record for 2011 disasters:
Previous 2011 disasters
Pre-Irene, economic damage from natural disasters in the U.S. exceeded $35 billion this year, according to a National Climatic Data Center report released in August 2011. Those disasters were:
Upper Midwest flooding (summer): At least $2 billion of damage as of mid-August
Mississippi River flooding (spring and summer): $2 billion to $4 billion in damage
Drought, heat wave and wildfires in the Southern Plains and Southwest (spring and summer): Over $5 billion in damage
Tornadoes (May 22-27): At least $7 billion in damage in central and southern states, including the tornado that struck Joplin, Mo., killing 141
Tornados (April 25-30): At least $9 billion in damage in central and southern states
Tornadoes (April 14-16): More than $2 billion in damage in central and southern states
Tornadoes (April 8-11): Losses exceeding $2.2 billion in central and southern states
Tornadoes (April 4-5): More than $2.3 billion in damage in central and southern states
Groundhog Day Blizzard: $2 billion in damage after a massive winter storm dumped snow across the central, eastern and northeastern sections of the country.
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