Eats plants
I woke up at 2-something last night to go to the toilet, I looked out the window and it was still light! There's just no dark at the moment which is ridiculous. It's light when I go to bed, it's light if I wake up in the middle of the night, and it's light when… Continue reading The tropics of Scotland
This weekend we're getting the tail end of storm Alex which has brought a deluge to France and Italy and caused severe flooding. Yesterday we had heavy rain non-stop all day here. Elizabeth had highland dance in the afternoon and so I cycled her there in my cargo bike, Hoss. One of the nice things… Continue reading Storm Alex, cycling, and cat-shaming
It was a hot weekend and since my bike, Hoss, is a convertible we went out on Saturday with the top down. Apparently it was the hottest Easter for our region since records began which is, sadly, a sign of things to come. It will continue getting hotter and hotter unless we get our emissions… Continue reading In our convertible on the hottest Easter ever
I miss winter. I truly do. Yes, I like watching the garden come to life in spring and the buds blossom but I love the muted lighting of winter more and feeling the cold air on my cheeks. It has been hot and dry here. It has been the driest first half of summer for… Continue reading Fed up with hot and dry
We haven't been as badly affected as other parts of the country by the extreme weather. We're close to the sea which always helps to moderate the temperature but we also haven't had the huge snow drifts they've had elsewhere. No one is panic buying food and it hasn't been particularly cold. That said, we've… Continue reading The Beast from the East
After a very mild Christmas the temperature has suddenly plunged. There were a few flakes of snow today and the pond at Duthie park is starting to freeze over. It's funny how enthralled the kids are by a bit of ice. It won't be cold enough to freeze the River Dee. I took this photo… Continue reading An almost frozen pond at Duthie Park
We've been so lucky with the snow so far this winter. It's another winter wonderland outside this morning. Elizabeth told me that when she sees all the snow outside it makes her feel good. I know exactly what she means because I feel happy when I see it too. Here's the bike path today: There… Continue reading Winter wonderland
Yesterday there was lots of snow in Aberdeen and the Martin household was jumping with joy! It's very pretty when it snows. There was much excitement in the school playground with snowballs flying in all directions. Somehow I managed to avoid getting hit. Today was a different story. It rained on the snow yesterday afternoon… Continue reading Snow in Aberdeen!
I've got a population crisis in my stick insect habitat. It's swarming with them now and there's a range of sizes so this is more than just one lot of offspring. They're breeding like rabbits and I'm not sure what to do with them all. There are so many that I can't take the dead… Continue reading Population crisis and hairy legs
I took this photo on my ride to Newton Dee today. I go to Newton Dee at least once a week, sometimes twice, if I'm lucky. The view is never the same. Sometimes it's rainy, sometimes sunny, sometimes dark and gloomy, sometimes sparkly white with snow, sometimes frosty, sometimes clear blue skies, sometimes a mix… Continue reading Appreciating weather
I have way too many clothes. But it's not because I'm materialistic and spend all my money on contributing to despicable sweatshops and environmental degradation. Most of my clothes are second-hand and they have either been given to me by people I know or I have bought them from charity shops. Sometimes I buy new things for… Continue reading Clothes and sunny Britain
It snowed a bit again last night and I was very excited when I saw it this morning: Ben was even more excited about it than last time: It was beautiful!
It's getting close to the shortest day of the year now and according to BBC weather, sunrise is at 8:36am and sunset at 3:26pm in Aberdeen. However it's light at both of these times, I guess because we get the sunlight before the sun appears on the horizon and also after it disappears. The temperature range… Continue reading Enchantment on a bicycle
Fluffy escaped. There were tears. There was much searching, but we can't find him. I did manage to get this photo of Elizabeth letting him out of his home for a walk before he disappeared though : I've just come back from a run and it was fabulous. My bike has a flat tyre. I really must learn… Continue reading Fluffy has escaped!
This is a great two-minute video in which Neil deGrasse Tyson explains the difference between weather and climate (h/t HotTopic). It's a preview from National Geographic Channel's Cosmos series. The difference between weather and climate is important to understand because people have a tendency to see variations in the weather as a reason to dismiss climate change. For instance,… Continue reading The difference between weather and climate
I've just come back from picking Elizabeth up from nursery on my bicycle and now I want to have a whinge about the rain and wind. So here goes: I'm wet, exhausted (anyone who has cycled in the wind will understand why but add a factor of ten to this given that I'm cycling a… Continue reading A whinge
English weather gets a bad rap. I just love it and will try my best to explain why. It's never hot and humid, the lighting is softly dimmed and when it rains, it's more of a drizzle than a downpour. Hot and humid makes physical activity unpleasant. Animals in hot climates tend to sleep in… Continue reading British weather rocks!
Climate scientists have suggested that we will see more extreme weather as a result of climate change. Are there more weather-related disasters than there used to be? I have been wondering this recently but haven't had the chance to verify it. The insurance industry ought to know the answer to this. So rather than trawl… Continue reading Climate change and weather-related disasters
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