How's spring coming along in your corner of Oregon? (Sherwood: sale, electric)

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

One of the sad things about this particular part of Oregon is the lack of a good farmer's market, especially for such an agriculture-based area (yeah, okay, so it's hay and potatoes and almost nothing else). Sure, there is one in downtown KFalls on Saturday morning, but there isn't much in the way of produce until July or so and the market's over in September, and only the most standard things (which I already grow myself) are available. How I miss the PSU farmer's market in Portland.

Try some tomatoes & strawberries, etc, in buckets on your deck. You can use a refrigerator dolly to move them under cover, if the weather is bad.

[Hawk J]

In the past i've gotten free buckets at fast food spots like Burger King,etc. Their pickle chips come in them.

I just ask politely, when i get a WHopper .

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by Hawk J

Try some tomatoes & strawberries, etc, in buckets on your deck. You can use a refrigerator dolly to move them under cover, if the weather is bad.

I have pretty good luck with tomatoes and strawberries here - although the strawberries have to be grown in a 1/2" hardware cloth cage to keep the squirrels and chipmunks (and my younger dog) from eating them.

The tomatoes grow pretty well in a bed that is in front of a south-facing concrete block retaining wall, although the challenge here is that temps at night are marginal for tomatoes. This year they are in pots which WILL be on the deck (when the weather warms up) and I've got the peas and beans in that bed to refix the nitrogen and give the beds a rest from tomatoes.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by PNW-type-gal

I have pretty good luck with tomatoes and strawberries here - although the strawberries have to be grown in a 1/2" hardware cloth cage to keep the squirrels and chipmunks (and my younger dog) from eating them.

The tomatoes grow pretty well in a bed that is in front of a south-facing concrete block retaining wall, although the challenge here is that temps at night are marginal for tomatoes. This year they are in pots which WILL be on the deck (when the weather warms up) and I've got the peas and beans in that bed to refix the nitrogen and give the beds a rest from tomatoes.

I put peanut butter on pine cones, hang from tree branch's away from the deck, fer the chippies, squirrelies, birdies,etc...

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by FVWinters

And speaking of "normal" I'm afraid the news for the future isn't looking too bright. La Nina is progged to go away some time later this year but that may not be such a big deal. We have a much longer weather cycle driven by oceanic currents called the Pacific Decadal Oscillation that runs over a period of up to 60 years. The positive or "warm" phase runs for 20 to 30 years and following that is a negative or "cool" phase running for a similiar length of time. We are about 5 years into a very strong negative phase of this PDO so I don't hold out much hope that next spring or very many in the immediate future will be much, if any, better than this last one.

My problem with the PDO observations is how short-term the data is. Recorded weather history in the NW goes back 100-150 years MAX (granted some of the observations are from Japan, where the record length is longer), and, unlike climate change found by using ice cores, there is no paleo-reconstruction method or verification of PDO. Given the length of the data record and the length of the observed cycle, we've only had time for about 2 cycles in the recorded weather history.

In fact, looking at this graph, I see one cycle and MAYBE the start of another, although we could be at just a little blip in a warmer spell.
http://cses.washington.edu/cig/figures/pdoindex_big.gif

Given the the observed PDO and the rise of the industrial age (and use of hydrocarbons) are about simultaneous, I'm not sure I believe the long-term predictions. I think it's more like the El Nino/La Nina cycle is which is observable, verifiable, but not necessarily predictable, set of events.

And, lol, "Fimbulwinter" - I don't think Ragnarok is right around the corner. But I could be wrong....

[Hawk J]

The Sun's shining rite now...

http://bestsmileys.com/sun/4.gif (broken link)

[Larry Caldwell]

The PDO has been reconstructed back to 1700 by tree ring data.

[JohnPaul]

finally got sunshine today, suppose to be 83 tomorrow, 70's sunday...woot woot!!!!!!!!!!......... then back to rain again

[karlsch]

After another rainy week in Northeast Oregon, finally a sunny day. I drove to picturesque Phillips Reservoir (which has a large campground for those who are interested), about 20 minutes from Baker City:

[Fiddlehead]

Beautiful picture Karlsh!

Spring has finally spring in S. Oregon! Heading out for a hike today..!