Lisa's Blog

I have been fiddling with my webcam today and I have set it up so it will updated every 60 seconds for you hurricane watchers and enthusiasts.

It is pointed out of my office window on the first storey of our house.

So you can now watch our weather, as we see it, until the power or wireless internet go down.

http://lisaschuyler.com/live/webcam.html

Right now, there is nothing to see, except a spider who keeps walking across the window. If the hurricane follows its forecast path, rain and wind will pick up on Friday night.

I have a low light booster turned on so you can see some things at night.

If you want way better action (since we're not on the coast), you see can several very high quality webcams at http://www.novascotiawebcams.com (including cams from Peggy's Cove, Halifax Harbour, Bay of Fundy, Digby, and Cape Breton).

From a list of Do's & Don'ts when a hurricane comes to Nova Scotia:

"Don't get a mohawk and an old lead pipe, strap yourself into some motorcycle leathers or latex, form a post-apocalyptic survival gang with your friends and family to hunt down, kill and eat your neighbours. A hurricane is not that big a deal in Atlantic Canada. Most will get away unscathed, with property damage or a bit of flooding the worst of it. The rain will stop and the sun will come out eventually---the day after Juan was gorgeous and sunny. Cannibalism is rarely necessary."

~ from http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/when-the-canes-come/Content?oid=1691679

Hurricane Earl's track has shifted slightly to the west. Lots of different models to look at. Canada's Hurricane Centre have the track further east than the US's. Storm warnings will be issued tomorrow!

LOOK OUT!!

Hurricane LISA is coming to an ocean near you!

Here is the list of Storm Names for 2010
Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, Fiona, Gaston, Hermine, Igor, Julia, Karl, Lisa, Matthew, Nicole, Otto, Paula, Richard, Shary, Tomas, Virginie, Walter

It's only August... think we can work our way up to 'L' ?

Hurricane Earl is still forecast to hit Nova Scotia on Saturday as a Hurricane TWO.

Hurricane Tracking links:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
http://www.stormpulse.com/atlantic
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/hurricane/track_e.html

Oh, and if you are interested in upcoming hurricane names, here is 2011-2015 for ya!

2011 Storm Names
Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don, Emily, Franklin, Gert, Harvey, Irene, Jose, Katia, Lee, Maria, Nate, Ophelia, Philippe, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince, Whitney

2012 Storm Names
Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sandy, Tony, Valerie, William

2013 Storm Names
Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Ingrid, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, Wendy

2014 Storm Names
Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gonzalo, Hanna, Isaias, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paulette, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, Wilfred

2015 Storm Names
Ana, Bill, Claudette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor, Wanda

OK... so it started a month ago.

I've told you before, I'm a hurricane junkie.

I pin myself to all my sources of information during hurricane season. I've got the hurricane tracking websites bookmarked. I subscribe to multiple RSS feeds and email notification lists so I always know the LATEST information. I check the satellite shots, and the current models of impending storms. I watch throughout the day as the hurricane's predicted path is updated. Heck, I've even slept with the TV on before watching the CNN anchors track the eye walls, and measure the storm surges.

I've gotta tell ya, the ultimate thrill of watching on TV is watching an expendable young journalist have to hold a sign pole, or a railing, or better yet -get knocked off their feet!

Who would have ever thought I'd move from fairly-hurricane proof northern Ontario to Nova Scotia! Where hurricanes actually hit!!

My first taste of a hurricane came shortly after we moved here. Hurricane Noel arrived in the fall of 2007. It was a tropical storm by the time it hit, but it was a wild ride! It hit through the night and it was scary! I was sure our roof was holding on by one last nail and the next gust was going to take it away. There was plenty of damage and thousands of downed trees, but we weathered the storm.

Right now, the forecast is showing the possibility of Hurricane Earl hitting Nova Scotia as a Hurricane 2 on Friday night/Saturday morning. Because that it days away, almost anything can happen in the meantime.

It's crazy, but I almost cheer for these storms to "come and get us!" Do I think I'm invincible? Or am I some sort of hurricane thrill chaser?

Stay tuned... I'm headed to Walmart for supplies....

As the end of August nears, I am seeing the signs of the shortening days, and the damp nights.

The sun is almost tucked behind the other side of our valley at just 7:20pm tonight. Fog forms a layer between the surface of the lake and the top of the valley each night. By morning our vehicles are completely fogged over and I need to keep the defrost and wipers on for the first few minutes of my drive to work to keep the condensation off my window.

This year was our second attempt at vegetable gardens and we are having success!! Our green beans are incredible. No bean I've ever had tasted this good. What are those green things they label green beans in our grocery stores? They certainly don't compare to these green pieces of heaven.

Our tomatoes are doing better than last year too. We've eaten 3 of them now, and Jeff brought in a few more that should be ready for tomorrow night.

Our garden is little, and it is an on-going experiment to see what we can grow here. Our red cabbage is growing, but still hasn't really folded itself into a cabbage yet. The lettuce only gave us one good salad before it flowered. Our green and jalapeño peppers are just starting to produce peppers that are about 0.5cm in size still so I guess we don't really have a climate for peppers here.

Next year we're thinking about having a chicken coop with some meat birds. I used to "help" my dad when he "harvested" our chickens, but I've grown into such a softie I am afraid I will think of them all as pets and not want to "harvest" them.