Busy week at work

I was getting ready for bed last night and looked out the window to see Summer running around the yard.  Dawn wanted to get out of the house a little bit because she has been sick.  Hopefully the nap the whole family got yesterday will help her get back on the right track.  Seeing this outside last night made me feel so blessed.

It's been VERY busy at work this week.  Monday afternoon we switched over to a new computer system.  So small bugs have presented themselves and new tasks to keep the website updated among other things.  I REALLY like the new system, but getting running was a lot of work.  We will have a few more waves of new AWESOME features coming soon.  One of the features... well we will be one of a hand-full of stations in the country with this technology... that's all I can say for now.

Grab the rain gear before leaving the house today! Scattered showers and storms for today with temperatures warming into the mid 80s.  Severe threat is low for today's storms.  A few showers may linger into the evening, but the rain will be working out of here by daybreak Thursday.  Cooler, less humid and breezy Thursday with the colder air rushing in from Canada and a few clouds sticking around with the cooler fall-feel to the air.  We see more sun by Friday as we warm back into the low 80s to start the Labor Day weekend.  By Labor Day we are back in the upper 80s and humidity returning.  So if you like the cooler weather, enjoy it while it is here! Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Hit the water for the weekend, cooler temps on the way

I was up EARLY on Saturday to head out for an all day bachelor event.  The sunrise was GORGEOUS!  This photo is unedited. 

So Jon, the bachelor, wanted to go fishing from a boat.  So I arranged that and got a few other guys up early enough as well.

I caught two fish, and it was about the same for most of the others.  It was a great day for the water.  Dawn wasn't feeling well, so I spent yesterday taking care of her and Summer at home relaxing.

A warm start to the week with just the slightest chance of pop-up rain today. Humidity will be high early Monday, but then dropping through the second half of the day and staying low the rest of the week.  Most of Central Ohio will be staying dry Monday and Tuesday, but a cold front late Wednesday may trigger a few more showers and storms.  Until the cold front comes on Wednesday we will remain to stay very warm, but highs near 80 for later in the week. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Saying goodbye to Marcus

My brother Marcus will be flying to Bulgaria in about 36 hours to teach English for a year. Last night we took him out to dinner and then went back to our house.  My parents and sister were in Florida for vacation and they landed shortly after dinner so they stopped by too.  It was nice to have most of the family together because it may be a LONG time until we are all back together.

A cold front will be moving through Central Ohio today bringing a few things... It will first trigger a few spotty showers as it moves south toward the Ohio River. Then it will bring slightly less humid and cooler air for the afternoon. Temperatures rebound quickly for the weekend with highs near 90 and humidity creeping back up. More spotty rain is possible late Sunday through Tuesday. Temperatures stay in the mid 80s to low 90s for the entire extended forecast. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Back on the bike, 42 tornado reports, and more storm coming

Tuesday afternoon was a GLORIOUS day for a ride on the motorcycle.  It has been a while since I gone from vacation.  I stopped by Frank's Fish Market for a salmon BLT before the ride.  Great food and great winding roads.

Yesterday was a CRAZY day for Indiana and Northwestern Ohio with 42 reports of tornadoes!

That storm system has shifted a little to the East today and Northern Ohio is in the Slight Risk for severe storms later today and Columbus is in the Marginal Risk.

 Northern Ohio is in the Slight Risk for severe weather for Thursday with Central Ohio in the lower risk for severe weather, Marginal Risk. The main threat will be gusty winds for severe weather, but a tornado cannot be ruled out. The strongest storms are expected between 4PM and 10PM today. The storms will be scattered so not everyone will see the rain, but there will be rain around the area, especially north. The storms will begin to weaken overnight and start leaving and, other than an early shower possible Friday, we will begin to dry out. Friday afternoon will be slightly cooler. Today's temperatures will reach the upper 80s and high humidity making it feel near 100 then mid 80s tomorrow and less humid.

Saturday looks dry and partly cloudy then Sunday a slight chance for some rain later in the day. Highs for the weekend will be in the mid-upper 80s. Staying mid into next week as well with more scattered rain possible Monday. Stay weather aware today and have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Salsa time and rain on the way

Thanks to the second round of green peppers coming out of the garden I was able to make another round of fresh garden salsa. I did two batches... one batch is hot & the other is ridiculously unnecessarily hot. I used 1/3 of the season's onions for this batch of salsa.

More sun for today with temperatures still just slightly below normal. More clouds Wednesday and temperatures back into the mid 80s. Scattered showers and storms for Thursday, but a few may sneak in late Wednesday for Western Ohio. Most of the rain will leave by daybreak Friday setting us up for a dry and warm weekend. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Back from Michigan vacation with LOTS of photos

Our first family vacation was to Michigan and we bounced around the state... so let's get started! This was our first family photo as we crossed the border.

We stopped first in Frankenmuth and rode on the Bavarian Belle steamboat, although it runs on diesel now.

We had a great time.

On the way to our hotel in Saginaw we tracked a storm.  Summer was napping in the car so Dawn and I stopped in a parking lot and jumped out to get a quick photo.  This is the only photo with just the two of us.

We checked into the hotel, I went for a five mile run, then we went back to Frankenmuth for dinner.  We saw a beautiful rainbow heading back. Dawn took this photo while I was driving.

We stopped by Bronners Christmas store... and it is HUGE!

We didn't stay too long at the Christmas store, but grabbed a quick Ohio State ornament and headed to the Bavarian Inn to have dinner before it closed.

Sunday we continued north toward Traverse City.  The countryside is absolutely beautiful.

We were going to arrive early so we went to Empire, MI and climbed the Sleeping Bear National Park Dunes. 

We made it to the top!

Here is a panoramic view with Dawn and Summer.

Yay!

Then on to Traverse City.  Summer walked more and more while on the trip.  We had dinner at The Filling Station then played in the park across the tracks from the train depot where the restaurant has taken over. 

Then a quick trip to the West Bay to check out the beaches for the next day.

Summer took a little time to warm up to the water, but she was loving it more and more as the time went on.

And she kept walking more and more.

Family photo time!

Followed by nap time.  We bought a sun canopy tent and it was a GREAT $40 investment so Summer could nap at the beach.

We ate more ice cream on this trip than the entire past year combined.

Do I have something on my face?!

And then CRASH! We stayed three nights in Traverse City and had a great time.

The food was fantastic.  This was in Grand Haven, where we stayed two nights.  This was a salmon BLT.

We checked out the beach again.  See the pier behind us...

We went out to the edge of the pier. 

A view the other way.

The waves were crashing up on the end of the pier.

And were fun to watch.

We tried doing a few more photos at the end of the pier.  Summer loves being goofy.

I love this photo.

Here is one more photo from the end of the pier as a boat is heading out to Lake Michigan.

Another great view and meal at Snug Harbor.

Each day we made at least one castle.  Our castle in Grand Haven was the best with even a tunnel for water to come in and go out.

I also love this photo that Dawn took.  We had the beaches to ourselves early in the morning.  So much great family time.

So this is our set-up.  Stroller helped haul it all down to the beach and with the sea breeze it also came in helpful to anchor down the side that the wind was coming from in the afternoon.  We also broke brought the umbrella and only used it once to add more shade...

So someone could get their beauty rest.

Grand Haven had a LOT more people than Traverse City. We went to the city beaches at both cities and it seemed less packed than the state parks.  The view above is looking at the state park to the north of our location.

Grand Haven had an ice cream social to help raise money for their train renovation so we stopped for some ice cream and help out.  This was our final family photo of the trip.

Summer fell asleep on the way home reading a book.

Saturday night there were a few storms with Tornado Warnings in the area so we went and tracked a few.  All we saw was strong winds, heavy rains, and VERY ominous clouds.

Our bradford pear tree bit the dust... well halfway.  I am going to take down the rest of the tree this week, so if anyone would like some wood... let me know.  Seriously!   I priced out how much it would cost to have the tree hauled away by someone else, but I might try to do it myself.  All I know is that I will need to get ride of the wood and I will have to deal with the sticks and small limbs myself.

A beautiful start to the week with temperatures below normal. A few afternoon clouds Monday, but then hardly a cloud in the sky on Tuesday. More clouds Wednesday ahead of rain expected for Thursday. Our warmest temperatures will be midweek with highs reaching the mid 80s. We dry out and stay mild heading into next weekend. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael