Backyard is springing to life now that fall started

Can you see Summer and me in the photo above?  

Here is a zoomed in version.  I had someone online tell me to stay on the trail in Hocking Hills, but this was actually on the trail.  It was a trail that I often visit because it is not highly advertised and used.  I love this hidden place because it is one of the most peaceful places I know.  I tried giving directions to a co-worker, but it is pretty much impossible to tell them where to turn on certain trails to get here.

So I cut down that pear tree in the backyard that was falling, and the new Red Sunset Maple is starting to show some color!  It had a few yellow leaves initially after transplanting likely from shock, but it is holding its green better now on 90% of the tree.

Another leaf is really showing the red I am hoping for.

I planted grass last Thursday and my boys started sprouting yesterday!  Squirrels used to hide their nuts in the mulch around the old tree and I noticed more holes in the new area so I hung a few aluminum tins on the tree posts and they bang around in the breeze to keep the squirrels away from the new grass so that way they know they need to find a new area to store their nuts.  Silly squirrels!

Have the rain gear ready to go! A big upper level low pressure system will be spinning over the Ohio Valley for the rest of the week and camping out.  This means that it will trigger on and off showers and storms spinning around the area of circulation, so rain for a couple hours at times, then a break, then more rain, then a break, then more rain.  Most of the rain will be showers, but a few rumbles of thunder are possible. Temperatures staying cool as well through the rest of the week. 

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Family weekend & rain for today

Saturday we went down to Hocking Hills and it was a beautiful day to hike.  We checked out Rock House and then a hidden waterfall.

But with our dry weather the waterfall was dry, so we stopped and had a snack before heading out of the wilderness.  We stopped by Millstone BBQ on the way out of Hocking Hills.  Such fantastic food. 

Grab the rain gear! Scattered showers and storms for Monday, mainly midday and early afternoon. Temperatures will be cooler today with highs in the mid to low 70s.

Winds will pick up and remain breezy through today and Tuesday. Skies clear quickly this evening and we stay mostly clear tonight and Tuesday. More clouds Wednesday through the end of the week with scattered showers on and off for the second half of the week thanks to an upper level low pressure system that will be spinning over the Ohio Valley. Temperatures will stay cool as well with mid 70s as the warmest temperature by next Sunday. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Hanging out in the hammock

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  I ran five miles after work then set up the hammock in the back yard and Summer and I hung out under the tree.  She wasn't too excited to just lay there, so I put Magic School Bus on my phone so we could lay there and relax. I put her inside for her nap, brought the baby monitor outside with me, and took a nap in the hammock... Short and warm, but still a nap.  (Dawn was also inside working)

Another September day with warm temps and plenty of sun... then another... and another. Today is the final full day of Summer with fall officially arriving Thursday at 10:21 AM EDT. It will feel like Summer today and the next few days with highs in the upper 80s. Humidity will slowly increase by the end of the week then a cold front is expected for Saturday. There will not be a lot of moisture for the cold front, so rain, if any, will be spotty on Saturday. High temps back in the 70s next week. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Doing some Presidential anti-campaigning... (kinda)

I am not a political person, but yesterday I went completely off the books.  Trump and Clinton are stumping for votes, but I was destumping.  BAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA!  (dad jokes, right?!?)  I rented a stump grinder and chewed down the stump a few inches below the surface and removed some of the larger roots as well.  I was pretty close to needing the larger grinder... BUT that wasn't going to fit in my CR-V, so I went with the smallest one and took my time.  It was actually pretty fun.  Now I need to get the dirt to settle so I can plant grass seed.  Notice I staked the new tree as well and today will consist of a little cleaning around the house and then laying in the hammock once I am done at work. I told Summer we can take a nap outside if she wants.

The sun and warm temperatures are here to stay! Temperatures for the rest of the workweek will remain more than ten degrees above normal and mostly sunny skies continue through the end of the week. A few more clouds Friday and Saturday with a very slight chance for spotty rain Saturday. Another slight chance of rain Monday and temperatures back into the 70s. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Back from Put In Bay!

Dawn and I are back from a retreat up to Put In Bay this weekend. We went up with another couple and it was a pretty relaxing weekend.  I've been there on some crazy weekends, but this one was not like that.  We had a lot of fun, but MAN it was wet on Saturday.

Here are a couple panoramic photos from the top of the monument.

Here is another view of the opposite side of the island. Our bed and breakfast was right across the street from the water tower.

I went out for a morning run each day and the sunrise was fantastic!  Summer spent the weekend with my parents and they all had so much fun. It's fun seeing my mom and dad adjusting to grandparent life.

A dry week ahead with warm temperatures and LOTS of sun! Some early fog to start your Monday morning, but that will give way to mostly sunny skies for the afternoon as we warm in the low-mid 80s.

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Crazy busy week

So I have been working an extra 5 hours a day earlier this week, so I have been super busy... PLUS we have been working on a top secret new weather stuff.  We have started some new stuff on-air, but a LOT more will be coming soon.  So yesterday was my first 8 hour day this week.  Which means more time with my sweetheart. Be sure to stay tuned for us to roll out some pretty epic weather graphics soon!

So I bought two more trees.  Both are oaks and I BELIEVE both are red oaks to compliment my new red maple. The oaks were on sale for 75% off at Meijer, so I am NOT going to pass up the chance for a $6.24 tree!

So yesterday I started digging away the huge mound of dirt around the old tree that I cut down and hauled away. It was a LOT more dirt than I was expecting, but that was fine... more on that shortly.  The roots were a pain, but I was able to use the hose to squirt away most of the dirt between the roots to get it back to near level with the ground.  I will have to grind it down the rest of the way. 

So... I moved the dirt to low spots around the yard.  A tree was removed from the back of the yard and a hole was left before we moved in, so I leveled that ankle sprain out.  The back of the house also had about an 8" dip where the dirt had settled over the last 20 years.  So that mound was PERFECT.  I then planted an oak tree out front then the maple tree near the trunk that needs to be removed, then the final oak tree in the back of the yard.  I am pretty stoked for some "good" trees instead of the smaller weaker trees.  

Here is another look at the spot where I moved all the dirt to the low spot by the house.  Those pavers would have been buried about 6-8" deep.  So I raised them and going to let it settle a little with the weekend rain before planting any grass seed.  I also need to stake the trees too. Oh... and grind down the trunk. 

 

We have a fantastic Friday on the way! Early sun with a few more clouds later with temps back in the low to mid 80s and humidity increasing later. Tonight a few showers and storms will start moving into Central Ohio. Scattered showers and storms for Saturday and isolated showers and storms on Sunday. Severe weather is not likely. Dry weather returns next week with highs staying near 80 the rest of the extended forecast. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Tailgating for Ohio State-Tusla game before storms hit

Hello from the Michael fam! We had a GREAT time Saturday at the Ohio State game... or at least the tailgate beforehand with friends.

Our friends Jon and Allison brought a mini Ohio State tailgating chair and Summer LOVED it and ran up to it and sat down in it.

We walked over to another friend's tailgate and it was very near where Beanie Wells was doing a radio show.  Once the show was over I went over to get a photo and we invited Beanie back to our tailgate and one of his kids got a hot dog.  Good times.

We then raced home to watch the game and watch the storm roll in that caused a lightning delay during halftime.

Summer and I watched the storm from the back door (inside).  Yesterday we grilled out and watched the Browns do what Browns do.

Another beautiful day on tap with nearly wall to wall sunshine! Temperatures near normal as we top our near 80 today. A few more clouds Tuesday, but still mostly sunny and warmer with highs in the mid 80s. More clouds Wednesday and a few showers are possible as a cold front ushers in 70 degree temps for the end of the week. Scattered showers look to return for the upcoming weekend. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Picked out a new tree, rain on the way

My dad said that Lowe's got a fresh shipment of trees for fall planting and I went yesterday to pick up a red maple.  It is a hybrid that is fast growing and going to hold off on planting it until the leaves start turning and it enters the dormant state.  Either way... I was pretty excited to buy my first tree and can't wait to care for it, prune it, and lay underneath of it in a few years. By the way... speaking of pruning... some of the trees were pruned ridiculous so that the main stem or trunk would split off into two sections.  So I had to look through a bunch of trees to find one that had one solid stem to get it to concentrate on growing straight up as fast as possible rather than bushing out right away.

Heat and humidity sticking around the next few days with highs in the mid-upper 80s and humidity making it feel like the low 90s. Scattered showers and storms the next few days with the best chance to see the rain in the afternoon and evenings. Central Ohio is in the Marginal Risk for severe weather for today with strong winds possible. A cold front on Saturday will bring more rain followed by cooler temps for Sunday with more sun. A few dry days early next week then possibly a little midweek rain. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

So long tree, hello heat!

My backyard looks VERY different now.  In my last entry I showed how my parents were visiting Monday to help cut down a tree that had fallen over while we were on vacation.  We cut it down to size and my neighbors came over to pick up any firewood.  They also helped pile up the remaining limbs.  So yesterday I rented a trailer and hauled it all away.  The backyard looks VERY different without the tree there and we will no longer have that beautiful flowering tree in the spring and we will not have the shade on the patio or house.  I thought about putting the limbs in the yard waste bags, but figured renting a trailer would cost less than $30 and save myself a lot of headaches of trying to put all the limbs in the bags.  I sweat out about 20 pounds yesterday...  Today I am SORE!

The heat and humidity sticking around through the rest of the week. A few storms possible, mainly in the afternoons, through the rest of the workweek as well. The best chance of storms will be Saturday with a cold front expected and then cooling us off by Sunday with drier air. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael

Labor Day for the memory books & heat returning!

Friday I jumped on the bike to follow up to Cleveland for my wife's annual Neighbor Day festivities.  The kids she grew up with on her block always get together for Labor Day weekend for grilling and backyard fun.  I had to come back earlier so I rode separately on the motorcycle and stopped at a truck stop for a conference call.  Oh the places you stop and work...

Summer loves corn as much as me.  She smashed that corn!

We knew someone who knew someone who was going out on a boat to Lake Erie and we got an invite.  Summer wasn't a fan of the life jacket, but she LOVED the wind in her face and spray of the water.  She was ear to ear smiles and screams of joy.

I came back early this morning and my parents helped take down the rest of a fallen tree.  Half had fallen during vacation so my dad got to "play" with his chainsaw that we bought him for Christmas a few years ago.  It only took about thirty-five minutes for us to get it all cut down to size and then my mom made a BIG lunch for all of  us.  Shout-out to my neighbor Mickey and his family for taking the firewood and helping clean up the back yard.  A few trips to the curb and it should all be gone soon!

The high pressure that gave us all the sun over the holiday weekend is finally heading out to follow Hermine to the East Coast.  With high pressure leaving it will allow for more clouds and increased humidity thanks to our winds picking up out of the south for the shortened workweek.  A mix of sun and clouds Tuesday and a very slight chance for a spotty shower with highs near 90 and humidity rising.  Wednesday will be almost the exact same as Tuesday, but more humid.  Warm with some isolated showers and storms are possible Thursday and Friday then a better chance of storms on Saturday with a cold front returning.  That will cool us off for Sunday and Monday and bring back more sunshine. Have a good one!

Best,
Andrew Buck Michael