Category Archives: Seasons and the Heavens

Spring Already

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Well, January is well into way, closer to the end than the beginning, but it’s not even Winter here anymore. It should be, though it’s not. It’s been very rainy, though it was forecasted that would be the case, a more mild winter, but overall, it’s too much like that.

We’ve had two thunderstorms this year, major thunderstorms, many rain storms besides those too. Today it was really rainy, quite rainy, hard, hard, hard, lots of thunder & lightening. Booming, wonderful thunder.

Today I remembered seeing daffodils springing up somewhere we’d been a few days ago, and so that sparked me to go out when the rain let up a bit and look at where mine are. Surprise, surprise, mine are coming up too. I was thinking that maybe the ones we’d seen had been planted by a landscaper (you know, commercial area, throw away plants or perennials? Hard to say unless you stake them out forever.) So anyhow, there are mine, some here, a few inches high, some there just peaking out, some other there, a bit more than peaking … tomorrow there may be more.

That’s early. That’s OK, but it’s not exactly something that has me at ease, I’ve seen what a late frost can do (April 2007) and this is way earlier than then, how it was in early spring (the still official winter by just a month! spring this year to compare to the early spring that year being into February …) usually spring happens in March, maybe signs in late, late February, but that’s what’s normal, March gives way to much blossoming and April even more and green leaves galore.

So we had it all happen a few weeks early last year. Now this year, even earlier. Just cyclical weirdness.

The U. S. A. has that all the time, has always, since before records were kept. Don’t quote me, it’s just my understanding of it, from billions of areas of life, not just one source, not source-able past that.

A/C Sensor Bad

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A/C guy was here yesterday. He checked everything and finally told us “it’s this sensing module that is bad”

The basic long and short of it is, I don’t really know why we need it, guess it’s a fine tuner, making everything work well no matter what temps you put in or something. He said that MOST systems will run OK without it but don’t go lower than 68 or 67 or 66 on your thermostat settings without the module installed.

Bottom line: Our house cooled down and the humidity level slowly went down. Upstairs kept constant temp. Downstairs in livingroom constant temp. Basement, in my office, constant temp (still an issue with the other side of the basement.)

The humidity level is still an issue, but not quite as bad as it had become (nothing worse than cold wet air inside the house! well, yes there is: HOT WET AIR!) Right now it’s 49% H. in the living room (only place I have a sensor for such a task) but the A/C isn’t running a lot since it’s nighttime and there no heating issue from outside. Seems reasonable. Also I am guessing our missing module would help, I hope. I truly do hope.

The part is on order, maybe it’ll arrive tomorrow, was the idea given. For now, things are cooler in a more stable way, thus far.

Nothing looks frozen with the equipment that is outside. I noticed the air coming on during the night (sometimes I wake up at night for awhile.) It’s great that this is being solved finally. Was the sensor bad all along? Back first night it was installed, it was hot in the house and it was “finished and on” for hours and hours and hours before it got cool enough not to sweat at every move or while sitting still. I wasn’t impressed with it the next day either. So not impressed as days went on. How does that sound now? Sounds like the only thing that is the problem right now is the module. Once that’s replaces, must tackle the “does it work NOW” possible problem. If it answers more questions than it makes, awesome!

Trane makes a wonderful new thermostat, it’s so very awesome. I’d love that sort (man though, 3 of them? Ouch!) There are other possible things I’d like added on to the system, but it’s so hard to make it do-able. To make others see why it would be right to add it to The ‘have to move this to the top of the list’ List.

So regarding temperatures, right now it’s a wonderful 57 degrees F. outside, with 70+% humidity. Feels wonderful! Forecast has our area going to 79 degrees F. today. That’ll be a nice little test, especially seeing as it’ll be MOSTLY SUNNY! [it's been sooooo cloudly of late]

Crepe Myrtles in 2011

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Our Crepe Myrtle didn’t start blooming until just this week, well, noticeable blooms forming the other week (finally!) and opening this week. It’s still a young tree, but had bloomed last year, the year before, and the year before that, and we expected it to bloom nicely this year.

In Georgia it’s notable how many Crepe Myrtles there are, looking at them you just can’t help but notice their showy full bloom splendor in the hot June, July, August months.

This year, I noticed other Crepe Myrtles not flowering, or flowering in a spotty, nastily skimpy way. I haven’t seen more than a handful of fully in bloom Crepe Myrtles (not that I’m a big traveler.)Crepe Myrtle Finally Beginning to Bloom

Our Crepe Myrtle is a Muskogee and is supposed to have a very long blooming period. Not starting until August (and not very much at that) isn’t even a short blooming period. 2011 = Very Bad Year for Crepe Myrtles

Gorgeous Pink Peonies: Eleven

Peony 2010 - photo taken May 14, 2010

Spring came early this year. It was absolute that many of my plants & trees did their Spring Thing weeks earlier than normal.

Gorgeous Pink Peony 1
Peony 2011 – photo taken May 1, 2011

With that impact noticeable it must have some sort of impact on Crepe Myrtles, I guess. Not enough “down time”? Not exactly, the Crepe Myrtle had no leaves for a long time, not too early at all, in other words. Pretty much when they usually do, I think. FWIW it’s just annoying, the one grace to a hot summer day is looking at lush, vibrant Crepe Myrtles blooming splendidly against a brilliantly blue sky.

Not in 2011.

July is nearly over!

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Wow this month has gone fast! Now the Dog Days of Summer are beginning. Hot more often than not. Sun strong, not quite as light as late as it was in July, but this side of the sun’s courses through the cosmos are the hot-dog ones, whereas May and June are just wanna-be’s.

I’m so glad our A/C was changed, it makes all the difference, but it does struggle. The “zones” (digital) are finicky and I have to go check each thermostat, and sometimes (a few times a week) turn every one off, then turn on the upstairs one for awhile alone, then turn on the main floor one later, and leave the downstairs one off until the next day or longer, if it is possible to feel comfortable with that (sometimes yes, sometimes no.)

Why does this have to happen? I’m not sure what it’s doing, but the main thing is, the SUN. It comes up in the East and blasts away at the back of our house all morning and into the afternoon. Our bedrooms are on the top floor. No tree cooling up there. Master bedroom is at the back of that whole area. It gets so hot in there. Without A/C it’s 100 in there in the middle of the night.

With A/C the thermostats are set to 68/69 everywhere. When the system has been restarted with my methodology, which is turning everything off, then turning ONLY the Master Bedroom thermostat on, then the bedroom starts cooling down ever so slightly, then more. Overnight it returns to it’s “schedule”. The Main Floor thermostat does well then, turn that on and it quickly brings things to right.

The basement area is then the question, the “office” (my craft/computer area) is decent, the hallway is where the thermostat is. The big area at the back of the basement, behind interior french doors, is much warmer always. When the thermostat for the basement is turned off, that big space gets too warm (for my tastes) while the other rooms are OK for the most part.

When I turn that thermostat back on the air in the big space gets better, but still, it’s ALWAYS much warmer in there compared to my office, or the hallway.

After 1 or 2 days like this then, the Master Bedroom thermostat really starts struggling. Lets put it this way, the first day after resetting it all, it starts out with the thermostat keeping things OK until somewhere around 2pm it’s behind 1, 2, 3, 4 or more degrees. As the day wears thin it gets closer to the scheduled temperature, overnight rights itself. Next day or the day after that is when it gets too thick, warm not good in my bedroom early in the day and never recoups, so if I haven’t been up there, I go to bed and oh, bleh, blah, no!!!!!

We are talking it is supposed to be 68 and the thermostat registers the temp at 78 or more when it gets to the place where I HAVE to turn it all off, then slow on.

It’s not like 68 is too heavy of a load. It’s not that it has to be “68″ but that is what the thermostat has to attempt or else this entire process is TOO MUCH for me to live with. To get rid of humidity, must run A/C, A/C only runs when it needs to cool based on it’s goal temperature. If the temperature is set to 72 that’s too warm. It’s like letting it all get it’s toes in the doorway, you think the door is closed, but it’s not, and the thing you mean to keep out is coming in.

This all means so much to me since I get so miserable easily when the temperature climbs about 70 degrees much. The further it goes in that higher direction the larger the impact it has on me. So, 68 is my primo position of a trade-off, I’ll let it go that high for you others. I’d much prefer to live in the North Pole.

Daffodils are now Thriving

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Our daffodil population is exploding. Every day more and more are popping up. Today our first white & yellow daffodils opened. They are lovely.

Gorgeous Daffodil

It’s very hot again, and this week the humidity went to Southern Summer types. Bad enough outside, but inside it is worse right now, our A/C is totally not working (only the fan will come on, or the Heat Pump [like we want that right now :roll-eyes] – it’s too old and needs overhauled — really needs to be hauled OUT. We need new, better, the one we have NEVER worked awesomely, never was up to snuff most of the summer. Too small and wrong for the space we have.