bah, humbug!

[me]

a couple of weeks ago, i planted a bunch <10 - 15> of basil seeds in potting soil, was planning to transplant as needed. only two plants have sprouted!

how am i gonna get my fresh homemade pesto fix with two lousy basil plants? [there's no guarantee that these little sprouts will grow to be leafy plants, either!]

it's worked better in years past! i don't get it.

[LHR02]

David...your weather has been too crazy the past few weeks...either wicked hot, or coolish, or way too wet. It's still early, put another few seeds in and get them going. There is still loads of time to get your plants going.

ging

who put in tomatos, squash and cukes this afternoon! Need to get some green bean seeds tomorrow and get them started as well.

[me]

thanks for the advice, Ging! was really just voicing my frustration at the timid seeds.

after my visit in CT two years ago, i've become a big fan of fresh pesto.

dustoffmom said:

David...your weather has been too crazy the past few weeks...either wicked hot,

i guess you're referring to that 101º F we had on Monday, huh?

[Jules80]

still early? i think you have plenty of time! our ground is still half frozen growing season won't start for another 3-4 weeks

Jules

oh yeah, and i'm bitter about the 101 deg... send some of that my way... its 10 deg C today and cloudy...

[me]

the 101º F on Monday caused some power problems. everyone turned on the a/c while the electric utilities had generation plants shut down for maintenance. [101º F = 38 1/3º C]

we were having "rolling blackouts!" no fun!

[Eagle]

David, I'm also a big fan of Pesto, but unfortunately I have to rely on packaged Basil most of the time. Our local Green Grocer usually has very fresh produce so it's not too bad. Unfortunately, I don't have a "green thumb", nor do I have the time for gardening so this is about my only option. Here in the "sunny Okanagan" there's lots of agriculture and lots of vineyards (spring Wine Festival starts May 4th, I believe), so growing Pesto shouldn't be a problem. I've used "bottled" Pesto from Safeway on occasion (Classico brand), and don't mind it at all.

It was interesting to hear that you're having "rolling blackouts" so early in the spring! I'm certainly familiar with that concept, as I work for the power company (I'd be the one turning off your lights). I imagine most of your generation in that area is either thermal or nuclear? It's quite common to get 38C temp's in the summer here (with the resulting high A/C load), so we could certainly face the same situation.

Good luck with your Pesto!

[LHR02]

What!!!

You get 101 temps? In Canada??!!

And it is 'quite common' to have them?

boggles my poor mind to even consider that.

[Eagle]

Ging, YES, in this area we do get high temp's in summer! The Okanagan Valley is the northern end of a desert, which starts in the U.S. somewhere. The high temp's don't happen every year, but there was one summer (two years ago, from what I remember) when most of July and August hovered at or above 100 F. during the daytime. I don't have A/C in my house, so it was not pleasant (almost a relief to go to work!). During that time, I tried twice to paint my living room, but the paint was drying so fast it was just about impossible to do a proper job (I finally hired a Contractor - I've come to the conclusion that painting is not for me!).

This area seems to get four very distinct seasons. The change from winter to spring and summer to fall are especially abrupt. Usually when Apr. 1st or Sept. 1st rolls around, conditions change very suddenly. Winters have been fairly mild the last few years with limited snow, which is just fine with me as I hate shovelling. As long as the snow stays on our local ski hills (Silver Star or Big White), that's just fine with me!!!

I often tell visitors that this area is kind of like the "California of the north - everything from Wineries to Rattlesnakes". The Snakes are protected by law, and it's illegal to kill them. Also, if they need to be "relocated" from someone's yard, our local wildlife expert is only allowed by law to take them 500 metres or so from where he finds them; they can't be moved so far that they can't find their den. Fortunately they don't inhabit the part of town where my house is located!

A bunch of our local Wineries have just been bought by Vincor or some other big company, who also own a bunch of Wineries in California, etc. One of the Wineries (Mission Hill or Jackson-Triggs, can't remember which one) just won a bunch of prestigious awards in Europe (I'm sure the French were a bit upset about that!).

BTW, my outside thermometer is reading about 26C / almost 80F at the moment. It's just after noon, beautiful and sunny and the cherry blossoms (both in the front & back yards) look fantastic. The temperature seems to be a bit different than the "official" forecast - not sure why? If you want to have a look at the weather here in the summer, check www.chbc.com (that's our local TV station, located in Kelowna, but they post the weather for the whole area.

Where are you located now (back in Jacksonville)? Are you planning your next Europe adventure yet? Thanks again for the newspapers; they're a wonderful "study aid"! I'm still plugging away with my Italian studies and will probably order the Pimsleur Level III from Texas in the next few weeks, as I'm just about finished Level II. I was hoping to practise at one of our local Italian restaurants last night (the owner very graciously tolerates my less-than-perfect Italian) but unfortunately they were completely booked with reservations; I settled on take-out Chicken Parmigiana, so at least I was able to enjoy the food. I've been spending a fair amount of time at the local Greek restaurant also, but that's one language I'm not ready to tackle yet!

Anyway, I guess I digressed a bit from the topic of weather. Hope all is well.

Cheers!!!

[me]

that is a shocker i had no idea you got so much 100º+ weather in "the great white North!"

yes, most all of our power generation is thermal. <isn't nuclear a form of thermal power generation?> nearly half from natural gas, about 40% from coal, about 10% nuclear. most of our coal is lignite, not as clean. and there hasn't been a new commercial nuclear power plant planned in the US since that Three Mile Island incident 27 years ago.

as Texas power generation is so heavy in natural gas, when prices of that commodity go up, we really feel it. we certainly need to diversify! but, our hydro prospects aren't anything like you have in BC. Wind power is growing, but it's still just a token. photovoltaics still doesn't scale up very well. the suits are probably hoping for technical breakthroughs. maybe fusion power will become viable sooner, rather than later.

eagle said:

I imagine most of your generation in that area is either thermal or nuclear? It's quite common to get 38C temp's in the summer here (with the resulting high A/C load), so we could certainly face the same situation.

[Eagle]

David, yes, nuclear is technically "thermal" generation. It varies from the other methods in terms of the manner in which the steam is produced. Rather than burning fossil fuels (natural gas, or in the "old days" when I started out, Bunker C), it uses a fission reaction.

I'm not completely up to speed on nuclear, but one of my colleagues used to work in Ontario and he's very knowledgeable about it. I believe U.S. nuclear technology is slightly different than the CANDU system used here? We don't have ANY nuclear power in western Canada, which is fine by me as it makes me nervous (ie: Chernobyl, Three Mile Island). I also watched "The China Syndrome" many years ago, which reinforced my attitude towards it (coincidentally, the movie was on TV here a few days ago)!

Hydro power is certainly preferable in many cases, as it's renewable and has less impact on the environment. However, even hydro is difficult to get approval for these days, due to all the "environmental studies" that have to be completed, and the fact this usually involves flooding a large area with the resulting impact on wildlife, etc.

Perhaps Fusion will be a reality some day? It would certainly increase capacity, and decrease our reliance on finite resources.

Cheers!!!

[me]

CANDU system? i've heard that canadian n-plants are different, but know none of the specifics. most of the engineers i've met are certainly CANDU kinds of people! ;D

[hmmm, just looked at www.candu.org/candu_reactors.html seems Canada could sell that technology to Iran and the Iranians wouldn't need to enrich uranium, which ought to make for a less nervous world]

[Jules80]

it has been known to get to those temperatures in my part of the great white north too. not every summer but there are almost always a few days or weeks in the over 35 range.

the problem here with hydro (which i think is all we have there may be one thermal plant somewhere) is the environmental impact and the impact on the native american way of life. a large proportion of our damed rivers are up north in cree territory. so not only does it flood their land but also disperses animals. makes it harder for fish that they catch to swim upstream etc. they've stopped a lot of hydro projects in recent years. which frankly for canadian consumption are unnecessary. they keep saying we're running out of supply... this isn't true... tis just that they have less to sell to the US! so basically the province is looking to make money on selling surplus.

alright enough of my rants agains the gov't...

Jules

[jennifer]

Well im only here for the weather part, not the growing hhaahah, but its been 20, 25 degrees celcius here all week, t shirt and shorts etc... really amazing, we sure dont get this back home in April..

xoxo
Jen

[Jules80]

haha it was 20 all of last week in montreal. or so i've been told

Jules

[Eagle]

David, yesterday after posting my my comments, I decided that a "gourmet Hot Dog" was in order for lunch. During my visit with the young lady at the Canadian Tire Hot Dog stand, it came to light that she is of Italian heritage and also likes Pesto. She says that she grows fresh Basil "indoors all year round". Just wondering if you've tried this?

Surely it would be easier to grow Basil during winter in sunny Texas as opposed to the "great white north"?

BTW, don't laugh too hard at the fact that I go to a hardware store for a gourmet Hot Dog. Customers have voted this particular stand as the "best" in the Okanagan for Hot Dogs!

Cheers!!!