Clear Skies
Look at the sky! It’s clear! It looks like it is going to be a gorgeous day today. AdventureMan and I were out for dinner last night and chose a restaurant so that we could eat outside, figuring there won’t be many more evenings where it will be cool enough. Even though it was comfortable, the fly level was high enough to tell us we won’t be eating out much more this “spring.”
It is 68°F / 20°C at 0600 this morning, looking at a forecast high of 98°F / 37°C. Even though it is clear, I am sneezing, so something seems to be in the air.
Here Comes the Sun
What’s that pale, tiny little orb hanging over the horizon? The dust is back, it never really went away:
at 0500 this morning, it was already 75°F / 24°C, with “haze”.
And to lighten the day a little, an oldie but goodie of the same name:
Sunrise, April 20, 2008
As you can see, the day is more clear, but not exactly clear:
At 0600, it is 66°F / 19°C and the high today is expected to be 100°F / 38° C.
It is still very . . . ummm. . . .Hazy(?) Cloudy(?) Dusty (?) on the horizon. Visibility down close to the ground is limited. There is definitely less dust than in the last two days, thanks be to God.
Second Day Sandstorm
Here is what the sun looks like early this morning; you can’t even see the sea, even though you are looking right at it:
Here is what the city looks like early this morning; visibility maybe 100 m?
And after only one day and a half, here is what my cleaning lady faces today:
(That’s my footprint in the dust, if you were wondering) In just one day, in a seemingly air-tight living space, dust coats everything. I am leaving footprints as if in a house abandoned for a year or so!
I actually don’t mind driving in the dust storms, as long as there is some visibility. When it comes in so thick you can’t see 10 meters in front of the car, I have to pull over. Even with the car sealed, and the A/C on, filtering the air, my nose gets stuffy and I feel like I am having trouble breathing. Maybe today is a good day to stay home. 😦
Traffic Watch
Never fear, the Qatteri Cat is on traffic watch today. All is well, you can tell by his relaxed stance. Every now and then, he will utter an alarm – birds come by and taunt him because they are flying freely and he is trapped inside. He’s not smart enough to say “yeh, but I get free food, water and medical care in this gilded cage.” All he knows is that he would love to be free to show those birds a thing or two.
Once, in our Qatar villa, a great big pigeon hit a window and then THUNKED to the ground, not 10 feet from QC, who was allowed in the garden as long as someone was with him. The bird was so big and QC was so astounded, that by the time he decided to go investigate, the bird had recovered consciousness, stood up and shook his wings. He was bigger than QC! As QC thought twice about approaching, the pigeon flew off. I am betting that is about the closest QC has been to a real live bird.
One time (one of many) the Qatteri Cat escaped the yard. This time I knew where he was within the first half hour, because I could hear him crying pitifully. I had to ask a neighbor if I could go into her back yard, and there was QC, high up in a tree, scared and unsure how to get down. There was a wind blowing, and the only thing QC could think of, every time the boughs swayed to a strong gust of wind, was to go higher. He had reached the spot where every gust made him sway like a pendulum. He was terrified.
It took me about an hour to talk him down. First, he had to get over his panic, because his terror was paralyzing him. Second, he didn’t know how to climb down, so he had to turn around, to kind of walk down the tree, which, with gravity, was a very scary thing. He kept turning and then turning back.
(How do you teach a cat to back down a tree?)
Finally, I just kept talking. I locked eyes with him, and every time he would look away, I would say his name, get him focused on me again. Slowly, slowly, he worked his way down (he was up very very high, higher than a ladder could reach). He ended up falling the last 20 feet, but I could catch him. His little heart was beating like thunder, his adrenelin was pumping and I had to hold on to him to get him home. He didn’t want to be held, and I have the scars to prove it.
The neighbor thought I was a nut case, I am sure, but I don’t care. A cat can be so paralyzed by fear that they cling to the tree until they are exhausted and drop to their death. Some cats will figure out how to get down, but not all, and not while a wind is blowing and swaying them back and forth.
As much as I love fresh air, we have to keep the windows closed. He’s a sweet cat. His little brain just goes on hold sometimes. If a bird taunted him, he would be out that window in a heartbeat, no second thoughts, just instinct.
Storm Threat
Yesterday, late in the afternoon, the office sent out warnings that another storm is highly possible in near future, yesterday or today, and to be aware. As far as I know (and all I saw of the last one was a lot of cloud-to-cloud lightning) if one is coming, it hasn’t struck yet.
But as the sun rises, I am looking at that dark spot out on the horizon, and looking at the thickening clouds and wondering if there is some instability we can’t see . . .
More Severe Weather Coming?
In todays Kuwait Times, Kuwaiti meteorologist, Dr. Saleh Al-Ojairi is quoted as saying that “the storm occurred because of the formation of a severe depression locally known as ‘Al Sarrayat.'” The Times goes on to say the “He also predicted severe weather conditions to reoccur in the near future.”
What does ‘Al Sarrayat’ mean?
Sunrise April 13, 2008
At 0700 it is 73°F / 23°C, and it is very hazy (look how the haze magnifies the size of the sun) but the sea has some color, a light hazy green. The haze looks like it may burn off a little later and the high is expected to be around 95°F/35°C.
I really did take this photo.
And now I will tell you, I tried to take photos of the lightning the other night. Most of it was just cloud-to-cloud and all I got were black photos with slightly lighter spots in them. AdventureMan instructed me that if I wanted lightning shots, I needed to set up a tripod and a timed exposure, but I think there is too much ambient light where I live to make that effective. So I found a great dramatic shot online and used it to illustrate. I sure didn’t mean to deceive you. I sure wish I had taken that shot!
Cloudy Kuwait Afternoon
7 April, and it is 81°F/ 27°C at 1445 on a cloudy afternoon, 21% humididy; feels like more. The best it has gotten all day is light grey.
Hubby had a few raindrops last night, on his car. Did anyone else?
Sunrise and the Qatteri Cat
The Qatteri Cat started getting restless around 4 a.m. this morning. This was entirely my fault; I forgot the check the cat food before I went to bed and around 4 he likes to have his main meal of the day, take care of toileting needs, scramble around the house, listen to all the noises on the street – it’s his time of day. I knew QC was hungry, but I couldn’t make myself wake up enough to feed him.
He is a very polite cat – he just keeps coming back. By 5:30 a.m. and his 5th or 6th greeting, I was ready to get up. And I really am glad I did, as the sun is rising these days around 5:44 and I was able to capture the beginning of what I believe is going to be a truly glorious day.
The high today will only be 93°F / 34°C; it is a balmy 70°F / 21° C at 5:56 in the morning.
The only meeting I had scheduled for today was postponed, and I have the entire day to devote to organizing my taxes. I don’t know why I make such a big deal out of it, put it off, all it takes is focus and just getting organized, but for some reason I dread doing it make it worse than it really is. I even have a reward for myself when I get it done, so what’s my problem?
Have a great day out there.
Recent Comments
ExpatAlien on What Country am I Living … intlxpatr on Yellowstone: Old Faithful to C… Michelle on Yellowstone: Old Faithful to C… Cathy on No Grown-Ups in Charge intlxpatr on Waiting for Snow Wikipedia Donate Button
Amazina
Early Voting in Florida
Here There and Everywhere 