Friday fun

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) August 2023 was the warmest August on record.

The average global land and ocean surface temperature in August was 2.25 degrees F (1.25 degrees C) above the 20th-century average of 60.1 degrees F (15.6 degrees C), ranking as the warmest August in the 174-year global climate record.

North America has it’s warmest August and Warmest summer on record.

The long-range forecast for fall and winter is interesting. It could be warmer than average or colder than average or there could be more or less snow than average. We do know that El Niño will persist through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2023-24. That means it might be a warmer wetter winter but apparently it also means that we might experience the dreaded and horrific polar vortex.

Today is the last day of Summer. The fall equinox and the first day of autumn arrives on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 01:50 A.M. CDT in the Northern Hemisphere.

My real estate forecast for fall and winter is that there will be fewer home sales due to higher interest rates and would be home sellers staying where they are rather than moving and getting a new mortgage for a higher interest rate. Home sales are somewhat seasonal. We usually see the smallest number of home sales in December and the highest number of home sales in April.

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. Earlier this week I bought 3/4 of a bushel of apples at the Saint Paul Farmer’s market. There is a grower who sells a 1/4 peck bag of apples for cooking. They are a mix of sweet and tart apples. With the help of my daughter, we made and canned 26 pints of sauce.

I’ll be making some apple pie this weekend and some apple crisp to put in the freezer. If you look around you will notice that apples are less expensive this time of year than at any other time.

Going to the orchard is always fun too.

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. September is when the Monarch butterflies start migrating to Mexico. I am always happy to see them in my garden and when they fly south for the winter wonder if they will come back in the spring.

I grow milkweed, and zinnias and this year I have some Mexican sunflowers.

 

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. It is true. I am old but not ancient. Let’s just say I am not quite old enough for Medicare but old enough to appreciate tools that make my life easier.

When I was younger I used to climb a tree to swipe apples. I still enjoy a good apple but I am past the tree-climbing stage and usually by the time I find the apple tree the low-hanging fruit is gone.

So I bought this “fruit picker” and am looking forward to giving it a try. I can almost taste the pie I am going to make. I feel like a kid again.

Enjoy the last holiday weekend of summer. It might be a little warm out for apple picking but apple season has just begun.

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. There isn’t anything as much fun as the Minnesota State Fair. The traffic patterns change as more cars and buses head to the fairgrounds. The fair will dominate the news until Labor Day as it should.

I can almost smell the mini donuts.

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun. The Minnesota State Fair starts next week which means summer is almost over. The back-to-school stuff has been in the stores for over a month and retailers are gearing up for Halloween.  I don’t think they put the Christmas stuff away from last year so that is in stores too.

It is also time to go “up to the lake”. If you have not been to Lake Superior yet this summer, go now. The other great lakes are pretty neat too but not as pretty.