Rain Maybe On Sunday

Above, new Gadsden flag. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It appears that we in Jamestown, New Mexico may get some relief from the pollen and dust kicked up by winds this weekend.

According to the National Weather Service, we have a 20% chance of rain on Sunday. 

For the past several weeks, winds have been kicking up pollen and dust particles into the air and I have had allergy problems. They were the usual: watery eyes, runny nose, congestion, scratchy throat, etc. Some days were pretty bad and I went through boxes of tissue paper and couldn't sit outside on the deck. 

The days ahead according to the National Weather Service:

Today

Sunny, with a high near 64. West wind 5 to 15 mph.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 33. West wind 5 to 15 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 68. Light south wind becoming southwest 10 to 15 mph in the morning.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 40. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday

Sunny, with a high near 64. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 35.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 56.

Dust Storm

Above, the dust storm in progress. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A little while ago, I returned from the Flying J to check my mailbox and to pick up a couple of things.

I almost regret going as the area is in a big dust storm from strong gale winds. As you can see from the photo above, taken only minutes ago, the haze before the mesas is the swirling dust. It is also mixed with pollen. I have been enduring bouts of sneezing and a runny nose for most of the day.

Hopefully, this will all end after tonight.

According to the National Weather Service:

This Afternoon

Patchy blowing dust. Mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Windy, with a southwest wind around 40 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph.

Tonight

Areas of blowing dust before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Windy, with a west wind 30 to 40 mph decreasing to 15 to 25 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 55 mph. 

Bookcase Fix

Above, the fixed bookcase and my supervisor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At long last (well, four years and two months), I finally fixed my bookcase in the den/guest room. I've had it for over 30 years. 

When I moved from Tarzana, California to Jamestown, New Mexico four years ago, somehow a critical cross board that goes on the bottom of the bookcase got left behind. When it was set up again, the center part of the bookcase sagged. I found some blocks to put underneath to support it, but it still sagged.

So, over the weekend, I made a new support board (with help by Greg Lucier and his table saw) to fix the problem. I had some white paint to paint the board. 

This morning, I took all the books out of it and put the board under the now-empty bookcase. That wasn't so bad, but taking out all of the books and putting them back in was a chore and wore me out. It took about and hour and a half for the whole process this morning. I was also suffering from nasal congestion from the wind-blown pollen in the air today. I had to get some Dayquil. It helped a lot with my breathing, but left me listless. 

The bookcase fix isn't perfect, but it is much better than it was. (It hasn't been totally right since it fell over during the Northridge Earthquake in 1994.)

I should sleep good tonight.

Gas Price Holding Steady and Pollen Alert

Above, the pine and front driveway a week ago. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The local Jamestown, New Mexico Flying J's regular unleaded gasoline price is holding steady at $4.159/gallon. This is the 8th day in a row.

While this is good (at least it's not rising), it is still more than what gas stations in Gallup are charging. Yesterday, while in Gallup, all the gas stations I saw were charging $3.999/gallon for unleaded regular. Still overpriced.

As for today, I am staying indoors. While we didn't get any rain or snow overnight, we are under a Pollen Alert today from 7:00 AM to Friday, 12:00 AM. My sinuses, throat and nose are congested. The Pollen Alert cited the high winds as the reason. Maybe if we got rain or snow overnight, there would be no need for a Pollen Alert

Already More Than October's

The snowfall we're getting now isn't much (at least so far), but it already is more than what we got one night in October. It started about an hour ago.

As I mentioned earlier, unless it gets colder (it is now about 34°), this won't last long on the ground. 

This will be a big help in tamping down the dust and pollen that has plagued us for the past several weeks. Friends in Jamestown and I have had allergy issues since it has been so dry this season and the winds we get don't help.

A few minutes ago, I stepped out on the porch and snapped these pictures:

Storm Coming?

Above, the clouds from the south and southwest. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I headed to Denny's at the Flying J this morning for our coffee gathering, it was sunny out with some clouds. But when I left it a little while ago, big black clouds with rain were over the hills to the south and southwest. It looked like a storm was headed our way.

So, I check the National Weather Service for Jamestown, New Mexico and this is what they had to say:

This Afternoon

Partly sunny, with a high near 60. West wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tonight

Mostly clear, with a low around 33. Southwest wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph.

It appears that rain is not in the forecast. But one never knows in this area. 

We can sure use it as we've been getting pollen alerts, mainly from the junipers and pinon pines in the area. It has been dry outside and rain would help dampen down everything and give us some pollen relief.

Well, all we can do is keep our fingers crossed for some rain.