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This past winter was glorious — a lot of sunshine. We’re going to pay for it with the fire danger, of course. There’s already a fire watch for this weekend because of the wind — Andy says he may stay down here if it’s too strong.

Next weekend the National Weather Service is predicting,

An unseasonably strong high pressure system will begin to build over the southwest US toward the middle of next week with weaker winds and record and near record high temperatures reaching 15-25 degrees above 1991-2020 averages as early as Wednesday. This ridge of high pressure looks to become powerfully strong next weekend with an increasing likelihood of a historic and hazardous early season heatwave that could far surpass daily record high temperature records across much of northern and central New Mexico.

AccuWeather agrees about the warm spell– click on image for higher resolution:

Nope, way too warm for spring. I like winter better. (Yes, I know it will be a lot worse elsewhere, but it’s supposed to be an extra-hot summer, my least favorite season.)

March 13, 2026

Click on the picture for the video.

March 11, 2026

Bound and Gagged

March tends to be windy here. We’ve had some winds so far, but they haven’t been as bad as the time Andy stayed down here rather than risk them.

He did stay down here last Saturday, but for a different reason. He started to get up around 8 or so but he was cold, so he climbed back under the covers and slept for a couple more hours.

When I mentioned that to Kaitlin she wrote,

Brrr! I wouldn’t get up either. But he does get all the blankets in winter (his time is almost up for the year!).

Huh? Oh, yeah. When she was young she and Andy had a running joke. They shared the blankets — equitably. He got them in winter, and she got them in summer. What could be more fair than that?

I still laugh when I think of it. Hurray for family jokes and happy memories.

March 11, 2026

Click on the image for higher resolution.

Ben

I know pups and kitties like that. They remind me to make time for naps. 🙂

March 10, 2025

In answer to yesterday’s question: Sigh, Pixie was right, the bananas sold at the store are sterile so they can’t propagate. If you’re curious about how to grow a banana tree, click here.

For a non-AI video, here’s one about the new puppy at North Yuki Husky.

Good Lord! What a bundle of energy. 🙂

March 9, 2026

In her comment to yesterday’s post, Sandra Czosek mentioned this Facebook video showing how to grow a banana tree from a banana. (Click on the picture to see the video.)

Do you think it would work?

March 8, 2026

The bean plants and the balloon haven’t changed much since last week.

Bean plants:

(The two little blossoms that were on the plant on the left dropped off, no attempt to produce a pod.)

Notice the snow outside! The picture was taken yesterday morning when we had a brief snow shower. Then the sun came out and the snow melted.

Balloon:

The roots of the sweet potato are growing, and the top is starting to spout.

I was thinking about a fun way to work on my dynamic balance and thought of dancing. So I asked Claude AI. It said,

Even 20–30 minutes of dancing 2–3 times per week can produce meaningful improvements in balance within 6–8 weeks. The best part: it rarely feels like exercise.

That sounds good to me, so I started looking on YouTube for dance videos that are safe and fun to try. I found a few that fit the bill. I’m streaming them to my TV set using the Roku YouTube channel, so it’s easy to watch as I do them.

In the process I found this video, which I’ve saved and will try.

The big change, of course, is tonight those of us in the U.S. have to switch our clocks for Daylight Saving Time. If that doesn’t signal that winter is over, I don’t know what does.

March 7, 2026

I usually like winter, but not everyone does. These are pictures posted at Misty-the-Dog and Friends:

This isn’t about the weather, but it’s still appropriate:

March 6, 2026

The first two exercises are easy to work into my day. I’m still pondering the third one.

I know a lot of exercises I can do, and I have weights, resistance bands, etc., but I mostly don’t do sets of them. Instead I try to work them into my everyday life. For years I also did from 30-60 minutes a day on my NordicTrack treadmill, while I streamed interesting videos on the TV set in my study (using Roku).

Now I’ve switched to 30-60 minutes a day on my Schwinn AirDyne. (It’s less weight bearing and easier on the joints.)

I have my mini iPad rigged up so I can watch videos, play Sudoku, or read on my Kindle app while I peddle, so it’s fun.

I like the way my body feels when I exercise, and it makes me happy.

What about you?

March 5, 2026

First a caution about yesterday’s video: I’ve been thinking about the seated torsion twist. I’m going to skip that one. I had read that people with thin bones shouldn’t twist the torso without the pelvis also rotating, so I checked with a couple of AI programs and they say the same thing. In that case it’s better to do it lying down so the spine is supported.

Here is another exercise video. It talks about chair squats, but the other four are wall push ups, single leg stands, resistance band rows, and Tai Chi. I try to work modifications of some on them into my everyday life.

March 4, 2026