• Two to Travel
  • Ahmet Erkun

Life in Colorado

Life as the days and months pass in Colorado Baca selengkapnya
  • Extreme Cold Watch

    18 Januari, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☁️ 16 °F

    A powerful Arctic front — some call it a polar vortex — is impacting our weather at the moment.

    It’s like an ice box outside. A temp of 10F isn’t so bad, but there is a brutal wind blowing that is making the feels like temperature -13F … that’s minus 13 in case you missed the little sign in front of the number. (For those who deal in centigrade, those numbers are -12C / -25C, respectively.)

    Things are expected to get worse. The dangerously cold conditions — temps dipping to -5F (-20C) … with an unknown as yet feels like temp forecasted a few days hence — warrants the extreme cold watch that has been issued.

    We’ve pulled out our polar gear for an upcoming trip to Antarctica. But it looks like we might need them right here at home if we have to venture outside! We don’t intend to do so, but hey … you never know.
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  • Denver: Visiting with Family & Friends

    22 Januari, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☀️ 30 °F

    Field trip, as our friend Kadi would say … to Denver!

    The extreme cold that plagued us earlier this week has moved on … to places like New Orleans and Tallahassee, which are not at all used to snow and ice! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still cold here. The high today was only 33F, but that’s a 45 degree difference from where we were just a few days ago, so we won’t complain.

    The purpose of today’s outing was not sightseeing. Rather, we made the drive up to Denver to see family and friends.

    A few weeks ago İsmail, Mui’s cousin — who lives in Rhode Island — texted to say that they would be in Denver this week. He asked if we might be around for a quick lunch. We said yes, and Mui made a reservation at The Ponti, a restaurant we’ve come to enjoy at the Denver Art Museum.

    Meeting up with Ismail and Leyla, his wife, we walked over to The Ponti just as they were opening their doors for the day. We were seated at a table by the window … luckily well-insulated from the cold. Lots of chatter and laughter before, during, and after our lunch … which we wrapped up with a shared Black Forest Cake … yummy!

    After bidding Ismail and Leyla goodbye, we drove over to Sonia and Boris’s place for a quick visit. Sonia had prepared a plate of fruit for us to nibble on while we caught up on what we’ve all been up to since we last got together in June 2024. It was good to see them since it may be awhile again before we see them … unless we manage to coordinate our schedules for a quick lunch before they leave for their trip in March.

    Not wanting to get stuck in the usual southbound rush hour, we left Denver around 2:00p. Perfect timing; no issues on I-25S.
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  • A B&W Day Gets Some Color

    26 Januari, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ⛅ 27 °F

    It was snowing when we woke up yesterday … the soft, dry kind of snow that we usually get.

    It was still snowing when we went to bed … no break from the white stuff in between.

    This morning, we woke up to a monochromatic day. No snow falling from the sky. Thick fog veiling the view across the arroyo. Snow blanketing everything. The deck furniture was decorated with icy shards of snow that had Mui commenting that it looked like a scene out of Doctor Zhivago. OK … that was an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

    By mid-morning the fog had given into the sun that was breaking through the clouds. Patches of blue sky started to appear. Looking good.

    Our community has a service that clears any snow accumulation in our driveway … provided it is 3” or more. Mui estimated we had about 2”. So, he bundled up and got the snowblower going. In no time at all he had the dry, fluffy snow off the driveway. All good.

    Wouldn’t you know it? Around 1:00p, the snow removal team showed up with shovels in hand; a bobcat adapted for snow removal followed. Oh well, Mui … just think of the work you did as exercise 🤪

    (Since the early morning photos were so monochromatic anyway, I processed them with a B&W filter.)
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  • Sunrise & Snow

    19 Maret, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☁️ 36 °F

    The morning after we returned from Antarctica — March 13 — we had a beautiful sunrise … from deep pinks and mauves, to pastel colors, to golden hues.

    [For those who are following the Antarctic trip … yes, I am still working my way through the thousands of photos I took so that I can complete my footprints.]

    There was more color in the sky the next morning, too. But on the horizon were clouds foretelling of a storm on its way. A few hours later, it was snowing. The white stuff moved out quickly … by nightfall, any accumulation was gone.

    The cycle repeated. And then came the bombogenesis on the 18th … an unexpected snow storm … with no warning … raging through the night. No idea how much snow really fell in our area. With the winds gusting up to 60 mph, the dry snow was blown about hither and yon all night. I’m not sure if the storm fit the true definition of a bombogenesis, but it sure felt like a snow-bomb had exploded!

    The rest of the week is forecasted to have seasonal weather. We shall see.
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  • Happy B'Day to Me

    11 April, Amerika Serikat ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Mui surprised me with a birthday cake today!

    I'm not changing a decade or anything, but I am now officially qualified to receive a paycheck from Social Security. That makes it a special birthday!!