A Weather Glass Is An Age Old Barometer

I took a picture of our weather glass this morning. Later, in the day, our weather glass let us know by the water coming up and out the spout that we needed to batten down the hatches as a storm was coming. Sure enough, as I write this, the storm is here. Having been around for almost four centuries the weather glass has endured the test of time. A simple device, but one enjoyed around the world because of it's ability to predict storms and changes in weather. Also known as a Goethe Barometer they can be beautifully designed and crafted, easy to use and a fun conversation piece helping to make this a timeless gift.

Although Evangelista Torricelli is universally credited with inventing the barometer in 1643, historical documentation also suggests Gasparo Berti, an Italian mathematician and astronomer, unintentionally built a water barometer sometime between 1640 and 1643. - The Wikipedia

"We have had ours for a number of years and always enjoy checking the water level to see what kind of weather is coming..."

Choosing Porch Lamps And Other Changes...

One of the latest projects for us has been choosing and installing porch lights. If you are considering porch lights there are a number of factors that might help you choose just the right lights. Some of the factors that were important to us were Darksky, not seeing the eye piercing light of the bare bulb, stainless and getting a lamp that is big enough (but not too big) to show up and highlight the front of our house.

Darksky: The mission of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is to preserve and protect the nighttime environment and our heritage of dark skies through environmentally responsible outdoor lighting. The basic idea is that we should be able to all see the stars and night sky rather than light pollution. DARKSKY was in many ways the top priority and we found what we were looking for on Amazon. For the finish we ended up choosing stainless steel lamps as we have learned that brass and many painted lamps rust here in as short of a time as only 2 years. We selected lamps with white Tiffany glass so the eye piercing bulb can not be seen directly and to softly diffuse the light. We want someone to be able look at our house, rather than squint because of a piercing light, and we do not want to see the bulb either. Also the size of the lamp overall makes a difference in how the lamp looks on the house. Our house is a ways from the street so lamps a bit larger than normal looked better overall. For bulbs we choose a 2700K color temperature to give the lighting a warm appearance. In order to get the brightness correct and not too bright or dim, we ended up using 14 watt CFL bulbs. Be aware also what directions you want light to shine and not shine as there are lamps that shine down only or in two directions etc. For our house we need 4 lamps so we wanted to choose extra wisely. With a little attention on each factor we were very happy with the results.

"Usually one can feel when change is coming..."

Breville Coffee Grinder And Bamboo Knock Box...

Recently we had to spend some birthday money on something we want rather than something we need - which is always fun! The fun choice we made was an espresso machine which is still en route. To make great espresso you need a great grinder because you need an accurate grind size and amount. It also helps to have a knock box so you can knock the used grinds out of the filter. We choose a Breville grinder called "the Smart Grinder" with dosing IQ. which is a digital grinder that got rave reviews. After consulting with family as to the best place we could buy such items, these came as a surprise early Christmas gift! They were bought from Amazon and arrived quickly to beat the espresso machine.

"Delicious high intensity treats that give you a burst of energy and that euphoria, ahhh..."

A Nature Log Recorded Near The Oregon Coast...

During the 1st week of October: The deer are now gray with winter coats. Squirrels are still up in the trees dropping fir cones down to the ground. The baby deer are still with their moms, honey bees and bumblebees are still buzzing and there ARE termites but no ants still flying. The crows are hanging out in larger groups. The Blue jays seem more active and the berries are ripe on the fuchsia. Very few if any trees in sight have lost all their leaves.

"Recording the time of year that certain natural events occur is interesting to see changes and similarities..."