If we did not have seasons, and weather, then walking the same route several times a week would get boring. Thanks to the weather we see plants get sown, we see them grow, we see them harvested, and then we see new plants planted. Over time, we recognise plants at an earlier and earlier stage of development. Today I saw that cherries are close to being ready to be picked, so it may be time to prepare Foret Noir....
Posts tagged “weather”
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The Dynamism Of Light - Walking on a Cloudy Day — Jun 22, 2021 -
Running In High Winds — Feb 27, 2023Yesterday I tried running and walking in high winds. I have cycled and walked in high winds but I had not yet had the sensation of running in high wind and it is quite interesting. In cycling you feel that the wind pushes your bike to the side, and you counteract the wind.... -
Rain and Water Tables — Jul 16, 2021There is an article on Swiss Radio and Television that discusses the positive impact that the flooding has had on the water tables. For several years not only have we had warm weather but we have also gone with very little or no rain for months at a time.... -
Muddy Shoes and a Drought — Feb 16, 2023Every morning the landscape is covered in frost. That frost melts and turns to water, which in turn, turns to mud, and cakes my shoes. Unfortunately there has been no rain for weeks, and there is no rain expected for weeks. We are in another drought although most people will not call it that, yet. They prefer to enjoy the sunshine and ignore the deeper problem.... -
Mud and Walking — Feb 1, 2023I go for walks, runs or bike rides every single day, whether it’s rainy, windy, snowy or a heatwave. As a result of this I often walk along routes where mud forms. Sometimes I come home from walks and my shoes are spotless, thanks either to a drought, or paradoxically due to the rain.... -
I Don't Need to Go For A One And a Half Hour Walk — Sep 16, 2021"I don’t need to go for a one and a half hour walk. I said that to a neighbour before my walk. I could have cut it short, if it started to rain too heavily. Paradoxically for most of the walk it was grey and drizzling. Nothing to worry about. I was almost dry for almost the entire walk.... -
Home Before The Storm — Jul 10, 2021One of the games I like to play is to look at the weather app and see when the rain is scheduled to arrive. I then estimate whether I will make it home before the rain. I took rain stuff just in case, to keep electronics etc dry but I don’t mind if I get wet, at the current temperature.... -
Day 57 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Another Walk In The Rain. — May 11, 2020Walking in heavy rain for two and a half hours doesn’t make much sense. You don’t see much. The more time you spend outside the more of you is wet, and by the time you get home you’re cold and in need of warming up....
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Day 43 of Self-Isolation in Switzerland – Caught Outdoors During a Thunderstorm — Apr 27, 2020Today I was caught outdoors during a thunderstorm but rather than run to shelter or rush home I continued taking a timelapse video of some flowers. According to the apps we were meant to get some rain at 1800 so I expected it to be short lived.... -
Cycling In The Rain — May 8, 2023By some fluke I have now gone for two bike rides in the rain. The first time I rode in the rain my hands got cold and I had to warm myself up again. Yestrday I went for. a bike ride again, expecting the weather to stay good. It drizzled almost non-stop. As a result my socks got soaked and I was once again covered in splatters of muddy water. I didn’t even ride through mud. I was covered in mud despite riding on tarmac.... -
Chickens In The Rain — Aug 4, 2021Wet chickens... -
Beware The Storms — Jul 30, 2021A field with hay and trees... -
A Windy Day In Geneva — Jan 19, 2020They announced that it would be windy today and it is. Windy days are fun because the lake goes from blue or green to English Breakfast tea brown. The waves crash against the walls and spray the promenade that goes from the Pont Du Mont Blanc to the Jardin Anglais. For now it’s getting things wet. With the right wind and low temperatures it could be great for the taking of photos.... -
A Walk Under Storm Clouds — Jun 24, 2021A Walk Under Clouds... -
A Rainy Day Without Walking — Nov 21, 2022Today the weather app said that it would start raining at 1500 so I didn’t go out for a walk. In the end the rain started at around 1630 or even later. I could have gone for a walk and I could have come back dry or almost dry....
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A funny day — Jan 18, 2007I found today quite entertaining. I went out and noticed that it was a little windy. Later on, I was heading towards the student bar only to find that it was closed due to windows being blown in. “Oh well”, I thought “time to do something different”. I walked across the street, the name given to the path in the middle of our university, and looked up to the screens, “ship abandoned”, train delays, tiles off roofs, and more. [caption id=“attachment_5829” align=“alignleft”] Due to various trees on the line As if to provoke more problems for myself I decided to head into central London. There was a hilarious sign. "Because of various trees on track - severe delays on metropolitan line. It’s such a matter of fact, a casual way of saying there’s a problem. I went up the stairs to the platform ad caught a train limited to 30 mph due to the adverse weather conditions. That’s quite a bit slower than usual. We arrived near Wembley Park but the train remained blocked. Apparently they had to change driver and this was holding us up. So to recapitulate six trees on the line, heavy winds, severe delays, and to top it off delay due to the changing of a driver. Don’t they have enough problems as it is? I went to the world’s biggest apple store but there’s nothing new, no apple tv, no iPhone, nothing I haven’t seen already. The trek back was fun in itself. Highly packed trains filled with commuters and masses of people trying to get back to Northwick park after going to Harrow on the hill because the trains were suffering from the weather conditions. I got out and walked home....
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A funny day — Jan 18, 2007iPhone - Jan 4, 2007...
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A Cloudy Sky — Sep 29, 2021Today as I walked from one village to another I looked up the hill and I saw a cloud arch framing a nearby village and I had to take a picture. The framing of the image was rather unique. It is below. Is it kitsch? There is a good chance. It was unique, so I captured it.... -
The Skipped Morning Ride — Nov 19, 2025Some people would have skipped this morning’s ride because it was cold. The temperature was forecast to be minus two degrees celsius and with the wind chill factor, and regional differences it could have felt like minus 5°c or cooler.... -
On Rain and Using it as an Excuse Not To Walk or Cycle — Oct 24, 2025Bike rides have been cancelled because of rain, rather than wind or other factors. When it rains cyclists don’t want to ride because it gets their bike dirty and they have to clean it, lubricate it and more. With hikers rain is also an excuse to be lazy, within some groups. With other groups rain is just rain and the walks and hikes go ahead....
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A Rain Soaked Walk in the Swiss countryside — Sep 2, 2025Yesterday I planned to walk so I put on my hiking boots and just as I was about to go out I heard large rain drops hit the velux. I thought “according to the weather app the rain should be light”. It wasn’t light. It was heavy and sustained.... -
Autumn Rain and Cancelled Bike Rides — Aug 28, 2025Last night I could have gone for a group ride, and it wouldn’t have rained on, despite what the weather said. As I went for a ride that morning, and felt tired, it felt rational not to ride in the evening.... -
Waiting for Cyclone Erin and Rain — Aug 27, 2025On RTS Info they warn about Erin, the ex-cyclone probably hitting Switzerland, dumping a lot of rain. The alert for some areas is level 5....
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The Energetic Cycling Rest Day — Aug 26, 2025On Sunday evening I saw that a ride was planned for Monday evening. Usually I would hae skipped this ride because I felt that I should rest. According to Garmin I should have taken a rest day.... -
The Curious Habit of Dressing to Be Cold — Jul 8, 2025One of the strangest things, in my observation of other people, is that they dress as if it was warm when it was cold. They dress in shorts and t-shirts to walk in the mountains in spring. That’s quite absurd, given how the mountains, in April tend to be cold.... -
Watching a Cloud Grow While Walking — Apr 29, 2025Yesterday I went for a walk and during this walk I kept looking at the Jura. Above the Jura I could see a cumolonimbus cloud mushroom and grow upwards, before spreading out. This morning I read about a huge hail storm. I photographed that storm cell as it was growing. Yesterday I could see a few storm systems growing and I thought “maybe we’ll have storms this evening.” We didn’t, but some of them did.... -
The Daily Workout — Oct 20, 2024Every single day I walk, run, or cycle. It doesn’t matter whether it’s rainy, sunny, windy, snowy or other. I do this out of habit. I know of quite a few routes that I can walk, run or cycle so there are variants. Some are long, some are short. If it’s going to rain I may choose a shorter route....
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The Sound of Heavy Rain — Oct 8, 2024Yesterday I walked with a light rain coat because it rained a few times during the day. This morning it has been raining heavily for hours. I stepped outside to get 4 season tyres from the post box for the bike and my back was quite wet after a few minutes.... -
Thoughts on a Rainy Day — Sep 26, 2024Today it’s raining, which may imply that I will not go out for a walk, or a run, and definitely not a bike ride. It also implies that I am wearing the Apple watch for no reason today. My step count will be low, as will my calories burned count, and finally my exercise minutes. On a day like today I could keep it off, for peace of mind. I really wish Apple Fitness behaved like Strava, rather than a silo....
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Time Spent Cycling, Hiking and Walking — Sep 11, 2024This year I have spent 350 hours hiking and walking according to Strava. In contrast I have spent just 44 hours cycling. If I had spent as much time cycling as I did walking then my cycling fitness would be higher than it is at the moment.... -
The Water Bottle Paradox — Sep 4, 2024This weekend when I hiked to Valangin I thought that I would found a water fountain along the way, so I took just 600ml of water. A few weeks ago when I went to Charmey I took the same amount of water because I didn’t want too much weight for the Via Ferrata. The result is that I have run out of water twice recently.... -
Lucky With the Weather — Aug 16, 2024Yesterday I went for a 50km bike ride that took two hours. During the first half the weather was good, and it felt warm. I cycled down to Nyon and towards Prangins, before cycling back towards Nyon before heading to Duiller and from there up towards Genolier, but not the direct route because of roadworks. I went up via a smaller town. When I got to Genolier I then went down the hill before heading back up to the road that takes you via the top of Trelex before cycling to Gingins and up via the golf of Bonmont before riding to La Rippe and up via the upper route that takes you to Divonne via the upper route.... -
The Americanisation of Swiss Weather Forecasting — Jun 30, 2024A few days ago they announced a “cocktail météorologique explosif” but the result I saw from my vantage point was some medium rain, and plenty of rain and thunder. The thunder was constant for quite a while.... -
Watching the Weather Again — Jun 26, 2024For five years it was sunny almost every day in Switzerland. It was sunny so often that the water tables declined and village fountains dried up, as did fields. Clouds of dust could be seen rising when tractors worked the fields. It’s because of this excellent weather, for years in a row, that I stopped looking at weather apps.... -
Meetup Silence Due to Rain — Apr 28, 2024Yesterday it rained so consistantly that I didn’t leave the house. I stayed indoors the entire day. I wanted to go out but because of the never-ending rain I never set foot outside.... -
Of Rain and a Pi 5 4GB — Apr 28, 2024Rain was forecast today. If rain had not been forecast then I would have driven to Ins, near the Lake of Murten near Neuchatel to go around the lake at a slow up. I didn’t go, not because rain was forecast, but because rain was expected although not quantified. I like to drive and do things, sometimes, but if I drive so far, especially to do something in relative solitude I would prefer to do it when the weather is good, rather than rainy. By driving so far in the rain I am contributing to global warming for very little... -
A Big Seasonal Change and NixOS Continued — Apr 18, 2024During the weekend it was warm and beautiful. It was so warm and beautiful that my bag got to 40+ degrees centigrade, with an average of over 30°c. Today as I drove to the shops for food I noticed that the snow line was even lower....
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PhotoPrism, Walks in Cold Weather and Migrating to Linux — Jan 9, 2024A Cold Walk... -
Walking in Rain Gear — Dec 30, 2023When some people see that it’s grey or rainy they don’t want to go for a walk. They don’t want to get rained on and they don’t want to experience the discomfort of being in a wet environment. I don’t mind the rain. I don’t mind wearing a rain coat and rain trousers, and waterproof shoes, and ensuring that I don’t need to fiddle with the phone when my hands are wet with rain....
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A Walk by the Vallée De Joux — Dec 20, 2023Every so often I get in a car to walk somewhere different. For two or three days we have been in the fog. Yesterday the fog was so thick that when I was driving I decided to slow down. I wanted to be able to stop in half the visible distance....
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Experimenting with Home Assistant — Dec 12, 2023For a long time I wasn’t tempted to play with Home Assistant or the Apple Home app. I don’t have smart light bulbs, or a smart fridge, or a thermostat that I can control remotely. I don’t have solar panels that are feeding a battery. In essence I thought that if I played with Home Assistant I would not be able to do anything. Now I see that this idea was wrong.... -
Walking in Heavy Rain — Dec 9, 2023I knew that it would rain heavy yesterday (at the time when you read this) so I considered running so that I would spend less time in the weather. The issue, at this time of year, is that if you run you need to do so before the sun sets but you also want to wear lighter clothes, for running to be easier....
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Shovelling Snow and Playing With Plex — Dec 5, 2023Yesterday it snowed for several hours and that snow was covering the path to my house. When I saw the ground turn from asphalt black to grey, to white I decided to go and start clearing the snow. It’s easy to clear snow when you have three or four centimetres, rather than more. At first it was light and easy to move so I cleared the path once, and then a second time, and then a third, and by the third I decided to stop. It had become a sisyphean task. It was falling as fast as I was clearing it....
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The Temptation of a Group Hike — Nov 19, 2023A few days ago I signed up for a group hike but decided not to go for two or three reasons. The two main reasons were the size of the group and the weather. From what I saw fifteen people were going to go on that hike and I am still in pandemic mode. I would be happier with a smaller group of people. fifteen is too large.... -
Walking With an Umbrella — Nov 14, 2023Yesterday i looked at the rain forecast and it looked as though I could go for a walk, without taking a proper rain coat. I wore the btwin cycling rain jacket instead. I decided to carry a mini umbrella with me in case the rain got harder.... -
The Sound of Rain — Oct 20, 2023If I look across from my apartment I can see plenty of pigeons lined up in a row. It’s raining heavily and they are not flying. They are just sitting on the roof, letting the rain water trickle down from them onto the roof below. I assume that in this weather pigeons don’t want to get their entire body soaked. They prefer to sit and huddle.... -
Ten Degrees above the Seasonal Norm — Oct 11, 2023Twenty Five Degrees Forecast... -
iOS and Environmentalism — Sep 25, 2023If you use the weather app on iOS 17 the weather app provides you with information about average temperature and average precipitation. It tells you how different the temperature and rainfall are, compared to average. Today, for example, I see that the temperature is 4°c warmer than the average. It tells me that usually the temperature is 17°c and that the current outside air temperature is 21°c....
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Slowed by the Wind — Aug 3, 2023Yesterday I walked into the wind for two to three kilometres. The wind was so strong that the Apple watch gave me “high noise level” warnings more than once. The wind was around 30-40km/h. It was so strong that I stopped listening to an Audiobook because I couldn’t hear it. I then heard the summary for the last kilometre and was told that I was walking at 11 minutes per kilometre, compared to my 10 minutes 40 per kilometre....
