Saturday, October 28, 2023

Every anniversary is a round-year anniversary, in the literal sense of the general shape of the orbit of the Earth as it comes 'round to the same place in the circle of the sun as it was a year ago. However, there is something about tenth-year anniversaries that we hold in special roundness — perhaps because we run out of fingers and must return to the same finger we started counting the last decade upon?

Whatever the case, we might consider a 20th-year return twice as special, and we certainly do tonight, as this humble Almanac has reached the age of 20 years old. Little did we think, on that first October evening, when we hit the send button to launch our first observation into the ether of the internet, that things would continue this long. However, tonight, we are grateful for the opportunity to have endured. And to those who have endured with us, we say, most cordially, thank you.

As is traditional, here's the very first Observation.

October 28, 2003

The combination of astronomical high tide with run-off from recent heavy rains and the meltage of several inches of snowfall in the north brought the Kenduskeag Stream and Penobscot River to unusually high levels at the noon high tide.

The river had slopped over its banks on the Brewer side near the Muddy Rudder Restaurant and on the Bangor side near the Estevan Gomez monument.

The Kenduskeag had risen to the footbridge near Bangor Savings Bank, such that one could not have swum under it with much of one's head above water level. The high water mark in the canal was at the bevel on the ledge which is just a yard or so below the railing, and at some points along the river walk had just slightly exceeded it.

We noted at the evening low tide that the stream was gushing past the Central Building on Central Street and that the river was still unusually high, as could be observed from the Chamberlain Bridge. It was a "late September day," as the high reached into the lower 60s under mostly sunny skies. We are trying to adjust to the early darkfall, in these first days of Eastern Standard Time. (CQ)

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

The sun rose today at 6:59, the first time before 7 o'clock since December 5th.

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Saturday, December 10, 2022

We are currently in the midst of the earliest sunsets of the year, at three minutes after 4 o'clock, from the 6th through the 12th. On Tuesday, the sun will set at four past 4 o'clock, and will begin its slow progress toward the latest sunsets in June. The sun will continue to rise later and later until January 6th. We will then "be gaining on both ends of the day," as we say.

By the way, unless Congress acts between now and then, contrary to whatever rumors you may be hearing on the street and around the coffee pot, we will be observing the rhythm of "spring forward and fall back" indefinitely. The part of the rumor that is right is that the Senate passed the bill; the House, however did not, so the bill could not be signed into law.

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Friday, October 28, 2022

While we obviously don't keep this blog as well as we used to, the site is better maintained than might appear at first glance. And we certainly log in to hoist one every year on this date, in celebration of this humble almanac's birthday. Tonight is its 19th.

As is traditional, here's the very first Observation.

October 28, 2003

The combination of astronomical high tide with run-off from recent heavy rains and the meltage of several inches of snowfall in the north brought the Kenduskeag Stream and Penobscot River to unusually high levels at the noon high tide.

The river had slopped over its banks on the Brewer side near the Muddy Rudder Restaurant and on the Bangor side near the Estevan Gomez monument.

The Kenduskeag had risen to the footbridge near Bangor Savings Bank, such that one could not have swum under it with much of one's head above water level. The high water mark in the canal was at the bevel on the ledge which is just a yard or so below the railing, and at some points along the river walk had just slightly exceeded it.

We noted at the evening low tide that the stream was gushing past the Central Building on Central Street and that the river was still unusually high, as could be observed from the Chamberlain Bridge. It was a "late September day," as the high reached into the lower 60s under mostly sunny skies. We are trying to adjust to the early darkfall, in these first days of Eastern Standard Time. (CQ)

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Each year on this date we post a link into the Almanac library to one of the most moving pieces of nature writing I've ever read. It was originally published locally 40 years ago and is redolent of the love for and awe of our fellow mortals that is all too rare in this world. Please enjoy, The Woods Are Full Of Star Maps.

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Saturday, November 6, 2021

After the 4th warmest October on record in Portland (#1-2017; #2-1947; #3-2014), November's seasonal temperatures are hitting hard. Daily highs have been on the mark, in the lower 50s, with overnight lows cooler than normal by only a few degrees. Still, this morning's low of 22 in Yarmouth (25 in Portland) felt pretty chilly to the unacclimated.

Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 AM tomorrow. Good news for morning larks: tomorrow's sunrise in Yarmouth will occur at 6:24. But tomorrow's sunset will occur at 4:24.

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Our humble Almanac passes another annual milestone. And any persons born the same year this Almanac took its first step into the ether are elegible to vote in this year's elections!

It was 18 years ago tonight that the very first observation by this Almanac was published to the world from Bangor, Maine. Yours truly and another weather-watching resident of that fair city had been remarking upon the remarkable meteorological incidents that had befallen us in that Autumn, which by that date was nearing its midpoint. We decided to pool our observations into a one-page blog, which has grown into this still-humble Almanac. Neither of us still resides in the Queen City. Panta rhei.

As always, we like to mark the passage of our publishing year, with a quotation of that very first Observation. Also note that in those days, Daylight Savings Time ended earlier in the year!

October 28, 2003

The combination of astronomical high tide with run-off from recent heavy rains and the meltage of several inches of snowfall in the north brought the Kenduskeag Stream and Penobscot River to unusually high levels at the noon high tide.

The river had slopped over its banks on the Brewer side near the Muddy Rudder Restaurant and on the Bangor side near the Estevan Gomez monument.

The Kenduskeag had risen to the footbridge near Bangor Savings Bank, such that one could not have swum under it with much of one's head above water level. The high water mark in the canal was at the bevel on the ledge which is just a yard or so below the railing, and at some points along the river walk had just slightly exceeded it.

We noted at the evening low tide that the stream was gushing past the Central Building on Central Street and that the river was still unusually high, as could be observed from the Chamberlain Bridge. It was a "late September day," as the high reached into the lower 60s under mostly sunny skies. We are trying to adjust to the early darkfall, in these first days of Eastern Standard Time. (CQ)

Yours truly,
Colby Quid

Each year on this date we post a link into the Almanac library to one of the most moving pieces of nature writing I've ever read. It was originally published locally 39 years ago and is redolent of the love for and awe of our fellow mortals that is all too rare in this world. Please enjoy, The Woods Are Full Of Star Maps.

Yours truly,
Colby Quid