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July2019

Weather diary page

July 5, Aomori: Just got back to Japan. It's still barely breaking 20 for highs, which seems unusually cool. The low on Monday the 8th is supposed to be 12. That's nuts. I'm almost certain I saw a red fox when I opened my front door last night to check the weather. I don't know what else it could have been and I saw it under the light. Distinct red color, big fluffy tail, lean body, definitely a wild animal. Everywhere we've been this summer, except Florida, has been very wet. Ohio had lots of rain, clearly northern Japan has been having lots of rain. In fact all of Japan has been soaking wet the last few days, with some evacuations in the mountains.

July 8, Aomori: Forecast is calling for highs below 20 for the next few days. Since we returned on the 4th, we have not had a day over 20. It's been mostly foggy. Dreary business for summer.

July 11, Aomori: Still chilly. It did not reach 20 today and was cloudy/foggy and windy. Most people out and about were wearing coats. It's the middle of July. Apparently this is a sustained 5 C below normal period. Next summer, we'll be sure to wait until August to return.

July 12, Northern Rivers: 5C below ave in Aomori - that'a bucking the trend! The run of rainy days was finally broken here - when it happened it was like a switch had been flicked - clear sunny days ever since July 9 - forecast to stay that way for the next week at least. No sign of leaves on the pecan trees as yet. Lots of ibis around the house. Nights are colder due to clear skies. Down to 4 C last night - threatening 0 in the coming days. Local farmer Danny says the saturation of the earth due to the unseasonal rain might be enough to prevent the frost due to the warmth the moisture retains in the ground - stuff he says often seems to be right so we'll see.

• DAN RESPONSE: It is very odd, but we've only been here less than two years. Still, this is below average, way below. As this location is affected by coastal factors, I'm wondering if ocean currents have any influence. The currents are what keep temps here moderate throughout the winter, similar to the US NW coast and England. Or, maybe it's just a prolonged meaningless anomaly. Climate change models do predict changes in ocean currents which will radically affect coastal temperatures, but from what I've read that wasn't supposed to kick in for another few years.

July 19, Aomori: Still raining. We've had a couple days since the last posting with no rain, but they were both very foggy. Even for the rare moments when it's 'sunny', it's a dull sun blocked by thick, day-long fog. I learned on a discussion forum recently that the Tokyo area is also having and oddly wet, cool summer. Last summer, they were hit by a deadly heatwave.

July 19, Northern Rivers: The cold nights arrived as predicted with a run of three or four days with moderate frost - managed to get all the natives bagged so hopefully they will survive it. Days are perfect - sunny, light wind, around 20. Saw two platypus swimming together - first time i've seen two in such close proximity.

July 24, Aomori: Today was the first day since returning 7/4 that it has been over 25 and sunny. The next few days are supposed to be similar. Finally. Fruit and vegetable prices are higher this year due to the odd weather. Lots of rain and cool temps down south, just foggy and cool up here.

July 30, Northern Rivers: Due to rain forecast for coming days, spent the morning working on natives - the frost cloth covering was pretty makeshift as i'd been in a rush to get it on before frosts so redid some of the coverings, added more stakes, did some weeding. Many of the ones that i thought had been killed stone-dead by the June 1 frost have made fragile comebacks with signs of shoots at the bottom of the stem - without the covering they would have been killed off for sure by the repeated run of frosts last week. Estimate that i've lost about 10% - which is better than the 30-40% that it looked like originally. Of the survivors, growth rate has dropped to zero though they look to be in reasonable condition. Good news is that grass also hasn't grown so no need to cut it. Question is at what point to remove frost cloth? Once it heats up there is the potential for the cloth to do more harm than good as it could end up cooking the plants - on the other hand frosts can still happen right through to the first two weeks of September according to my farmer neighbour. Re-poisoned a section of cats claw (an invasive vine-weed) near creek bend by drilling hole into base and applying Round-up. The first poisoning has had an impact reducing it by 70% but there were signs of it re-sprouting. Hate using poison of course but all the conservation experts i've spoken to say it's the only way. The mulch i applied a couple of months ago is still there - thought it looked like it would break down in no time when i bought it but its held together surprisingly well