I didn’t have enough hobbies so I started a weather journal.
Not really, though I did want to buy a new notebook so who’s to say what the real motivation is. Taking note of how many areas get more shade than sun and where the wind is blowing from has given me ideas for how I should layout this homestead of ours and I’m glad I started this local journal.
Since we haven’t been in Maine for very long, I’ve only accumulated a month or so in data but I’m starting to see patterns I can use to help my gardens thrive. I try to take readings at three different times of day to get a broad picture of the property on any given day. I have skipped some days accidentally and due to laziness but the world probably won’t end~
Here’s what data I’ve been tracking:
- Temperature (actual and what it feels like with wind)
- Wind speed and direction (including gusts)
- Precipitation
- Cloud cover
- Dewpoint
- Humidity
- Length of day
- Moonrise / moonset
- Sunrise / sunset
- Percentage of moon illuminated followed by whether it’s waxing or waning
I may add lore, cloud drawings, abnormal weather patterns, etc as the year goes on but I’m happy with how helpful this hobby has been.