Anecdotally, we had one one cold, gray, wet June. Seems like every morning we awoke to some combination of fog, rain and wind that persisted for most of the day.
Turns out it’s not just an anecdote. Below, I’ve quoted the entirety of the July 1 edition of the Blue Hill Weather Observatory daily discussion page. I don’t think that page is archived on a daily basis and really, this one should be saved for posterity. I added emphasis in a couple areas:

BLUE HILL METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATORY
MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02186
ELEVATION 635 FEET, 10 MILES SSW OF BOSTON, MA
DAILY DISCUSSION AND CLIMATE SUMMARY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2009
ALL TIMES ARE IN EASTERN STANDARD TIME
THE JUNE 2009 STATS
Temperature deg. F
Av. Max. 68.4
Av. Min. 54.8
Mean 61.6 [-4.1]
24-hr. corr. mean 60.6
Max. temp: 79 on 7th/26th
Min. temp: 41 on 1st
HDD units: 117 [+43]
HDD Season: 6238 [-133]
CDD units: 22 [-71]
CDD Season: 61 [-57]
Precipitation: 5.14 ins. [+1.21]
No.days measurable: 19
Total no. of days (with traces): 24
Wind: 9.1 MPH (corrected 9.8 MPH)
Prevailing direction: N @ 14%
Directions of N,NNE,NE @ 34%
Fastest mile: 29 MPH NNE on 21st
Peak gust; 44 MPH N on 21st
Sunshine: 27% of possible or 118.1 hrs. (sun card)
Long term June average: 55% [we had less than half the average June sunshine -JLS]

THE JUNE 2009 RANKINGS....
The list of high rankings for June is very impressive, though the
only new record is lowest wind speed for June. The corrected mean
temperature for June (60.6) was the 10th coldest on record. Note that
due to the cloudiness, the average maximum temperature was third
coldest on record (with -6.2 departure), but the average minimum
temperature was only a half degree below the 110-year mean for June.
Lowest June Bright Sunshine (1886-2009), percent:

1) 25% in 1903
2) 27% in 2009 [2nd cloudiest June on record -JLS]
3) 36% in 1998
4) 37% in 1959
5) 39% in 1948
39% in 2006
Lowest June Bright Sunshine (1886-2009), hours:
1) 108.7 in 1903
2) 118.1 in 2009
3) 157.9 in 1998
4) 161.2 in 1959
5) 171.8 in 1948
Lowest Monthly Bright Sunshine (1886-2009), percent:
1) 21% in Apr 1901
2) 24% in Oct 1913
3) 25% in Jun 1903
4) 27% in Dec 1972
27% in Jun 2009
Coldest June Average Maximum Temp (1885-2009), deg F:
1) 66.1 in 1903
2) 66.7 in 1916
3) 68.4 in 2009
4) 69.3 in 1982
5) 69.4 in 1897
Lowest June Monthly Maximum Temp (1885-2009), deg F:
1) 78 in 1916
2) 79 in 2009
3) 81 in 1886
4) 82 in 1936
82 in 1972
82 in 1982
82 in 1985
Most June Days Measurable Precipitation (1886-2009), days:

1) 20 in 1916
2) 19 in 2009[And pretty dang rainy, too – JLS]
3) 18 in 1922
18 in 1945
Lowest June Wind Speed (1885-2009), mph:
1) 9.8 in 2009
2) 10.3 in 1895
3) 10.6 in 2005
10.6 in 2008
5) 10.8 in 2003
Lowest Monthly Wind Speed (1885-2009), mph:
1) 9.5 in Aug 1996
9.5 in Aug 2008
3) 9.8 in Jun 2009
4) 10.0 in Aug 1899
The June prevailing wind direction of N has never before happened
in the years that are tabulated (1951-2009). A prevailing direction
of NE was observed in June 1954 and 1982. The last month to have a
prevailing wind direction of N was January 1998. Only five months
in this period of record (1951-2009) had a N prevailing direction,
and these occurred in January, March, October, November and December.
Today's observations:
7 A.M.
Weather: Obscured with heavy fog
Temperature: 58F, Dew point: 58F, Wind: NE at 10 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.81 inches Hg, rising
Visibility: 1/16 mile, zero past hour
6-hour minimum temp: 57F
24-hour rainfall: 0.03 inch
BHO SA 1155 W2 X 1/16F 096/58/58/0410/981/
VSBY 0 PST HR/ 8//// 53013 MANUAL 70003
ASOS 70002 10059 20057
10 A.M.
Weather: Obscurement with fog, rain shower past hour
Temperature: 58F, Dew point: 58F, Wind: NNE at 12 kts
Sea-level pressure: 29.82 inches Hg, rising
Visibility: zero variable to 1/16
3-hourly rainfall: 0.01
BHO SA 1455 W1 X 0VF 099/58/58/0312/982/ VSBY 0V1/16 WND 36V06
RB50E54/ 8//// MANUAL 6001/ ASOS 60001
1 P.M.
Weather: Obscurement with heavy fog, thunderstorm and
light rain occurring, occasional lightning in cloud
all quadrants
Temperature: 58F, Dew point: 58F, Wind: N at 11 kts,
Sea-level pressure: 29.85 inches Hg, rising
Visibility: zero
6-hourly max. temp. 60F
6-hourly rainfall: 0.05 inch
BHO SA 1755 W1 X0TR-F 107/58/58/0111/985/
TB1659 OVHD ALQDS MOVG N OCNL LTGICCC OVHD-ALQDS/
8////53008 ASOS 60004 MANUAL 6005/ 10060 20058
WEATHER SUMMARY FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 30
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
MAX.....66 NORMAL.....79
MIN.....57 NORMAL.....59
MEAN....62 NORMAL.....69
DEPARTURE FROM 30-YEAR NORMAL...........-7
TOTAL DEPARTURE FOR THE MONTH.........-116 [-4.1 DEGREES/DAY]
HEATING DEGREE DAYS
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR YESTERDAY.............3 DEPARTURE.......+2
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE MONTH...........117 DEPARTURE......+43
TOTAL HEATING UNITS FOR THE SEASON.........6238 DEPARTURE.....-133
TOTAL HEATING UNITS LAST SEASON TO DATE....5942 DIFFERENCE....+296
PEAK GUST AND AVERAGE WIND SPEED (MPH)
PEAK WIND GUST FOR YESTERDAY.............23 NE AT 3:06 P.M.
AEROVANE..............20 NE AT 3:06 P.M.
ASOS..................22 NE AT 3:06 P.M.
DAVIS.................21 NE AT 3:05 P.M.
FASTEST MILE FOR YESTERDAY...............15 NE AT 4:51 P.M. *
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE ASOS AVERAGE............16 NE AT 3:07 P.M.
MAXIMUM 2-MINUTE DAVIS AVERAGE...........16 NE AT 3:07 P.M.
AVERAGE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION........8.3 N
ASOS.................7.9
DAVIS................8.4 NE [040 DEG]
* last of several occurrences...
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) THROUGH THIS MORNING (EST)
TOTAL PRECIPITATION 24 HRS ENDING 7 A.M....0.03 DEPARTURE....+0.02
ASOS..............0.02
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR JUNE..............5.14 DEPARTURE....+1.21
ASOS..............5.10
TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE YEAR..........23.64 DEPARTURE....-2.03
ASOS.............24.65
PRELIMINARY CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR JUNE 2009 CALENDAR DAY DATA
DATA REPORTED:
AERO: Aerovane wind recording system gust when significant
TSTM: Thunderstorm day (thunder heard some time during day)
....: Data not yet available, records not finalized
6/1 69/41/55/-7/0/706/78 29 SSW AERO 25 MPH SSW
6/2 76/53/65/+3/T/525/58 28 S AERO 24 MPH S
6/3 69/54/62/0/T/254/28 23 SSW
6/4 73/53/63/0/0/327/36 22 SSE
6/5 64/51/58/-5/0.05/000/00 21 NE
6/6 73/51/62/-1/0.01/428/47 25 SSE
6/7 79/56/68/+4/0/583/64 28 W AERO 24 MPH W
6/8 73/57/65/+1/0/529/58 18 ENE
6/9 59/51/55/-9/0.10/000/00 27 E
6/10 59/52/56/-8/0.00/000/00 21 NE
6/11 57/52/55/-10/0.17/000/00 23 NNE AERO 21 MPH NE
6/12 70/53/62/-3/0.43/119/13 30 SSE AERO 29 MPH SSE
6/13 75/59/67/+2/T/796/87 23 NNE
6/14 63/54/59/-6/0.34/101/11 20 E
6/15 60/52/56/-10/0.06/027/03 20 NE
6/16 64/51/58/-8/T/568/62 22 NNE
6/17 74/50/62/-4/0/807/88 28 S AERO 24 MPH S
6/18 65/52/59/-7/0.44/000/00 35 ESE
6/19 70/61/66/-1/0.47/000/00 33 SE AERO 31 MPH SE
6/20 76/60/68/+1/0/266/29 21 NNE
6/21 61/57/59/-8/0.55/000/00 44 N AERO 42 MPH N
6/22 60/58/59/-8/1.26/000/00 42 NNE AERO 39 MPH NNE
6/23 64/57/61/-7/0.33/000/00 38 N AERO 33 MPH N
6/24 62/55/59/-9/0.12/000/00 27 N
6/25 74/58/66/-2/0.02/156/17 21 SSW
6/26 79/62/71/+3/0.03/339/37 30 WSW
6/27 78/59/69/0/0.20/513/56 23 N TSTM
6/28 64/58/61/-8/0.03/000/00 21 N
6/29 74/59/67/-2/0.50/220/24 20 N
6/30 66/57/62/-7/0.03/119/13 23 NE
7/1 morning low temp: 57F; our normal low is now 60F
NEW DAILY RECORDS FOR JUNE 2009 TO DATE...
NONE
DAILY EXTREMES
Temperature and precipitation records back to 1885, and
wind records back to 1940 (e = estimated):
RECORDS FOR JULY 1
HIGH 98F IN 1964
LOW 44F IN 1988 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PRECIP 4.46 INS IN 1915 [RECORD FOR MONTH]
PEAK GUST 52 MPH WNW IN 1974
RECORDS FOR JULY 2
HIGH 95F IN 1963
LOW 47F IN 1988
PRECIP 1.42 INS IN 1986
PEAK GUST 45 MPH SW IN 1999
TODAY'S REPORT PREPARED BY: Robert Skilling / Mike Iacono

Turning the calendar over to July hasn’t really helped much, but at least there’s one day in the next 5 with no forecast chance of rain.

This is a shout out to Kraig Willett, who finally posted something I feel qualified to respond to. And yeah, I realize his question is rhetorical. But literalist that I am, here’s my own cellphone pic of the sunset as viewed from Boston harbor:

Anyhoo, thanks for all the bike-nerd food for thought, Kraig.

As part of our recent household move, Elise and I, having tired of pounding our laundry between two rocks down at the neighborhood creek, resolved to purchase a new washing machine and dryer. After much online research and inspection of floor models at local appliance marts, we settled on a large-capacity, front-loading pair. The shorter members of this family commonly go through two or three outfits a day, resulting in a small mountain of food-stained shirts and pants.
The new appliances arrived on a Saturday, accompanied by their friend Mr. Oh-my-god-are-you-sure-that-fridge-is-going-to-fit (it did, with about 2 mm of clearance on each side). However, we couldn’t start doing laundry right away. In a fit of eco-friendliness or perhaps self-loathing, we purchased a gas dryer and needed the plumber to run the gas line from the basement. When I arrived home from work on Monday, Elise announced that Mike had done that job, hooked up, leveled and tested the washer, and we were ready to go. The fateful moment arrived the next day, as the movers unloaded furniture and the Verizon tech connected our house’s tube to the larger series of tubes that is the Internet. I gathered up a few bedsheets, tossed them into the washer, which bleeped cheerfully as I set the parameters for the cycle. I shut the closet and returned to directing the furniture streaming in my new front door.
About half an hour later I heard a holllow, metallic banging coming from the laundry closet. I rushed over and found the washer had walked halfway out of the closet and was shoving against the dryer. I wrapped my hands around the top front corners of the cabinet and leaned against it to keep it in place, while it vibrated so badly that the front panel blurred.Clearly, washing technology had advanced recently. I looked down and saw beads and curls of polyurethane rising from the leading edge of a six-inch-long, washer-foot-width scar on the wood floor, then fumbled for a button to stop the madness.
I called Elise, who was directing the clearout of our old house. “Your new washer? It’s trying to escape.” After a couple more tries we did get the sheets spun, but only with constant vigilance and physical restraint. The scenario played out multiple times over the next few days as we tried to diagnose the issue. Cabinet level? Sure. Cabinet level while spinning? Well, maybe, but it vibrated so badly that the level’s bubble smashed itself into an unreadable smear. Wood floors can resonate, but we were weren’t quite ready to re-run the utility lines to the basement. Fortunately we had the old house for a few more days, so we did our laundry there. But we had to solve this problem quickly.
We saw a recommendation for a stall mat – a dense rubber pad used in horse stalls – and the next weekend Elise procured one. In the process of positioning the mat under the washer, Elise chanced a look at the back of the machine. “Hey, gimme the manual,” she ordered from her perch atop top the washer, hand flailing expectantly behind her, face invisible. I complied, and she flipped a few pages. “I don’t think these are supposed to be here.” She poked at a diagram, and I scanned for the accompanying instructions in a language I could parse: The four shipping bolts must be removed before operation. Violent vibration may occur if the washer is operated with the bolts in place. Sure enough, four hexagonal bolt heads protruded from the back. After a few tries at finding the appropriate wrench size, I spun the plastic-shrouded, hand-length bolts from their perches, installed the protective caps over the resultant holes, and gave our test load another spin. We had found the culprits. The bolts allowed the drum to spin, but restricted the motion of the drum within its suspension mount.
Since then, we’ve had no hint of discontent from the washer or dryer, whose electronics and sleek lines have caused me to dub them Enterprise-W and Enterprise-D. We gradually came to the point where we can now trust them to operate unattended. We also still trust the plumber, but next time, we’ll verify.

The week started brutally hot and stayed there through last night, when the T-storms finally arrived.Yes, it really was 86F in our kitchen at 10pm on Wednesday night. We brought it on ourselves by giving away our big window AC a couple weeks ago, but I’m still very much looking forward to central air.

The storm has past and left a memento in the form of two feet of snow. The roads are plowed fairly well, but really there’s nowhere for the snow to go. We’ve got some pretty good drifts going due to the dryness of the snow and 50+MPH gusts we saw earlier today. I’ll probably be holed up here tomorrow since downtown got it at least as bad as we did here in Milton, and the T will be horrible.
We’re all fine – well, actually I’m crippled since my friend Johnny Smooth took my sorry, weak self on a two-hour ski tour yesterday over terrain more suitable for snowshoes, or perhaps an ATV. But that’s my own fault.

We’re under there somewhere. We have about six inches of snow on the ground and blowing around, with no letup in sight. I bet we’ll have a foot in the morning.

So, more progress on the bathroom: we have walls. The plaster went on today, and though I’m not much of a judge I’m mightily impressed at the trowel work. Next comes finish carpentry and tile in the tub.
We picked out a sconce yesterday, and I think the bathroom is going to be the best-lit room in the house now. Three recessed lights in the ceiling, four over the mirror…stay in too long and you’ll need sunscreen.
We have yet to finalize paint and floor tile, and know what we want for countertop and fixtures but still need to hunt them down, along with a mirror of appropriate size. Still, it’s nice to see things start coming together.

I haven’t written about it yet, but we’ve embarked on a bathroom remodeling project. Demolition started on the Monday before Christmas, and from then until now we’ve had a gaping hole where our only full bathroom used to sit. So far I’m pretty pleased with the process and amused to see how home remodeling project work resembles software project work. Such as:

• No matter how much you think you know after your initial assessment, you don’t know the real story until after you start. We had hoped to move the toilet a bit, and that seemed possible until we demolished the floor and the plumber got a look. We could move it, but we’d have to raise the floor a couple of inches to provide adequate pitch in the new pipe run. Hey, I know it’s a throne, but we don’t need a dais.
• The sooner you find your mistakes, the cheaper they are to fix. Today the GC was framing the floor and managed to drive a couple of nails through the radiator pipe – and he said the nail gun was just set to “stun.” Fortunately he thought about that after he had laid some cement but before he placed and nailed the plywood. The plumber’s here fixing it as I write this. I’m sure glad we caught that before we laid tile.

Anyway, I’m so far very pleased with the contractors – they communicate well, they show up when they say they will, and they admit their mistakes and make them right. We should all do that well.

…of a white St. Patrick’s Day?
That’s right! We didn’t get snow for Christmas 2003 but Mother Nature left a nice 4″ blanket on the driveway for St. Patrick’s Day 2004. I suppose that some of you living at higher elevation don’t think that snow in March is a big deal. After experiencing a January that was colder than Mars, I’ve about had it.