Backyard story, January 7, 2017

It was cold this morning...5 degrees Fahrenheit on our thermometer.  Tom and I have been holed up for a few days.  Both of us are sick though I think today we are feeling better.

The platform feeder has been mostly empty for three days although the Darkeyed Juncos are still showing up and finding a seed here and there.  I decided to refill the feeder this morning while I had the energy to do it.

I heard a Blue Jay calling his warning call from a Black Hills Spruce along the lot line.  I looked up but couldn't find him.  But I did find the reason for his shrill warning.

In the tangle of branches of the walnut tree sat the Cooper's Hawk.  I hadn't intended to but I was giving him a chance for a meal.  The Blue Jay was doing his best to warn the little birds that flock to the feeder.

I didn't see the end of the story.  I love the small birds but the predators are part of the cycle, too.  Nature's balance works fine as long as we humans remember that it exists and respect it.

December...Snow and Cold Temperatures

Tom took this photo on Tuesday evening.  Snow fell almost all day, sometimes big fluffy flakes and sometimes smaller ones as the temperatures sank.

Wednesday morning was beautiful.

Our old-fashioned lilac bush.  Tom's dad gave us the original bush.

The garden phlox.  My mother gave me the start from which these have grown.

We enjoyed watching the birds from our dining room window and were glad we were inside.  It was 11 degrees Farhenheit outside.  Last year on this day, the temperature was 60 degrees Farhenheit.  Both temperatures are unusual for December in southwestern Ohio.

 One of the Chickadees, picture by Tom

One of the White-breasted Nuthatches, picture by Tom

One of the Dark-eyed Juncos, picture by me.  My camera didn't give me a sharp photo under the conditions I had but I like to look at these tuxedoed fellows.  We start seeing them sometime in October and they leave by April.

There were other birds, too... Mourning doves, English sparrows, a Song sparrow, House finches...

This morning the temperature on our thermometer was 8 degrees.  Usually the official temperature is lower so we may break the record for low temperature this century.  I will know when I listen to the Dayton weather on the news tonight.

Winter or Not

Winter or not, that is the question.  It depends on the day in this part of Ohio.

I posted a photo a few days ago of Charleston Falls on January 7 in the afternoon when the temperature was 41 degrees Fahrenheit (5 Celsius)  Here is a reminder...dozens of icicles as well as water pouring over the ledge.  That was because we had  had 20s (-6.6 Celsius) for three nights previously.

On Friday, the temperature hovered around 40 degrees ( 4.4 Celsius) and rain fell most of the day. It was a depressing day...gray skies and washed out colors everywhere I looked.

On Saturday morning when Jeanne and I walked the temperature was 47 degrees Fahrenheit (8.3 Celsius) .  We were expecting to see remains of the icicles but this is what we saw.  Only a remnant of ice remained at the foot of the falls.

But we were reminded that winter was at hand when we stopped at Cedar Pond.  It was covered by a skim of ice.

By afternoon the temperature had risen to 51( 10.5 Celsius)  Tom and I ran errands, attached a new battery to the generator and planted a few bulbs.

So we  have arrived at Sunday. This is what we were greeted with this morning.

We've been having flurries and gusty winds all day.  Twice we lost electricity for a moment or two and had to reset clocks.  The temperature has been going down all day after a high of 35 (1.6 Celsius) early this morning.  Now at 5 PM it is 21 degrees Fahrenheit -6.1 Celsius).  Lower temperatures are predicted for tonight.

A Walk at Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary, April 14, 2014

Rain was threatening when we arrived at Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary but we decided to take a chance.  This is the first walk we have taken this spring at Garbry.  We have been spending a lot of time looking at birds rather than wildflowers.

I was hoping to find a few Harbinger-of-Spring still blooming.

The first flowers we noticed were the Sessile Trillium and the Spring Beauties.  We had seen Spring Beauties at Charleston Falls on Saturday but the blooming Sessile Trillium were the first we've  seen this year.

We saw lots of Bloodroot past their prime but there were still plenty blooming.

Sheltered by the roots of a tree we saw a yellow Troutlily (also called Adder's Tongue or Dogtooth Violet).   Lots of other Troutlily buds were closed tighter than this one.

Both of us were surprised to see the wide open umbrella leaves of the Mayapples.  On Saturday, the Mayapples at Brukner were just beginning to unfurl.

This Mayapple is showing a  bud between the two leaves.

Purple Cress were blooming beside the swallow wet depression  under the boardwalk.  The depression is part of a usually wet area that meanders across the woods.

A bit further along the boardwalk we came across a Redcap mushroom near a single leaf of Wild Leek (also called Ramps).  To the right is one of the Waterleaf species that grow in this wet woods.

We came across a smattering of open Troutlilies as well as many that were still in bud.

I was surprised to see a Blue Cohosh flower.  The Waterleaf in this picture is the other type that grows in this woods.

Some of the Dutchmen's Breeches were blooming and the Large-flowered Trillium were in bud.  Here and there a bud was showed a bit of white.  The one on the right in this photo is not that far along.

Tom pointed out this Rue Anemone.  There were a few others as well...not many.  We saw less than a dozen.     The three lily-like leaves belong to a Wild Leek.                            

                                              

I was still looking for the elusive Harbinger-of-Spring.  Finally, I found what might have been the last two tiny bouquets of the season.

The rain didn't arrive until we were pulling into our driveway.  Good timing.

And the visit to Garbry was well-timed, too.  Below is what we woke up to the next morning.

The North Wind Doth Blow, February 17, 2014

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)  Photo by Tom Persing

    The North Wind Doth Blow

The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then,
Poor thing?

He'll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing.

            Anonymous

Juncos are snowy weather birds.  In this part of Ohio we see them only in winter.  They come to our ground feeder.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  Photo by Tom Persing

Northern Cardinals are here all year.  This is a male.  The females are grayish or brownish, tinged with red  on their crest, breast, wings, and tails.  Tom took this from our dining room window.  The bird was on the far side of our back yard.  Once again, his new camera with the image stabilization did the trick.

Northern Cardinal, Photo by Tom Persing

These photos were taken late in the afternoon.  The temperature was 29 degrees, Fahrenheit (-1.7 Celsius).  A few minutes earlier rain was pouring down.  It left trees and birdfeeders and eaves of houses trimmed with icicles.

A Different Look at Charleston Falls, February 1, 2014

On February 1, our area had a welcome day of relief from the cold, the snow, and the wind. (34 degrees Fahrenheit at 7 AM or 1 degree Celsius)  Jeanne and I walked as far as the falls and then through Octagon Prairie.  The trails were still too icy to take our normal hike up and down the ravines.

The falls looked different than I have ever seen them.  Here is a closer look.  The snow flurries had left the falls looking as though there were draperies on either side of the icy tubes through which the water was flowing.

We are back to nights below zero ( 0 Fahrenheit equals  -18 Celsius).  This has been a record breaking winter in our area.  Like many people in America's Heartland, Tom and I are ready to see a glimmer of spring.

More Up-and-down Weather

On  Monday, January 6 and Tuesday, January 7th,  the parks were closed. The newscaster reported that Charleston Falls was frozen solid. On the 6th, there were over 300 school and business closings because of cold and windy conditions.  

We never have many days around zero but on Monday, it was 8 degrees F (-13.33C) and growing colder as the day progressed.  On Tuesday morning  our electronic thermometer read -8F (-22.22C) but the day was supposed to improve so many schools and businesses were on two or three hour delays. 

But by Friday afternoon, temperatures were back up in the forties.  40F equals 4.44C.

I checked out the trails to the falls in the afternoon  because Jeanne was wondering if they would be clear enough for us to walk the next day.  The trails were slushy, there were obvious icy spots, but the slush was not slippery.  That was what covered most of the trails.  The falls were frozen but water was running.  The temperature was 40 degrees.  There was a mist hanging in the air from the evaporating water, also from the come and go light showers.  Since the temperatures were to remain the same or rise on Saturday, I felt a walk would be easily doable.

As I walked through the woods to Octagon Prairie, I saw this little snowman.  It is about 2 feet tall. (61 cm)  You can see the snow cover on the trail in front of it.  There was more snow than slush in the woods.

On Saturday morning when Jeanne, her dogs and I headed into the park, I was surprised to see that the entrance to the woods was completely clear.  All the ice was gone.  That was partly because we had had a hard rain during the night and also because the temperature had already risen to 45F (7.22C)

The trail inside the woods was a different story.  The trail looked fairly clear though there were standing pools of water.  It was what was under the pools that was dangerous.  Over the  gravel which was clearly visible beneath the water puddles were thin clear coatings of ice which were not visible..

We elected to walk along the sides of the trail which were snow and slush covered but not icy.  As we neared the falls, the trail cleared.  The maintenance staff had deiced that area and spread gravel.  The falls was awesome.  It roared as though it was twice as big as it actually is.  The water was falling with such force that it was landing in the pond beyond the foot of the falls, not on the rocks below the falls where it normally lands.

The trail through the woods to Octagon Prairie was completely clear of all snow, slush and ice.  Even the little snowman had melted away.

But winter is not over.  Though we are expected to have a high of 48 degrees today, the temperatures will be in the twenties ( - 6.66C and a bit higher) all day on Tuesday.  There is snow in the forecast, too.  That's winter weather around here.

Charleston Falls, November 30, and on December 2

When Jeanne and I walked on Saturday morning, November 30, this is how the falls looked.  The white at the bottom of the falls is ice, not snow.  The weather was cold enough for snow, 26 degrees, Fahrenheit. (-3.3 Celsius)

On Tuesday afternoon, I took a rapid walk to the falls and this is what it looked like.  The temperature was 49 degrees, Fahrenheit. (9.4 Celsius)

Changes of temperature like this are typical of southwestern Ohio as cold winter weather begins to move in.  These ups and downs were the first thing I noticed about the weather when we moved here from northern Ohio.  In northern Ohio, the weather tends to come from the northwest.  In southwestern Ohio, we know the weather will usually come from the west but sometimes it comes from the northwest as it did on November 30 and sometimes it comes from the southwest as it did on December 2.

We're expected to have 50s (10 Celsius) and 60s (15.5 Celsius) as highs for the next couple days but 20s (-6.6 Celsius) by the weekend.

Our first snow melted weeks ago but there will be probably be snow again before Christmas.  We live far enough south that we don't always have snow for Christmas.

Winter Stopped In...But...

Pictures from Tuesday morning.

A winter chore in process.  I had already started scraping when I remembered to take this photo.

The temperatures stayed in the 20s Fahrenheit (-6.6 Celsius) all day.

Wednesday was a little warmer.

But this morning, Thursday, the weatherman has forecast mid 40s Fahrenheit (4.4 Celsius)
And we are already seeing that warm sunshine.  

And most pleasant of all ...no snow or ice to scrape off the van.

Can't wait till we hit the 40s this afternoon.  Winter hasn't dug in yet.

December 27...Still Shoveling

We spent most of yesterday, Wednesday, the 26, inside. Tom took these photos through the dining room window.

Yes, in the background there are snowflakes.

By four o'clock, the snow was coming down in light flurries so I cleaned the driveway off with the snowblower.  The prediction was for five to ten inches of snow before morning.  There was already at least five inches on the ground.

Thank you, Bob and Eric, for installing the operator shield  in 2011.  After installation, the snowblower sat in the garage all winter. We never had enough snow in the winter of 2011-2012  to use it.

But yesterday, I had the shield's protection and was very happy I did. In the past, I would come in from snowblowing covered with snow. Not this year.

This morning when I went out to do some shoveling,  I was happy to see I wouldn't have to use the snowblower on the driveway today. By the end of the afternoon, most of the driveway was completely clear.  The sun finished the cleaning I started yesterday.

Today my project was shoveling  the snow off the ramp and porch. Before I did that,  I stuck a ruler into the snow.

This spot had 5.5 inches of snow cover. We always have lots of drifting so there were places that had more and others that had less.

  Before shoveling...

After shoveling...

I'll shovel the rest another day. The snow is heavy, the perfect snow for making snowmen and snow forts. 

According to The Dayton Daily News, the area has now had as much snow (9.2 inches) as it had all of last winter.  Usually, we have snow January and February so I expect I will have more opportunity to snowblow.