Sunrise

Sun as spotlight to the heavens this morning.

If Happy Little Bluebirds Fly...

On the way home last night, we had a STUNNING full rainbow in the sky!  Usually, we just see one side of a rainbow, but this one was complete, and not only that, both ends were double!  And the colors...oh, my, the colors!  I've never seen such brilliant colors in a rainbow before.  Of course, the camera, which I conveniently had on the back seat, just did not quite capture the colors, and you can only see the hint of the double on the left side...but it was there.

And as I continued my drive, the sun was behind me and the very dark storm clouds ahead...what a gorgeous combination to show of our autumn colors.  Sadly, this is not easily done at 55 mph - just point and shoot out the window and hope you got something.

This was such a wonderful experience it put me into just a terrifically happy mood.  Judy Garland, eat your heart out - I belted out "Over the Rainbow" all the way home.

Arctic Vortex

Yes, even here in south central Michigan we were hit by the recent Arctic Vortex.  In fact, it was, not counting the wind chill, -20*F at my house...something I haven't seen since I left NY!   Why, even Grand Rapids was reporting -35 (sans wind chill).  Brrr!

 
The winds were whipping out of the north - this is the snow built up on my east-facing kitchen window, between the screen and the glass.  I could look out and see the poor frigid birds.

I made sure to keep the feeders stocked!

Meanwhile, out the other side of the house, I shoveled a path to the "regular" bird feeding station.  The birds went through a lot of seed over the three or four days of this weather event.  I scattered a lot on the ground so greater numbers of birds could get their share.  Once the bacon pieces and old pancakes went out there as well, the crows flocked in.

 

We only got a foot or so of snow, but it was hard to tell thanks to that wind.  I have some drifts that are mid-thigh deep, and other spots where there was just a dusting.  The drifts were enough to confound the neighbor's ATV-powered snowplow...so only a portion of the driveway was cleared (but it was the important part between the garage and the road).

In this video you can see some of the snow whipping up from across the road (the wind was now coming out of the south).  Watch the branches dance!

Eventually the sun did come out, giving the late afternoon a lovely golden glow.

Michiganders, at least in this part of the state, have lost sight of what winter really is.  Give 'em three inches of snow and a 30 degree day, and after two days they are dreaming of summer and wishing winter were over!  Me, well, despite shoveling, I appreciate a "real" winter.  I even broke out my snowshoes in anticipation of a good snowy hike in search of critter tracks (sadly, the rains hit before I had a day to go out on them).

Yesterday and this morning our weather was back up to the low 40s, with plenty of rain.  Although...right now the winds are howling and there is snow once more in the air!  Sure hope all that rain hasn't frozen into sheets of ice before I get home!  It looks like the roller coaster weather of 2013 is going to continue into 2014.

Severe Storm Warning Last Night

 The distant rolls of thunder started about 8:30.  A few random flashes of lightning, too.  Overall, it was less than impressive - mostly to the south of me.  And then the second or third wave hit.  LOTS of lightning, some thunder.  So, of course, I had to get the tripod set up and see what I could capture.

And this is what a blinding flash looks like...seriously:

Tried shooting some video, too.  The sky was filled with a constant wash of flashes, but only the biggest and brightest registered on the camera. The few flashes it caught are just too fast to register.

Still, it was quite a show!

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday afternoon (about 2:00) the rain started.  And it rained.  Fat rain.  Heavy rain.  Rain that went SPLAT and left everything very wet.

Within an hour it had turned to sleet and ice pellets.

An hour later, it was big, fat, heavy snowflakes - they, too, would've gone SPLAT if they could've.

When I got home about 5:00, it was a winter wonderland.  I let the dog out to find icicles everywhere.

The birds were feeding like mad...right up until about 6:00 PM.  If it was still light enough to see, they were going to eat.  They knew they were in for a rough night.

This morning I was hesitant to get up.  The radio said all the area schools closed.  Winter weather warnings were still being broadcast.  But when I looked out across the yard, I could still see the tops of the grass clumps, so we couldn't have gotten too much snow.

Feeders were now white instead of strictly icy - and the air was mild.

But everything was covered with heavy, wet snow.  Lovely, but rough on branches.

Bless my neighbor for plowing me out.  Look at those clumps of snow - Very heavy, Very wet.  I was Very glad I didn't have to shovel it.  I see some gratitude baking in my near future.

Plowing here is much different than it was in Newcomb.  I take my hat off to the guys in Newcomb who really did keep the roads and streets snow- and ice-free.  Admittedly, they didn't have but the smallest fraction of roads to plow that we have here, but they did a bang up job...even removing piles from the ends of driveways! 

As you can see, the main drag (paved road) was plowed, but the side road (dirt) to the left was not.

I'm glad I live on the corner and my driveway connects to the paved road.  As you can see, it was rough going along this road.  And there is a limb down from the one pine tree on my property.

While I took the time to do my civic duty and drag the limb off the road, Toby decided to continue his walk all by himself!  Thank goodness there was no traffic (or deer).

The young pines down the road just looked exhausted after a night of rough weather.

The heavy rains of the day before left significant (now frozen) puddles in the fields.  We are lucky roads weren't flooded.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make a snowman this morning...even if all I had time for was a very small one.  Perfect snowman snow doesn't come around every day.

I was on the road to work about 15 minutes later, and the snow was already warming up and dropping from trees and utility lines.  What a crazy winter this has been.

The (local) World Gasps on Relief

Huzzah!

A Little Bit of Rain

We had a whopping 1/10" of rain yesterday morning - a near flood!  On the way to work the evidence of this precipitation event was clear:  frogs by the dozens were hopping across the road (interestingly all going in the same direction).  Unfortunately, they chose to do this during the morning rush hour - there was no way to avoid them.  :(

Yesterday afternoon a "severe storm warning" was out, and the sky darkened considerably about 4:40.  There were some rumblings of thunder, and suddenly the heavens opened.  I walked out to the car in the downpour, reveling in the wet and the cooler air (it has been around 100*F).  As I drove home, I saw evidence that the rain, which had lasted maybe 10-15 minutes, had blown thru Jackson, headed eastward.  It dumped on Napoleon, but when I got to the ol' homestead, only four miles further east, not a drop had fallen.

I live in a bubble.

The heat and humidity was back on the rise, too.  (Today "they" are predicting a heat index of 110*F.)

When T and I got home from our brief evening walk (too hot and humid to stay out long), I found this lying on the front steps:

It was nearly dead, so I had a photo opportunity.  I put the dog inside and grabbed the camera.  I'd seen this insect before, but couldn't recall ever having identified it.  The red belt around the abdomen and the blue tinge to the wings were quite striking.

This morning I found it in my insect books:  Mydas clavatus, one of the Mydas flies.  Typically a southern and western family of flies, this is the only species in the family that is found in northerly regions, and it is one of the largest flies in general.

Despite its wasp-like appearance, it is harmless to people.  According to Marhsall's Insects - Their Natural History and Diversity, this species is commonly found along the Great Lakes, where it likes to nest in the sandy beaches.  That could explain why it is here - instead of real soil we have sand.

Another nifty note Marshall makes is that little is known about the lives of the adults other than they seem to be nectar feeders (although the larvae prey on beetles).  Could it be that this individual has been visiting my hummingbird feeders (there was one hanging very near where I found it)?

What caught my eye about this particular individual, besides its gigantic size and it's bluish wings, was the white "ring" around the end of the abdomen.  Upon closer examination, I discovered what looked like little seed pearls and small reddish-brown beads stuck to this area.  Could they be parasite eggs and the parasites themselves?

Not knowing the answer, I have sent a copy of this photo off to BugGuide.net to see if any of their folks are in the know. Stay tuned for updates!

It's Only Mid-March...

... and the farmers are out plowing...

...and the plants are sprouting...

... and I'm going to have to MOW...

... and we are taking our evening walk in a t-shirt...

... and the morning fog tells of a hot and humid day ahead ...

... and I'm already photographing spiderwebs covered in dew.

Sure, it's great to hear the dawn chorus, and to revel in the early morning warmth and the warm glow of the sunrise, but it's the middle of flippin' March! 

There was a tornado about 20 miles northeast of me two days ago.  Summer weather patterns were to blame.

Strange, strange weather.

That's a Lotta Watta!

I just received the Long Lake e-Newsletter and on it was this photo.  It doesn't say, but I'm presuming this was taken after Hurricane Irene hit. (Update - nope.  This was from the flooding this spring, back in April.)  That's the Adirondack Hotel in downtown Long Lake - and that's Long Lake lappin' the front porch.  Normally, about where the person is holding the camera is the town beach, which looks across Route 30 at the Hotel.  Do you see a beach?  A road?  Nope - the lake flooded right over both!  And here I thought Keene had taken the worst hit!  Looks like Newcomb was surrounded by damage, but squeaked by with only a token amount of rain.

Here's a video I just found from when the water started to recede:

And here's another this one from the Long Lake, NY blog:

Storm's Rollin' In

This was what was happening at my house when I got home last night.

Winter Weather Indeed

It should be interesting driving tomorrow!