an infrequent repository of mostly new stuff
Arrived home at dusk one evening to find a young Gray Fox mousing in the yard. Beautiful animal.
A few years ago we gave up the pretense of a suburban lawn. Waaay too much work, and never cared for it anyway. Replanted with a no-mow grass and let it grow, then let the rest go back to wild. Almost immediately the wildlife returned.
The drive in to work was a little different this morning. Sleet hissed on the tin roof all night, then rain. Then it all froze.
Nice that the roads stayed clear.
Tonight, dense fog.
More sleet and snow and freezing rain coming by morning. One to three inches.
Snow expected by morning, followed by ice.
Took a walk through the back field in a light mist. Deer hunters are out.
The old dog is almost deaf, and can’t see me if I’m more than twenty feet away; but his nose still works, and he enjoys it.
the Great Lakes in winter
“White Hurricane” by Lou Blouin of FoundMichigan.org
An excellent story of an epic storm that struck the Great Lakes 100 years ago today.
Modern weather forecasting was in its infancy. At the time, basic weather observations were gathered by hand by people scattered across the country, like human instruments, then wired back to the Weather Bureau in Washington, DC, where it was all compiled, analyzed for patterns and clues, regurgitated, codified, and wired back. These “forecasts” were a half day or more out of date by the time they arrived. Fast changing conditions simply charged through the open cracks. The warnings of a major storm sometimes arrived after the storm did.
That’s what happened in 1913. A fierce arctic gale out of Canada crashed into a warm gulf front pouring over the Appalachians. The collision occurred over the Great Lakes, and caught the whole region by surprise, exploding into a storm never seen before. Two feet of snow fell overnight. Winds went from balmy to hurricane force within the span of a half hour, whipping up waves 35 feet high. Ships and sailors on the notoriously dangerous waters were caught vulnerable and woefully unprepared for what lay in store.
By the time it was done, 12 major ships and over 250 men were lost in this single storm – more than in all the seasons of the decade before combined. Bodies of sailors washed up on the shores for days, as did parts of their ships, often scribbled with their forlorn farewells to loved ones.
A great story well told, well worth a read.
T plays.
She has another show coming up.
It messes with her head.
Fall arrive late this year. Couple of weeks late. Been warm.
When the the leaves finally turned, a big wind storm came and blew them all away.
Got a few photos before they were gone.
Normally, starting in September, I take the trailer to a local sawmill once a week or so and bring home a load of firewood. By the time of first frost I have a winter’s worth put by. Been doing this for nearly 20 years. I know the sawmill owner, his wife, watched their kids grow up; though I only see any of them a few times a year, every fall.