[orbsycli]

venus hummed and breathed against the pacific's surface, casting a spell on all who witnessed from the shore.
ah yes, it is cold, but stronger minds adapt and make love to the earth.
the weather in the valley can not be watched, creeping.
even if that old man could blow some clouds over the mountain, they would just dissipate from our acidic smoggy waste.
i've watched them combine, just thirty feet, fifty hands higher than me [standing on a rock, on a rock, on the summit]
here is where the sun can be found shining through the forest
and deer
and the weather, i can't wait for warmth.

[Turtle]

___Here on the Columbia River we have begun the first Winter storm. Temperature on my deck is 29 Degrees F. , & the wind is roaring at 28 MPH sustained carrying a mixture of sleet & snow. The old Oaks on my slope are swaying like reeds, as are the Doug Fir, Ash, etc..
___As this is just the start of the storm, things are shaping up for quite a hazzard. The news is reporting traffic problems on I-5 & I-205 already, & I heard mention of a road closure on Washington State Highway #14 East of Washougal, WA.

Hunkering Downly,
Weather Watcher Turtle

[Turtle]

From the Birding thread yesterday:

Originally Posted by Turtle

Re: Birding - Yesterday, 12:11 PM

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___No photos of the Bushtits yet; they may have just stopped on their way South.
___I checked my rain guage today & on the slope in the past two days 2.1" of rain fell. I did a little figuring yesterday & found that on average a minimum of fifty individual birds of at least ten species visit our feeders every day. I love my avian neighbors!

___I just emptied another 2.1 inches of water from my rain guage since that post! Barometer is down now to 29.4 inches of mercury, temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit, & it is still raining. Off to watch local news as flooding & landslides dominate today.

[Turtle]

From the Birding thread yesterday:

Originally Posted by Turtle

Re: Birding - Yesterday, 12:11 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

___No photos of the Bushtits yet; they may have just stopped on their way South.
___I checked my rain guage today & on the slope in the past two days 2.1" of rain fell. I did a little figuring yesterday & found that on average a minimum of fifty individual birds of at least ten species visit our feeders every day. I love my avian neighbors!

___I just emptied another 2.1 inches of water from my rain guage since that post! Barometer is down now to 29.4 inches of mercury, temperature is 40 degrees Fahrenheit, & it is still raining. Off to watch local news as flooding & landslides dominate today.

[Cedars]

I woke to a new snowfall today. Probably a total of 7 inches when it finally quit. As I began to shovel this morn (when there was only about 3 or 4 inches on the ground), it was an easy snow to move. Then a change occured with warmer temps during the day, making the snow very heavy and sticky to move. I got lucky though. My renter showed up with his bobcat and finished the job for me. Eventually he had to quit due to it clumping up and getting so heavy.

The Juniper trees are drooping greatly with the added weight on their branches. They look so cool, almost like white and green tents, and hardly any snow on the ground under them.

I look forward to tomorrow morning to see the fresh animal tracks in the snow, and the expected increase in birds coming around early to see what I have left out for them.

They expect the temps to keep going up around the freezing or a little above again. That is very warm for this area this time of year.

Next significant snows are expected Sunday or Monday.

[Cedars]

delete this post please.

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by Cedars

I woke to a new snowfall today....
The Juniper trees are drooping greatly with the added weight on their branches. They look so cool, almost like white and green tents, and hardly any snow on the ground under them.

I look forward to tomorrow morning to see the fresh animal tracks in the snow, and the expected increase in birds coming around early to see what I have left out for them.

___Do the Juniper have any fruit on them? Do the birds huddle under them on the bare ground? I just emptied another 1 inch of rain from the gauge; if only it were cold enough for snow we would have over 4 feet of the stuff!
___It continues to rain steadily & many of the birds look somewhat bedraggled. The strong winds which race out from the Columbia Gorge brought down Ace's upper deck feeders earlier in the week, & I went out a bit ago & put things right. Ace bought some new rendered suet blocks with Jalepano Pepper; I never heard of it before but they claim birds love it. I wonder how the Squirrels may like it?
___Strong winds & more rain in line for tomorrow as yet another Pacific storms rolls in from the SW. Updates to follow.

[Cedars]

Originally Posted by Turtle

___Do the Juniper have any fruit on them? Do the birds huddle under them on the bare ground? I just emptied another 1 inch of rain from the gauge; if only it were cold enough for snow we would have over 4 feet of the stuff!

Yes they have the juniper berries on them. The birds dont huddle on the ground, but they do look for food during the day, as do the squirrels. I have found owl pellets under these trees in the past.

[quote=Turtle]___It continues to rain steadily & many of the birds look somewhat bedraggled. The strong winds which race out from the Columbia Gorge brought down Ace's upper deck feeders earlier in the week, & I went out a bit ago & put things right. Ace bought some new rendered suet blocks with Jalepano Pepper; I never heard of it before but they claim birds love it. I wonder how the Squirrels may like it?

I have not tried those types of suet blocks but the birds sure do love the ones with seeds and peanuts. Let me know who enjoys the Jalapeno. Maybe I will toss one into the suet feeder once in a while as an extra treat.

Hope your having a Happy Birthday!

[Turtle]

___I emptied another 2.1 inches of rain from my guage this afternoon from the last 24 hour period. In spite of my slope haveing many parts as steep as 40 degrees, it seems it is draining well. Much of the area is not so lucky; the heavy rain has activated some 15,000 year old slides from the Missoula Floods Period which lie in the West Hills area of Portland just across the Columbia from me. Some buildings have already started cracking apart, & an entire apartment complex is threatened.
___Seattle went 28 straight days with rain, almost tying the all time record of 33. Meantime, Oklahoma & Texas burn! Mon dieu.
___Current conditions: Temp 41 deg. F; Barometer 29.9; Wind light; Cloudy & Raining.

[InfiniteNow]

Turtle, I know the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence (quite literally considering the nature of what I'm about to say), but I wish we could have some of that rain. We had our best chance of rain in like 2 months this weekend. I think we got about 1/8" . It pretty much amounted to nothing more than thicker air and frizzy hair... nothing that would actually seep in and penetrate this clay-like ground of ours. God bless Texas, eh?



"Hey God... you listening? Do you have ears, or is that just silly? Well, anyway, just a quick reminder. It's all about balance dude. Why you flooding some and droughting others? Nobody likes a smiting almighty ya know. Can't we all just get along? I want green grass and pretty plants too..."