wordsfromanneli

Thoughts, ideas, photos, and stories.

Category Archives: Weather


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I is for Ice

Ice on the fennel plants looks pretty, but the songbirds that pick at the fennel seeds are dismayed when they see this. Their food source that would otherwise bring some heat to their little bodies is  covered in ice.

The deer, too, can suffer when this happens out in the woods. The small twigs on the shrubs of deciduous trees get a coating of ice, and it is very hard on the deer who rely on the twigs to browse on in the winter. Imagine thinking you’ll get a meal of twigs and you get a mouthful of ice instead.

Only sunshine or a warm current of air and maybe some rain can bring the seeds back to an edible condition.

Here is another version of ice in nature – a frozen creek surface.

While it is a pretty design, it reminds me of how easily animals can get into trouble walking on thin ice. If you have a dog who likes to be by the water, be especially careful not to let him/her go onto the thin ice of ponds or creeks that look safe but can be deadly.

Please keep an eye on your pets near thin ice.

I is for ice – sometimes pretty, but not always nice.


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Wild Weather

Before the big windstorm happened, the Captain was keeping a few cans of beer cool, in a plastic tote on top of the patio table that you can just see the corner of at the right side of the photo.

The second patio table, the round one on the left, used to sit in the middle of the deck where the fallen hanging basket is lying on its side now. The wind must have blown the table over as far as it could go.

The oranges were on the table beside the beer cans, to keep cool. I also had a small parsley plant in a pot. You might see it lying on its side without the pot near the far end of the deck. Just a matted clump of dirt with a few yellow green leaves in it.

The blue pieces are part of a small clay pot that I painted  about ten years ago. I always liked that little pot, but never imagined that the wind could send it flying off the table and smash it. The white saucer used to be under the parsley pot. Not sure where that pot ended up. I think it was plastic so it may have flown to the neighbours’ place or be in the next town by now.

The  bits of branches from the fir trees are relatively small compared to the branch that came down  just beyond the deck, as you will see in the next photo.

I’m glad no people, dogs, or squirrels were out for a walk when this branch decided to drop in, and I was so happy to see the squirrels and two hummingbirds alive in the morning.

And so, further to the previous post about Thanksgiving Day, and all we have to be thankful for, I feel very thankful to have been spared major trouble from this windstorm.  Even the few hours of a loss of power were not too bad. I can’t begin to imagine the terror people go through in hurricanes. Hearing this wind roar through like a freight train was bad enough.

 


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The Lost Dress

My lovely dress of golden leaves 

Is tattered now, and worn,

The wind has warned – no more reprieves,

This time the leaves get shorn.

 

I hold on tight with all my might,

While gusts and gales rip past,

They tear my dress, and though I fight,

 I’m nearly bare at last.

 

I shiver and the last leaves quiver,

Hanging by a thread,

Until they loosen, blowing whither

They know not, and spread.

 

My golden dress is on the ground,

For all to trod upon,

And scuffing feet will swish it ’round,

While gusts blow ’til it’s gone.

 

 

 


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Lightning, Thunder, and Rain … at Last!

I know it’s been dry and you want it to rain,

But I saw a flash in the sky,

You tell me it’s safe and it won’t cause me pain,

But take me inside where it’s dry.

I heard a loud boom and a rumbling growl,

It sounds pretty scary to me,

I’m trying my best not to let loose and howl,

To be what you want me to be.

 


What flashes of light and that fierce rumbling boom,

My courage is fading so fast,

Let’s sit on the couch, just move over, make room,

We’ll snuggle until it is past.


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Sunshine on my Shoulders

 

NAP TIME

In the shed, a squirrel can hide,

But it’s dark and gloomy,

Warmer days now and I ride,

On the branches, “Zoomie!” 

Soon I’m tired of playing games,

Can’t keep up this pace,

Go away ye gents and dames,

While I rest my face.

 

See my head, it’s hanging down,

Too much work to lift,

No more danger all around,

Off to sleep I drift.

Thankful for my furry tail,

Just like in the nest,

Keeps me warm and without fail,

Sunshine does the rest

The squirrel is in the photos of the woodshed. Do you see him in the top left corner just under the edge of the roof? Over the last of the hoses?


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A Glimpse of Sun

A glimpse of sunshine feels so good,

A rarity today,

The breeze is buffeting the clouds,

And begs them, “Go away.”

 

The wind is messing up my hair,

Can’t get it to look good,

It’s threatening to blow me down,

If I don’t grasp this wood.

But look! The sun is coming up,

It’s bringing warmth and cheer,

And though it’s looking hopeful now,

It won’t last long I fear.

 

So I’ll just keep on hanging on,

And waiting for a break,

It has to warm up soon I hope,

Just how long can it take?


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March

I thought we had escaped the grip of winter by now, but then, this morning, yuck!

March certainly came in like a lion here with a bitter cold wind and then a dump of snow. I’m counting on it to go out like a lamb, hopefully with mild springtime temperatures.

I did some digging and found out that some people think the proverb about March is not so much about weather as it is about the stars.

At the beginning of March, the constellation Leo rises in the eastern sky. Then at the end of March, the constellation Aries (the ram, or perhaps the lamb in its younger days) sets in the west.

Whether it is weather related or has to do with the stars, it’s often safe to assume the weather is better towards the end of March.

Just for fun, here is a timely  Knock, Knock joke that you all know.

Knock! Knock!

Who’s there?

Marshall.

Marshall who?

Marshall come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.


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Mother, What’s All That White Stuff?

Do you remember Bambi asking, “Mother, what’s all that white stuff?”  and she answered in such a soft voice, full of wonder, “Why … it’s … snow!”

Well, this morning I found myself saying, “Mother! What …?” etc.

It all happened overnight, and then it continued into the morning. My poor little birds!

The hummingbirds … where do they sleep on nights like this? At least they had a heated feeder this year. Last year I had to run out and exchange the frozen sugar water for liquid every 20 minutes or so. This year, I have one heated feeder, thanks to the thoughtful gift from a friend, and I can also put the not-heated feeders out there when the temperature stays above freezing. It works great!

The heated one is on the left, with the cord running from the outlet in the wall to the feeder.

For some reason the hummingbirds like sitting on the feeder penthouse.

Today it snowed for the second day in a row and just before it got too dark, a hummingbird came for one last drink. I took the video through the screened kitchen window as the light was fading. It’s not very sharp, but the hummer took a long last sip to last him for the night.

 

The rest of the birds have to find what food they can under the shelter of the eaves or the roof of a feeding station. I think they have a hard time in the snow, especially when the sun comes out and thaws huge portions that slide off branches, and threaten to bury them in the avalanche.

I’m always happy to see the snow because it looks so pretty, but I’m relieved when it thaws and the birds and little animals can breathe more easily again.

Do I dare to hope that this is the last of it for the winter?


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A Cool Change

A thin layer of snow covers the usual feeding grounds of ducks, geese, and swans. While the nearby preferred agricultural fields are frozen over with snow and ice, the birds find food and shelter on the edges of the salt water.

The estuary of the Courtenay River holds a lot of bird life. Depending on the wind direction, waterfowl can find  sheltered indentations in the shoreline where they can forage for food in the shallows. Rather than feeding on seeds and bits of plant roots when cold weather freezes their usual fields, they make the switch to marine vegetation and bits of animal matter (shrimp, crustaceans) that they find in the tidal areas of the shore. Once in a while, a faint ray of sunshine warms their backs on this southern exposure in spite of the cold day.

 

Looking upriver at Comox Bay

Looking outwards to the spit

 

Mainly widgeons and dunlins.

In these very short video clips you can see a swarm of what I think are dunlins flying in to land near the beach. Although it is a very small flock, it reminds me of those murmurations of birds, when they fly so close together in an incomprehensible formation without crashing into each other. If you make the videos full screen you might be able to see the fine snowflakes blowing around as well

 

These mallards are close to shore for several reasons.  They have slightly more cover in case of predators (better than being “a sitting duck” in the open water), and there is probably more food available in the shallows where they can probe the sand with their bills and find small beach creatures to eat. At high tide there is also marine vegetation that is available only at this level, lifted up by the rising water.

They are in survival mode for now, waiting for a good low pressure southeast system that will bring wind, rain, and warmer temperatures, thawing out the farm fields that offer their preferred diet. I hope they are all lucky ducks.