Monday, March 21, 2011

Monday photo quiz + Yosemite snowstorm update--it's a doozy!

 
Photo Quiz Because-I-Wanna-&-I-Owe-You-for-Last-Week

If I saw this:


In Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, which is in Louisiana, who most likely created these holes?

=)

Good luck.


Wacky Yosemite Weather Update -- Yosemite NP is closed for now...

We are presently surrounded by 1 foot of snow (kinda snowed in and it's still falling), and Bear is on a conference call with park leadership to figure out what they'll do re: the park.

 (looking east from our house, note "sun" by the grey pine (top right),
biobabbler's garden, cloaked in a foot of snow, and in the foreground on the right, 
a fruitless tree that is, clearly, NOT from this climate. Tree comment: "Oof!")

As of this minute, per the Caltrans SUPER USEFUL road conditions web site (oops, and late update from overhearing Bear) all roads into Yosemite are closed right now (9:30 a.m.) due to snow, rock & mud slides, trees all over the place, etc.

Quite the storm we had, and it's still going.

(beautiful snow patterns at the top of a pine)

This is a good example of why some folks in the park are REQUIRED to live IN the park because if something like this happens, there are still NPS Rangers around to help.

Seems there is no power anywhere (as of 9:50 a.m. today) in the park and El Portal (a town just west of the park where many NPS offices are and staff live). Amazingly enough, we have power at our house, internet, etc. Phew!

Apparently folks at Badger Pass (ski resort in the park) could not get out last night, so I'm guessing they had quite a slumber party at the ski lodge.

 (Chicken coop. Note roof of "porch" wire mesh, NOT solid, yet snow is there. Also,
if you look very closely, you might see our Rhode Island Red (Fanny) on the right, 
just above the snow, saying Hi.)


More snow!


Sacramento and San Joaquin Valley Weather

Yesterday, Sacramento (where I flew into night before last) was experiencing flooding or almost flooding, and every single creek, pond, river, many fields, and even something called "Dry Creek" that I saw on my 3.5+ hour drive home (south on 99 then east on 140) was flowing with brown water.

Also, night before last was a crazy rain and wind storm in Sacramento, so my plane landing and van trip were rather exciting (details later), but I slept like a rock once I got to my friend's house, despite super loud storm.

Apparently, New Orleans tired me out.

I am very glad that my first time EVER driving home without stopping from Sacramento was yesterday, 'cause just before I got to our street, snow appeared laying everywhere, slush covered the road, and the rain changed to sleet. I'm amazed I got up our (1/4 mile long dirt uphill) driveway. Phew!


Biologist Perspective

We've got lots of precipitation. YAY!!! =)

Of course, this may, depending upon where the spring wildflowers were pre-storm, dampen or delay (or both) the wildflower display, but I'm all for super cool, put-you-in-your-place nature happenings so we remember how very small we really are relative to the power of the planet.


(Looks like a wintry creek. It's 4 feet from our back porch. =) )

Mother Nature throws down, and we just have to deal, 'cause, although we can affect nature, when it comes to big events like this, we are just tiny mammals scurrying about on the surface. She takes no notice.


xoxobb

3 comments:

  1. Those holes were clearly made by a very indecisive tree tagger! Or a Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker.

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  2. I agree with Jim - Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. They are tenacious and thorough peckers - :-)

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  3. The sap sucker. Although, we had similar damage on a purple plum tree by insects. But the holes were much smaller and more round, although the spacing was eerily regular.

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Cool people write inside rectangles....