Category Archives: weather

Window seat

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Alistair

When coming or and going from this region, I usually drive; this weekend was different: I flew. (I like airplanes; it’s airports I don’t like.) Airplanes provide a wonderful platform for viewing the natural world, so I always request a … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals, weather | 4 Comments

Snow eater

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Alistair

A weather condition that results in the particularly rapid melting of snow is often referred to as a snow eater. I explored the term, snow eater, on the Web and was disappointed by how many sites sloppily treated as if it were … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, weather | 2 Comments

Pregnant spruce

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Alistair

Nuff said.

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Snow and birds

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Alistair

How do birds deal with all the snow we have had lately? Snow piles high and limits access to their favourite foods. I am sure that birds deal with the problem in a variety of ways, but yesterday’s observations show … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, weather | 4 Comments

Crystal marshmallows

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Alistair

The snows have arrived. Today, the temperature was low and the ice crystals were stellar: six pointed crystals. Such crystals form when the temperature in the cloud is in the vicinity of -15C. Skiers love these low density crystals. When the stellars … Continue reading →

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Tracks in snow

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Alistair

Animals don’t cover their tracks. Now that we have received a light snow, a trip around the yard reveals a remarkable range of activity that normally takes place when you are not looking. Herein is a collection of a few … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, mammals, weather | 3 Comments

Lacunosus and…

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Alistair

Lacunosus means hole or space, specifically one in a wave cloud. The root of the word is the same as that of the word, lake (which is a hole filled with water). It is therefore good etymological fun to show a picture of … Continue reading →

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Surface hoar

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Alistair

Surface hoar is frost that forms on the surface of snow. Strikingly, this frost is not formed from water vapour deposited from the atmosphere, but from that which came from the snow, itself. Uncharacteristic for this time of year, the … Continue reading →

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Border ice

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Alistair

This is a good time of the year to admire border ice—the ice that forms along the calmest portions of the lakeshore as the air temperature drops. On a cold, clear night, the top few millimeters of the lake surface … Continue reading →

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Bird counting

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Alistair

I am not a bird counter; but, I like to hang out with those who are. These are the people whose knowledge of birds is so good that they can identify a bird by a whispered sound, a distant silhouette, … Continue reading →

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