Category Archives: weather

Snow and birds

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

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

Posted in weather | 3 Comments

Tracks in snow

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…

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

Posted in weather | 2 Comments

Surface hoar

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

Posted in weather | 1 Comment

Border ice

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

Posted in weather | Comments Off on Border ice

Bird counting

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

Posted in birds, commentary, weather | Comments Off on Bird counting

Beach frost

This is a good time of the year to admire the distribution of frost. When snow covers the ground, any frost on top of it is much more difficult to distinguish. Frost forms when water vapour (in the atmosphere) diffuses … Continue reading

Posted in weather | 3 Comments

A show and tell

I take pictures to better understand things seen. I post discussions to website and blog as a personal memory aid. That my notes are available publicly is incidental. Yet, the public is not incidental when one gives an illustrated talk; … Continue reading

Posted in birds, bugs, mammals, weather, wildflowers | 9 Comments

Beach walk

On a beautiful sunny day, a walk along the beach at Kokanee Creek Park revealed old friends and a new delight. Three are illustrated below in the order seen. The view over the waters of Kootenay Lake often shows rather … Continue reading

Posted in birds, bugs, weather | 1 Comment