Weather | The Beauty Around Us

Virginia and North Carolina Vacation: Day 10 – Wytheville VA to Warren PA

We got up about 5:15 am on the morning of Monday, August 29.

We ate a complimentary breakfast in the hotel. Breakfast was set up the same as it was in February, when we stayed at this hotel en route Surfside Beach SC. An attendant got the food that we desired. The man serving breakfast was friendly. Perhaps he will remember us, when we stay again in February on our way to Surfside Beach.

We departed the hotel at 7:26 am. There was a little fog, as we began our drive home.

We made a brief stop in Fayetteville WV at the Canyon Rim Visitor Center, where I obtained a National Park Service passport stamp cancellation for the New River Gorge National Park.

We viewed the New River Gorge
from the Visitor Center’s back deck.

A short boardwalk descends into the gorge for a view of the New River Gorge Bridge.

We walked, via a boardwalk,
to the first overlook of the bridge.
We chose not to walk down the 178 steps
to the second overlook.

It was a good travel day, until …

We left I-79 at Exit 99 onto Rt. 422 East to get out of the storm. We exited onto Rt. 528 North to Route 8. The storm is chasing us, but we would rather encounter it on slower-speed roads than on the interstate. We caught up to the storm again, as we turned onto Route 8 from Route 528.

There was a several minute delay from road construction, during the storm. I don’t see how they can be working in this downpour.

We stopped at Eat n Park in Franklin for an early lunch / late dinner and to wait out the storm. We hoped the time spent eating would allow the storm to pass through and out of the Warren area.

We returned home at 5:00 pm. The storm and the short construction delay were our only hindrances to today’s drive. It was an easy drive home from Franklin, as we allowed the storm to get ahead us. We did see evidence of the storm, along the way…small tree limbs, leaves, and pine cones scattered all over the road. That debris is what we saw on our street, in our yard, and on our driveway. It appears tree branches snapped off a tree in a neighbor’s back yard, across the street from us, and scattered debris all over the neighborhood.

Bob was able to unpack the car, without rain falling down.

Wickett was happy to see us. She meowed and meowed her pleasure, rubbed up against us, and asked that we pet her over and over again.

Winter in Northwest Pennsylvania

My first blog post of the year was about the lack of snow in Northwest Pennsylvania on January 1st. It didn’t even feel like winter that day, with temperatures in the low 50s. About mid month Winter arrived, with a vengeance.

I took this picture around 9:30 am on January 16th. We had a couple snow storms earlier in the month, with no more than 6 inches lying on the ground at any one time. This picture shows how much snow was left from the last snow storm. Then came Winter Storm Izzy …

I took this picture the next morning, on January 17th. This picture shows how much snow we got from Winter Storm Izzy in a 24-hour time period.
Bob estimated there was 10-11 inches of snow on the ground.

After Izzy left, lake effect snows began. Snow continued to fall at least through January 18th, adding 2 or 3 more inches of snow on top of the 13-15 inches of snow left behind by Izzy.

The warning for Winter Storm Landon began at 1:00 am on Thursday, February 3rd, and lasted through 10:00 am this morning.

I took this picture on Wednesday (2/2) at 2:43 pm before Winter Storm Landon arrived. The snow on the ground is what remains from our last major winter storm, Izzy, and lake effect snows. Note that the fire ring located behind the pavilion is visible.

I took this picture at 7:36 am this morning, while we were still under the winter storm warning for Winter Storm Landon. Note that the fire ring behind the pavilion is totally covered.

We got at least a foot of new snow from Winter Storm Landon. It is almost noon, and snow continues to fall! This is Winter in Northwest Pennsylvania.

Crazy Weather

This afternoon we went for a short walk in our neighborhood.

Looking Across Neighbors’ back yards to our house

I live in northwestern Pennsylvania. What crazy weather! It is January 1st. There is no snow, and the temperature was 53 degrees during our walk. The weather is crazy, but I like it. I would love today’s weather, if the sun was out!

Ohio Vacation Day 4 (6/28/2021)

We walked down to the edge of the wetlands this morning. There was an adult bald eagle sitting in the snag on which we have seen one or two eagles often throughout the day, since our arrival on Friday afternoon. The lighting wasn’t good in that direction, so I didn’t take any pictures of the eagle. I did take pictures of a dragonfly and turtles.

It is hot and humid, even at 9:00 am. When I returned to the house, I was drenched in sweat from my neck up.

About an hour later, while sitting in the living room, I saw an osprey flying over the wetlands. Good thing I got my camera and went out on the deck. The osprey provided a bit of excitement, at least photographically.

An osprey flying over the Airbnb wetlands sees something of interest.

The osprey soared low in the sky over the Airbnb wetlands.
I lost the osprey shortly after I took this picture,
as it dove into the pond behind one of the buildings near the pond.

I stayed on the deck, camera in hand. Within seconds the osprey returned into view.

The osprey snagged a fish; a small bird gave chase.

Late morning/early afternoon we drove to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, to the Ira Trailhead, and walked ¼ mile to Beaver Marsh. What a HOT and HUMID walk that was! We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife. We saw a great blue heron, snapping turtle (no picture), red wing blackbird and tree swallows.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Beaver Marsh
Great Blue Heron

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Beaver Marsh
Red-Winged Blackbird

I captured a few pictures of tree swallows, as we spent the most time watching their acrobatic flight.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Beaver Marsh
Tree Swallow

We returned to our rental Airbnb and ate lunch. I ate a picnic lunch indoors, and Bob ate Ramen Noodles that he found in the kitchen.

A storm rolled through around 5:00 pm.

It would have been very nice,
if this storm had taken the heat and humidity with it when it left.
That didn’t happen, though.

The temperature did drop 20 degrees, from 90 (with a heat index of 103) to 70. It didn’t take long, though, for the heat and humidity to return.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Pink sky in the morning…

and, YES

a Winter Storm is approaching.

Winter Storm Watch obtained from Weather Underground.

I am dreaming of a White Christmas….

The First Snow of the 2020-2021 Winter Season

Yes, I am blogging again.

It has been a little more than a year since my last “The Beauty Around Us”blog post. Have I lost my blogging friends? I hope not!

I want to share with you a couple pictures that I just took of the snow that fell overnight at my home in NW Pennsylvania.

We had new front porch steps and a handrail installed late summer.

The bird feeder is a bit top heavy.

Don’t you just love the first snowfall of the season? I do!

Full Snow Moon Followed by a Snowy Day

Various Native American tribes had various names for the different moons of the year, tied to natural phenomena that reliably occurred alongside them. February is a snowy month in the northern and eastern US; hence the full “snow” moon.

The moon rise last night happened at 6:06 pm, but it didn’t rise above the hill that blocked its view until 6:50 pm. The moon had been full 7 hours previously, so the moon that rose wasn’t completely full.

The Almost-Full Snow Moon

Four minutes later the moon had risen a little higher in the sky.

The Almost-Full Snow Moon

It was a bit chilly last evening, waiting for the moon to rise over the hill so I could see it! I had enough of the cold, so I didn’t wait for the moon to rise above the tree!

The snow moon was followed by a snowy day.

Snowy day

Currently there is a winter weather advisory in effect until 6:00 am tomorrow morning. Mixed precipitation is expected. Total snow and sleet accumulations of 1 to 3 inches and ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch are expected. Snow fell during the late morning and is expected to continue through mid afternoon. The snow is expected to change to sleet by late afternoon, then over to lighter freezing rain this evening.