Warm February Day

This has been an unusual period of unseasonably warm weather.  Last night's overnight low temperature remained above 50 F.  We may see more than 70 F during the day today.  The White Pine tree sheltering these Arbutus plants kept the ice from forming here.  Snow cover was also thin so these plants are fully exposed to indirect sunlight despite their placement on a north facing slope.  The flower buds formed last fall will soon open releasing the wonderfully scented white flowers.  Yes, we are excited by the promise of what will soon be here.

A less pleasant reality presents itself just down the hill.  A ditch has been established to carry away running water but it fills with plowed snow and ice.  That sends melt water into the lane and substantial ruts result.  The five foot long pry bar with a blade tip was used to attack the ice.  An open section of the ditch and sore shoulders resulted.  Water worked its way under the remaining ice and the driveway surface is not in horrible shape.

Believe it or not this is a picture of great success.  A water bar was formed across the driveway to direct the water that runs down the hill in the direction of the Cardinal Flower.  That first patch of brown snow resulted from the water that was directed and held there.  Cardinal Flower transplants are close by that water.  This spring the water bar will be repaired and expanded.  A depression will be dug to increase the water holding capacity of the area.  Cardinal Flower prefers moist soil and we will try and make that happen somewhat naturally.

Standing water is seldom seen here because of the deep gravel deposit that lies just beneath the soil surface.  When frost fills the soil, water retention is the result.  We do not recall ever seeing this much water here before.  The town road is the high ground here and the water that ran down our hill is trapped.

Reflections on the water's surface create an unusual and attractive scene.  We were fortunate to get these pictures yesterday as the frost has left the ground and all of the water seeped away.  We did walk here this morning to check on the status of our plants.  The water was gone!

Close by we found this New England Aster already underway with this year's growth.  Its purple flowers with yellow centers are months away but we can certainly see another new beginning here today.

Wild February Day

This late winter day featured early daytime temperatures above seventy degrees followed by a drop below freezing.  Severe storms featuring small heavy rain cells with occasional thunder filled the early afternoon.  A local flood watch was in effect.  This raised serious questions about my driving route from Syracuse.  The customary nearly straight line drive includes secondary roads that follow rather narrow valleys.  Local flooding here would require that I turn around and head back toward Syracuse.  There are no paved roads that climb out of those valleys.

The early in the day trip found this favorite waterfall with a generous amount of water cascading over it.  At this point in time, only snow melt from the warm air was added to the typical flow.  On my return trip, heavy rain had greatly increased the flow and had colored it soil brown.  Not finding that color water photogenic, I pressed on toward home.

This old mill dam would be part of every drive except for the horrible pavement encountered as one leaves Norwich on route 23.  I believe that the lousy road surface is deliberate to slow traffic.  Driving that road is hard on both the vehicle and its occupants at any slow speed.  Exceeding the posted speed limit would shake loose car parts.  Today I drove there just to see this.  The heavy rainfall had passed by the time I returned.  No flooding extended to cross  the roads so the return trip was uneventful despite widespread flooded valley fields.  This usually quiet stream was roaring.

As I neared Syracuse, two heavy rain cells were encountered.  The first was about two miles wide with rain so heavy the it was almost impossible to see the road.  Reason would have dictated that I pull off the road but there were no shoulders here.  Not a fan of stopping in the roadway, I continued to move guided mainly by my knowledge of the road.  The second severe cell was encountered while on a better highway.  These unusually heavy rains are a new experience to me.  I cannot remember rain so heavy that visibility simply disappeared.  Might these small heavy cells point to a change in our weather patterns?