Liset Karmen and Cees Keyer in the Netherlands captured this video of European House Sparrows fighting over perches on a feeder. Even better, they captured it on a high speed camera so we can watch the action in slow motion.
Anyone who's watched a bird feeder long enough will note that birds don't always take their turn at the trough. Birds can agressively defend a perch or drive other birds off. I posted this photo to my twitter stream just the other day of a Red-bellied Woodpecker chasing a Black-capped Chickadee off the feeders at work. The image was captured with our automated feeder camera.
Liset Karmen and Cees Keyer in the Netherlands captured this video of European House Sparrows fighting over perches on a feeder. Even better, they captured it on a high speed camera so we can watch the action in slow motion.
Liset Karmen and Cees Keyer in the Netherlands captured this video of European House Sparrows fighting over perches on a feeder. Even better, they captured it on a high speed camera so we can watch the action in slow motion.
Our last full week of January! The sun rose this morning at 7:42 AM and set again at 5:08 PM. I'm starting to enjoy having some extra sun in the mornings. We now have 9 hours 25 minutes and 47 seconds of daylight and we're gaining a little over 2 minutes per day. While most of the time gained is at the end of the day we did start gaining light in the mornings back on January 7th. We've gained 8 minutes in the morning since the 7th so, well, you've got those 8 minutes you need in the morning now to get spectacular abs.
Your Week in Review:
Tuesday I continued to see pair flights of mallards. This is yet another positive sign that spring is coming. I started seeing this several weeks ago and mentioned it on the podcast but at the time the ducks seems to be sometimes in pairs and sometimes in groups. Now when I'm seeing them flying they seem to be almost always paired up. Pair flights are a way for the ducks to reinforce their pair bond. Think of them as duck dating.
Wednesday was cold and temps continued to drop as some of the first truly arctic air of the winter came down out of Canada. Meteorologists and weather geeks of all stripes watched the temperature inch closer and closer to zero as the clock approached midnight. If the mercury dropped to -1 before midnight, we'd tie the record for the latest in the winter sub-zero temperature reading, if it dipped below after midnight, i.e. on Thursday, we'd have a new record. Alas, the official temperature at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport hit -1 just before midnight and we tied the records of 2002. Interestingly, the 2002 temp is also a tie with 1889.
Thursday was the coldest morning of the year which is no surprise given that we dropped into the sub-zero range before midnight on Wednesday. We had our first daytime sub-zero temps of the winter which was doubly shocking. I was shocked that it took so long and then shocked by the reality of the bitter cold. We've had it easy this year. When I arrived at work it was -14° and it kept dropping from there. An hour or so later it was -17 which was the coldest reading I personally saw that day. In spite of the cold, I still heard a Black-capped Chickadee singing the spring mating song.
Friday was a beautiful snowy day.
Saturday there was a prediction of Northern Lights in the evening. They were a little delayed in arriving but that didn't really matter as it was cloudy in Minnesota anyhow. We've had bad luck seeing the aurora lately due to clouds.
The week ahead:
There was another large cornonal mass ejection (CME) from the surface of the sun on Monday??? It was also directed toward the earth. The material is expected to hit the earth on Tuesday the 24th and there is an elevated chance for aurora on Tuesday night. They may even be visible from Mid-latitude states such as Minnesota. The evening sky forecast at this point looks fairly good for clear skies on Tuesday night so we might be in luck this time around. Best estimates at this point are for up to 30% cloud cover rolling in around sunset but things will improve slightly as the evening goes on. Predictions show clear skies by 11:00 pm.
Your Week in Review:
Tuesday I continued to see pair flights of mallards. This is yet another positive sign that spring is coming. I started seeing this several weeks ago and mentioned it on the podcast but at the time the ducks seems to be sometimes in pairs and sometimes in groups. Now when I'm seeing them flying they seem to be almost always paired up. Pair flights are a way for the ducks to reinforce their pair bond. Think of them as duck dating.
Wednesday was cold and temps continued to drop as some of the first truly arctic air of the winter came down out of Canada. Meteorologists and weather geeks of all stripes watched the temperature inch closer and closer to zero as the clock approached midnight. If the mercury dropped to -1 before midnight, we'd tie the record for the latest in the winter sub-zero temperature reading, if it dipped below after midnight, i.e. on Thursday, we'd have a new record. Alas, the official temperature at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport hit -1 just before midnight and we tied the records of 2002. Interestingly, the 2002 temp is also a tie with 1889.
Thursday was the coldest morning of the year which is no surprise given that we dropped into the sub-zero range before midnight on Wednesday. We had our first daytime sub-zero temps of the winter which was doubly shocking. I was shocked that it took so long and then shocked by the reality of the bitter cold. We've had it easy this year. When I arrived at work it was -14° and it kept dropping from there. An hour or so later it was -17 which was the coldest reading I personally saw that day. In spite of the cold, I still heard a Black-capped Chickadee singing the spring mating song.
Friday was a beautiful snowy day.
Saturday there was a prediction of Northern Lights in the evening. They were a little delayed in arriving but that didn't really matter as it was cloudy in Minnesota anyhow. We've had bad luck seeing the aurora lately due to clouds.
The week ahead:
There was another large cornonal mass ejection (CME) from the surface of the sun on Monday??? It was also directed toward the earth. The material is expected to hit the earth on Tuesday the 24th and there is an elevated chance for aurora on Tuesday night. They may even be visible from Mid-latitude states such as Minnesota. The evening sky forecast at this point looks fairly good for clear skies on Tuesday night so we might be in luck this time around. Best estimates at this point are for up to 30% cloud cover rolling in around sunset but things will improve slightly as the evening goes on. Predictions show clear skies by 11:00 pm.
I had to share this. This video was captured on a motion activated camera by the Northern Divide Bear Project.
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
Much like the US Post Office, Monday Phenology is closed on holidays. So, with that in mind, I present a special Tuesday edition of Monday Phenology.
The sun crept up over the horizon this morning at 7:47 AM and set again at 4:58 PM. We gained about eleven and a half minutes from last Monday so we're at 9 hours 10 minutes and 57 seconds of sunlight. Spring may be coming second by second but the deep of winter is just around the corner.
Nature's Week in Review:
Monday of last week was warm and a just a prelude to Tuesday. We recorded a high of 46° but that was in the shade in the middle of the woods. I still hadn't see a Hairy Woodpecker yet in 2012 and it was starting to bug me.
Tuesday was wonderful and warm. We need days like this in the winter to help us though. There were snow craneflies flying around and a lone house fly at the windows at work. It is always cool and nothing short of incredible to see insects in the winter since they are exothermic i.e. cold blooded. The Hairy Woodpecker still eluded me. While out on a hike it felt like spring and the warm weather made it feel like warblers were just over the next hill about to come into view.
Wednesday was a sudden shock to the system after the heat wave of Tuesday. The day just got colder and colder. I took a hike with some volunteers in the afternoon. We spooked some deer but otherwise it was pretty quiet wildlife wise. We did see some coyote tracks. Still no Hairy Woodpecker.
The rest of the work week was fairly uneventful except for Friday morning. I left a planning meeting early to run out to an outreach event at a school and sure enough I heard loud tapping on a nearby tree. I looked up to see my first Hairy Woodpecker of the year. This was a good sign of things to come for the weekend.
Saturday began a long holiday weekend and I spent the entire day birding. I woke up a little after 4:00 am and headed out to meet friends and head up to Sax-Zim Bog for some northern birding. We arrived on the outskirts of the bog area just as the sun rose. We spent the entire day driving to various sites looking for our target species. I had never made it up there so I was able to add a few "lifers" to my bird list. I saw my first ever Boreal Chickadee, Black-Backed Woodpecker, Black-billed Magpie and Great-Grey Owl. In addition to the lifers, I we tallied up a bunch more species. Our list for the day included, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Gray Jay, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and Evening Grosbeak. It was quite a day of birding.
The Week Ahead:
Winter will finally catch up to us, at least the cold part. There's some super cold air hanging out just north of the Canadian Border (super cold as in-35) and there's a good chance it will start to spill south later this week. We'll likely see our first sub-zero morning temperatures Thursday. Thursday will be a special brand of cold we've not felt since last winter. We're talking a high near zero. Where'd I put those snow pants?
The sun crept up over the horizon this morning at 7:47 AM and set again at 4:58 PM. We gained about eleven and a half minutes from last Monday so we're at 9 hours 10 minutes and 57 seconds of sunlight. Spring may be coming second by second but the deep of winter is just around the corner.
Nature's Week in Review:
Monday of last week was warm and a just a prelude to Tuesday. We recorded a high of 46° but that was in the shade in the middle of the woods. I still hadn't see a Hairy Woodpecker yet in 2012 and it was starting to bug me.
Tuesday was wonderful and warm. We need days like this in the winter to help us though. There were snow craneflies flying around and a lone house fly at the windows at work. It is always cool and nothing short of incredible to see insects in the winter since they are exothermic i.e. cold blooded. The Hairy Woodpecker still eluded me. While out on a hike it felt like spring and the warm weather made it feel like warblers were just over the next hill about to come into view.
Wednesday was a sudden shock to the system after the heat wave of Tuesday. The day just got colder and colder. I took a hike with some volunteers in the afternoon. We spooked some deer but otherwise it was pretty quiet wildlife wise. We did see some coyote tracks. Still no Hairy Woodpecker.
The rest of the work week was fairly uneventful except for Friday morning. I left a planning meeting early to run out to an outreach event at a school and sure enough I heard loud tapping on a nearby tree. I looked up to see my first Hairy Woodpecker of the year. This was a good sign of things to come for the weekend.
Saturday began a long holiday weekend and I spent the entire day birding. I woke up a little after 4:00 am and headed out to meet friends and head up to Sax-Zim Bog for some northern birding. We arrived on the outskirts of the bog area just as the sun rose. We spent the entire day driving to various sites looking for our target species. I had never made it up there so I was able to add a few "lifers" to my bird list. I saw my first ever Boreal Chickadee, Black-Backed Woodpecker, Black-billed Magpie and Great-Grey Owl. In addition to the lifers, I we tallied up a bunch more species. Our list for the day included, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Gray Jay, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and Evening Grosbeak. It was quite a day of birding.
The Week Ahead:
Winter will finally catch up to us, at least the cold part. There's some super cold air hanging out just north of the Canadian Border (super cold as in-35) and there's a good chance it will start to spill south later this week. We'll likely see our first sub-zero morning temperatures Thursday. Thursday will be a special brand of cold we've not felt since last winter. We're talking a high near zero. Where'd I put those snow pants?
I'm getting back into the swing of things with phenology now that the holidays are over. The sun rose Monday morning at 7:50 AM and set at 4:50 PM. I work until 4:30 so I can tell you I am really excited about those 20 minutes of sunlight in the evening. It isn't a lot but it already makes a difference. The previous Monday, sunset was at 4:42 so we gained about 8 minutes at the end of the day. Here's the interesting thing, sunrise for both of the last Mondays were only one minute apart. We're definitely gaining more at the end of the day than the beginning. Just for fun let's compare to the solstice back on December 21st. On the solstice, the sun rose at 7:34 and set at 4:34 for 8 hours, 45 minutes and 58 seconds of daylight. Monday, January 9th had 8 hours, 59 minutes and 28 seconds of daylight. We've gained about 14 minutes of daylight so far and we gain it faster and faster now. We're gaining about 1 minute and 22 seconds per day now. .
Here's your week in review:
Tuesday: I started my bird list for the year. I added the usual suspects at work but a few were missing. No hairy or pileated woodpecker, though there were downy and red-bellied. No juncos, or blue jays. These things will all show up though. I saw a flock along the side of the road I assumed were American Tree Sparrows and will check tomorrow. On the way home, five beautiful Trumpeter Swans flew right over my car, very low. It was an awesome way to add them to my year list. They circled around a farm field and stirred up a large flock of birds. I had a hunch what they were but pulled over to double check. Indeed, the flock was entirely snow buntings p, a great find for my first day out.
Wednesday on the way to work I spotted my first of the year Red-tailed hawks and first of the year Starlings. I also stopped to check on the flock I'd seen feeding on the side of the road the day before and sure enough they were American Tree Sparrows. Adding those three to my list on e-bird brings me to a whopping 14 species for the year. In the afternoon I took a hike at work looking for long-eared owls. It was a bit of a long shot and we missed. We did find a flock of at least 35 cedar waxwings, some American Tree Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, Crows and one purple finch. We also heard pheasants but did not see them. Some people list every bird they encounter, whether it be seen or heard. Personally, I don't count birds I just hear. There is value in recording these things, for example in ebird, but for me it is all about seeing birds. I'm not too worried about not seeing a pheasant this year.
Thursday I woke up and was greeted by the predawn singing of a Northern Cardinal in my neighbor's yard. It couldn't see him but it sounded beautiful.
Friday I headed down into Marine on St. Croix to pick up some lunch and some items at the St. Croix Watershed Research Station. On the way I saw some great winter birds including first of the year Common Redpolls, Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal and Dark-eyed Junco. This brought me to 25 species for the year. Not too bad considering these are just the species I have run into and haven't really put any serious effort into finding birds. The Hairy Woodpecker annoyingly eludes me.
I took the weekend off from birds and phenology and put my focus elsewhere.
The week ahead:
Things will start off with crazy heat for the winter. Temps may get into the 50s and break records. Watch for winter insects out and about with the warmth. This will be a great opportunity to see winter craneflies out and about.
Here's your week in review:
Tuesday: I started my bird list for the year. I added the usual suspects at work but a few were missing. No hairy or pileated woodpecker, though there were downy and red-bellied. No juncos, or blue jays. These things will all show up though. I saw a flock along the side of the road I assumed were American Tree Sparrows and will check tomorrow. On the way home, five beautiful Trumpeter Swans flew right over my car, very low. It was an awesome way to add them to my year list. They circled around a farm field and stirred up a large flock of birds. I had a hunch what they were but pulled over to double check. Indeed, the flock was entirely snow buntings p, a great find for my first day out.
Wednesday on the way to work I spotted my first of the year Red-tailed hawks and first of the year Starlings. I also stopped to check on the flock I'd seen feeding on the side of the road the day before and sure enough they were American Tree Sparrows. Adding those three to my list on e-bird brings me to a whopping 14 species for the year. In the afternoon I took a hike at work looking for long-eared owls. It was a bit of a long shot and we missed. We did find a flock of at least 35 cedar waxwings, some American Tree Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, Crows and one purple finch. We also heard pheasants but did not see them. Some people list every bird they encounter, whether it be seen or heard. Personally, I don't count birds I just hear. There is value in recording these things, for example in ebird, but for me it is all about seeing birds. I'm not too worried about not seeing a pheasant this year.
Thursday I woke up and was greeted by the predawn singing of a Northern Cardinal in my neighbor's yard. It couldn't see him but it sounded beautiful.
Friday I headed down into Marine on St. Croix to pick up some lunch and some items at the St. Croix Watershed Research Station. On the way I saw some great winter birds including first of the year Common Redpolls, Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal and Dark-eyed Junco. This brought me to 25 species for the year. Not too bad considering these are just the species I have run into and haven't really put any serious effort into finding birds. The Hairy Woodpecker annoyingly eludes me.
I took the weekend off from birds and phenology and put my focus elsewhere.
The week ahead:
Things will start off with crazy heat for the winter. Temps may get into the 50s and break records. Watch for winter insects out and about with the warmth. This will be a great opportunity to see winter craneflies out and about.
I'm taking the phenology a bit easy this holiday week but there were some sightings to share. Just between you and me let's call this a Mini-Midweek-Phenology-looking-at-last-week-thing.
These are all from the week previous, not this week.
Monday I was really noticing the dark. We're so close to the solstice the days are pretty short now. The lack of snow makes it seem not as bad though, at least in my opinion.
Tuesday I saw a bald eagle fly over the nature center as I walked to the front door in the morning. After lunch, my co-worker Paul and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather to cut down some large Buckthorn seed trees. On our walk down the driveway we heard our first Black-capped Chickadee singing the spring Hey Sweetie song. An excellent early sign of spring and the solstice was still two days away.
Wednesday was a wonderful winter solstice. The sun was still below the horizon and there was a light coating of frost on the ground as I stepped outside. I was able to watch the sun rise during my long commute to work. It was a gorgeous orange globe as it rose through the trees. When I got close to work, a trio of trumpeter swans rose out of a corn field and flew across the road in front of me, heading toward the rising sun. Absolutely perfect start to the day. It turns out about a dozen swans are hanging out in a corn field near work.
Thursday I had the day off so I dropped off my son at school, swung by work to photograph th Trumpeter Swans in the corn field and then headed down to Point Douglas Park just outside of Hastings MN/Prescott WI, on the St. Croix River. There had been a report of a long-tailed duck there and I wanted to check it out. The wind coming down the river seemed bitterly cold but I've felt worse in other winters. Point Douglas Park is a popular destination for birders on new-year's day. There's usually a small group there trying to kick off their year list with a rarity. For the past few winters this has been the site of an overwintering harlequin duck. On cold winters the water just north of the park and also under the bridge to Wisconsin is some of the only open water around and all kinds of good things can be found. It is a great place to see birds but dress warmly. This year with the warmer weather it was quite challenging to find anything as the open water extends for a good distance up river from the park. Some birds were even out of range of a spotting scope. I saw hundreds and hundreds of Common Mergansers, a small flock of Canada geese and a random smattering of common goldeneyes. The goldeneyes were of particular interest as reports had it that the long-tailed duck was very loosely hanging out with them. I scanned back and forth in the cold with no sign of the duck. Before I gave up I thought I would check down by the bridge. What I saw there was disheartening. The river was open for a good distance downstream as well. There was a good chance the duck was on the other side of the road with no good safe spot to set up a scope. Before packing things in I decided to scan the water again from this other angle. Sure enough, a ghostly camouflaged bird appeared in my scope. It was the long-tailed duck and it was a lifer. I took a good look and then decided to try again from my original spot. It should have given me a much better view but alas, I could not relocate the elusive bird. Too much water, too much cold.
Friday I drove my son to school and saw something cool along highway 36. There must be open water somewhere because there is a flock of mallards that fly over the highway throughout the winter. (Incidentally, I know of at least one location with open water all year, there is a little creek behind the Mueller-Bies funeral home on Dale St. near Hwy 36. I've seen mallards there in the middle of the winter.) The mallards I saw on Friday weren't flying in a big group but rather in pairs, if the Chickadees singing at the beginning of the week was the first sign of spring, this is the second. Pair flights are an early sign of spring mating. The birds pair up with their mate and fly together as a way to strengthen the pair bond.
I'd normally tell you at this point what to watch for in the week ahead but it is already Wednesday and the week ahead is already half over. The normal podcast will resume Monday, January 2nd. Enjoy the winter!
These are all from the week previous, not this week.
Monday I was really noticing the dark. We're so close to the solstice the days are pretty short now. The lack of snow makes it seem not as bad though, at least in my opinion.
Tuesday I saw a bald eagle fly over the nature center as I walked to the front door in the morning. After lunch, my co-worker Paul and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather to cut down some large Buckthorn seed trees. On our walk down the driveway we heard our first Black-capped Chickadee singing the spring Hey Sweetie song. An excellent early sign of spring and the solstice was still two days away.
Wednesday was a wonderful winter solstice. The sun was still below the horizon and there was a light coating of frost on the ground as I stepped outside. I was able to watch the sun rise during my long commute to work. It was a gorgeous orange globe as it rose through the trees. When I got close to work, a trio of trumpeter swans rose out of a corn field and flew across the road in front of me, heading toward the rising sun. Absolutely perfect start to the day. It turns out about a dozen swans are hanging out in a corn field near work.
Thursday I had the day off so I dropped off my son at school, swung by work to photograph th Trumpeter Swans in the corn field and then headed down to Point Douglas Park just outside of Hastings MN/Prescott WI, on the St. Croix River. There had been a report of a long-tailed duck there and I wanted to check it out. The wind coming down the river seemed bitterly cold but I've felt worse in other winters. Point Douglas Park is a popular destination for birders on new-year's day. There's usually a small group there trying to kick off their year list with a rarity. For the past few winters this has been the site of an overwintering harlequin duck. On cold winters the water just north of the park and also under the bridge to Wisconsin is some of the only open water around and all kinds of good things can be found. It is a great place to see birds but dress warmly. This year with the warmer weather it was quite challenging to find anything as the open water extends for a good distance up river from the park. Some birds were even out of range of a spotting scope. I saw hundreds and hundreds of Common Mergansers, a small flock of Canada geese and a random smattering of common goldeneyes. The goldeneyes were of particular interest as reports had it that the long-tailed duck was very loosely hanging out with them. I scanned back and forth in the cold with no sign of the duck. Before I gave up I thought I would check down by the bridge. What I saw there was disheartening. The river was open for a good distance downstream as well. There was a good chance the duck was on the other side of the road with no good safe spot to set up a scope. Before packing things in I decided to scan the water again from this other angle. Sure enough, a ghostly camouflaged bird appeared in my scope. It was the long-tailed duck and it was a lifer. I took a good look and then decided to try again from my original spot. It should have given me a much better view but alas, I could not relocate the elusive bird. Too much water, too much cold.
Friday I drove my son to school and saw something cool along highway 36. There must be open water somewhere because there is a flock of mallards that fly over the highway throughout the winter. (Incidentally, I know of at least one location with open water all year, there is a little creek behind the Mueller-Bies funeral home on Dale St. near Hwy 36. I've seen mallards there in the middle of the winter.) The mallards I saw on Friday weren't flying in a big group but rather in pairs, if the Chickadees singing at the beginning of the week was the first sign of spring, this is the second. Pair flights are an early sign of spring mating. The birds pair up with their mate and fly together as a way to strengthen the pair bond.
I'd normally tell you at this point what to watch for in the week ahead but it is already Wednesday and the week ahead is already half over. The normal podcast will resume Monday, January 2nd. Enjoy the winter!
We're getting pretty close to the solstice and the numbers sure show it. Sunrise today was at 7:47 AM and sunset at 4:33 PM. That's 8 hours, 46 minutes and 12 seconds of sun. Today's daylight was only 14 seconds shorter than yesterday. There's actually something really interesting hidden in those numbers. The solstice is the coming Wednesday but most people don't realize the solstice is neither the day of the latest sunrise nor the day of the earliest sunset. It is simply the shortest day. The sun set has actually already started to get later in the day. As of today, the sun is setting one full minute later than it did just a few days ago. The sun rises will continue to get later for a little over a week or so and then they too will reverse course.
Your week in review:
Last Monday I mentioned that in the week ahead people should listen for Black-capped Chickadees practicing their spring "Hey Sweetie" song. Listerner/reader Marcie dropped me a note in the comments saying she had indeed heard heard them singing down near Lake Pepin on Monday. How cool is that? Not even to the solstice yet and we have our first sign of spring. On Twitter, Rebecca sent me a message that she had heard them as well. She's over in North-eastern Wisconsin.
Wednesday on the drive home I noticed the first ice house on an area lake. I'm told it was there earlier in the week and I just missed it. It probably put up on the weekend. Wednesday it rained all day so I imagine that cemented the ice house in real well. Should be fun to get out at the end of the winter. The weather was just bizarre Wednesday. It was foggy and misty rain that just would not let up or go away. I went out to dinner that night and didn't bring a winter jacket of any kind. I just wore just a sweatshirt. How may years can I do that in the middle of December?
Thursday morning we had a very light coating of snow but nothing the sun couldn't take care of. It all seemed to be pretty much gone by the end of the day. On the drive to work I saw one lone swan flying south. Then, closer to work, I also saw a pair of swans flying. I wondered what was making them move around that morning? Was it a coincidence I saw them? There can't be that much open water around for them except on rivers. During the day there were just a few flakes but mostly it just got colder and windy by the end of the day. There were some very brief peeks at a blue sky.
Friday there were also some brilliant peeks at blue skies and sun. It was incredibly unseasonably nice out but that was just a preview of Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday was a beautiful day weather wise and that night I taught an astronomy program. The skies were clear and gorgeous. I haven't seen such clear nice skies for astronomy in a long time. Jupiter was out and we got a nice look at the cloud bands as well as the four largest moons. For an extra treat I turned the scope on the Andromeda Galaxy. At 2.5 million light years away it is the furthest object you can see with the naked eye. If you look closely in the right spot in a dark location you can just make it out even without magnification. Pretty incredible to think about how far away it is.
Sunday was insane weather wise. It was in the 40s in the twin cities but out in Montevideo they hit 61°. That's just crazy. I don't have high hopes for my snowshoe program scheduled for next week.
The week ahead:
Sun lovers rejoyce! For the last six months I've been telling you how many minutes of sunlight we've been losing. Fear not. The upward trend begins on Wednesday which is the solstice. From mid-week on we'll be seeing more and more sunlight each day. The longer we go without snow on the ground the harder it will be for winter to really take hold as well. As sunlight increases so does our heating during the day. Last winter seemed like it would never end. At least so far it looks like we could be in for a pretty short winter.