weather – Page 3 – Black and White

ladder

ladder Flemish bond rain bands — I hope to never climb another ladder but until I can arrange the particulars, the ladder is my dangerous friend who introduces me to his/her’s amoral chum, gravity. 9.8 meters per second squared…

VW snow shadow

bug — I think this car sold for 1500+/- new. I bought it used for less. Excellent vehicle.

north window

divided lite — thunderstorms

Tall grass

dog in the weeds — 5-6 inches of rain in July

root plate

big tree blown horizontal — Blowing down a big tree, the force required to break the grip of a root plate is immense. A tall tree’s stem is a huge lever with branches that offer commodious sail area. Come a powerful wind, the tree is laid down. In time, we all fall down.

Gular fluttering

The crow version of panting. Warmer in CHO than it is in Ho Chi Minh City

These are only a couple of behaviors that birds use. When it’s hot, some species will also resort to gular fluttering. The bird will open its mouth and “flutter” its neck muscles, promoting heat loss (think of it as the avian version of panting).

“If you think about a dog panting, their tongue isn’t only allowing evaporation, but is losing a lot of body fluid,” says Erickson. “Birds are much more efficient about water and water loss.”

Even so, birds still need to replenish fluids on a hot day. Installing a birdbath can provide feathered friends with a place to cool their heels in the summer, and get a drink. The water level shouldn’t be too high—only about an inch deep—and the bottom of the birdbath shouldn’t be too slippery. Replenish the water once every two or three days. Otherwise, the stagnant water can play host to algae and mosquito larvae, which can carry the West Nile virus as adults.

Almost as important as water is shade. Temperatures can be far cooler under trees or bushes, and birds often seek out these microclimates. Since a bird’s body temperature is much higher than that of humans—a golden crowned kinglet was once found to have a body temperature of 111 degrees Fahrenheit—it’s doubly important for them to cool off in a hurry. Proteins that shuttle vital information to a bird’s organs begin to break apart at temperatures that are only slightly higher.–audubon.org

Medicoes

fog — The dog was never far.

twin humans in fog — See dog nose. RHS

fall down game — 37 years ago I’d model helplessness for E & H. They’d carry me in the pool, pick me up when I fell down. Diagnose me with their tricorders. It was role reversal practice, prepping for having healthcare power of attorney. Skills for the 21st Century. Now.

June 24, 1972

Reception with paper plates. Hurricane Agnes through RIC the day before, bridges closed, 16.6 feet above flood stage. Higher water than Hurricane Camille. Richmond water plant shut down, National Guard called out. Rehearsal dinner at home by candlelight. Lots of rain in Charlottesville and Lynchburg, the James was running red, floating cows.

Ferncliffe foggy morning

Jacintha and George Pascal’s place, 1975.

meriwether, sacagawea, and william exeunt

“As the paper had suggested, Judge Richard T. W. Duke of Charlottesville presented a request to Congress for a $20,000 contribution to pay for the monument. No funding was to be had, and when the desired monument became a reality on 21 November 1919, it was the first of four gifts of sculpture that philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire would make to his hometown and alma mater.” 104-0273 VADHR Betsy Gohdes-Baten