Friday Photography Open Thread - Heavy Weather

Evening all. It seems many around the globe are experiencing heavy weather at the moment.

New Year’s day here brought a gentle, sustained rain we so seriously needed. It was very welcome after two months of relentlessly hot and dry weather.

A day later the rain changed mood and started pouring down hard, often in combination with severe wind gusts. It caused flooding, power outages and road closures in some areas of Auckland and other parts of the North Island. The sky is beginning to brighten now, and I noticed that the California Quail pair and their tiny babies survived just fine.

For all of you contending with the weather in the form of snow and freezing temperatures, I hope you are warm in the comfort of home and protected if you’re out.

See you later, and some music for now …

[video:https://youtu.be/_OUJ_ODGlCE]

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Daenerys's picture

The leaves in your first photo remind me of a sweater; very interesting pattern.

I have just one bird photo this week; the fluffiest blue jay I ever did see:

This is one of my back yard blue jays; I've seen them every day now since the really cold weather hit. One day I saw four of them out there! I didn't see the red-bellied woodpecker out there today; I hope she's ok and didn't get eaten by a cat. The collared doves found the food too, but there's only two of them so far. Been too cold to go out birding anywhere for a while. Looks like we're out of the woods as far as cold temps for a while now.

Today is my husband's birthday, and he asked for a Cthulhu cake so this is what I made for him:

It's a brownie cake with vanilla buttercream and fondant. Now I smell like sugar.

Cheers!

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This shit is bananas.

janis b's picture

@Daenerys

You must have been smiling yourself while making it. And now I'm smiling. Enjoy!

I'm off to do some cooking myself. See you all later.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Daenerys

Love this picture of the bird. Happy birthday Eric, hope you enjoy your cake. Well done, Dani

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magiamma's picture

Thanks Janis as always for hosting!

Here are some more photos from our Elkhorn Slough hiking adventure.

I've been taking a break to read about global warming. It just could be a real Darwin award time.

Elkhorn Sough view through branches
Elkhorn Slough view through branches.jpg

Barn roof
Elkhorn Sough through the weeds.jpg

And an old one from the beach
Beach Sand.jpg

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Bollox Ref's picture

Thanks for posting. It's bloody cold around here.

A couple of shots from warmer times...

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

magiamma's picture

@Bollox Ref Hey your beach looks like mine but youv'e got rocks.

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Bollox Ref's picture

@magiamma

Just a wonderful, family, holiday spot for several years.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

snoopydawg's picture

Love the second photo. I've never thought about doing that. I was going to post some of my older photos, but since the topic is about the extreme weather I'll post them another time.

I didn't know that this could happen. I'd love to see it in person.

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Daenerys's picture

@snoopydawg That's really cool!

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This shit is bananas.

magiamma's picture

@snoopydawg Wow those are some cool looking wave. Looks like they were carved and sanded.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Daenerys

The second one is incredibly beautiful. This was taken somewhere around Boston. Another photo showed a person surfing. Brrr....

@magiamma

Carved and sanded. I agree. Stunning. I'd buy this if I found who took it. Did you watch the video? I had a dawg that would run down the hill and plant her feet so she could slide in the snow. You could see the smile on her face. I'll see if I can find it for next week.

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snoopydawg's picture

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RuralLiberal's picture

@snoopydawg What a great dog!! Huge smile on my face right now.

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"Stand Up! Keep Fighting!" - Paul Wellstone

snoopydawg's picture

@RuralLiberal

I'm wondering how he knew how to turn the sled so he doesn't slide into the building. Good doggie.

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Wink's picture

@RuralLiberal
I find it amazing that the dog not only can figure out how to do it - drag the sled up the hill, then hop on for the ride down - but can execute the steps to pull it off.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

@snoopydawg

Hey, thanks to you, and all of our Caucus photographers for posting their excellent work this evening!

Everyone have a great weekend. Pleasantry

Stay warm!

Mollie


"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu


"Purity test"??
I've come to flag that phrase, like many others, as a tool of neoliberalism in order to shut down intelligent conversation. When someone disagrees with you, their issues are not lesser than yours. The lines that they draw are not inferior to yours. They are not being "pure" when they honor those lines. Rather, they are acting with principle.
--SnappleBC

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

snoopydawg's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

Glad you enjoyed it. I thought of you when I saw it. It sure brightened my day.

@Wink

Did you notice how the dog took the sled to a point in the hill where it was leveled and wouldn't slide down before he got on it? The dog is very smart to figure that out. Little kids would have a much harder time doing it.

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Socialprogressive's picture

Thanks for Fri. photos tonight, Janis.
Since San Diego has mild weather during the winter months, it's a popular destination for some northern visitors like these White Pelicans, seeking a warmer winter home.

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I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.

Raggedy Ann's picture

@Socialprogressive
It was in the 80's. I was so happy to be there. The zoo is phenomenal. Thanks for the photos.

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Socialprogressive's picture

@Raggedy Ann
The #1 reason I live in San Diego is for the nice weather during the winter months. I hate the cold.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

@Socialprogressive
I get to visit. Makes me happy. Good

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Socialprogressive's picture

@Raggedy Ann

I hope you get to visit often.

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snoopydawg's picture

@Socialprogressive

I've only seen the brown pelicans. My favorite bird is the White Egrets.

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Socialprogressive's picture

@snoopydawg

Here's some Egrets that were good enough stop by along with the Pelicans.

Snowy Egret
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Great Egret
DSC_1800.1.jpg

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snoopydawg's picture

@Socialprogressive

The first photo is stunning. Thanks for posting it. Do you know what the wing span is on the second one? No egrets here that I've seen, but they were everywhere in California. Not that big though.

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Daenerys's picture

@snoopydawg the great egret has a wingspan of 1.4 meters. I first saw snowy egrets (and brown pelicans) in California. I'll miss the snowy egrets in Utah. We have the great egrets here. I saw a great egret at Farmington Bay too. And cattle egrets.

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This shit is bananas.

Socialprogressive's picture

@snoopydawg

is about 5 to 5-1/2 ft.

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Bollox Ref's picture

Mr., or Mrs., is taking a drink...

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

dystopian's picture

Hi all,

Just another drive-by... thank everyone for the great posts,
... love all the bird photos, and takers of them.

Thought maybe folks could use some color...

Orioles - males

Baltimore
baor090911i.jpg

Audubon's
ao1-10d.jpg

Hooded
hoorma-g.jpg

Orchard (fore and aft)
oor.jpg

orchorb.jpg

Scott's
scor64.jpg

happy feathers!

Stay warm!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Wink's picture

Screenshot 2018-01-05_21-24-33.png

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

RuralLiberal's picture

@Wink Yep--we woke up this morning to -31 temperature. No idea what the windchill was, and didn't have the emotional strength to check. Schools were two hours late, but it was still -22 when the kids got there. Really sucked.

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"Stand Up! Keep Fighting!" - Paul Wellstone

Wink's picture

at 10:32pm ET, give or take, @RuralLiberal . 30 Below is seriously cold. Cars don't want to start at 30 Below (and who can blame them)?

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

snoopydawg's picture

@Wink

It started out at -46. But in less than 10 minutes I was shedding clothes because I got so warm.
This is from the trip.

IMG_1716.JPG

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Wink's picture

@snoopydawg
True, if you wear enough clothes, and you're moving along, you can warm up in ten minutes or so. Brutally cold when you stop though.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

snoopydawg's picture

@Wink

I always wear sunglasses even on cloudy days because I went skiing one bright sunny day without them and burned my corneas. The moisture in the air coated my eyelashes and my male friend's beards. We had to play chicken with a buffalo because he decided to stop right next to the trail we made going up the hill. We were told not to hassle them because of how it was for them to keep their weight up during winter, but we couldn't stand there for long in those temperatures. He watched as we nervously went by, but it was scary.

Hope you stay warm and that the weather warms up soon.

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riverlover's picture

@Wink I have heat here, it's currently still +3 but stars are shining. A 4-blanket night when I return to bed.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Unabashed Liberal's picture

to the Party this evening, having dealt with several competing distractions all evening long. Anyhoo, always enjoy seeing the photos of your gorgeous environs. Visiting NZ is definitely on our 'Bucket List.'

Wink

It was my intention to post a dog photo, but since I'm so late dropping by, think I'll wait until next week. The only stock photos of scenery that I have, are out-of-season. Hey, I'm happy for you and your immediate Family that you're not having to deal with this crappy weather. Hope your Family in Florida didn't get slammed too hard yesterday. I believe there may have been a few thousand Floridians who lost their electricity due to icing.

Have a nice weekend!

Pleasantry

Mollie


"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu
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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.