A 5000 Mile Cloud from Asia to the Pacific NWest

It's not a first time event. It happened about 2009, too. But, it is a very unusual set of events that allow it to happen. It's been called a river of water for the heavy rain and snow fall that it brings. Some mountain elevations at 10K or higher are going to get 11 feet of snow.

I've had a gut feeling about this winter already from the things that I have observed from the early flipping of the leaves to the heavy berry production. My maternal grandfather always said that if you watch nature, it will tell you what's to come. He was right. The squirrels have been out in super large numbers planting their acorns. The pelicans got out of Canada a whole month early this year and the cormorants were right there with the pelicans. The seagulls come from the gulf and their absence is not surprising with the gulf being hit so hard this year with major hurricanes. Most of the people that I have talked with haven't even noticed the absence of the seagulls.

The monarch migration got caught behind the last cold front that blew in and got rid of our 90 degree days. There has been an increase of seeing them around the lakes but not in the numbers that should be seen for this time of year. With all the wildfires in on the west coast, the California monarch's that handle that Pacific Northwest  migration might very well loose a lot of monarchs this year. I had observed more species around this year; the most of the beautiful black and blues that I have seen in years.

There was a stunning new sailboat trailer[ed] in to Corinthian Sailing Club this afternoon. Seeing it reminded me of how I learn[ed] about the St. Patty's Day snows the Great Lakes states get every year. The year was one of those years that I decided to purchase a new car. Knowing that the road salt took its toll on cars, I decided that I would wait until March to get the car. That way, I would get an extra winter on the car without any salt buildup. The day came and I bought the car and drove it home after work. It was going to be so nice not to worry about getting salt on my new car. What I didn't know is that almost as regular as clock work, the last big snow of the winter is wet and heavy and usually will fall within a week to 10 days either side of Saint Patrick's Day. You should have seen the look of disbelief the next morning when I looked outside and saw about a 7-9 inch snowfall over night. Yep! the St. Patrick's Day snow have got my new car without delay. The snow came up over the front bumper. I shivered ever time someone would pass me and splash road salt on the side of my new car.

I don't think that the guys new sailboat will have that problem as I did with my car, but I know an old friend that just got a new car about a couple of weeks ago!. It's not St. Patrick's Day either,  but all the indications from that 5,000 mile cloud of rain to the Farmer's Almanac seem to think that it's going to be a more rough winter than most think. All those acorns and berries are probably just some freak nature thing, I suppose.

The blues are stunning.

May snow not fall upon this sail.

But winds can blow beneath a gale.

May this mast stand tall and straight

So when you tack and duck

Your head will miss the blow, with luck!

One of the arriving migratory Monarch's

The Monarchs Are Looking Good....

and the other are showing their stuff, too! I've seen as many as five different flies on a goldenrod plant plus a wasp, honeybees and a hornet. To me, it's more than just amazing that Monarchs every 4th generation (the longest lifespan so they can migrate) is 6 to 9 months while the 1st through (pick up below the last image to continue to read)

Don't forget to click on any image to get them to enlarge. These are best at 100%.
 This golden rod is loaded with butterflies, moths, hornets, wasp, honeybees. The Monarch's have just started to arrive. They came in on the cold front we got Tuesday but the numbers are beginning to show strength now, as well.  There were some that I wanted to shoot but that's for another day.

The bees are amazing, too!

Check out the pelican on the far right. He was so tired from the flight in from the Canadian Border, he has his sleeping head on the back of his fellow pelican. They are so comical. That is what I love about these pelicans.

3rd generation only live up to 6 weeks and they head north from Mexico in the spring producing  both the 2nd and 3rd generations along the way.

But, they can be spotted so easily fluttering along at a pretty good clip. I watched one today for many minutes as it made it's way down the road in almost a straight line. Thinking to myself how this butterfly half the size of my palm would fly 2500 miles to hang in clusters of thousands on trees in the mountains of central Mexico all winter.

There were some awesome shots of tree leaves today. My favorite, the Sycamore, just does not have that lush tan to brown to beautiful leathery brown that they have produced the past several years. But everything is a trade off it seems. When one lets you down, another lifts you up and such is the cycle of nature.

Another 30 Pelicans Have Arrived Right On Time.

Well, last year, the pelicans were here on October 12th. About  ten days ago, the core of 17 arrived to stake their claim to the lake. Today, another 30 had arrived over night. I even got a shot of three in flight over the dam. But the bigger news is that after receiving word about a month ago that the Monarch's were in flight over Lake Erie on their migration to Mexico, today, I saw the first one on a milkweed plant covered in honey bees. It was starved for energy-building nectar after a long, long trip this far. Even tons of honey bees could not keep it for dining. They still have about a thousand miles to go yet.

It is also amazing to me that with all the hurricanes in both the Gulf and in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of Mexico, that the butterflies timing is just unbeatable. The Pacific hurricanes south of Baja cut across the central mountains of Mexico and come in over West Texas. Maybe that is why we are on the migration path. It seems they come down right in a valley of air currents. Little frail butterflies on wing all that distance. Amazing. One cold front has passed, the next one is due tomorrow night and will drop the temps some 25 degrees for a couple of days before going back into the upper 80s. October is such a roller-coaster of temperatures here. Not complaining---snow birds!

American White Pelicans here until about mid February

Rest stop for migrating Monarch Butterflies

The honey bees were 50 or more per bush but the butterfly was going to rebuild its strength none-the-less. I saw one bee try to sting the butterfly but he stayed right where it was hanging.