Cloudy first thing, but clear for most of the day. Windy and cold. Temperatures in the mid to upper 20s.
I spent the afternoon out and about.
I thought the car windows might be a pain to scrape, but the snow (and window) had been cold and dry enough when it fell that it wasn’t sticking to the glass. It doesn’t often happen that way here.
I started by heading out to Silver Bay. It was much windier once I turned the corner past Whale Park. Gusts caused swirling winds to lift little snow devils up along the side of the road and the embankment down to the water.
Blowing snow significantly obscured the mountain tops. Across the bay I could track gusts by the clouds of snow coming off the trees.
The windiest section appeared to be an area between Herring Cove and Bear Cove, where the water was a cauldron of white caps.
When I saw the mosaic of snow and open water on Swan Lake yesterday, I guessed it would take only one night of freezing temperatures for the surface to completely ice over. This is what happened, though unlike yesterday I saw a pair of Wood Ducks and pair of Mallards at inflow where a little open water remained.
The channel hosted the usual assortment of waterfowl.
At Starrigavan, it was not as windy. I walked on the estuary life trail to see if the Swamp Sparrow around. The only songbird I saw was a junco which flushed from under the boardwalk when I walked over.
The air at Starrigavan felt distinctly colder than I noticed in town. If car thermometer is accurate, it was probably only 3 or 4 degrees. I wonder if it greater humidity by Starrigavan creek and estuary might have contributed to the subjective feeling of cold.
I happened to remember this is around the time of year where it’s possible to see the sun setting behind the lighthouse from the road system. I wasn’t sure if the window may have passed a day or two ago, but gave it a try.
It was still possible to catch the sun behind the lighthouse, but I think not for much longer. Perhaps only a day or two left for that opportunity. As I’ve noticed before, it’s interesting to see the sun setting with the lighthouse, but with clear skies, I don’t find the photos very compelling.
I tried to hurry to bridge, but was not fast enough. I just missed the sun dropping below horizon. It’s never quite as slow as it feels when you’re standing there waiting for it. I suspect there was probably not a green flash today, but I would have liked to confirm.
Despite missing the sun disappearing, I did appreciate the look of Mt. Edgecumbewith snow blowing off.
Verstovia parking lot was full the times I drove by. I did see some tracks below Picnic Rock. I imagine it was windy up there.
This morning I published some photojournals from December, and this evening worked through a day’s worth of microscope photos from August. This included some liverwort photos, but mostly microorganisms. These included desmids and other mysteries, most from a single liverwort collection.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
