The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
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November 12, 2015 Salish Sea, PNW
You could say summer was over in the Pacific Northwest back in September when a few wet frontal systems blew through, putting an end to our unprecedented 5-month drought. And while we’ve had a few rainy days since then, the huge river of moisture that’s been dumping many inches of rain over the last few days is our first serious winter window-rattling tree-toppling gully-washer of the season. The leading edge of this storm was a blast of wind. Before it got too ferocious and wet, I took a walk out on the bluff. Few birds to be seen in the 30+ knot gusting wind funneling down the Strait from the open ocean. Big swells were breaking on reefs and the cliffs. This rare winter surf explains the caves carved into bedrock here, hard to imagine with our usual tranquil waters. I kept away from the edge of the cliff, what with the unpredictable gusts, but I could see and smell the spray, and hear the booming thumps below.
The bedrock ridge below is one of my favorite sites to search out intertidal invertebrates. The crevices and tidepools house critters like Gumboot chitons, Gooseneck barnacles and Purple sea urchins that are more typical of the open ocean than the tranquil waters of the Salish Sea. No tidepooling today though.
The bay around the point wasn’t quite so rough. This eagle circled above us, never flapping its wings, watching the ground closely, banking into the gusts.
Waves breaking on the beach tossed driftwood and seaweed around. At one end of the beach 40 or so Mew gulls soared and floated in the greeny-white foamy mix. Every bird faced west, into the wind. The floating gulls dipped their tiny beaks into the stirred up soup feasting on something, the soaring ones stared fixedly down at the surface. They all handled the shifting wind and water handily, and at the same time kept aware of the eagle that glided by overhead.
It was a mixed-age group. All Mews have tiny beaks and black wingtips. Adults have white tails, 2nd and 3rd year-birds have black on their tail feathers, and this year’s youngsters are mottled brown.
Buffleheads and Red-breasted mergansers also bobbed in the surf, quite at home.
This filtered light was the last bit of sun for days. The rain arrived shortly and the gale picked up. 50 knot wind and a deluge means indoors for me. By the next day the wind had dropped at least, but the rain continued off and on through last night. The ground is totally saturated. Mud everywhere all of a sudden. Our typical annual precipitation is about 20”, and as of this morning we’ve received 3.17" at my house from this storm!
Cloudy and cool this morning, an interlude. Tomorrow a new storm arrives, with rain and significant wind. We’’re going to try to kayak out to the boat today to check on the mooring line. Hopefully my kayak floats after getting dented the other day...a big branch broke during the last big wind and fell on my truck, hitting the kayak. I’ll report later this afternoon :)
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All nature observations welcome in the comments. Winter storms in the PNW, what’s happening where you live?
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