Category: Nature

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Mesoscale Discussion

I received this alert on my weather app. It was a new one for me. Were a bunch of meteorologists at a summit and inviting me to join? How fun! I never get invited to parties!

But no, it turned out to be…

“…a short, focused weather update issued by the National Weather Service through the Storm Prediction Center to explain what’s happening right now in the atmosphere and what could happen next. It zooms in on a specific region—often before watches or warnings are issued—and gives insight into whether severe weather is becoming more likely. Think of it as an early signal that something may be developing.

– https://iowaweather.com/what-is-a-mesoscale-discussion/

I don’t live in Iowa, but that’s the first website that came up in the search. But it’s the NWS. It probably means the same thing here in Ohio.

And I guess the discussion led to a formal declaration of thunderstorms, because the weather itself readily obliged, once again knocking out our power.

I’m getting pretty efficient at running extension cords throughout the house.

–Simon

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Over the Rainbow (Part 13)

With all the rain we’ve been having, I had hoped to see more rainbows here at Easement Acres. And yet, I haven’t been able to document a single one this year. This is no doubt due to the type of rain drenching the land. Torrential downpours and overcast skies do not provide the needed combination of sunlight alongside suspended water particles. I did capture an interesting god’s ray, however:

And later, a funnel cloud:

Eventually though, I did finally got my first rainbow:

From a theological perspective, God announced his presence and then threatened us, then promised something? There’s an old movie line to that effect:

“Is that a threat?”

“It’s a promise.”

I have no idea what to expect now. Imminent death, I would guess.

–Simon

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Rainy Nature

Things happen outside when it rains constantly. Mushrooms grow. Bugs multiply. Things rot and decay. Nature reclaims. It’s gross out there. Here are some examples:

The new mosquito bucket, which appears to have attracted its intended victims.
A large praying mantis. Bugs that eat other bugs are generally okay with me.
Another another, which landed on this rock the kid etched.
Mutinus elegans. More freaky mushrooms.

Stay dry.

–Simon

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Mosquito Wars, Revisited

Following a quick outage to my blog’s hosting provider (apparently a cooling system failure occurred at the data center), I’m back online.

And I’ve decided that more mosquitos need to die. There’s not much we can agree on as a culture, but I think this is one of them. Whatever ecological niche these creatures inhabit, I can only guess. Spiders need them, maybe? Or small birds? I don’t care. Die!

So I have installed another mosquito bucket.

Mosquito Wars

The first one has been surprisingly effective. After it went up, mosquito bites went from a near certainty to a mere high probability – but odds that were mitigated satisfactorily with a fogger. This year, however, set rainfall records, so for the low cost of another bucket, I’m trying one in a different corner of the yard.

It’s been too rainy to enjoy the deck as of late, but I’m hopeful. I even have signage up for interested neighbors. Maybe I can start a trend.

–Simon

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Mutant Tomato 2026

The gardens grow quick this time of the season. By the time I get around to a garden post on my twice-weekly blogging cadence, the pictures are out of date. That’s when I usually fall back on a bulk picture post, but even on my own blog, with as much as I love my gardens, that approach seems lazy. Besides which, with the blog approaching 10 years, garden pics aren’t difficult to find here in the archives. So instead, I’ll just point out the unusual, rather than the usual.

The candidate for this post is a rather peculiar tomato mutation:

I find it to be hilariously vulgar, but you extrapolate your own Rorschach interpretation.

Nature can be freaky.

–Simon