Saved by the Cold

So far, Central Missouri has been spared the worse of this latest winter storm. Ironically, this is because we were covered by more cold air than areas to our south and east. As a result, we have received an inch or two of sleet but have had very little freezing rain.

As the warm, moist air from the Gulf over-rides the dense, cold Arctic air, precipitation is triggered in the higher layers. If the lower, cold layer is thick enough, this rain freezes before hitting the ground, producing a sleet storm; sleet can make travel difficult but, since it bounces off trees and wires, it does not cause significant damage or power outages. On the other hand, if the cold zone is relatively thin, the rain does not freeze until it strikes the trees, wires, ground and roadways. Such freezing rain can be disastrous, bringing down tree limbs and power lines as the ice builds up on these structures. Sleet never looked so good!

Ice Storm

Arctic air is plunging southward through the Plains and the leading edge of this cold front will stretch from central Oklahoma to western Illinois by late this afternoon. Low pressure is expected to move eastward along this borderline, pumping warm, moist air over the frigid, surface air, the perfect set up for an ice storm.

Severe icing conditions are forecast for northeastern Oklahoma, much of southern and central Missouri and west-central Illinois. Widespread power outages are expected and travel may grind to a halt. Just another reminder that our mild winter can disappear at the drop of a jet stream!

Spectacle on the Plains

Driving back from Denver, a heavy snowpack still covered eastern Colorado, western Kansas and, I assume, western Nebraska. About 10 miles west of WaKeeney, the snow began to thin out and huge flocks of longspurs, horned larks, meadowlarks and other grassland birds began to appear along the highway. Attracted by these unusual concentrations of songbirds, kestrels, falcons and harriers were common, often knifing through the flocks like sharks through schools of fish. Beyond WaKeeney, the spectacle was over.

Clearly, the heavy snows had forced these birds from their usual wintering grounds and they had settled along the edge of the snowfield, where they first encountered adequate supplies of food. As the snow retreats, these grassland species will disperse throughout their usual range and their predators will have to work for a living again.

Blood on the Snow

During my brief visit to our Colorado farm, I was surprised not to see either of the two fox that usually den beneath our barn. I assumed that the heavy snow may had either encouraged them to den up for a few days or sent them down to the river where plenty of prey could be found. These assumptions were dashed yesterday morning when I looked out the front window and saw a large patch of blood on the snow. Feathers, numerous paw prints and the mangled carcass of a Canada goose completed the story.

Such a gruesome scene is unlikely to be shown on the popular nature programs. "Civilized humans" prefer to get their violence and gore via action movies; they generally want their nature shows to be sanitized, concentrating on the beauty and grandeur of the natural world. While viewers know that predators must hunt and kill to survive, producers usually "protect their sensitivities" by cutting away from the final events. But the beauty of nature lies in its diversity, its cycles and its interrelationships, violent death included.

Looking at the Past

Cold, clear winter nights usually provide the best conditions for star gazing and last night was no exception. At 9 PM, Orion, perhaps the most well-known winter constellation, was high in the southern sky and Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, shimmered to its southeast.

Orion, which resembled a hunter to ancient civilizations, is easily recognized as a prominant rectangle (shoulders and feet), bisected by a three-star belt; a less-obvious sword hangs below the belt. The left (east) shoulder is Betelgeuse, a red super giant that is 900 times the diameter of our sun. Orion's right (west) foot is Rigel, a blue-white super giant that is the 7th brightest star in the sky. If you look closely, you will see a fuzzy area near the midpoint of Orion's sword; this is the Orion nebula, a star nursery. Of course, the association of these stars is purely a human interpretation; the component stars vary dramatically in their distance from the earth and the four corners of Orion are further from each other than they are from us.

When we look at the night sky we are looking back in time. Sirius is 8.7 light years from earth; in other words, light, traveling at 186,000 miles per second, takes 8.7 years to travel from Sirius to earth and we see that star as it existed 8.7 years ago. Betelgeuse is 427 light years away and Rigel is 773 light years away; we see them as they existed in 1580 AD and 1234 AD, respectively. The Orion nebula is 1500 light years away; the light that we see left the nebula when Polynesians were first colonizing Hawaii!

Love in the Trees

The fox squirrels are chasing each other through our Siberian elms today, demonstrating their impressive acrobatic skills. But their friskiness is more than a celebration of this warm, sunny day; January is mating season for our native tree squirrels and the males become very active, pursuing females and chasing away their competition.

The young are born in February or early March but will remain in the tree cavity or leaf nest for a few weeks. By late April they will be ready to fend for themselves and the adult female may have a second litter in early summer. As we all know, they will spend the rest of the year lounging in trees, feeding on buds, digging up bulbs, hording acorns, gnawing on walnuts, raiding bird feeders and driving the pet dogs crazy.

Chinooks

The Colorado Front Range, from Wyoming to Colorado Springs, is under a high wind warning tonight. A new Pacific storm is pushing in from the northwest, forcing winds over the Continental Divide. The high passes are expecting wind speeds near 100 miles per hour and we should receive gusts as high as 50 in Denver. Snow will fall west of the Divide but the Metro area will be spared this round.

As this air descends along the east slope, it compresses and warms. Such Chinook winds, known as "snow eaters," bring a respite from the winter chill and usually melt more snow than the low January sun. Lows tonight will remain near freezing, 15 degrees warmer than last night, and highs tomorrow should reach the upper 40s. Maybe the driveway will open up.

Driving Back to Winter

Another March-like morning enveloped mid Missouri as I left Columbia and headed for our farm in Metro Denver. A waning moon was high in the western sky and puffy clouds drifted northward on a balmy south breeze. By the time I reached Kansas, the moon had set and the air had lost its humidity. Nevertheless, bright sunshine softened the bite of the northwest wind and temperatures hovered in the low forties.

The Flint Hills had their usual, dry winter appearance but, nearing Abilene, meltwater puddles lined the highway. The first patches of snow showed up just east of Salina, where the valley fields had become shallow wetlands. Flashing signs, perhaps sponsored by the Salina hotels, warned of winter conditions ahead and a convoy of Power Company trucks headed west along the Interstate. Indeed, the snow became more widespread as I entered central Kansas and, beyond WaKeeney, the bare areas disappeared. Dunes of snow lined the highway in western Kansas and the snowpack peaked on the plains of eastern Colorado. But the sunshine persisted and I-70 remained clear and dry, all the way to Denver.

Eleven hours after my departure, I reached our Littleton farm, 5000 feet higher and 20 degrees colder than Columbia. Though my travels had been uneventful, two feet of snow clogged our long driveway; I had to park down the road and hike up to the house. Winter was back with a vengeance.

Then and Now

Novice geologists often confuse the age of landforms with the age of the rocks that comprise them. For example, Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, is carved out of Mississippian limestone, deposited in shallow seas some 320 million years ago; however, most of the cave formed over the past 2 million years, eroded by the wet climate of the Pleistocene. In like manner, the Entrada Sandstone, which forms the arches in Arches National Park, was deposited during the Jurassic Period, about 150 million years ago; however, the arches have been molded by wind and water since the onset of Miocene Uplift, which began 20 million years ago.

Towers of limestone, deposited in a Cretaceous Sea, now grace the dry plains of Kansas and the summit of Mt. Everest, earth's highest point, is composed of marine sediments, pushed landward and upward as India collided with the Eurasian plate, 50 million years ago. So, as you gaze upon our modern landscapes, know that they are the product of geologic events and erosional forces, past and present.

Inland Gulfstream

Southerly winds, produced by a combination of high pressure off the Carolina coast and a low pressure trough over Texas, are sending a plume of rain up the Mississippi Valley. Laden with Gulf moisture, this warm flow will keep temperatures near 50 as far north as Chicago. Heavy rain is forecast for Louisiana and Arkansas, with lighter amounts further inland.

The next Pacific storm, now brewing in northern California, will sweep eastward over the next few days, nudging these spring-like conditions to the Atlantic coast and shutting off our balmy flow from the Gulf. Afterall, it is January.

Solitude Lost

We parents want what is best for our children and hope that they will share our values. Yet, each generation sees something in the next that disturbs them and, in my case, I worry that the've lost the desire for solitude.

In this era of cell phones, beepers, instant messaging and wireless internet, the emphasis is on staying connected. One seldom encounters a young adult or teen who is walking down the street without a cell phone pressed to their ear. Worse yet, the same behavior is seen on our trails and along our beaches; only a lost signal gives them the chance to enjoy their natural surroundings. Perhaps this will become the new definition of wilderness: an area inaccessible to cell phone signals.

The Ozarks

Driving south from Jefferson City, Missouri, one soon encounters the first ridge of the Ozarks. Extending across southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, northeastern Oklahoma and extreme southeastern Kansas, the Ozarks are an uplifted plateau of horizontal, Paleozoic sediments that have been dissected into a maze of ridges and valleys by tributaries of the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers. The Ozark Plateau rose in concert with the St. Francois Mountains of southeastern Missouri, some 300 million years ago; the latter have eroded from a core of ancient, Precambrian granite and represent the highest elevations in the State.

Since most of the Ozark Plateau is composed of soluble limestones and dolomites, caves, springs, sinkholes, natural bridges and other karst features are common throughout the region. Its many streams are popular for fishing, kayaking and rafting and the Plateau's oak-hickory-pine forests are home to gray fox, wild turkey and black bear.

Day Eleven

Rooted in the Roman and Gregorian calenders, the designation of January 1 as New Year's Day is a product of political and religious rangling over the years. More in tune with the forces of nature, the ancient Greeks accepted the winter solstice as the beginning of their new year.

Afterall, life on earth is dependent upon light and heat from the sun and the solstice is a rebirth of the solar cycle. Of course, for those in the southern Hemisphere, this event occurs at the time of our summer solstice (on or about June 21). So, while this is the first day of the human year, it is day eleven (or so) in the natural cycle of our Hemisphere.

Neandertals and Polar Bears

Neandertals and polar bears both appeared in the late Pleistocene. The latter evolved from terrestrial species, developing the white coat, streamlined body, dense body fat and specialized paws that fit their life in the Arctic. Neandertals, having split from the ancestral line of humans, moved into the periglacial zone of western Asia and Europe. Equipped with a hirsuit, stocky frame and powerful muscles, they, like the polar bear, were hunters. Though they lacked articulate speech, Neandertals did engage in rituals and were the first hominids to bury their dead.

Humans spread into the colder lands of the Neandertal about 40,000 years ago and, due to their greater intelligence and superior communication skills, soon displaced their more primitive cousins; Neandertals disappeared about 30,000 years ago. Today, man is threatening the survival of the polar bear as well. Though now protected from overhunting, the polar bear is endangered by global warming which, at least to some degree, is related to human activity. Arctic pack ice, so important to the bear's hunting style, has become reduced in extent and duration. Before long, the polar bear may go the way of the Neandertals.

In Praise of Chickadees

Parents seeking a role model for their kids need look no further than their own backyard. The diminuitive chickadee exemplifies many traits that we hope to see in our children.

Despite his small size, the chickadee is adventurous; hang a new feeder in the tree and he will likely be the first bird to visit. At the same time, he is polite. He doesn't hog the feeder like the jays, house sparrows and house finches do, chasing others from the perch. Rather, the chickadee sits on a nearby limb, flying in to grab a seed when he sees an opening and then darting off to enjoy the morsel. And, besides, he is a self-reliant creature, able to fend for himself during any season, not needing to flee the heat of summer or the bitter chill of winter.

Chickadees are cheerful birds, delivering their buzzy tune in rain, snow or sunshine. And they are sociable; moving about in small flocks, they are often joined by titmice, nuthatches and downy woodpeckers. It's a joy to have them in the neighborhood!

Mammal in the Shadows

A balmy evening had me out on the deck yesterday, waiting for the charcoal to ignite. I heard a rustling in the leaves along the stairway and caught a brief glimpse of a shrew. Primarily carnivorous, shrews hunt for worms and insects in the leaf litter and are seldom seen. They may be active day or night but are usually encountered at dusk. Their home is an underground cavity, lined with plant debris; it is here that the female raises her four litters each year.

The earliest mammals were thought to have been shrew-like creatures which appeared in the Triassic Period, some 200 million years ago. As the mega-continent of Pangea split, eutherians (placental mammals) dominated on the northern continents while marsupials spread across Gondwanaland (proto Africa-South America-Antarctica-Australia). Dinosaurs would rule the earth for the next 130 million years until a massive asteroid strike changed the climate, altered the flora, triggered a mass extinction and ushered in the era of birds and mammals.

Round Two

Just as Metro Denver and its international airport are finally recovering from last week's blizzard, another winter storm is bearing down on the Colorado Front Range. Now moving eastward across the Southwest, this Pacific storm will soon move onto the southern High Plains and pull in Gulf moisture from the southeast.

Denver's risk for heavy snow will depend upon the track of the storm. Since the city sits in a U-shaped bowl, with an opening to the northeast, upslope from that direction produces the most snow. Should the storm track further to the south, the upslope will come from the southeast and the Palmer Divide, a ridge of high ground between Denver and Colorado Springs, will get most of the precipitation. Weather in mountainous areas is all about wind direction.

Life on the Edge

The residents of Taiwan experienced several earthquakes over the past few days. This is a common occurance in that island nation which sits on the junction of the Philippine and Eurasian plates; the former is moving westward, colliding with and subducting beneath the latter. The island of Taiwan has formed just west of the subduction zone as ocean sediments are scraped off the plunging oceanic plate and as volcanoes form and erupt in response to melting of the deeper plate segments.

The process continues today as it does across the Pacific Rim. The Aleutians of Alaska, the islands off east Asia, the Philippines and the Indonesian Archipelago are all "island arcs," having formed parallel to an oceanic trench (a deep crease in the ocean floor formed by the subducting plate). Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are just part of life in these areas.

Colorful Nomads

A flock of cedar waxwings stopped by our yard yesterday afternoon, alighting in the top of a black maple. Within a few minutes the birds were gone, off to find a berry patch. Such is the style of these attractive wanderers; though fairly common and often seen in sizable flocks, waxwings are fidgety and erratic visitors, constantly moving from one feeding area to another.
While they consume berries throughout the year, cedar waxwings often flycatch from shade trees during the warmer months and seem to have a fondness for the petals of tuliptrees.

Their cousins, Bohemian waxwings, are rare winter visitors in Missouri. These birds are heavier, grayer in color and, in my experience, less skittish.

Christmas and Copernicus

Today, Christians across the globe are celebrating the birth of Jesus, a man born 2000 years ago and whom, they believe, was sent by God to redeem their souls. Fifteen hundred years later, Nikolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer and mathematician, advanced the theory that the sun was the center of our solar system. Of course, this theory also implied that man's home planet is not the center of the Universe, thereby diminishing the importance of our species. As one might expect, the Church was quick to condemn the ideas of Copernicus.

We now know that the earth is a smallish planet that orbits a medium-sized star on an outer arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Our home galaxy contains billions of stars and is one of billions of galaxies across the expanding sphere of our Universe. Whether you believe that man is God's pinnacle of creation or not, we certainly are no where near the center of the action.

December Dandelions

It's the day before Christmas and dandelions are popping up in Columbia. Native to Eurasia, this common wildflower prefers cool, damp soil and is thus most abundant in early spring. To the relief of lawn zealots, they tend to die back during the heat of summer but reappear during the waning days of September.

Our recent heavy snow saturated the soil and mild temperatures over the past few weeks have produced March-like conditions. Reacting to this early winter reprieve, the prolific dandelions are flowering; unfortunately, it's too cold for their pollinators and this reproductive effort will be in vain. The next hard freeze will kill off the new growth and, if the cold persists, the next crop will have to wait until spring.

The Skeleton Trees

American sycamores, the largest broadleaf trees in North America, are common across the eastern U.S., where they favor the rich, moist soil along streams and floodplains. Often reaching 100 feet in height, these trees have been known to live up to 600 years. Their thin outer bark peels in irregular patches, giving sycamores a whitish appearance and making them stand out in the bleak winter landscape.

The massive trunk of the sycamore, often up to 10 feet in diameter, tends to hollow out as the tree ages, attracting wild creatures that den in tree cavities; squirrels, raccoons, opossums, bats, chimney swifts and owls are among its common residents. Its ball-shaped seed pods, a food source for many songbirds, usually remain on the tree throughout the winter, awaiting the warm, moist soil of spring.