Trees bare of leaves against a sunset sky.
Tonight’s stark, cold, and early sunset let us know that November has arrived. Winter seems not long away.
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Rolling, dark clouds overhead – rapidly-changing spits of cloud to the east make an ominous scene.
We crossed the state of Ohio twice today, visiting family. It was today that a cold weather front collided with the northeastern-most edge of Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane is a large storm which, during the day, has taken the form of an open pinwheel. Clouds over the region were oriented north and south and took on strange, drawn-out shapes and dark colors as they rapidly evolved overhead. I felt compelled to step outside, at one point, to capture some images of the sky-show! As we headed westbound on the Ohio Turnpike this morning, across the median we saw scores of electrical utility and tree service trucks eastbound; they were, no doubt, headed to the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. to assist with power outages and downed trees.
A corn field sits beneath a dramatic October sky.
The winds grew stronger as the day wore on: cold and dry in Northwestern Ohio, cold and wet in the Northeastern parts of the state. Heading back this evening, most of our journey was inside the storm — not a hurricane for us, but a tense and unpleasant trip nonetheless. The next few days promise to be cold, dark, and wet around here as we deal with the outskirts of a big storm heralded by today’s dramatic October sky.
Far from Sandy, a distant hurricane shapes the skies of Northwestern Ohio.
There goes the sun.
Sunrise before the storm: We’re expecting a cold, wet, windy next few days. This morning’s sunrise illustrated the point as Sol’s golden rays were engulfed by arriving clouds.
Looking West: Storm clouds move in.
The door is unlocked: padlock missing, hasp open. Nobody enters. There is no reason to go there. Spiders stretch thick webs. There are likely other creatures inside that space, most wanting to hide. Paint peels, revealing the colorful past, before falling away and exposing aging bare wood. The door is unlocked but is no entry.
A view looking across a farmer’s field outside of Garrettsville, Ohio.
We traveled to Garrettsville, Ohio just to get out and decompress a bit. Whereas yesterday was overcast and gray (though beautiful in its own way), today sun-spotted autumn landscape views were all around. The breeze was brisk and colored leaves rained from the trees. Autumn was well-along. It was that kind of a day.
Sunrise over the antenna farm.
Thursday’s sunrise, ushering in a rainy morning, was spectacular! Low-angle, warm sunlight illuminated bands of clouds high overhead — the bands and swirls actually reminded me of the cloud bands of planet Jupiter, though ours were a different color. I had high-tailed it to the closest vantage point where my camera could get a halfway decent view. In the few minutes as I watched, the sunrise colors changed from hot pink, through red-orange, to a faded yellow. This is what I got: Before the storm – sunrise over the antenna farm.
Skittish Great Blue Heron as seen from the reservoir wall.
During my visit to the places of my childhood earlier this month, I stopped by Delta (Ohio) Reservoir. Well, actually, now there are a couple of them… maybe even three but I don’t know the full history. There was a small pond that had pretty much gone back to nature when I was a kid; a great place for spotting turtles and trying to catch frogs. That pond may have been the village’s first reservoir. Then there was the big, deep-water reservoir where the town’s water came from. Today there is a third, much larger, reservoir immediately adjacent to the “middle” one and that middle one now is looking a bit more like a wildlife refuge than water storage area. During my visit I was pleased to see a couple of Great Blue Herons fishing the edges of the reservoir. Maybe because the surroundings were more open or perhaps these birds just aren’t used to people, whatever the reason they were skittish. I could not get nearly so close to these herons as I often could back home. Still, I caught one stalking the reeds along the eastern rim and got a few shots of a couple flights — all at a distance.
Double-Crested Cormorant landing on Delta Reservoir.
It was grey, windy, and chilly so I was getting ready to continue my car trip when I saw a jet-black silhouette — a pretty good-sized bird was swooping in. What the…. ? As it landed in the cold waters and its body sank mostly beneath the surface I realized it was a cormorant! Now I enjoy watching birds but I don’t call myself a birdwatcher. I thought the sight was pretty rare and for me, it is, though not in the greater scheme of things. Some time ago, water pollution and loss of habitat brought the skilled underwater fisher-birds dangerously low in population. Reportedly in the ’60s, the cormorants had nearly disappeared from Lake Erie (both Lake Erie and Lake Michigan are not distant from my Northwestern Ohio origins). With environmental improvements and protection, however, the cormorants succeeded in their recovery so well they are apparently now something of a nuisance! The black bird’s great numbers are blamed by some for depleted fisheries and damage to forests.
Tight crop of the already-cropped photo seen above showing a Double-Crested Cormorant landing.
That day, however, there were only two on the small lake from which Delta draws its water. Though I was ill-prepared to photograph yet another shy bird keeping its distance so well, I gave it a try. These are my first shots of a Double-Crested Cormorant, heavily-cropped to make up for the measly 200mm telephoto lens I’d packed. I like ’em anyway.
Tranquil Autumn Morning
I love the depth of color a cloudy autumn morning can display. Out and about early, I stopped at a spot in the Cleveland Metroparks System to enjoy the view and capture this image.
At the Strongsville, Ohio Wildlife Area.
Out early, I packed up the camera and big lens and headed for the Strongsville Wildlife area. Because of the changing seasons, I thought this morning might be my last opportunity this year to capture images of the Great Egret and autumn colors. Arriving at the pond I was dismayed to see no wading birds and, in fact, no birds at all … at first. Whether it was my presence or just time to start moving, the Mallard ducks set out from their nighttime moorings, at first two or three, then the entire fleet. Their passage through colorful reflective waters made up for the missing egret.
Sometimes, when you’re out driving, you simply must stop and stare. This scene is in rural Medina County, Ohio.
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