Friday 31 July 2015

July weather

Final table for July: 71mm (2.8")
This is worrisome. Usually, July brings lovely thunderstorms and rains. We need a full day of gentle rains in most parts of this continent. This July we totaled about 71mm, whereas last month we had 156mm, and July 2014 gave us 186mm. These rolling storms, flash through and dump rain, but it rolls off. The tornadoes out west have been striking, too.
For monthly data visit here.

July 31




July 28

Smiths Falls - Perth - Eastern Lanark County: high heat!

Issued at 06:03 Tuesday 28 July 2015
A hot airmass will continue to dominate Southern Ontario today through Wednesday. Daytime highs in the low thirties are expected with warm overnight minimum temperatures near 20 degrees for the regions with heat warnings. For the regions without heat warnings in southern Ontario, their daytime highs are also expected to be in the low thirties, but the overnight low temperatures are forecast to stay a couple of degrees shy of the heat warning threshold.

July 27

Thunderboomers and huge clouds, with dumps of rain. We only had 0.02".

July 26

A lovely dump of rain last night! A few thunderboomers, but not much. There was 28mm of rainfall.  Hooray.

July 21

July 19



July 17

The a.m. brought temps of 10 C., which was a refreshing temperature! Great for dock building.
With both Bluesfest in downtown Ottawa, and the music festival in Perth, there is some disappointment with the dump of rain. We need the rain. Not just all at once!

July 14

July 13

There were rain storms on the radar, but they broke up, I guess, by the time they crossed S.E. Ontario. I watered the parched garden.

July 7

This storm gave us 10mm

Wildfires still rage, and now they are in B.C., even people in Vancouver had some smoke blowing their way. We have much heat, not like this, though. Saskatchewan has had to evacuate thousands.
From Prince Albert Fire Department

July 5/6

The 2015 fire season got off to an unusually early start in Canada when blazes broke out in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Alberta in late May. As the season has progressed, the air in western Canada—as well as large swaths of the United States—grew gray and hazy with smoke.

July 1

NASA Earth

Our big dump of rain at Canada Day!


Fires on the Prairies
Earth Observatory

Frog pond studies 201

I've been thrilled to bits with my recycled dock. Lots of visitors. The macro photos have been fun.
fairy shrimp
The wood frog eggs have hatched, the tadpoles grown and transformed into frogs.

The bullfrogs were off in the shade, the sun just too hot for them. One was under the dock, in the shade. The cats were happy with it, though.

I took a chair down, and while the morning's peace and beauty is tainted by a kazillion mosquitoes, in the heat of the afternoon sitting under an overhanging branch in the shade, there are no bugs. I couldn't believe it! I haven't grabbed a photo of the chair, but it is there!

salamander larvae
There are a few bullfrog tadpoles in the pond.

What I thought was a pond puppy or water dog, was a salamander larvae. I learned this from Ontario reptiles and amphibians. (I was sort of disappointed!) Both have external gills.
 I'll have to do some more searching. I have neglected my macro lens for awhile.

The pond critters are amazing and varied.
water slaters or water-lice
cyclops, subclass copepoda
There are many blue-striped salamanders in our forest.

Turtle, tadpole, pond visitors


Painted pond turtle from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Daisy and I set a spell on the dock. I spotted a turtle, who spotted me!


POnd tadpole from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
It's mesmerizing. Just sitting, watching it's little tail wafting back and forth. You can the the pond water moving in the wind.

Pond friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Some video from the Trailcam, some from my dock time with Daisy!

Thursday 30 July 2015

Trip #44 for healthcare: consult with our GP and lunch

Our GP was very helpful, we are dealing with more information. Still weighing treatment options. Dr. Dan printed out the most recent test results for us. He's the same age as my eldest offspring. Bright, honest, open – he's the future of healthcare. He's quick to schedule us in, experienced and enthusiastic.

After our noon appointment, scheduled two days ago, we went to eat lunch beside the Tay River. Hubby said I could choose. It's a popular spot. Standard food across the chain. The service was good, we were at the tail end of lunch.  It is so peaceful just watching the people and the water go by. No hurry, just relax.

You can see cutlery in the water. It looks strange.
I saw perch, with their shiny bellies flipping around snatching food. Bass, too.

We won a free meal, and visited, eating indoors in Oct., 2010, when we first moved here. One must appreciate the old buildings in Perth. Our town turns 200 next year.

I didn't know the library had solar panels! We've lived here 5 years. sigh.

After this, we took a trip to see L. G. Lee and Sons new store in Almonte. The cats were home in the A/C, resting!