Deer

The backyard baby deer are growing up. 

 

Backyard Visitors

A deer family (mom and 2 baby deer) frequenting our backyard this summer. The young deer  frolicking, chasing each other and running around is a delight to watch. 

Here is a children's short story I wrote sometime ago.

How Two Mischievous Deer and a Fawn took over a backyard!

9 inches of snow

This is really crazy. Nashville got 9 inches of snow (normal is 1-2 inches). 

To add to the drama was that we were traveling back from India and the house was inaccessible as its on a steep hill. The innocent looking snow clad road is actually slick ice so any cars attempting to go up would just slide downhill. 

The short of it. Had to park at the bottom of the hill walk up the hill dragging our luggage with the help of our super nice neighbor Josh. 

But walking up not a pleasant experience and bitter cold. Why does the city not clear the side streets as well as the main roads. 

 

 

Severe Weather Nashville - Summer Edition

 Summer runs from Jun 21 to Sep 23. This is a running tab of the weather here. 

June is bringing hot temperatures and also lots sudden showers

Jun 29 - Excessive Heat warning all week with temp climbing to 101 on Thu

The entire southern US hit by a massive heatwave. 

I also read that across the world the nighttime temperature is increasing faster than the daytime temperature. Which means there is less chance to cool down before the day heat hits again.

Thu started off hot - headed into the heatwave and ended up with severe thunderstorm alerts instead. A heavy downpour in the afternoon.  

Jun 25 - severe storm risk

Sat Jun 3: Sweltering weekends. Today's High 93

Sun Jun 4: Possible Pop Up Storm

Summer Soltice

Sun's longest sojourn

Heat waves dance in the daylight

Melting ice cream dreams.

The summer solstice is an astronomical event that occurs annually around June 20th or 21st in the northern hemisphere and around December 21st or 22nd in the southern hemisphere. It marks the longest day and shortest night of the year.

Astronomically, the summer solstice happens when the Earth's axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun. This means that the North Pole is tilted directly towards the sun, resulting in the sun appearing at its highest position in the sky, and the rays of sunlight falling more directly on the northern hemisphere. Conversely, in the southern hemisphere, the South Pole is tilted away from the sun, leading to shorter days and longer nights.

During the summer solstice, the sun reaches its highest point in the sky at noon, and the length of daylight is at its maximum. This phenomenon occurs because the Earth's axis is tilted approximately 23.5 degrees relative to its orbit around the sun. As the Earth orbits the sun, this tilt causes the amount of sunlight received by each hemisphere to vary throughout the year, leading to the changing seasons.

Many western european cultures celebrate the summer solstice. Some examples. 

• Stonehenge, England:  People gather to witness the sunrise aligned with the ancient stone monument.
• Midsummer's Eve  in Scandinavia (countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Norway) is celebrated with bonfires, traditional dances around maypoles, and feasts. It is a significant holiday in these cultures, often associated with fertility, love, and the celebration of nature.
• Sankthans (St Johns Eve), Norway: is celebrated on June 23rd in Norway. People gather around bonfires, sing songs, and enjoy traditional food and drinks. It is a time for community bonding and merriment.
• Fête de la Musique (Music Day), France:  musicians of all genres perform in the streets, parks, and public spaces. It is a day of music appreciation and open-air concerts.

However, summer solstice festivities tend to be less common or less significant in regions closer to the equator (eg: parts of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia). This is because the equatorial regions experience relatively consistent day lengths and sunlight throughout the year, with only minor variations so the seasons are less pronounced. As a result, the solstices do not bring about significant changes in the length of the day or the angle of the sun, as they do in regions farther from the equator. 

There are however some festivals in these regions that somewhat align and happen around the time of summer solstice. 

• The Massai of East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania): A traditional  warrior dance called Adumu (jumping dance) is performed during special occasions, including the solstices, as a way to celebrate and mark important events in their calendar.
• The Kukuya of Central Africa (Congo): have a solstice ritual called the "Iboundji" ceremony where people gather around a sacred tree and engage in traditional dances and songs to honor the sun and its role in their lives.
• The Dayak of Borneo: The  "Gawai" festival is held around June 1st coincides with the rice planting season and the beginning of the rainy season, and includes various rituals and celebrations that pay homage to the sun, earth, and spirits for a bountiful harvest.
• The T'boli of the Philippines:  During the summer solstice, people perform ceremonies and rituals related to the T'nalak art form (traditional weaving of abaca fibers into intricate patterns), which is believed to have spiritual and cosmic significance. 

Severe Weather Nashville - Spring Edition

Nashville sure has a lot of severe weather alerts.
This is a running tab for Spring Mar 30- Jun 20

(see here for winter)

Four Deer

A nice sight to wake upto early morning. Four deer camped, sitting/napping, in backyard.

Early morning, I see four deer

Sitting there, without fear

So calm and serene

Tall lush trees, their screen

Lovely sight to behold

Moment of beauty, untold

Oh deer!

Early morning deer chilling in front yard. 

 

Owl sighting

On a tree branch, the owl sits tight,

Watching all with wide eyes bright!

saw an owl scoop down and then fly up to perch on a backyard tree yesterday

and more owl hoots today.

 

Chipper Ahoy

View from my bedroom window this morning

A woodpecker chipping away at a tree stump. 

The red tuft on his head bobbing up and down. 

Wood chips and sawdust scattered around. 

Perchance, a nest or insect snacks in stump cracks?

Chipper Ahoy!!

A neat oval hole in the tree stump. 

6' (depth) x 6" (long) x 4.5" (wide)

Chipper mate!

What further plans have you in mind?

Zippity zop, the woodpecker bops

With flibbertigibbet in his chops
feathers shimmer, beak goes knock-knock 

As he dances on a tick-tocking clock

 

Cool mornings, mild afternoons to start the week

That's the weather forecast for today!! 

Cool mornings, mild afternoons to start the week

Nashville April in action, so to speak. 

One day it's sunny, the next it pours, 

But hey, at least don't need jackets outdoors!

Wind Advisory, Thunderstorm and Tornado Watch

Wind Advisory and Tornado Watch. Tornado missed us but crazy thunderstorm at night, pounding rain and blinding flashes of lightning. 

Thunderstorm brewing, lightning striking 

Electric sky bolts, bit frightening 

Nature's fury, quite enlightening 

Powerful energy, never tiring

The weather is absurd

The weather is truly absurd,

Can't decide. That's the Word!

Snow flurries on Saturday

Spring equinox the next day. 

Two days later, summer hot 

80 F? seriously, what have we got?

Now its pouring rain again

The weather is going insane

Severe Weather Nashville - Winter Edition

Nashville sure has a lot of severe weather alerts. This is the running tab for Winter (Dec 21 - Mar 20). 

March Snowfall, a Climate Change Call

Snow flurries gently fall

Mercury dips to a 27F crawl.
Bits of fluff dance and sway
Cherry blossoms on a spring day
I watch from my window, in awe of this display.

Calendar March, the weather all wrong
Days should be bright and long
Unexpected snowfall, sign of larger exchange?

World upended by climate change

Eastern Rosebud

Eastern Rosebud

campus at start of spring

 

Atmospheric Rivers

 https://youtu.be/cdhEwAZP-gI

An explanation of the crazy weather pattern this winter in California

Hints of green

On brown trees, hints of green 

A herald of spring
Softly appears, shy and demure,
A promise of new life, fresh and pure

Haikus for the love of spring

  Its feb 14 and spring is upon us. I see flowers bloom on my neighbor's tree. 

In the midst of bloom, 

Petals entwine, a sweet embrace, 

Love's essence inhaled.

Woody Vine Dance

Woody Vine Dance

Gale tosses the woody vines of tall trees.

Strong wind and rustling leaves.

Nature roars, unrelenting crescendo 

Rustic music and Woody Vine dance.