Tuesday Weather Sponsored by Wednesday

Our miserable weather began on Saturday, and finished (I hope) with an encore of freezing rain Tuesday afternoon / evening.  

Pam C. asked a couple of questions bird / weather related which I'll try answer here.

How do animals cope?

Deer can take shelter in more protected areas, and they do have heavier coats in the winter.

As they are prey, they tend not to bed down unless they feel safe, and generally they are chewing their cud, not sleeping when they do.

That said, this poor guy was frankly whole-body shivering.

I tossed out peanuts for calories and energy.

I noticed the gray squirrels were all holding their tails up tight against their backs - for additional warmth I'd guess.

Birds puff up.

Their downy feathers trap heat to help keep them warm.

They also eject tail feathers if those get stuck to frozen branches and the like.

The middle bird is a perfect example. This is considered a "Fright Molt" and as such, the feathers will grow back quickly and wait for a full molt.

And yes freezing rain is so, so, so dangerous, but also pretty.

January 14th

January 16th  - limbs sagging under the weight of additional freezing rain. 

This photo was taken on January 14th.

Here's the same tree on the afternoon of the 16th after a second episode of freezing rain. The branches are all bent and bowed down. 

I stood outside under the eaves for a bit, and the pops and snaps of limbs breaking was hard to hear. Several roads have been closed due to downed trees.  As we have power and are safe, I will wait until temperatures have warmed up Wednesday afternoon to assess our little part of the world. 

And Pam C.'s last question: How do you pronounce Willamette?

The most common mispronunciation is : Willa - METTE

The correct area pronunciation is: Will - LAMB - ette !