Halloween 2012

I used to love to go out on Halloween. I would usually go with one other person and trick or treat for a couple of hours. We could come home and see what we had been given.

Here are some Halloween pictures. They are all from Wikipedia Commons.

Happy Halloween  by, Cindy

By, Rene Cunningham

By, Colin Smith

By jkb

This last picture is by D’Arcy Norman from Calgary, Canada.

 

Tuesday, October 30, 2012, Update Hurricane Sandy

There has been a lot of damage from Hurricane Sandy, mainly in New York City. The flooding was severe in the lower part of Manhattan County.
In Breezy Point in Queens County, fifty houses burned down.

I did take a short walk around here. It was chilly and a bit windy. There has been some damage, but we are fortunate that there wasn’t more. I had my camera, but didn’t take any pictures. Most everything was closed down.
Just two pictures today.
First the map of the states.

This is a picture of Sandy after she headed west onto land.

 

Monday, 10/29/12, Update, Hurricane Sandy

Early this morning, there was light rain and not too high gusts of winds. The heat went on during the night and so it’s not that warm outside.
Sandy is supposed to make landfall this afternoon and it is supposed to be in south New Jersey.
There is a high pressure system to the east of Sandy in the Atlantic Ocean. There is a low pressure west of the east cost of the US. From what I understand, these two pressure systems push Sandy inland instead of going out to sea. It is unusual for a hurricane to do this. The other bad thing is that the storm will not rush by and then go out to sea. She will hang around for a bit.
The worst of the storm is forecasted to arrive this afternoon and this evening. This is for the New Jersey, New Your and Connecticut area.

The US map of the states by the Environmental Protection Agency. I drew the red circle of area that Sandy is giving trouble.

I have two maps from NOAA. The first shows the cone of influence of Sandy. The second shows where Sandy was at about 8 this morning. These are both from today.

There is another concern. There is a cold air mass coming down and it is supposed to  be in West Virginia. It will possibly bring heavy snow. I am not sure where else this cold air will be, but I did find a NOAA map of this weather situation.

Map of the states by EPA with my red circle around West Virginia.

This last picture is the NOAA map. The pink area is where they expect snow.

 

 

Update, Hurricane Sandy

I had to run errands and made myself do them. It was a bit windy, but not cold. It is cloudy, but no rain yet.
The conversations were all about the storm. It seems to be coming in more quickly than previously thought.
People are out and about. I heard that supermarkets are running out of the usual storm stuff.
Yard have been cleared of branches and porches cleared of things that could fly in high winds.
New York City has closed the public schools and the New York subway system will close down at 7 this evening.
On the east coast of the US, we are taking no chances with this storm. The warnings are for a very bad storm. If I don’t post, it is because I am playing Little House on The Prairie.

This is a picture of the hurricane taken last night, October 28, 2012, by NASA.

A picture from NOAA.

A picture showing where they expect Sandy to make landfall, by NOAA.

A last picture from Cassini, which is having a long look at Saturn. There is a storm there as well. By, NASA.

Hurricane Sandy

Here on the east coast of the US, we are tracking Hurricane Sandy with close attention. It is supposed to come ashore early this week.
I can’t say how strong the storm will be or when it will arrive as it is too soon to be sure.
People have been buying supplies since yesterday and want to be prepared. The power can go out from a day to a week and then it is too late to buy needed things because they are sold out.
People with wells buy gallon jugs of water. They fill the bathtub with water.
NASA and NOAA have been doing incredible tracking and giving the public information about Sandy.

The map.Map of the states by EPA. I drew a circle around the eastern states that are expecting the storm.

The pictures are by NASA.

October 22, 2012

October 23, 2012

October 24, 2012

October 26, 2012

The last picture if from today.

 

Fir Trees

I was thinking bout this is the time when they start cutting trees for Christmas. I don’t know exactly when, but the tree farms have to get a head start. They have to cut, bail and transport the trees.
Fir trees are evergreens.

All the pictures are from Wikipedia Commons.

Fir Trees in an arboretum  by, Natubico

North Carolina Christmas Tree Farm  by, Soil Science, Raleigh, NC

Young Fir Trees  by, Walter Baxter

Fir Trees in a gorse patch. They grew from seeds. Outside of the gorse patch, there is only grass and no trees growing. By, Graham Cole

By, Sebastian Ballard

By, Humphrey Bolton

The last picture is by, Brian Stansberry.

We’re In Nebraska, On The Oregon Trail

I had a time finding out about the trail through Nebraska. There was no trouble finding out about the western part of the trail, close to Wyoming. It was the rest of the trail, from the border of Kansas to the west side of Nebraska that had information quite thin on the ground.
The Oregon Trail was 424 miles long through Nebraska. At the time, Nebraska was a territory. The borders were a bit different.
I do have more maps than usual to try to show where the travelers were on the trail.

The first two maps.

Oregon Trail Map  by, National Park Service

NASA topographical map with the Oregon Trail drawn by Matthew Trump.

I will use WC for the pictures from Wikipedia Commons.

When the travelers entered Nebraska, it would have been hard to tell that they were in a different place than Kansas.
They were becoming accustomed to the trail at this point.
Families had a sense of what other families they should avoid and those that they were starting to develop friendships with over time.
The travelers were used to the sounds around them. The cows at the rear of the wagons, the creaking of the wagons and the rolling wagon wheels. There were sounds of voices drifting in the air. The oxen with their harnesses were background noise. Birds singing were sometimes in competition with the complaints of the hens in the coops inside of the wagons.
It could get hot in the last couple of weeks in May. This would tire them out by the time they stopped at noon. The hot afternoons with the bright sun shining down must have been difficult. They would stop at five in the afternoon. This was the end of the day, before all the shores. The day began at four in the morning and they started moving at seven in the morning.
The sun would rise at about six in the morning and set before nine in the evening. It was a long day.

There were rivers to cross. Here is a river map by, Kmusser, WC.

I put a little red arrow to show the Little Blue River. They crossed this and not Big Blue River. They’d be heading for the Platter River after they crossed Little Blue. Above Kansas in yellow, is Nebraska.

This is Little Blue River in Nebraska  by, Ammodramus, WC.

Next is a river map showing the Platte River in Nebraska.

By Shannon, WC

By, Babymetizo, WC

The next picture gives an idea of the flat land that they were traveling on in parts of Nebraska.

By, National Park Service

This is a map of the prairie in the US  by, the Forest Service, US Department of Agriculture. I drew a red circle around Nebraska.

This next picture is of a prairie that shows what they saw for as far as the eye could see in all directions when in those areas.

By Wing Chi Poon, WC

Another prairie picture with a few trees.

This is west of Kearney, Nebraska  by, Decumarcus, English Wikipedia.

It may seem that crossing prairie land was boring. It may have been, except for the sudden storms that would seem to come up out of nowhere.
One thing that was frightening were thunderstorms with Lightning.

By, Lyoha123, WC

The other major weather event that was also frightening were tornadoes.

By, US Department of Agriculture This was taken near Scotts Bluff, Nebraska.

They had to cross the North Platte River. Here are two pictures of it. The second is during a dry spell.

By, Greg Younger from Fort Collins, USA, WC

North Platte River, May 2002  by, US Geological Service

Some pictures of wagon ruts that are still visible in the prairie and other places in Nebraska.

By, National Park Service. The ruts are in the background.

By, National Park Service

Wagon ruts from the California Trail as well as the Oregon Trail. It didn’t say which was which.  By, National Park Service.

This map is called the California Trail. It shows the Oregon Trail and the landmarks that have become well known. It is by, National Park Service.

In Nebraska, Ash Hollow was well known.

By, Chris Light, English Wikipedia

This map by the National Park Service is of the Scotts Bluff Monument. It shows the Oregon Trail, which is the dotted line.

This is a picture of Chimney Rock  by, Mike Tgas from Columbia, MO, US, WC.

The rest of the pictures are of Scotts Bluff.

Covered Wagon at Scotts Bluff  by, Podruznik, WC

Reenactment  by, National Park Service

Saddle Rock  by, National Park Service

Dome Rock  by, National Park Service

The Oregon Trail with Dome Rock up ahead in the distance  by, National Park Service.

The last picture is taken from the top of Scotts Bluff  by, Cathy Cline, WC.

Ocelots, Also Called Painted Leopards

When I was in my teen years, I so very badly wanted an Ocelot. I had wanted a Cheetah before this, but knew that a Cheetah and I wouldn’t fit on my bed at night. The Cheetah would own the bed and whatever else it wanted. Not a house cat.
It was explained to me that an Ocelot wouldn’t like me bothering him. He would probably get offended at some point and there would an unpleasant discussion. The Ocelot would win. Not a house cat.
I didn’t find out much about Ocelots when I looked around for information. Ocelots are called Painted Leopards and the pictures show why. They primarily lice in South and Central America. They do well in zoos.

The map.

By, Chermundy, Wikipedia Commons

I am using WC for Wikipedia Commons for the pictures.

By, Anna Cotta, WC

By, Lady Rowena, WC

By, Greg Hume, WC

By, Mind Meal, English Wikipedia

By, ZoomViewer, WC

By, Danieo, WC

By, Tony Hisgett WC

By, Tom Smylie, US Fish and Wildlife Service

The last picture is by Ella Sanders, WC.

September, October, Fall Colors

I had taken a picture of Burning Bushes in September. I went out Sunday and took pictures of them again. If you see them in summer, you would not guess that they would turn so red in autumn.
I took pictures of other things on Sunday as well.

The pictures.

September

October 21, 2012

I took pictures of other Burning Buses on Sunday because they were lovely.

A couple of trees.

I had a rough time getting the picture of this tree. The sun was glaring and I was having a time. There’s an orange tree that I saw and couldn’t get a picture of. I’ll try at another time ans you can rest assured that I will show them to you.

The last two pictures are of Mums I saw on Sunday.

Cheetahs, Run Like The Wind

Cheetahs can run about 75 miles per hour at a short spurt. They can’t keep it up but you’d never catch them. And they don’t want you to. They don’t like you bothering them.
I read that Cheetahs live mainly in Africa, which I did know and also some places in the Mid East, which I didn’t know.
This is a map that shows how far Cheetahs roam in Africa. It is based on a map by Brion VIBBER from Wikipedia Commons. Before I forget, all the pictures are from Wikipedia Commons.

Here is another map that shows the Mid East as well as Africa. I am showing it to you because I like maps and it is a nice one. The caption reads, Versperiding jachtlupeard de Emglese of de Poolse maker.

Cheetahs are long and lean. They have large noses so they can get their breath to run. They can purr when they inhale, but they can’t roar. Some big cats can only purr when they exhale.

By, William Warby

By, Nicole Honig

Schuyler Shepherd

By, Damir Jelic

By, Emmanuel FAIVE

The last three pictures are by, Marlene Thyssen. The first is a kitten.