May 31, at Brunet Island, Cornell

Polyphemous Moth, resting

Wings spread out!

In the sun finally!

Chipmunks, mother and baby next to nest hole.

All for now!

~ _=V=_ ~

May 2010

Hello everyone!
It's been a while since I posted,
so here's a couple shots
from the middle of May.
Enjoy!

Tamarack cones

Morel mushroom !!!

Flowering Hawthorne tree

Forget-me-nots

Baltimore Oriole, Male

Robin nest


Spring is here for but a while,
Then Summer doth appear.
With warm days and sunny skies,
Tell me now, what is there to fear?

> /+^^-=-^^+\ <

Happy Easter 2010

Happy Easter everyone!

Just wanted to share one of my all-time favorite
hymns here, made all the more vivid,
considering I just finished running the lights for a
"Passion" play this week.

Have you ever REALLY taken the time to think
about what Jesus really went through... for you?
Believe me, if you or I were the only sinner on the
face of the earth, He still would have been willing to
come down to earth, and die on that cross, taking the
penalty for what we deserve.
God loves each one of us SO much!
I've personally found it's really profound
to think about it all that way...

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Emanuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I though vile as he
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away,
Wash all my sins away.
And there may I though vile as he
Wash all my sins away.

Ever since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be til I die.
And shall be til I die,
And shall be til I die.
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be til I die.
~~<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>~~

The First Day of Spring

Well today is the official first day of Spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, regardless of what may be actually happening outside in your neck of the woods!
Here, it is clear and cool with just a light north wind and 42 degrees; I think I am a little spoiled after the week of 65 degrees last week!

Unfortunately, I haven't been taking many pictures lately- no excuse really, but I do nearly everything in spurts, and I just haven't been inspired or in the mood lately!
Here are a few I took a few days ago.
~Enjoy~

~March 12th, after the week of rain and fog that
melted ALL the 9 inches of snow cover~

~March 18th, Scotch Pine cone~

~March 18th view of the field from the vantage point
ofmy favorite sitting spot!~

(also considering using this photo as new page header)
*~<>.<>=<>.<>~*

Thanks for viewing!
~JW

Three Wooden Crosses (video)

New video up!!
Three Wooden Crosses #2
(Randy Travis cover)



Thanks for watching!!
<<>><<><>><<>>

2009 Chippewa Valley Climate Report

Well, I finally got around to sorting through my 2009 temperature and climate records to make my annual climate report. I have to admit that this is the latest I have ever come out with it, but oh well, at least it is still January (as I write this!!!) Enjoy!

* * ** * * ** * * * ** * * ** * *

2009 started out cold. In fact, to call it cold would probably be a major understatement! As the arctic air settled in and the winds blew, the mercury effortlessly plummeted in January of 2009. The climax of the cold spell occurred on January 14th and 15th with lows that smashed all my records. Personally, on the morning of January 16th, I recorded a low of -25.8, but nearby EauClaire recorded -26 with a windchill of -32. Just a bit north, in Rice Lake, the mercury fell even farther to -29 with a windchill of -35. On the previous morning, winchills had dropped to -56 in western Minnesota with -40 to -45 windchills at the Twin Cities. Locally, the air temperature that morning had been -23.6. With 17 subzero lows. January 2009 accepted the prestigious prize for the coldest month ever on my records, and the only month with a subzero average low! (-1.3) The coldest high of the year also occurred on January 15th with a temperature of -3.5.

February roared in with a little more class. A definite improvement over January, February set its sights on the elimination of all the snow. With 45 degrees, a light rain, and a 52 mph wind, in 2 days, the snow was mostly gone, and HUGE lakes of water remained where it had been. That was only a teaser of spring however, as more snow and subzero lows rolled in a week later.

March, although still a little cool, was fairly normal with temperatures for the month ranging from a minus 7 degree low on March 1st, to a 65 degree high on March 16th. Precipitation was minimal with only about an inch and a half of rain throughout the month. In North Dakota however, heavy rains and melting snow caused the notorius Red River to back up and flood to record heights. On March 28th at Fargo, the river crested some 22 feet above flood stage for a new record height of 40.8 feet!

April in the Chippewa Valley was not very impressive. Except for a 4 inch slushy snow during the first week, most of the precipitation was rain and all of it fell on the weekends, which helped some! There was one impressive record-breaking spike to 88 degrees on April 24th, but the average high for the month was only 59. The average low of 35 for the month was also the third coldest on my records for Aprils past.

May was fairly normal temperature-wise, but once again fell a little short on the precipitation end. The big spike for May came on the 20th of the month with 90 degrees and a 45 mph gale that blew dust and sand for miles across most of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The last spring frost for 2009 ocurred on May 16th and was a little late by my records.

For 2009, June was the most consistently warm month of the entire year. On my records, summer 2009 lasted from June 12th through June 27th, including the warmest spike of the entire year, 98.8 on June 23rd. By the 30th of the month however, the high was back down to 60. It may have been a warm month for the likes of 2009, but overall the lows were cold, second only to 2004 for the coldest June lows, though they managed to hold over 45 after June 5th.

Hands down, July 2009 was the coldest July on my records. I only recorded one daytime high over 90 degrees and it was the only July with an average low of less than 60! With monthly averages of 78.7 / 56.6, July 2009 was much more reminiscent of September than July. Also, by the end of July, we had a rainfall deficit for the year of around 8 inches, although with the cool conditions, the drought was less evident than in some years.

August arrived, and everyone hoped that the cold summer pattern would finally break. Unfortunately, the pattern continued and August too was below normal, although a little warmer than July had been. The average high for August was 80.2, and was only the 3^rd coldest on my records!! The average low however, at 57.8, was second only to August 2004 for the lack of heat. August was also quite wet, delivering last-minute and much-needed moisture to the parched fields. Nearly 6 inches of rain fell during the course of the month.

Once again, as is often the case with a year that has a cold summer, September was the make-up month. Attempting to appease those who hate cold summers, September delivered a healthy string of warm sunny days which lasted until September 28th! With an average high of 78.4, it was easily the second-warmest September on my records, second once again to 2004. Basically the same temperature as July had been, September's heat helped offset an otherwise cold growing season. Of course all good things eventually must come to an end. Low temperatures rudely crashed down to 32 degrees on September 29th, for an unanticipated but fairly normal first frost date.

October blew into the Chippewa Valley with a cold north wind, immediately shattering all hopes of a prolonged warm spell. With gray skies and rain, it felt more like November than October. Then, on October 12th, 2.5 inches of snow fell blanketing the recently frozen greenery. St. Paul MN received 4.2 inches, the earliest snowfall of greater than 2 inches since 1977! Our own 1938 earliest-significant-snowfall record was smashed on October 23rd with another 2.5 inches. True to the 2009 pattern, and with an average high of only 50.5, October ended as the coldest on my records.

After such a brutal October, everyone expected a fearsome November. Not to be outdone however, 2009 did an about-face and rolled warmer temperatures back into the region. No snow fell at all during November, and the average highs held just over 50 degrees. While 2001 gets to keep the prize for the warmest November, 2009 was definitely first runner-up!!

December rolled into the Chippewa Valley, and in true 2009 fashion, delivered the worst blizzard of the decade to the upper midwest. The final snowfall total on December 9^th was measured at 13.1 inches in Eau Claire. Some areas received even more, and I heard an unconfirmed rumor that 15 foot drifts were reported in Des Moines Iowa! (Don't take that as gospel truth, as I never confirmed it) The next major storm for December rolled in on Christmas Eve with an initial 3 inches of snow, then nearly 4 tenths of an inch of rain and freezing rain that lasted through Christmas Day. That was of course followed by another inch and a half of snow, "just to make it more slippery!!" Once again on the cold end of the scale, December finished 3^rd on the highs and 4^th on the lows with the coldest Decembers on my records.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2009 will definitely be remembered as the year of the cold summer. Overall, the entire year was warmer than 2008, but 2008 had the warmer summer of the two. Officially, despite all its cold records, 2009 finishes only second coldest on my records- to 2008 which remains the coldest year.

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

So now you ask, what about the new decade? What about 2010? Judging from my records and the past 2 cold years, I believe we are heading into an upswing in the Chippewa Valley in 2010. It won't be as impressive as 2006 perhaps, but I expect an overall recovery of about 3 degrees in 2010. February will be warmer than January. March might muddle around, but April should be warm. The summer should be reasonably normal and July will be hot. Expect a normal decline to Fall. Fall 2010 will be cool, but December should be mild.

2009 Records

Coldest January Highs and Lows

Coldest July Highs and Lows

Coldest October Highs

Fewest Lows Above 50: 113

Tie With 2004 for Fewest Lows Above 70: 2

2 Coldest Temperatures on my records: -23.6, -25.8

******* ******* ******* ******* *******

Overall Record Chart 2009

Warmest High 2006 July 31 +102.7

Coldest High 2007 February 4 -6.2

Warmest Low 1999 July 4 +80

Coldest Low 2009 January 15 -25.8

Warmest Year- Highs 2006

Warmest Year- Lows 1999

Coldest Year- Highs 2008

Coldest Year- Lows 2008

Warmest Overall Year 2006

Coldest Overall Year 2008

2008 Climate Report Available Here

~~~/\~~/\~~~
Thanks for reading!! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

January 2010, FROST!

Awesome frost this morning after a pea-soup fog
for most of the night.
It then stayed cloudy all day, so most of the frost
is still there 5pm this evening!

<<<>>>JW 2010<<<>>>

Decade in Review/ 2009

Welcome to the 7th and final post in the series Decade in Review! Feel free to browse through the previous posts as well, since unfortunately they are kinda backwards on here! At any rate, here is the post on 2009. These posts reflect my personal opinions on what was "decade-worthy", and everyone will have their own personal list I'm sure! Enjoy, and welcome to 2010!!

- 2009 -

On the 15^th of January, 2009, I recorded the coldest local temperature of the decade, at minus 25.8 degrees. In fact, January 2009 was the coldest entire month of the decade as well!

On the 21^st of January, 2009, another presidential inauguration took place in Washington D.C. Liberals cheered, and conservatives groaned as the newly elected president Barack Obama was sworn in.

In late February, a well known American icon, Paul Harvey died. For over 60 years, Americans had listened to his familiar voice on the radio, and always looked forward to his popular “The Rest of the Story” programming. Paul Harvey was one of the longest running radio personalities, and also a syndicated columnist. Americans loved his straight-forward and sometimes controversial approach to reporting the news, whether it was politically related or just an odd story, everyone was left begging for more. He passed away on February 28^th, 2009, at the ripe old age of 90.

After a very cold mid-winter, a very early thaw with heavy rains threatened to flood many river valleys across the plains and the Midwest. On March 28^th, 2009, the notorious Red River in Fargo, North Dakota crested 22 feet above flood stage, setting a new record hight at 40.8 feet. With many dedicated volunteers who poured in from many states and National Guard troops working round the clock, giant levees were hastily constructed to hold back the massive river in Fargo, North Dakota. Luckily, all but one of the dikes held, sparing large portions of the city from significant flooding.

Our field flooded, February 2009

On the 25^th of June, 2009, my mom's dog Dutchess died at the age of 12 years. She had been ailing for some time with a heart condition and several related illnesses, so we were prepared for the inevitable.

I should also note here of another death that occurred on the 25^th of June, 2009, and rattled the pop-culture world to its foundations. The death of the eccentrically strange but hugely popular pop star Michael Jackson at age 50 affected the entire world, and so deserves a mention in this Decade Review. Michael Jackson's death did not affect me, and I was glad that I didn't have to worry about what weird thing he would do next!

My mom had been looking at getting a replacement puppy, and we found a reputable breeder in Oshkosh that had puppies for sale. We made the drive down to Oshkosh on August 17^th, 2009, and brought back the newest addition to the Wiltrout clan! A little male, we named him Toby, though I have since expanded it to Tobias! He has been growing significantly over the last few months, from just over 3 pounds when we got him, to a good 17 now at the end of 2009!

Another thing worthy of note for 2009, and perhaps of decade significance- though I'm not sure, was our decision to cut down our ailing elm tree and all its friends that graced the center of our parking lot at Robert Wiltrout Nursery. The elm had contracted Dutch Elm Disease in late 2007, and managed to hang on through 2008, before succumbing in early 2009. As it was the nicest tree of the clump, we decided to cut them all down, and drastically increase our cramped parking area. Though the tree was about 2 feet thick, it was surprisingly only 50 years old as evidenced by the growth rings. The great cut occurred on November 5 after careful planning, and I recorded the entire episode which can be watched in time-lapse here.

The last major decade-worthy event, as of the writing of this article on December 29, 2009, was the major Midwest Blizzard of December 8 &9, 2009. Locally, the snowstorm dropped 13.1 inches at Eau Claire, with countless towns reporting at least a foot of snow. Here in Chippewa Falls, it was the largest snowstorm of the decade. The storm snarled traffic and produced blizzard conditions from the Central Plains states all the way across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan before exiting into Canada. Further south, the storm ceremoniously dumped many inches of rain. While that storm was our “snowstorm of the decade”, the snowstorm of the decade for the East Coast came ten days later. On the 17^th and 18^th of December, a huge snowstorm raced up the East Coast, dumping snowfalls of close to 2 feet from North Carolina north to D.C. and New York City. Ironically, this was the same time as the “climate summit” at Copenhagen, Denmark, to decide how to fix global “warming”. The president flew back from Denmark into the worst snowstorm of the decade!! One more major snowstorm plowed into the Midwest on Christmas Eve, and dumped close to a foot of snow across the Plains. Here in Wisconsin, we were largely spared major snow accumulations from that storm, as the snow turned to rain instead. With that, the “December to Remember” as termed by senior meteorologist Joe Bastardi came to a close.

With a very snowy December, 2009 ended with a flourish the eventful decade of the 2000's, and the first decade of the 21^st century. As we look ahead to 2010, it's a new year and a new decade. Have we learned from the mistakes of the past decade? Will this decade be better than the last one? Since history can not be rewritten, how can we expect the next decade to be better if we do not learn from the mistakes of the previous one? May we learn from our mistakes in the last decade and do better! God Bless, and here's to a prosperous decade of the “2010's”!

=/(^-^)\=

...>..>.<..<...

Decade in Review/ 2008

This is the sixth of a series of posts titled "Decade in Review". Each post will be dedicated to one year or at most two, so no one will get bored reading the entire long document! This is a review on 2008. Thanks for reading!!
---------

- 2008 -

2008 was the year of the tornado. The first tornado outbreak of the year occurred on January 7^th, spinning twisters recklessly across Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. A few were even reported as far north as Kenosha and Walworth counties in Wisconsin. That was the first, but definitely not the last major tornado outbreak across the nation’s midsection during the late winter months. By far, the most widespread outbreak of twisters for the entire decade occurred on the day of the “Super Tuesday” election primaries, February 5^th, across mainly Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee, leaving 59 dead, 31 in Tennessee alone.

Locally in February, the Heyde Center for the Arts booked a well known and internationally touring folk group. Known for their close harmonies and light rhythms, The Wailin' Jennys was to date one of the best shows I have ever worked on at the Heyde Center! That is one of the best parts of working there, being able to meet many diverse people, and discovering that no matter how big a “star” they may be, they are all still normal people. With that said, I technically should have no problem meeting anyone!

On a sad note for 2008, my grandpa who had been ill for only about 8 months passed away on the 12^th of April, 4 days after his 82^nd birthday. Quoting Alan Jackson, “old ones died, new were born”! Only 5 days after Grandpa's funeral, my brother and his wife had a new baby! Little Samuel was much less premature than his twin brothers had been, and was allowed to go home with his parents after about a week.

A quick note from the middle of June, 2008, which I deem decade-worthy, would be the unprecedentedly heavy rains that fell across most of the upper Midwest, particularly across Iowa, southern Minnesota, and southern Wisconsin. We will all remember Cedar Rapids, Iowa which was severely inundated by the Iowa River. Also, in the town of Lake Delton, Wisconsin, a dike washed out, causing Lake Delton to go dry and collapsed several lake-front homes nearby.

I am telling you, 2008 was the year of the tornado!! On the 20^th of July, I managed to catch sight of a funnel cloud developing over the neighbor's house!! I quickly grabbed a camera to document its development, and although it did not touch down, it was still an impressive sight to see!

Once again, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels came to town for an airshow at the Eau Claire Regional Airport. My sister and I attempted to attend the event, which was occurring on the 13^th of September. Unfortunately, the organizers of the airshow failed to take into account the rainy nature of Septembers in Wisconsin! NO airplanes got off the ground on the 13^th of September as the low clouds and persistent rain continued to soak the expectant crowds! It is apparently the only time the airshow has ever been canceled due to rain. Luckily for some, the show was also scheduled to run the following day, but as we were going out of town, I peddled off our tickets to a friend who was glad to get them!! That day's show turned out to the best attended airshow EVER at Eau Claire! Over 60,000 people turned out, prompting the organizers to schedule a return for the airshow in 2010.

Throughout the summer of 2008, the national economy was slowly faltering, although most people did not feel it. The housing bubble which had developed due to loose credit policies under President Clinton, had burst a year or two earlier, and it was only a matter of time before foreclosures became commonplace. On the 18^th of September, 2008, things rapidly went from bad to worse as banks began to fail and panic set in. Unfortunately, the government decided the way to save the economy was to bail it out, and proceeded to do just that, hoping to reinstate public confidence in an already crumbled economy. Over the next 2 months however things gradually stabilized, and attentions turned ever increasingly to the historic presidential elections at hand.

Running for the highest office of the land, were two teams of people, either of which would make history if elected. The Republicans had put forth a moderate as their candidate, caving to extremely low public opinion of conservative President Bush. Republican nominee John McCain made history by nominating as his running mate a relatively unknown conservative female governor from the most backwoods state in the union, Alaska. Sarah Palin proved to be an extremely polarizing figure, which I believe is the main reason John picked her. Despite initial incredulity, disbelief, and anger on the part of the Republican base at McCain's pick, Sarah Palin soon began to draw her own following of supporters and helped boost McCain's slumping poll numbers.

On the Democratic side of the coin, a very heated contest had been shaping up in the primaries from coast to coast between the former first lady, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and the fresh-faced vitality of the eloquent first-term senator from Illinois, Barack Obama. Obama promised “hope” and “change”, but did not elaborate on exactly what this “change” might entail. The crowds didn't care, and many predicted he would be another John F. Kennedy. Hillary Clinton conceded the primary victory to Barack Obama without a fight at the national convention in Denver in late summer. Obama, sensing his inexperience might hurt him in the election, chose veteran senator Joe Biden as his running mate. This choice was widely praised by many.

Election Day, November 4^th, 2008.

Americans were generally dissatisfied with the recent conduct of the previous administration under President Bush. Bush had been making various hard-headedly dumb decisions over the past couple of years, and voters were looking for a change. Despite warnings about what Mr. Obama's “change” might entail, and facing overwhelming voter backlash against the unpopular Bush administration, the Republicans heavily lost the elections as predicted, in local, state, and national levels, and Senator Barack Obama made history as the first black president of the United States of America. I think Abraham Lincoln would have been proud, unless he would have known what sort of leader Mr. Obama would be. Nevertheless, the Democratic party had come to power, and Americans sat back and waited to see if they would keep their many promises.

"The sun sets on the United States of America"

Sunset, November 4th, 2008.

One last item of note for 2008, on November 5^th, 2008, I joined the social networking site Facebook! At last, I could connect with friends faster than by standard email!

Stay tuned for the final post of the decade, 2009 on New Year's Day.

><<<>>>((<To Be Continued>))<<<>>><