Pellice

Depends on the crop. Nothing will germinate now because of the sun angle, but fall and winter crops will continue to grow, though very slowly, throughout winter. We are now at hardiness zone 7 here in central NJ, but it changes quickly to 6b and 6a as one moves farther north. Here in NJ, spinach, upland cress, most lettuces, and crucifer greens will produce all winter, except in long temperature streaks in the teens and below, and can be harvested by taking outer leaves as they grow. In NY, similar but with reduced variety. And one crop, lambs quarters (goosefoot), a mild, sweet green, will grow much further north in much colder weather. And a determined gardener can make things happen almost anywhere, with a lengthy sun exposure, heat retaining elements (like brick, or crop covers, or plastic enclosures), and protection, even an old sheet, during freezes

Yes, it's the dryness, but it's also the constant cloudless skies. I could never, never live out west. I like brilliant blue skies and sunshine, but, day after day in a semi-desert presents no variety. I also like clouds. I like rain. Too much of any of these begins to get to me. Can we please have our varied weather and changeful skies back? And some rain. You can keep San Diego.

Question on upcoming drop in temperatures on Thursday. With such a dramatic drop from the Wednesday high, why aren't we getting a front from the NW? Particularly with a round of storms preceding it? It looks as though it will be coming from the NE to E. Are fronts dropping from the NE more likely at this time of year?

Not everyone hates humidity. Yes, 90+ humidity is unsuited for much except lemonade or cold beer, a chaise lounge, and a magazine, but it's 76F with 100% humidity, which feels SO GOOD to me. Joints fully mobilized, dry nose cured, and feeling like a cool princess. (with the acknowledgement that the majority here likes it at 65F with a cold, dry airmass).

This is almost a copy of the previous cell.

Should be storming there right now. Not far from you and getting a shower with huge drops.

This guy was in Long Island over last weekend. It will be interesting to see what the NY Rare Birds Committee decides - whether it will be accepted into the state records or not. Flamingoes do not wander like roseate spoonbills do, and it isn't the right time of the year for "post-breeding dispersal." I can't think of any storm with strong enough south winds last week to carry it northwards. The Committee will consider the winds, prior sightings of flamingoes, whether the bird is banded (though some wild Florida birds are also banded), whether any collections have reported one missing, etc. Very exciting!

The Washington Post has produced an interesting article on the increase in winter temperatures that includes an eye-catching map and listings of temperature increases per decade since 1980 for individual cities. Winter is warming almost everywhere. See how it’s changed in your town The Post is behind a paywall, but I think the first few articles are free. The author even gives a detailed account of his methodology which would be of interest to data nerds here. New Brunswick, NJ, has increased nearly 1 degree F per decade, 0.93 F.

I have a question about last Saturday's snow. It was very light and fluffy, but it also seemed to have very high water content, melting immediately if I even lightly touched it. Not sure I could have even gathered it into a snowball before melting. I thought those qualities - the lightness/fluffiness and the high water content - were incompatible, that wet snow was always heavy snow, but clearly that isn't the case. Is this type of snow rare, or was my impression incorrect?

A 2023 book, "The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial," by David Lipsky goes into this exact subject in detail.

It's not just activists vs. "rational people." Many scientists and organizations are working hard to try to mitigate and meld new technologies to lessen and perhaps improve their effects on the life of this planet. For example, the Nature Conservancy and American Bird Conservancy have developed maps for siting wind turbines where they will least effect the migratory corridors of birds and other species. A widening "lights out" campaign is attempting to get bright urban areas to turn down lights on nights of predicted high bird migration. New glass formulations can reduce collisions. All of these cost extra money. Will it be spent

Idly websurfing and came across this site: https://adventuregearinsider.com/snow-gods-and-goddesses-of-winter/ Ullr (who is already known to AMWX, particularly the NE forum, where sacrifices have already been suggested). "A product of Norse mythology, Ullr is known as the God of Snow, Patron Saint of Skiers, the son of Sif and stepson of Thor, the God of Thunder. Cold-loving, bow-wielding Ullr (pronounced Oool-er) is said to be an expert skater, skier and hunter who would glide around the world and cover the land with snow." Khione Khione or Chione was the daughter of Boreas (the god of the north wind) and Oreithyia, the lady of mountain gales. Not much is said of Khione except that she was one of the consorts or mistresses of Poseidon. She lives a lonely life in the mountain tops and has been known to turn people into ice sculptures from time to time. Definitely not a god you want to anger while out on the slopes. From the Orthodox tradition, a patron saint: "Tradition states, the day of St. Dimitar feast (Oct. 26) is said to be the day when the weather breaks and winter begins. According to traditional belief on this day the skies open up, after which we can expect the first snow. Dimitar is the patron saint of winter, cold and snow." However, as you can imagine, there are more saints to pray to for deliverance from winter.

Last night, October 12-13, turned out to be by far the biggest night of bird migration this fall. (Most landbirds migrate at night). Weather conditions - clear sky, light northwest winds, were ideal. Cornell University's Birdcast estimated about 17 million birds crossed New Jersey during the night (alas, that doesn't mean they all land here). The UCAR radar site shows the overnight migration clearly. The first wave of our summer resident birds going south has already passed; these new birds are mostly our winter residents from the north - white-throated sparrows, juncos, yellow-rumped warblers. I saw my first string of migrating wild geese. It's been a fairly good fall migration, enough frontal passages reaching the coast to bring some waves of birds with them. That doesn't always happen, too often there are persistant east-northeast winds.

Aftermaths of hurricanes and tropical storms are intensely followed (literally) by birders checking for seabirds and tropical species somehow displaced by the storms. But flamingoes after Idalia! That was a new one! https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/09/03/flamingos-all-over-east-coast-post-idalia/70738375007/ gave some anecdotes from stunned birders, and Cornell University's Ornithology Lab had a more technical take on it: https://birdcast.info/news/in-the-pink-american-flamingo-madness-in-late-summer-2023/ Flamingoes are rare and difficult to see even in southernmost Florida, and not typically one of the displaced species. Much speculation about this widespread fallout to come.

Third season gardening. This upcoming hot week hurried me to get seeds in the ground for fall lettuces, spinach, and other greens, plus radishes and sweet turnips. Some I planted last week have sprouted nicely. Barring an early September frost (I remember September 9 one year!) I will have good pickings until December for these, and throughout winter, for a few things like the spinach, upland cress, and (especially) mache lettuce, aka corn salad, which grows all winter and is not one of the bitter greens, but a mild, pleasant, though small-leafed, green. I am trying a couple of varieties of truly cold-weather lettuces this year, from Germany and Austria, according to the seed companies. I have too much shade in my plot to grow a lot of the standard summer vegetables, though cherry tomatoes, pole beans, and cucumbers don't need too much. But in winter, with leaves gone and the sun at a low angle providing a lot of hours on my SE facing garden, there's a lot one can do to prolong the season. It's fun to try various things.