01.20.2019 One more from yesterday’s Orchard Trail visit

 

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01.19.2019 Something resembling a hike

This is not from the side or rear of my car.  I had to walk, a bit downhill to reach it although only maybe a 10 minute trip, then a slight uphill back to the car. No big deal for most folks, but the closest thing to a hike with my camera bag on my back in just a little while.

Quabbin Park’s Orchard Trail is a nice little jaunt although not terribly appealing in the winter with no snow on the ground.  It is an area managed for the groundwater flow and runoff into the reservoir so aesthetics is not a priority.  It is much more attractive when there are leaves on the trees or the branches and trunks having fallen to the ground are under a few feet of snow.

That said, doing closeups of the ice offered the best chance for a decent image.

Tomorrow’s weather is up in the air, so to speak and literally.  We were warned of  snowfall anywhere from 12″ to 18″ plus some sleet and freezing rain, possibly changing over to plain rain before back to that nice mixed precipitation forecast.  But lately we are hearing of a slight warm up that may yield more of a mix and less snow.  We’ll see.  Monday, however, is still looking very grim with temps in the single digits and strong gusts yielding wind chills well below zero. Not that long ago I’d be excited about the frigid possibilities for unique images.  Now, maybe not so much.  🙂

01.18.2019 Monday will be a good day to hunker down

We are due for anywhere from 8 to 24 inches of mainly snow starting tomorrow late afternoon but with some added sleet and freezing rain on Sunday .If it sounds like Monday will be a good day to go out and photograph some of that snow…uh-uh.  High Monday in single digits with a wind chill from minus single digits to minus teens.  There will be some nice ice but I’ll pass.  Maybe it will persist until the weekend with more moderate temperatures.

Bentley will not be happy that he has to go out for his business.  He likes snow better than rain, but not the extreme cold and wind.

01.17.2019-2 7 A.M. and all is well.

Downtown Amherst in the Snowless Winter

Well, snowless until tomorrow morning and then Snowzilla on Sunday.  But on December 30th the only telltale sign of winter was the lack of leaves on the Amherst Merry Maple.

Our Town Hall.  Nobody out that morning except me and the street sweeper.

01.17.2019 In case you were wondering.

Something I saw on Facebook I thought I’d share.  🙂

01.15.2019 A little more spillway frost

Downstream from the waterfall was this tree that had been covered with frozen steam coming off the Swift River. Kind of amazing that the water was still warm enough to give off steam in 12 degree weather.  Certainly not warm enough for swimming (which is forbidden in Quabbin anyway).

The Quabbin maintenance folks had trimmed out a lot of the small trees next to the trail I was on, although not down to the water’s edge where the view would have been less obstructed.  But they manage for the water, not a photographer’s whims.  🙂

01.14.2019 The Spillway Effect

As mentioned before, it has been a long while since the Quabbin Reservoir has seen enough water to make use of the spillway which allows the overflow to rejoin the Swift River. The north of the Quabbin sees many small brooks feeding the waters, but the main sources are the branches of the Swift. Most of the water is directed to the Wachusett Reservoir to the east and, eventually, to the sinks etc in Boston and its surrounds.

The water coursing through the spillway these days is fairly powerful and, when seen on the other side of the arch which you saw a few posts ago, falls with enough force to raise a mist.  At 12 degrees this morning, that mist coated an evergreen, a fir I think, and turned it into a drooping ice sculpture.