The Polar Blast ushered in by St. Valentine

 

The weather forecast told it all: “unprecedented” low temperatures, snow, and wind, and for the whole week no less.  News media often use the word unprecedented because its dramatic, but for the reader the word needs a bit of grounding.  Unprecedented requires a time frame and if we make it long enough, surely the weather we were about to get has been experienced in central Texas before, but it would require going back in time for decades.  We personally experienced similar low temperatures in 1989 when living near the Gulf coast, so it was not unprecedented for us.  

Nonetheless, we had to prepare all exposed pipes to prevent breakage, especially the piping associated with the water system for the house.

All was going well the first day into the cold spell.  And then the electricity to the house was cut off. Quickly following that, the wire line phone system went dead.  Except for the bottled gas we use for cooking, the whole house depends on electricity, including the water system and the heating system. Losing electricity was doubly bad for us because much of our two pumphouses depended on 100 watt light bulbs to add just enough heat to keep the pumps from freezing and breaking. So, we waited for the power to be restored---and waited and waited.  At the time there was no information on why the power failed but one can imagine that some nearby power line was down because some freezing rain fell and that would mean  tree limbs could have broken the lines.

The low temperatures of the day for three days hung right around 5 degrees F with the highs never reaching 32 degrees F.  Everything froze and stayed frozen.  The big problem was how to keep the freezing conditions from wrecking the pumps (cast steel does not tolerate much expansion and cracks easily with expanding ice) now that we did not have the benefit of the 100 watt light bulbs.   Since we have learned repeatedly that it is not wise to get rid of a lot of old stuff, we had on hand two Coleman lanterns that still worked even though we had to search for two good sets of mantles.  So, we lit the lanterns and put them in the two pumphouses, refueling them every six hours, 24 hours a day. We were fortunate to have on hand 4 gallons of automotive regular gasoline as fuel for the lanterns.  Getting out of bed in the wee hours of the morning when the house temperature is 50 degrees, getting dressed and refueling the lanterns at ten degrees outside temperature was no enjoyable experience, but then we weren’t sleeping under a bridge or looking for food in the snow-covered woods like some of the other animals.

We coped with the toilet system by breaking the ice on the surface of the irrigation water tank and dipping pails of water out and using that water to refill the toilet tanks.  Not an easy job on slippery slopes, but doable.

The snow fell after the freezing rain ended and we found six inches of snow on the level ground.  Then two days later, another six inches fell, but neither lasted long as the humidity was low, and the ground still had some heat to melt the now.  You ask what difference the humidity makes on the evaporation of snow.  Snow crystals have vapor pressure just like water so snow and ice “dry” just like water, albeit more slowly.  For those of the northern climes, during pre-clothes dryer days, our family always hung the wash on the clothesline in the winter, just as they did in the summer and the clothes first froze, then dried.  Bits of science never hurts.

It was interesting to note the animal tracks in the snow.  The deer never seemed to mind it all, but probably took some time to learn to eat the snow for water, as all the water supplies were frozen.  Their tracks were prevalent.  Each day proved that the Grey Fox made rounds looking for food, but only at night because we never saw the animal, only the tracks. 

Probably the most miserable critter was the Roadrunner, and unfortunately we found one huddled in the sunny corner of the garage, presumed to having frozen to death, probably the first night of near zero temperatures.  When I first spotted the bird, it appeared to be warming in the sunlight, so I assumed it was still alive and would be best to let it warm up slowly while in the sunlight. This photo shows it huddled in a protective corner behind a spool of fence wire.

 

A few hours later I tested it for life by nudging it and found no response. 

Later, the next day I looked to see if it was still there, but it was gone.   First thinking it was dead and frozen, now I assumed it had died and was found by the fox and eaten, but the puzzle was not over yet as a wide search of the area revealed no feathers. So, I still had to presume that it was dead and served as food for some other animal.

Then I began to be concerned about all the Roadrunners and how they are able to survive these cold temperatures.  Driving out the driveway the next day we spotted two adult roadrunners looking racing along in their normal fashion, fit as a fiddle and thus we concluded that these hardy devils can survive cold weather.

That prompted a search for how Roadrunners cope with cold weather and we found that two southwestern birds, the Poor Will and the Roadrunner are capable of entering a stage of torpor where they can shut down their systems when it gets too cold and and when they run short of food.  They can exist in this very dormant state for days and survive with no ill effects.  As a result of all this information and a strong desire to think the best for our Roadrunner, we concluded it was in a state of torpor when seen by the garage where the photo was taken and lived through it all. And, better yet, maybe it was our bird that we saw the next day as we drove out the driveway.

Noticeably absent were the ever-present raccoons.  They apparently stayed in their dens wherever those happened to be located.

We probably will never know the full extent of damage to wildlife but it seems evident that it will not be significant.

The weather finally returned to normal for this time of the year, and we began to recover.  It took two days for the house to come back to 68 degrees because the electrical grid was still rationing the power, not only by rolling blackouts but by lower voltages.  We saw voltages as low as 115 when normal is about 125.  Low voltages mean any electrical device is only at partial performance levels.   We first noted this when the bread toaster worked, but never to the extent that one could see glowing radiators in the bread slots.  The heat pumps ran but were not pumping much heat and the auxiliary heating units had to make up the shortfall.

The snow is now gone, the ground is mostly bare, and we found that all the outside piping had survived thanks to wrapping everything with old towels and serapes, plus those valuable Coleman lanterns.  Oh, and another point. Sitting in the dark, even with our kerosene lamps, was not enjoyable so we rigged up a 100-watt light bulb to a DC to AC inverter and lit the lamp with the power from the storage battery.  A normal auto storage battery does not hold a lot of power as it ran the 100-watt light bulb for only a few hours, but that was enough time to get in some reading to take our minds off being cold.

All through this ordeal, our only communication link to the so-called outside world was the cellphone. But still, there was little communication on why we had lost electricity and the outlook for restoration.   When temperatures began to moderate and electricity became more reliable, then the information on the utility system began to flow from the governmental authorities.  What we know now is that very little of the transmission system of wires, transformers, and poles were affected by the storm, but the grid managed by the Texas Energy Commission lost more than a third of its electricity due to two significant events (1) the wind generators in the panhandle were shut down due to icing of the blades.  That reduced electrical generation by a whopping 23%.  We must remember, but not brag, about the fact that Texas generates more of its electricity by wind turbines than any other state. (2) some of the natural gas fired steam turbines had to be shut down due to icing of the natural gas.  This is not unusual, although most would not think that natural gas would ice up and clog the lines and injectors of gas turbines. But again, a little bit of science.  Recall that methane can form hydrates when water is present and the methane hydrates turn from gas to solid at temperatures that we encountered.

All told, had we not lost electricity, we would have easily coped with these temperatures, this amount of snow and for this duration. 

Birds and their preferences

 For sure, every area of the country has its birds that reside year around and birds that wander through on their way somewhere else to nest and then some in between the two-those that winter somewhere else but nest here.

We recently had the largest, most rowdy flock of robins move through our area; their brief stay outdid every other occurrence in memory.  They were everywhere, and they stayed perhaps for ten days, then left.  Some years, the last five for sure, there were no robins to be seen here.  Their travel guide put them on a different route to their northern nesting areas, but this year our place was a featured stopover.

The interesting part of this story is the apparent preferences the birds show in their eating, nesting and social habits.

The robins are noted earthworm eaters, but we have no earthworms here, at least none so near the surface that they can tug them out in the classical robin fashion.  So,  what do they eat while ganging up on us as they did recently?  Their droppings show a lot of red berry evidence, and the only red berries we have right now in any quantity are prickly pear tuna berries that the deer have not already found.  But those berries are tucked inside the tunas and not easily obtainable by the robin, so these birds were probably feasting on such berries as possum haws.  Strange as it may be, they may find this fruit the only thing to eat in the area as they travel northward.  Bird authorities have found that migrating robins eat small berries until they exhaust the supply, then move on northward. They roost in clusters in trees at night which accounts for the pile of droppings concentrated on the ground below.

And then there is the noted Golden-cheeked warbler.  We talk a lot about how important it is to protect this bird's nesting habitat, but we actually don't sacrifice much to help this bird.  This bird seems to have two dominant preferences, one is the mature Ashe Juniper that produces stringy shreds of bark they use in nest building and the other is seclusion and privacy.  The nest is nearly always made from this stringy bark that the bird rips off the trunk of the mature Ashe Juniper.  So, even when we proclaim that we are protecting the Golden-cheeked warbler, landowners are busy eradicating their land of the Juniper and building dense housing units on the cleared land.  Hey, not so fast, remember what we proclaim about protecting the habitat of the warbler.

Here is an example in a photo credited to Amanda Aurora of a nest being monitored.  Note especially the flat strips of Ashe Juniper bark that rings the nest.

Figure 14.1 Golden-cheeked warbler nest 

We find that these birds are so reclusive that they are heard more than they are seen.  From our records here, we have heard them at least once per year, but have never seen them.  More recently, we spotted a used nest in a small oak tree.  From its construction, it is almost certain to have been that of a Golden-cheeked warbler.  

Figure 14.2 Suspect Golden-cheeked warbler nest

Compare the preference of the GC Warbler to that of, say, the Northern Cardinal or the Grackle, or better yet, the house wren.  The wren is more than likely to build its nest in the bouquet of flowers adorning your front door, so accustomed are they to being around people.  The grackle is also a standout in its ability to live among traffic and parking lots and people.  Here is a poem that won a prize for us in a local contest.  The poem describes the grackles activity in the parking lot of the local supermarket.

Scroungin' the Lot at H-E-B

I comes across this paper, see...

An' I notes this contest 'bout us birds

with all these prizes fer rhymin' words

So I sez to myself with my famous cackle

"this is right up your alley, old G.T. Grackle"

Next I fly to my tree where I keeps my PC

And that's why yer getting this email from me

Now, first all, and we all know it

You had in mind a human poet

But, what if we cut out the middleman

I win all the prizes... an'

settle some debts with my seed eatin' pals

and share the pie with my favorite gals.

If you think there is nothin' in it fer you

Not true, as I notified a crew

Of media types for an interview

Photo ops and a book signin', too.

Bring the loot to the parking lot around three

My office is in the crape myrtle tree

G.T. Grackle

641 East Hopkins

San Marcos, Texas 78666

The pie was delicious, personally delivered by the man himself, Jerry Hall.

______Sightings___________

The Christmas Bird Count has been completed by the volunteers led by Stephen Ramirez and the count was fewer than last year, but that may be true because of fewer volunteer counters.  This introduced factor of the number of spotters may be adjusted by a few of the other parameters of the count, as this year we noticed that the count also listed minutes of counting.  

No matter what, the count shows  33 species, the most prominent ones being cedar waxwings and robins along with the ever present turkey vulture.   

A Natural Occurrence often Overlooked

 John Muir once said that everything he touched in nature was found to connect to some other part of nature.  In other words, we are living in a natural world where nearly all aspects of life, not just our own, but all life is interconnected and thus interdependent. This means we need to be careful of what we change or disrupt in nature.

This brings to mind a phenomenon that occurs continuously around the world.

Plants and animals have many things in common, but food stands out as one of primary importance.  Animals, of course, can move around and secure their food where it exists, plants on the other hand need to find food where they happen to sprout.  Plants are at a disadvantage because they can be the food of animals whereas the reverse is not so common.  In addition, plants that happen to sprout where there is no food (and water) don’t last long, do not flower and therefore make the decision not to reproduce in the particular area.   Plants that find tough conditions then become the rare species of the area----maybe even extinct.  So be it, Nature is in control for the most part unless we, the animals, interfere with the natural process in which case the outcome is usually an even more rare plant.  Unless, of course, we animals need the plant for food in which case we create the conditions (irrigation, hot houses, cultivation, insect deterrents,  etc.) that allow the plant to grow in profusion.

But, so much for plants, what about the animals that can move about and find favorable conditions.

Here is a good example of an animal that moves about for its food.  Twice per year, once in the late fall and the other in the early spring, American Robins (Turdus migratorius) move through the region here in central Texas on the way to their nesting grounds in the northern states, and while passing through they search for food .  They eat bugs, not seeds, and the bugs are classically earthworms. One old robin once said “it’s the early bird that gets the worm” and we know this is true.  The robin is noted for its travels in search of bugs and worms.  At this very moment, flocks of robins are here in central Texas on their way north.  And, they go to the far north, liking not only bugs and worms, but moisture and cool weather that create the environment for their food.  Here in central Texas, especially at this very spot, we seldom see an earth worm, but do have plenty of bugs in the wintertime—right now they appear to have found their food in the screens that cover the gutters of the roof as I can hear them pecking away at the metal screen---that helps us too as it keeps the bugs out of the rainwater collection system, water we use for our drinking water.  So, they have enough food for their short stay.  They will all be gone in a week or less. They have been here for only a few days and will soon be gone on their northward journey.  They never stay here as there too many places both south and north of this location they prefer.  In their breeding season, the summer months, its too hot here.

13.1  American Robin passing through

In our minds, this brings up the story on fish.   Whenever you see a young child fishing, you can count on the child thinking that all water has fish and the fish are equally distributed through the water.   All one should have to do is to bait the hook and cast that into the water and wait.   Depending on whether the fish have found this particular location a good place at which to eat, the wait might be a long time.

It would be an interesting study to determine how much time one needs to fish before learning that fish are to be found where there is food and not necessarily where you choose to cast your lure.  For us, before we began to be more observant of nature, it took many years of fruitless fishing to realize this point.  But the phenomenon of food as the center of concerns exists here with fish too.

Recently a video (youtube) showed a view from a tourist ship moving through the interface of arctic waters and pacific ocean waters.  Observable were many large fish at this interface feasting on the small fish that were visible to them and were flourishing at this fresh water, salt water interface.

Before we pass over it too lightly, isn’t this interface of two waters, fresh and salty a something to note in itself.

13.2 Interfacial water between Arctic and Pacific oceans (youtube)

One often wonders how the fish pass the word to other fish that this is the place to be for food.

Another learned example of the importance of fish feeding at the interface.  My friend and fishing friend David found that fishing the Mississippi River near the end of habitation is often productive for large Seatrout when you can find the interface between salt and fresh water.  If you think about this and look at a map, your natural response is that this area should have no saltwater as it is too far from the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico.

But, not so, salt water has been found near the bottom of the Mississippi River all the way to Baton Rouge.  That is made possible by two factors, one is that the bottom of the riverbed is lower in elevation than the surface of the Gulf and the other is that salt water is “heavier”, that is has a higher specific gravity than does fresh water, allowing the salt water to flow back up the river as the fresh water is flowing to the gulf.  At this interface is food, freshwater food, that the large seatrout find good to eat.

Again, animals go where there is food.  The examples are everywhere.  The backyard birdfeeder, corn for the deer, the list goes on and on.

Now comes the interesting part.

Why do cities exist, especially today?  Of course, the answer is so that people can get "stuff" and to collaborate (for both good and bad reasons).  Focusing on getting stuff, how about food.  Is it more convenient to get food in a city than it is in the countryside?  Sure is, people in rural areas have far less choice and have to travel more distant to get their food.  Imagine a city of 5 million people  and not one garden nor even one producer of beef, chicken or seafood.  People get their food when hundreds of trucks arrive daily to distribution points delivering food from processors across the nation and even from other countries.  People without an income can eat in cities and would find it difficult to procure free food in rural areas.  No doubt about it, cities are like bird feeders. Provide convenient food and people will come.  All a very natural process, but in this case heavy assistance from man himself.

______Sightings_____

Spring is still some many weeks away, but there is some signs that spring will arrive.  The birds that winter here are all in a frenzy for the mating season, the licogiums are up but not blooming, the honey bees are busy on the flowers of the rosemary, the buds have swollen on all the deciduous trees, and so on.

This nice specimen of a buck stepped in front of the lens of the camera and even posed for a second while this picture was taken, then bolted away.  Deer hunting season has closed and I think he made it for another year.

13.3 White tailed deer in Central Texas