58 degrees Rain Wind ESE 10 mph
Sunrise 5:24 am CDT Sunset 9:02 pm CDT
We probably all would be happier today if we were loons.
The rain is forecast to continue most of the day today.
Then tomorrow is supposed to be sunny before more thunderstorms that are predicted every day for the rest of the week.
But who knows. While we may not be able to rely completely on forecasts, there is one thing that is sure about Minnesota weather. Like the old saying says, 'If you don't like the weather, wait for 5 minutes!' It will change.
The loons could care less about the rain. Whether they are sitting on water, swimming, or having water come down on them from above, they are well adapted to it.
With all the rain, I have not had a chance to see the loons yet this morning. But I have heard them. So I assume they are doing ok. I was able to see all 4 of our loon family last night about 7:30 pm when I got home.
They were doing well.
And the two little chicks were active and swimming and being fed.
For those of you who may have been able to check on the LoonCam late last night, you saw some of the lightning that constantly lit up the sky and the nest. One flash of lightning after another. And then the loud thunder that followed each bolt of lightning.
It went on for a couple hours.
It has been some time since I have seen lightning so frequent and for such a length of time.
Fortunately, most of it stayed up in the clouds and there was very little cloud to ground strikes. So our camera and all the other equipment survived it. But in one of the quirks of the internet, something in the endless path that the signal travels to you decided to reset itself and the signal to the UStream servers dropped overnight. But that got reset and you should now once again be able to see the LoonCam and see the nest.
Yesterday was a very interesting day in this area of the country.
In the Twin Cities I have seldom see a storm like what went on for most of the afternoon. The winds were almost hurricane force. In downtown St Paul, the trees were bent over and whipping back and forth. Branches broke off and blew down the city streets. Signs and anything loose also went skidding down streets as the rain came in sheets.
Big plate glass windows on the skyscrapers and the skyways shimmied and shook and bowed. Skyways were even creaking as the wind buffeted them and you could actually feel them shake.
Boats on some of the lakes in the area were capsized and sunk.
I was worried about what I would find when I returned home last night.
But in talking to one of the neighbors when I got home, we got almost nothing here!
He said there had just been some rain and almost no wind to speak of. We were far enough north to be spared the brunt of the storm that hit The Cities.
Tonight the LoonCam will finally go black for the season. And another season of watching our loons will come to an end. And then all the work of disassembling equipment and taking the nesting platform out of the water begins.
But I will try to periodically give you an update of how our loons are doing.
And hopefully ALL the reports will be good reports.
Let me say THANK YOU once again to all of you for being such wonderful. supportive people and for forming yourselves into a "loon family". That has been so great to see.
So keep checking my blog for any updates. Hopefully there will be only good news and nothing urgent. But I will try to keep you informed of how the loons are doing.
Questions or Comments? LoonCam at yahoo dot com
Copyright 2005 Larry R Backlund