La Niña takes the lead

 It's been an up-and-down season for snowpack in our area, but the late-season burst that is common in La Niña winters has shown up. Our 15" snowfall is down to a few foot-size lumps, but in the mountains it's been less prone to melting!

All my happy places are doing well, other than the Sierra Nevada. Still time to work that out too, but it's lagging in most southern basins. Nice to see western Wyoming doing well; the Wind River Range is as special to me (and the same distance away!) as the Sierra, and that timberline granite is such a cool place to  be..

Anyway - the state of Washington is comfortably white in the high country, and Oregon is just around average in the Cascades. Nothing drastic looks imminent in the summer as far as drought; wildfires have become something else entirely and are independent of snowpack.

Hopefully this summer will prove to be very unlike that last, when Covid-19 destroyed all plans and travel was frowned upon. 

Let us all hope for a different summer.

- and something it was!

 The storms that were forecast last week looked like Snobliteration! headlines would be appropriate. It didn't quite get to that, but it was pretty extreme - and we (barely) set a new accumulation record. Feet of snow and/or temperatures in the low teens seemed to be in the cards - but even as the storm knocked on our door the models were not in full agreement. The cold air was flooding through the gorge and a storm from the SW was plenty wet, but which would reach our area first, and would the southerly storm winds win the day?

It all began early on 2/11 with a trace on the ground when we woke, maybe a flake or two above 1/4 inch. By day's end we were a bit over three inches on the ground.. but at 35° nearly all day a lot of potential was wasted. This was not expected to be the Big Day, but it was a start. So for this day the SW nature of the storm was winning out at our place.

Awakening on the 12th we found 6½" on our measuring-stick on the deck, which being porous held more snow than most other areas. By day's end we had finally reached freezing, and small but persistent flakes brought us to just under a foot of snow. Winds were light and consistently from the east, so the snowdrift against our measuring-stick made the measurement challenging!

Saturday the 13th again found a decent amount of overnight snow, and we had 14½" on the ground, which matched our deepest record here on the hill-top. More flakes added up to 15" on the deck - and since previous measurements came from there, it was a new record. Our driveway stood at 13 inches and no drifts. The Fiat was a complete snow lump with only the mirrors showing (the radio antenna was lost the previous day). This was in fact the Big Day, with changeover to ..something else expected on Sunday. The Willamette Valley was already shifting to ice as the gorge winds weakened, and it was bad - 3/4 inch and more was wrecking trees and power lines. Portland was a mixed bag but the change was coming soon.

Sunday we awoke to just under 15½ inches on the deck (I wrote down 15.3"). Epectations was for another 1-2 inches, but we turned out to be in a dry slot as moisture chose to damage Oregon instead. We had drizzle, which was not falling hard enough to pull down cooler air from above; by day's end we were back to 13" and reached 40° for a bit. Ice continued south of us, but the event was ending here. The forecast for icing was again overstated, as we've never had freezing rain here. The drizzle did freeze on the snow and we got a few 8-inch icicles, but no clear coatings on any surfaces.

I'm writing this up on Thu 2/18, and we still have about 5 inches on the ground. I got the Fiat down the hill but it hasn't made it back up the driveway yet. I just scraped more snow out of the way, so I expect it will be up here again this evening. Update: WRONG

Photos coming, inevitably!

That would be something!

Here is a graphic of snowfall thruogh Sunday from today's GFS ensemble. This looks like the major snow event for 2020/21 winter!

That's a foot of snow for Portland and Kelso - and Centralia, south Olympia, Hillsboro and St. Helens! The San Juan islands freeze with outflow from the Fraser River but are protected from precipitation by the Olympic Mts; from Rainier south the Cascades get a major dose of whiteout. It would indeed be something to experience if this plays out! Other models are still doing other things with the cold air and the storm-track, so this composite of a single model is not the absolute word on what's coming.

Lowland snow near the Pacific is always a juggling act; a few days ago the temperatures were a few degrees lower, which added several inches to the snow totals. A degree or two here and there in the atmosphere is only critical in the dark of winter, when a warm layer can melt flakes and drop ice or bitter rain upon us. This region will always do best with a storm dropping south along the coast for some snow - but that cold source can't hold much moisture. To get the big numbers we need a storm to track from the SW with its larger content of moisture. That gets tricky because if it hits the coast too far south we don't get the moisture (Mt. Baker vs Mt. Hood in the graphic), and too far north means the warmer air will disrupt the cold air and disappoint the snowghouls (just south of Portland, where the Columbia Gorge outlet cannot quite reach this time).

Whew. so much for all that! Hoping for about a foot on the hill-top, so at least one saucer can play in the driveway. Bummer that our funding for a rope tow hasn't been addressed yet..

THIS JUST IN - Winter Storm watch issued for 1-5" of snow plus possible ice glaze overnight Thurs-Fri. Should be interesting to see if 800 feet of elevation makes a difference!

curse the fuzzy earwigs!

To the creatures of the outdoors I've always been a fairly reasonable guy, for the most part. I've fed the birds for several years, and added corn cobs for the squirrels to keep them from raiding the seeds. Everybody's happy right? 

Well I'm sure not!!

A few weeks ago I noticed that the majority of our string of Christmas lights had gone out. Soon thereafter we had quite a windstorm blow through, and I noticed that a piece of the strand was lying broken on the deck. I figured that a part of our fence had fallen off the deck and the string was stretched to its breaking point. Then I remembered that part of the fence was already down so it wasn't the cause. Curious!

Then a day or two later, I saw a squirrel sitting atop a post on the deck. He was holding a rather large globe in his hands - a blue one. Yes, he had nibbled the strands off the perceived nut and was claiming it! I stode out furiously but he made off with it - perhaps I'll find it at the base of a tree soon? Part of me wishes the lights ran at a higher voltage so other squirrels would see the stunned or dead one and decide those nuts are poisonous..

I promptly stripped the remaining fragments of light from the deck, to prevent loss and to stop wasting the squirrels' valuable time eating wire and hoarding light bulbs. Damn idiot vermin.

I missed the lights though, so I moved a set of very not-bulbous LED lights to the fence. Your basic small and pointy white lights.

Yep, they're being stolen now too. Off they came!

I've re-ordered a new set of pointy white LED lights, and they will remain hooked on nails just beneath the gutter-line where the beasts cannot reach from above or below. Nice, but less personal.

And the corn-cobs are all distributed. Will I buy some more and encourage the beasts? 

Don't bet on it.

One last attempt at simplicity

Yes, and why not?..

 While seeking the best answer to the glovebox camera question, i looked at the Lumix ZS series. Strangely enough (to me at least) a used zs100 cost more than used gx85 at times - which is why the gx1 is now my glove-box kit. Even earlier zs models aren't bargains with their 1/2.3" sensors, it seems that zoom range can be as good a draw than megapixels for some people.

Just as the gx1 and I were settling down, of course a zs50 pops up at a surprising price - one I did not refuse. It will be used and marked, though the online photos did not show many serious marks.

• On the down side: tiny sensor, no tilt or touch screen, no curb appeal it seems, and replaced by newer models several times over - with the ZS100/200 adding a one-inch sensor to the line. That sensor definitely takes IQ to a better place! 
• However.. the zs50 stepped back to 12Mpx for better lowlight performance, boosted its little viewfinder resolution substantially from earlier models, has two 'control dials' and charges via usb. Full PASM modes, raw image capture, HD video - and a stabilized 24-720 mm/e zoom does tolerable work. Toss in WiFi +NFC and silly-close macro mode too. 

Well now. Maybe that's pretty useful for the glovebox after all! 

I plan to set it to small B&W jpeg + Raw and give it a whirl.

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A twinge of background-

I have owned several compact digicams before 2008. Once the dSLR /interchangeable lens bug bit they were left behind. Save one: at one point I owned a Fuji F550exr. It was enjoyable for a year or so, when I dropped it about a foot onto concrete and totalled it. I captured many good images and found that raw data recovery was amazing for such a small sensor. The shot below shows the jpeg interpretation at left and the recovered and rebalanced raw development right.

The Fuji's 15x zoom was great fun, but it did have some unwanted rainbow effects on bright lights; hopefully the Lumix version will do less of that. I'll know in a week or so.

I did What?

 So much for the grand experiment - well, the more expensive part, at least.

The gear-geeky voices in my head thought quite highly of having a Best Of.. µ43 kit, with Lumix 4k photo features and Olympus' Live features and top-notch stabilization. Also the idea of one camera sealed against most weather issues (which we have plenty of  'round here!). At the time I didn't expect to leave my part-time job and remove almost all padding from our financial plans, so that's become a factor. The pandemic and its limitations make multiple higher-end cameras less useful - plus I had a harder time deciding which to pull out for any particular event.

Added to that was a forum person seeking GX1 advice. Such a simple and talented camera, and when hacked an improved video cam (higher specs for bitrate and audio) with seamless videos of any length. Smaller, lighter, and truly PGE -yes, Plenty Good Enough. With Lumix OIS lenses even stabilized!

So off goes the GX85 (and several lenses that other buyers wouldn't take), in comes a silver GX1 and funds that will make January easier. An easier decision on feature-set for most events, less money sunk into a hobby that needs time not cash, and an older but ergonomically-ideal camera for my uses. I can also use my wifi SD card with it, that adds a new twist to the old camera.

Winner!

Part II

The GX1 story is soooo last Friday. Today it's an inexpensive lens acquisition! This was the result of a curious team effort across the World Wide Web, and lots of searching same.

I was thinking about the gap that was filled by the Pentax 40mm pancake. Recent research suggests the Yongnuo 42.5 does not 'do' autofocus with eldercams (like perhaps the GX1). With that in mind I looked into other 35-45mm primes - and found a Dutch shooter's (tomscameras) test of the TTArtisan 35/1.4 lens. It's a distinctive design with a tapered nose and the optical design engraved on the barrel. Beyond the positive review was a curious comment: the optical arrangement is a near match to the Takumar 50/1.4..?! More study online yielded this - takumar on the left, TTA engraving right:

These are different in the front element but very similar, and of course designing for 35mm instead of 50 should make some difference in the optical design!

So given the good reviews and near-Pentax heritage, I ordered one. Tests have been quite good in all respects. I think the DA40 can find better places to be!

on to 2021

 Weather in December was a very average rainfall month, and zero actual snow fell. I did have some interesting patterns splattering on my windshield once, but that was it. We ended 2020 with a bit over 80 inches of rainfall, so no rain-forest designation again. Pretty close though!

In the viral battles.. we're still losing. So many travelers for Thanksgiving and then Christmas caused levels to spike as parties spread new, more virulent mutations all over the world. LA county is straining mightily and ambulances wait to offload for hours as ICU beds are pretty much filled. So very sad and frustrating. Two vaccines were approved and many batches shipped, but optimistic targets were missed all over the world. The USA goal of 20-million arms was closer to 2 than 3 mil. Hopefully another vaccine variant or two will be approved, and more people trained to inject them so the healthcare system doesn't shatter. Given the priority customers (health care workers, aged folk, essential workers of all sorts¹) it could be several months before we can all gather and hug - gently though, due to our sore arms.

 Politics have been difficult to watch as well. Other than to mention today's atrocities, I'll go no further. Yes, today the Capital was invaded and congressional spaces occupied. Ugly and decidedly undemocratic responses to mere political fortune. It's more than that - though it shouldn't be.

 Christmas was a pleasant respite from the mad times. We both got some nice gifts and relaxed at home, sad not to see family but nice to be unencumbered with obligations. Plenty of holiday movies, Nutcracker listening and cozy times on the hill-top. And pumpkin pie!

 The camera kit has now been slimmed down to about what it was four months ago. Actually it's become what I intended four months ago², but stranger things have happened during my ten years of perpetual change. Now to find a way to lock down that kit so nothing moves... wish me luck. ³

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¹ I'm no longer on that list; I departed the Home Depot freight team at the end of  '20. A few tighter months will ensue, living off holiday checks, a bit of economic stimulus and new spending habits. Also from a few photo-gear offloads to finalize the kit reconstruction.

² my September big-camera choice was an EM1.ii or EM5.iii - but they were both out of my $reach. I decided to switch my big-little brands and hit some rather better deals. Two months later the price on used EM1.ii bodies had fallen by over $200, and I stumbled into a bargain GX85 to boot. Winner!

³ too late. Even 24 hours was too much to ask! After assisting a GX1 user on a forum site and praising the camera, I recognized that it has everything I need in a small backup. While I like the tip screen, internal charging and other GX85 features, .. the GX1 is just a great fit for me. So I found a deal at KEH and will send off several non-µ43 lenses and the '85 for a silver GX1. Now to find that key and throw it away, so the system truly locks!