December | 2015 | Willow House Chronicles

Archive for December, 2015

Sunday Snapshot: Merry Christmas 2015

Posted in Sunday Snapshot, tagged cat by fireplace, Christmas tree on December 27, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Splash waiting for Santa

The March to Spring

Posted in Environmental, Misc, tagged December 21st, march to spring, mild winter weather, winter solstice on December 21, 2015| 1 Comment »

Sunrise December 20, 2015.

December Solstice (Winter Solstice) is on Monday, December 21, 2015 at 11:49 PM in Ottawa. That’s less than an hour away as I write this. Hurray! Turn-Around Day, when we begin the slow but inexorable march to spring. Today was 6 hours and 58 minutes shorter than the day at June solstice. Tomorrow will be less than a second longer. The next day, 4 seconds longer, as we move towards the light!

Last winter was long, snowy, and bitterly cold. By November 22, we already had a few inches of snow on the ground. So far this year, winter has hardly begun. We have enjoyed an extended fall season of mild temperatures and only a little dusting of snow a few days ago, which quickly melted away. Right now, it is 4 degrees C (40 F) and a light rain is falling. No matter what January and February have to offer, we have been spared a month of harsh weather and the winter will be shorter.

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Sunday Snapshot: Trumpeters

Posted in Birds, Sunday Snapshot, tagged trumpeter swan, trumpeter swan release program in Ontario on December 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Trumpeters

Trumpeter swans were extirpated from Ontario more than a century ago. Restoration of the population was begun in 1982 with the release of 584 captive-bred birds in southern and eastern Ontario. Releases were made at the Mac Johnston Wildlife Area at Brockville and these birds may be related to those swans. The Ontario population was estimated at around 700 birds by 2005.

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