Lake Erie - Eerily Calm

After seeing Lake Erie churned up by very high winds a few weeks ago (see my post: "High Winds Make Big Waves on Lake Erie” ) it was odd to see the lake be so calm last week. Due to the lack of virtually any breeze at all over the last week, Lake Erie was as flat as I think I have ever seen it. In fact, while visiting Cleveland’s Edgewater Park and Wendy Park areas late last week, there was no sound of the water lapping against the shore. Only light ripples in the water could be seen – and they make for some rather peaceful pictures.







All Photos and Text © Chris A. Zimmer and chriszimmer.blogspot.com

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They’re Named Cottonwoods For Good Reason

Late last week, we spent some time at Wendy Park on Cleveland’s lake shore and while it was a very hot May morning, it seemed to be snowing. As we got further into the park, we noticed a large stand of cottonwood trees that were fully laden with seeds encased in what looks like fluffy cotton (hence the name cottonwood) but of course it’s not cotton. The fluffy seed casing just allows the seeds to be easily dispersed by the breeze – and the day we visited the park the seeds were flying around in full force, making it look like a snow storm. Despite the fact that many seeds were in the air and on the ground, the trees were still loaded with seeds, almost making each tree look like it was covered in huge clumps of white cotton candy. Here are a few photos. (Now, if someone would just invent a cottoncandy tree, I would be happy.)






All Photos and Text © Chris A. Zimmer and chriszimmer.blogspot.com

Check out my blog home page for the latest information, chriszimmer.blogspot.com, here.

High Winds Make Big Waves on Lake Erie

There was a high wind warning with gale force winds on Saturday after a large cold front (with lots of nasty storms) moved through the area on Friday night. Of course, when I hear “high wind warning” it’s time to head to Mentor Headlands Beach in order to watch the big waves on Lake Erie. This time, though, as my husband and I drove up to the east parking lot, we noticed a dusty cloud over the area which my husband recognized as a mini-sandstorm. After getting out of the car, we were pelleted with grains of sand that really stung. We weren’t even near the beach yet. As we walked up to the stand of trees before we arrived on the beach, the wind was even stronger. Upon walking on to the beach area, no longer getting some wind protection from the trees, my husband commented, “I think we made a mistake.” It was funny but not funny at the same time, as the wind almost knocked us over, and not only were we being hit with grains of sand, but it felt like there were small pebbles being thrown around as well. But after a momentary pause, we figured we were there, we might as well try to get close to the beach and try to catch a photo of the waves against the lighthouse at the eastern end. We had to walk sideways to protect our faces from being sandblasted, and it was nearly impossible to walk. We estimated the sustained winds to be about 55-60 mph. There was one lone gull that seemed to be having a good time flying into the wind, though. While my husband helped me to stay standing, I took a few photos. It really was very beautiful despite the wind and I’m glad we didn’t get blown away. (click on any image for a larger view)










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Pink and White Dogwoods Bloom

The pink and white dogwoods flowered when we had a warm spell a few weeks ago. The cool weather than moved in afterwards seemed to keep their flowers in a holding pattern. Here are a few photos.







All Content © Chris A. Zimmer and chriszimmer.blogspot.com

Check out my blog home page for the latest information, chriszimmer.blogspot.com, here.