Mammatus Clouds and Pink Rainbows

There were large thunderstorm systems that came through the area on Saturday night and Sunday night. They were both good opportunities to get some interesting cloud pictures. One picture (below) was taken of forming mammatus clouds. The other big bonus was a very late evening rainbow, which occurred at 9:00 PM ET, probably the latest I have ever seen a rainbow form. As the sun was just at the horizon, the sky and the dull rainbow carried a very pink cast (photo below). For a weather watcher like me, it was an interesting sight to see. Check out my blog home page for the latest information, here.

The Full Moon Transitions Spring to Summer

All photos by Chris Zimmer

It was one of those nice mornings where the sky was clear, the dawn was pleasant, and the moon was full. I got out the camera and spotting scope and snapped some nice pictures of the moon, first with the black sky before dawn, and then with a bluer sky as the sun rose. As the moon dropped lower, there was a little more distortion from the atmosphere, but it still made for some nice pictures. In some of the photos, the moon took on strange colors as the moon dropped lower in the horizon and the sun rose. Today transitioned the last day of spring AND the first day of summer, and it was an extra treat to see such a bright full moon. An added bonus is that at one point, the moon was very close in the sky field to the planet Jupiter. With the spotting scope, Jupiter and one of its moons could be seen clearly (but not photographed with the equipment I had, much to my dismay).

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Mentor Headlands State Park, Mentor Ohio: A Great Place to Visit

Nice weather is on the horizon and that can only mean one thing – beach weather! One of the nicest beaches in northeast Ohio, and on Lake Erie, is Mentor Headlands in Lake County, a short drive for those living in the metro Cleveland area.

I wrote about Mentor Headlands in my blog last November (here), and now with good weather, it’s a good time to revisit the location. Since I live only a few miles from Headlands, it’s an easy trip for me, but even those living farther away would enjoy what Mentor Headlands State Park has to offer.

The beach is about a mile long, and the park offers plenty of places to park and picnic. The dunes are great for bird watching. At the east end of the beach is a lighthouse – which I think is called the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Lighthouse. (There is a second, taller lighthouse on top of a hill in Fairport Harbor by the Grand River.) The Headlands lighthouse is not open to the public, but some who are steady on their feet can walk down the break wall toward the lighthouse. I never feel very comfortable walking on the huge tilted concrete slabs that make up the break wall. One can get a great view of the lighthouse, Headlands Beach, and the entire Fairport Harbor, in the area where the east end of Headlands beach meets the break wall.

So if you are looking for a nice beach, or just a nice place to nature walk and sight see, come visit Mentor Headlands State Park. Hopefully my video below will convince you!

Mentor Headlands State Park Mentor Ohio




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A Spring 2008 Update

After a nice string of warm weather days, it seems like we drifted back into the pattern of lower temperatures and some rain. While some of the spring flowers and flowering trees got a good start a few weeks ago, some of the flowering shrubs have taken a little more time to get going. Finally we’re seeing some nice color, and I thought I’d share some shots, all from my own yard, with you.

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Spring Weather Has Arrived – Finally

The weather here has taken a turn for the better, with a string of sunny, warm days. The flowers, and some flowering trees and bushes, are displaying some bright colors.

Here are a few pictures of some of my neighbor’s beautiful daffodils.

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Where’s Spring?

I think everyone here in Northeast Ohio is starting to wonder if spring is ever coming. For the first day of spring, we were greeted with a few inches of snow. It stuck to everything and looked beautiful and made for some nice shots. But, more snow is in the forecast for this weekend.

Enough already! Think spring…think spring…think spring…

A full shot of the oak tree in our back yard. This was a combination of 6 separate photos stitched together

We lost a huge branch like this one from the weight of the wet snow

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Cloud Photos: The View From a Jet

This past week, John had the opportunity to fly east on business. On the return trip, he took a few shots out the plane window that I thought came out really well. Here they are, we hope you enjoy them!

Both photos © John J. Zimmer

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