Buttermilk Falls & Shale – North Chagrin Reservation

The water levels were low this weekend when we visited Buttermilk Falls in the North Chagrin Reservation in Lake and Cuyahoga Counties, part of the Cleveland (Ohio) Metroparks. This provided for excellent views of the interesting shale formations in the stream bed. The shale at the upper point of the falls broke off into curvy jagged shapes, while only slightly further down the falls, the shale broke off into rectangular chunks. Here are a few photos.

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Rocky River Reservation – Cleveland Metroparks

It’s been super busy the last few weeks, but for one day we decided to take a break from it all and  visit the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks. It’s a lovely and very active park, with plenty of people walking, running, biking, hiking, golfing, boating, and fishing. I’ve visited most (if not all) of the parks in both the Cleveland and Lake Metropark systems and I think Rocky River Reservation is one of the finest of the group, with many sights to see and plenty of things to do. Here are a few photos of the river views, plus one photo of  a distant downtown Cleveland's Key Tower peeking over the treetops.

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Mammatus Clouds Signal Severe Weather

Many severe storms (along with reported funnel clouds) moved through northern Ohio yesterday afternoon. We were on the northern edge of the first wave of storms with tornado warnings just south. Mammatus clouds, which are indicative of the violent weather, formed on the northern edge of the storm as it passed overhead. Here is a photo.

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Lightning At Sunset

A strong line of thunderstorms moved through the area last night at sunset, bringing some heavy rains, big winds, and lots of lightning. I captured one lightning bolt that shot out from the edge of the storm as it moved into the area, the surrounding sky glowing orange from the setting sun. Here’s the photo.

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Supermoon – The Morning After

It was slightly cloudy/hazy here yesterday when the “supermoon” was rising/setting, so I was unable to get a good photo. But this morning, the sky was clearer and I got a photo of the moon setting over the treetops. The moon picked up a pinkish hue from the rising sun (and possibly a light haze). Here’s a photo.

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Least Sandpipers Rest; Red-Winged Blackbirds Flood Wake Robin Trail

I’m finally getting caught up on photos that I took earlier in the month. I visited Wake Robin Trail in Mentor Ohio a few weeks ago, and arrived on a day that was filled with red-winged blackbirds. They were everywhere, sitting on the dry cattails that lined the trail. Most of the Mentor Marsh is filled with invasive phragmites - tall grasses that love brackish water. The area lining the trail has been cleared and replanted with things like cattails, grasses, and wildflowers that were native to the area before the phragmites took over. This has encouraged more unusual birds to stop by during migration. (It's a long story about how the water turned brackish, which made perfect conditions for the phragmites to thrive.) The trail is an excellent area for birding, especially during migration. I think I arrived on the day that all the red-winged blackbirds came home. But amidst all of those red wings, I did catch a pair of least sandpipers hanging out in some shallow water. Here are a few photos.  (Click on any image for a larger view.)

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A Robin With A Mouthful

Over the years, we’ve had several robins who have nested very close to the house, in some cases where we can see the eggs hatch right outside a window. This year, we had a robin who seemed to be very protective of the area near our garage, but we never could see a nest. I did manage to catch the robin perched on the peak of the garage roof, with a mouthful of bugs/worms in its mouth, apparently waiting patiently until I cleared the area to get to the nest. Here are two photos. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

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