Derecho Fodder Aflame

The following images show an immense pile of tree debris, cut and gathered from the August 10, 2020 derecho storm, set alight on Saturday afternoon, October 24, 2020. The bonfire was located in rural Shueyville, Iowa. The anticipated huge rush of flames did not materialize, probably because of recent rains and the fact that these were live trees when they were destroyed by the storm. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Autumn Tranquility Before the Snow

A tranquil cornfield ready for harvesting is shown near Lowe Park in Marion, Iowa on Sunday afternoon, October 18, 2020. Cirrus and contrails fill the blue sky in the background, with the clouds heralding an abrupt change in weather. Five inches of snow would fall here in just two days in an unusual weather event. iPhone 6-Plus camera.

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It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature!

This is only the second time I have ever seen our lilac bush bloom again in October. This phenomenon occurs when flowering plants are subjected to stress (such as drought) in the summer, then having conditions regulate again during some warm days in the fall--sort of a fooling of the plant. Lilac's new buds form immediately after they are finished flowering in the spring, and some of those buds can at times rebloom in the fall. In my experience, the flowers that have rebloomed on our bush in October are smaller and fewer in number. The blooms (shown above and below) were captured on Monday, October 12, 2020. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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Indian Summer at Wapsipinicon State Park

 

Indian Summer is defined as "a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere during September to November." Several references describe a true Indian Summer as not occurring until the first frost. This was certainly was the case in Eastern Iowa on Saturday, October 10, 2020. Temperatures had risen to the low 80s F, with bright sunshine, a perfect opportunity for some great hiking and photo captures at Wapsipinicon State Park in Jones County, Iowa. Above is a view along a mowed tall grass trail in the park.

Similar view along the same trail.

Wooded trails in the park, which had only recently reopened because of damage from the August 10 derecho storm, provided beautiful views, such as the one shown above in a pine stand with sugar maples.

Sugar maples were in full color glory on the trails. Warm days and cool nights can enhance autumn colors such as those shown above, with this year seemingly being a cut above most. 

A tranquil slow flowing Wapsipinicon River in the park created this beautiful mirror-like reflection of vivid tree colors.

Similar view along the river.

Footbridge in Wapsipinicon State Park, including a Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn-type setting, with a fisherman on the riverbank at right. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

Only too soon, though, the Indian Summer here was but a memory as subsequent cold fronts moved through and typical transitory Iowa weather conditions produced the snowy scenes captured above, only 8 days later on October 18.

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Charged Mars

The planet Mars shines above the Alburnett Road power station located in Marion, Iowa during the evening of Tuesday, October 6, 2020. Mars on this evening came its closeness to Earth, just 38.6 million miles away. The -2.57 magnitude Mars was close enough to outshine the planet Jupiter. The Red Planet will not be this close again to Earth until the year 2035. The image above, looking east and captured at 8:18 pm CDT, is a 8 second exposure at f/3.8, ISO 250, 21mm focal length. 

Similar shot at 8:20 pm. Above and left of Mars is the 4.81 magnitude star Mu Piscium in the constellation Pisces. Mars reaches opposition (directly between the sun and Earth) on October 13, and will shine its brightest then at magnitude -2.61. 3 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 250, 55mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera. 

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Halloween Moon Preview

The month of October, 2020 will feature two full moons--October 1 (Harvest Moon) and October 31 (Blue Moon). Blue moons on Halloween are somewhat rare, with the next one not occurring until 2039. The images of the moon shown above were captured from Brentwood Drive NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and look east. The main image was photographed at 7:37 pm CDT on  Wednesday, September 30, 2020 and is a 1/160 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 800 and 300mm focal length, the inset 1/200 second exposure at f/5.6, ISO 250, 300mm focal length. Nikon D7200 DSLR camera.

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