Happy Solstice!

Today is the year's shortest day. To celebrate we cut our Christmas tree at Wahmhoff Farms.

Year-round Kalamazoo

Here's a technology that's new to me: Prezi. It's marketed as an alternative to PowerPoint, but it seems like more than that. The presentation may take a minute to load.

Navigation: clicking the arrow below the box should take you through the presentation, or you can press "tab" on your keyboard.

To see it full screen, use this address: http://prezi.com/nm--sewwrjnh/ and mouse-over "more" to select full screen.

Snow Day

The first winter storm of the season hit Kalamazoo last night. The kids were delighted when school was canceled.

It's a good day to read about snow science (and see some amazing snowflake photos.)

Snow

While this wasn't the first snow of the season, it is the first snow that really stuck. This morning's Winter white was a dramatic change from yesterday's earth tones.

Fall color

Many local trees have lost their leaves already but a few still show spectacular color, like this maple in Kalamazoo's Bronson Park.

The Botany Photo of the Day has an interesting post on how sunlight affects color development in individual leaves.

After Halloween

In my front yard this morning...

Sandhill Cranes

The Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) have returned to the Audubon Society's Baker Sanctuary as they migrate south for the winter.