Black Bear and a Deer in Headlights

Black Bear, Western Massachusetts
Photo by Brendan Trainor

No, we have no snow. And no cute videos of a zoo polar bear rolling around in feet of snow. But we do have black bears and deer (in the wild, no less!). To prove that point, we submit these two photos, taken by friend of Head in the Clouds Amherst, Brendan Trainor, who tells me he has many more, featuring all kinds of fauna. Just to be clear, the deer wasn't actually in headlights (that's just the camera flash reflecting off his eyes) - but if you want a literal "deer in headlights" look, that's got to be it.

Thanks, Brendan - we look forward to seeing lots more! Anything to entertain us during this essentially snow-less winter (so far anyway).

Deer in Headlights, Western Massachusetts
Photo by Brendan Trainor

Milk and bread. And coffee.

Store shelves in Stafford, Virginia this morning, 1/22/2016

A colleague of mine who lives in D.C. realized this morning that she had no food at all at home, “not even milk or coffee,” she exclaimed in surprise. You have to smile at that. Isn’t “milk and bread” the gold standard? I mean, I’m pretty sure you can live without coffee. Upon grasping the full extent of her coffee-less existence, she jumped on the subway (Metro) to go to the nearest supermarket to stock up, only to find herself in a scrum of humanity, scrambling for the last loaves on the shelf. Actually, bread had long gone. I think she was relegated to cereal and canned sardines. And forget about flashlights and batteries. Once she got back home (and keep in mind the transit system was shutting down at noon), I gave her an earful about being so utterly unprepared for inclement weather. It didn't matter. Although I was dishing out one of my best, holier-than-thou, New Englanders-know-better lectures, it soon became clear I’d lost her attention. Snow was already falling, and even over the phone I could tell she was mesmerized at the sight.

What will this weekend bring around here? Regardless of all the hype (about points well south of Amherst), it seems likely we won’t see much snow – if any - around here. Still, it’s worth mentioning that this storm has got everyone guessing. The storm track margin of error (as of a few hours ago) was +/- 100 miles! And a difference of just 30-50 miles can make all the difference between heavier snow and stronger winds further north versus a much lighter snowfall and strong to damaging winds remaining in Southeast New England. Right now, it looks like in Southern New England, South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island stand the greatest risk of highest snowfall totals with areas south of the Mass Pike still at risk for some accumulating snow. A Winter Storm Watch is now in effect from Saturday Morning through Sunday Morning for South Coastal Massachusetts and Rhode Island including Cape Cod and the Islands for 4-7" of snow and strong winds of 20-30 MPH with gusts to 55 MPH.

Around the Pioneer Valley and Amherst, we will be getting a dusting to 1” if the models keep the track on a more southerly course. And possibly a little more than that (maybe 3”?) if the models trend northward.

Now off to the store to pick up some milk and bread. And coffee. Just because.

Big storm or big bust?

Of course, you have all heard by now that a major winter storm is brewing for this weekend. “There will be feet of snow,” exclaimed a friend this morning. And, indeed, *somewhere* there may well be “feet” of snow, but – probably – not here in Amherst. Things could still change, and uncertainty abounds about where exactly the impact will be felt, but right now it’s looking like the greatest risk for potential heavy snow, strong to damaging winds, and coastal flooding is over southeastern portions of southern New England including most of Rhode Island and Southeast Massachusetts with the Boston area and Hartford Connecticut area on the northern fringe of significant impacts. (And even more snow is predicted for the mid-Atlantic state.) As is typically the case with intense, major winter storms over New England, there will be a sharp cutoff to the north of significant winter weather. Where the cut-off line falls is often the question. Right now, it doesn’t look like the Pioneer Valley will be in the thick of things, but that could still change. Despair not, snow lovers (there's still most of winter ahead of us!). Plus, even now it looks like we fall into the 4-6" range for snow totals, and that's not nothing.

After the snow sky

After the snow sky - Amherst, MA
Photo by S. Vardatira

“It seemed a cloud enclosed us, shining, dense, with polished surface firm that, diamond-bright, was dazzling in the sun's reflected light. We passed within the eternal pearl, as sinks a ray of sunlight in the stream”

[Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, 1320]

Musings on office snow-closing

Yes, there is snow in the forecast for today - late afternoon/evening through about midnight (estimated accumulation in Amherst of one to two inches). So, of course, people are already wondering about snow closings.

Which brings me to this superlative Dilbert comic strip. A special shout out to everyone trapped at work, wanting to go home and watch the snow fall (when it finally does, that is).  Enjoy!

Return of the UFO from three years ago?

So, has anyone seen this???? A few days after our blog post about the Amherst UFO sightings three years ago, we received the following reply, about A VERY SIMILAR SIGHTING, this time in Conway, last week. Please share - either we are getting repeat visitations from something extraterrestrial, or there are indeed unmanned fairly sizable drones populating our skies. (Or maybe both!). What do you think is going on?

Here's the posting we got:
"I read this article yesterday (the one by Rebecca Everett) for the first time and my jaw dropped. I am SO happy it was posted!!! I live in Conway, MA, and on 1/5/16, I had an identical experience to what the people saw in Amherst, with a diamond shaped vessel that SLOWLY went over our house, flying VERY low. My husband and I both saw it. I called the Chicopee and Westfield Airforce bases the following morning, which both denied having any unmanned drones. The only reason I called them was because it looked like 2 people could ride in it, or either be an unmanned drone- the size of 2 cars or a small plane. It was around 8:45 at night, and I was watching the fish in our newly set up tank next to our sliding glass doors. My son was sitting in my lap, and I happened to look out the large window of the door and saw lights coming towards our house through the trees. I immediately said "Hey, there's a plane that's about to fly over our house!" I picked up my son (as he loves planes) and opened the door. No sound of a plane. I put him down in the chair, stepped out on our porch, and called my husband over. The thing flew so low, so quietly, right over our garage and mudroom. It had four white lights and was in a diamond shape. It was dark out, but it appeared to have a slightly rounded curve on it's belly that went from one wing to the other from the shadows cast on itself from the lights on it's wings and nose. It happened so slowly, but so fast- I wish I had taken a video or photos of it with my phone! None of my neighbors saw it unfortunately. I had to file a report with the Chief of Police in Conway after discussing the matter with the Air Force base in Chicopee about inquiring with my drone question, which they both denied. My husband thinks they are lying. My neighbors think it's a UFO, and I honestly am just so baffled and obsessed now at finding out what the hell it is/was!"

UFO Sightings Across Amherst Three Years Ago Tonight

Screen Shot from WWLP 22 News

Three years ago tonight, Head in the Clouds Amherst was the first to report news of multiple UFO sightings across Amherst in the early evening. We followed that initial report with several subsequent updates. To this day, those UFO-related reports remain our most popular posts, with some 20,000 viewers having checked them out since 2013. Click here to read our first report on the matter.

Cold morning just got colder

Yup, that's about right. 4.6 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside right now!

I thought it was definitely cold this morning. And then I looked at the reading from our outdoor sensor. Single digits, 4.6° F. Now I'm freezing. (And I'm still inside a warm house, just to be clear.)

Bundle up, everyone. It's cold out there. 

On the up side, it gets warmer after today through the end of the week. Then something comes our way this weekend. Too soon to tell what exactly, although rain, freezing rain, and snow are all possibilities. Stay tuned.

First Winter Weather Advisory of the Season

Photo by Matt Holiner

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY is now in effect from 8 PM Monday evening through 7 PM Tuesday evening for Franklin, Hampshire, Northern Worcester, Central and Northern Middlesex and Western Essex Counties of Massachusetts for 2-4" of snow with locally higher amounts, and around one-tenth inch of ice accretion with up to one-quarter inch ice accretion in higher terrain locations.

Keep in mind that snow and ice amounts and precipitation type changeover and timing will fluctuate as future model runs get a better handle on these items. It is possible that a prolonged period of freezing rain could develop in any of the advisory areas, and in particular the higher elevations of Western and Northern Massachusetts and northwest Hartford County in Connecticut.

Plan accordingly, people!

Yanked into Winter

First Snow at Cushman Brook, 12/2013
Photo by S. Vardattira

The National Weather Service has posted a “HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK” for Monday night into Tuesday for the Amherst area (as well as Northern Connecticut, all of Massachusetts except Berkshire County, and Rhode Island). This is one of those situations where storm track makes all the difference and there are still a lot of unknowns to consider. On the one hand, our prolonged period of well above-normal temperatures means the ground is not yet frozen in many places. This will make it tough to accumulate snow if the snow doesn’t fall quickly enough. Moreover, with the temperature rising above freezing on Tuesday, the big question (in terms of snowfall amounts) is the extent to which the snow falls while the temperature is still low enough to support snow, and before a dry slot moves in aloft and “deactivates the ice nuclei.” So depending on those and a variety of other factors, conditions could favor snow or more of a wintry mix of sleet or freezing rain.

At present, it seems most likely that the brunt of our snowfall will occur from midnight to 7 am on Tuesday. Then the transition to a wintry mix begins from Connecticut, moving north to our area. This could make for a messy Tuesday morning commute. The Tuesday evening commute should not be as bad, as any lingering precipitation should be in the form of rain at that time. Specific snow and ice accumulations are not yet definitive, but we will probably get at least a few inches of snow overnight from Monday night into Tuesday morning. Of greater concern is the strong likelihood of sleet and possibly freezing rain early Tuesday and Tuesday morning. It takes only a trace of snow and/or ice to make untreated roads slippery. Additional amounts only magnify the impact, but with this kind of event, even light precipitation can be hazardous.

And then, of course, there’s the emotional impact of our being suddenly yanked from our balmy winter into something more… well… like New England in winter.

Oh, yeah, another storm is headed our way for Thursday. What exactly that will turn out to be (snow, rain, mix) is still up in the air. Literally. Pun intended.

Dandelions in December

Dandelions in December, Amherst, MA - 12/26/2015
Photo by Barb Bilz

A smattering of local Amherst dandelion pics are popping up across Facebook, this one taken earlier today by friend of Head in the Clouds Amherst, Barb Bilz. Unbelievably, I've also seen pics of Cherry Blossoms on Cape Cod. All courtesy of our unseasonably warm weather. But don't put away those winter coats just yet. By Monday, temperatures dip down into the 30s (for highs) and something wintry - snow, sleet, freezing rain, and/or possibly a mix of all of the above - comes our way on Tuesday. A few inches of snow, at most, but the potential for a mix of precipitation may keep this interesting. Stay tuned.

After Tuesday, high temps hover in the high 30s /low 40s (still not crazy cold, it should be noted), with no storms in the forecast, at this point anyway, through at least January 9.

I must go in, the fog is rising...

Farm in fog, 12/10/2015, Amherst, MA
Photo by S. Vardatira

“I must go in, the fog is rising.” 
                                                                                  Emily Dickinson (born 185 years ago today, December 10, 1830)

December on Puffer's Pond

Geese on Puffer's Pond - 12/5/2015
Photo by S. Vardatira

12:15 pm: Now months removed from the summer's onslaught of swimmers, Puffer's Pond has returned to the waterfowl, as it does every fall and early winter. Although today's sun is pouring down out of a cloudless, blue sky, it is a brisk 40 degrees near the water, not as warm as all that light would suggest. And still, the birds seem unperturbed by the chill in the air. I have noticed that the ducks and geese never co-mingle even though they are only a few hundred feet apart. Right now, the geese are bobbing, almost motionless, where the ducks usually reside, near where Mill River flows into the pond. From a distance, they look like grey/white puff balls balanced on the surface of an slightly fuzzy mirror. The ducks, I assume to avoid the geese, have moved to the southeast corner of the pond near the bridge. They are particularly noisy this morning, complaining about this and that (I imagine about the geese, mostly). A woman with two dogs passes by on the upper walking trail. "Stay... heel... slow down." Her training commands, calm and steady, interrupt the ducks' quacking and flapping. A squirrel scampers, vertically, up a nearby tree trunk, and I head towards home.

Atkins is now carrying the 2016 Head in the Clouds Amherst Calendar!

Keep an eye out for our calendars at Atkins Farms, Amherst Books or Hastings, but call before you go over just to make sure the store has calendars in stock (in the past, stores have tended to run out of calendars by mid-December). Amherst Books is located at the center of downtown Amherst at 8 Main Street. Hastings is also downtown, at 45 South Pleasant Street on the Common. Atkins Farms now has two stores, the flagship store near Hampshire College, at 1150 West St., and Atkins North at 113 Cowls Road in North Amherst. 

Please let us know if any of these stores are out of stock (sometimes they forget to tell us!). And you can always purchase the calendar online right here for speedy delivery. Even better, Amherst residents who want to avoid the shipping and handling cost of purchasing the calendar online are welcome to contact us directly to arrange for separate payment and pickup. 

We promise you will not be disappointed! 

You may contact us directly by sending an email to: 
cloudsamherst [@] gmail [dot] com
The [at] and [dot] are done to keep email addresses from being collected by spammers and harvesting robots. You just have to replace them for [@] and [.] when you write your e-mail..