You Stink!

  You know how you can be looking right at something and not see it? I think the same goes for smell. For the past several days when I've been walking back the neighbor's lane I caught the scent of something memorable, if not pleasant. And yet I never stopped to identify the smell.

 Today I was walking Parker back the lane and the scent wafted across me again. That's when it hit me what I was smelling was stinkhorn.

 But could I find the source of the odor? I walked slowly, scanning the edge of the muddy field. And there it was - actually there they were - two stinkhorns. They had come up through the mud and stood at the edge of the corn.

Stinkhorn #1 - 8:17 am - 8-17-26

Stinkhorn #2 - 8:17 am - 8-17-26

 How many times in my nearly forty years at Pinehaven have I seen stinkhorns? I could only remember one. But Tom said we found one in the nature reserve in recent memory. Yes, I find I blogged about it on November 13, 2021.

 The first  time was in a flower bed in our front yard. A tree had been cut there and I think the rotten stump gave rise to this fungus. It was a remarkable stinkhorn, huge and brilliantly red. It was not to be missed.

 Read more about the stinkhorn here. And they're common in corn and soybean fields.

 

Derecho?

  They're rare but the NWS is now calling what I thought we had a derecho.

Credit: WHIO-Dayton Nick Dunn

 But the official word is that the derecho did not make it to Ohio. I find that hard to believe.

  Here's how it began:

08-11-26 - 9:11 am - Farmersville

Tuesday, 08-11-26: We traveled to Mason and I watched radar while we were there. There was no doubt something major was already in the Dayton area and moving south towards us. Later the radar app I use in my car was showing this:

08-11-26 2:52 pm

 And here's what the view out the windshield looked like:

08-11-26 2:42 pm

08-11-26 2:42 pm

 This looks like a shelf cloud to me and it's the leading edge of the cluster of storms which is mowing SE.

 The rain gauge read 1.52" at 7 am (08-12-26). That brings the month up to 6.71". Normal for August is 3.08".

 Posted on Facebook early this afternoon:

Credit: WHIO-Dayton Nick Dunn

 And here's a look out my back door ...

Still later, the NWS has conformed the derecho for Ohio, too.

Credit: WHIO-Dayton Nick Dunn

Wednesday, 08-12-26:

Looking south out of my bedroom window.  There's just nowhere for all the water to go.

Thursday, 08-13-26:

 7 am reading: 1.89". Storm total: 3.41". August total: 8.60"

 More rain on tap for tonight. This graphic shows the risk ... though the NWS is placing the area of highest rain west and south of here. We have a break today but by tonight the rains will return.

Credit: BAM Weather (Indianapolis, IN)

Friday, 08-14-26:

 Last night was not even remotely as predicted. We had 0.55" bringing the storm total to 3.96" and August to 9.15". I've reviewed other stations and this is correct. In fact my station was higher than most other local stations.

Credit: CoCoRaHS

 That said, we had one hell of storm between 2:30 am and 4 am. I don't think I've ever seen more constant lightning in such a short period of time. The Tempest recorded 3976 strikes between midnight and 8:30 am.

 Parker snuggled against me but wasn't bothered by the storm. I had a hard time sleeping, particularly for that hour, because I was worried about the power going out and the one sump left helpless (I have a second that is battery backed-up). I could  just imagine water rising in the basement.

 Today it looks like more rain, though nothing heavy or severe. We're coming out of the other side of this series of storms. 

WLW Tower

  Every time we're in Mason, Ohio, I marvel at the stately WLW tower. It's a commanding presence in the neighborhood which once must have been lonely farmland off Tylersville Road.

 A few facts: it's about 750' in height. Originally it was 834' when it was built in 1934 but later reduced. And it weighs 200 tons (they say it places "approx. 450 tons of total downward weight/pressure resting on its single base insulator". And that weird shape with the widest part in the middle? It's called a "Blaw-Knox diamond-shaped cantilevered vertical radiator".

My question, of course, is why this shape? A friend who is ham says the shape concentrates "more electrical current near the middle height of the tower which pushes the signal outward along the ground rather than letting is escape straight up into space".

 That signal is WLW-AM at 700 kWz, a 500,000 watt "Class A clear-channel station" powerhouse.

 My ham friend said it was hated by Hitler because it could be heard in Germany. Hitler called them "the liars of Cincinnati".

 A great virtual tour of the station can be found here.

 Here's the location:

Credit: Google Maps

NBC Blooms Anew

  Some time ago Tom took a start off of mom's Night Blooming Cereus. The "mother" plant last bloomed almost a year ago (click here) but this one has never bloomed. It tried once while it was on the back porch but the bud fell off. Tom suggested we bring the plant back indoors so it has been on the enclosed porch for some months.

 I noticed three buds about a week ago when I made the rounds watering the house plants.

Buds early yesterday (08-05-26) ...

 Last evening about 10 pm all three buds began to unfurl.

 For such an ugly plant, the flowers are equisite, almost otherworldly.

 This third bud had barely begun to open when I went to bed.

 I remember the flowers having a sweet scent on occasion but again this time there was none.

Next day: Tom said when he went to bed he could smell the flowers. And when he woke during the night the scent was still present in the house. I went out and checked them at about 2 pm and they look like deflated balloons. But they do still have a sweet scent!

Basic Egg Custard

  Tom isn't big on desserts but as his birthday cake ran low, I began thinking about what sweet treat to make next. I decided on a basic Egg Custard. I had fresh blueberries I bought a few days ago from Kroger and thought that would make a perfect topping.

 Tom said he'd have preferred my custard pie with blueberries on top but I just wanted something simple.

Basic Egg Custard

2 C milk
2 large eggs
1/2 C white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 ts vanilla
Nutmeg on top

Preheat oven to 325°

Whisk the ingredients together and divide into five custard cups
Place in an oven-safe pan and add hot water (up 1/2 the depth of the cups)
Bake about an hour. Check that a knife inserted comes out clean

Before baking

After baking

 This is really a terrific and easy dessert and somehow seems more wholesome than instant pudding.

 Two notes: I think a little extra baking time would have set the custard more firmly, say an hour and five minutes? And I forgot to add the fresh blueberries. Well, there's always tomorrow.

The Deluge

  We needed rain. We didn't need this much nor this quickly.

 This morning I read 3.25". Most of it fell in the evening.

 Here's what Montgomery County stations have reported so far:

 Yesterday morning I read 0.04" and then it rained some early in the day. But by evening all hell broke loose.

08/01/26 - Evening Rainfall

 Note that around 8:30 pm the rain was falling at a rate of 3.5" per hour.

08/01/26 - Evening Lightning Strikes

 The Tempest reported 2254 strikes yesterday.

08/01/26 - Wind Speed

 The only thing that didn't go crazy was the wind. There were a few gusts but nothing of any consequence. Even so, AES reported over 2,000 power outages.

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As strong storms move through the Miami Valley, 2 NEWS is keeping you updated on the latest power outages.

As of 10:35 p.m. on Saturday, 2,218 AES Ohio customers were in the dark across the region.

Now, as of 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, only 138 households do not have power.

 Here's what my rain gauge looked like when I peered out the back door at the height of the storm ...

08/01/26 - 8:30 pm

 And here's view from my Wx Cam:

08/01/26 - 7:58 pm

 The 3.29" of rain I've received in the first two days of August exceeds the normal for the entire month (3.08"). And we're up 4.18" for the year through July.

 During the storm we had multiple Tornado Warnings. We were instructed  to take shelter immediately. We didn't. Instead I kept a close eye on radar and saw that nothing would directly affect us.

 Watching the nightly news, it seems most storms are of this type: quick deluges. They're coming more and more often. Surely this spells climate change.

Views of the Hummingbird Feeder

  Every spring when we hear the hummingbirds are back in Ohio we hang the hummingbird feeder. Right now is the peak and it requires refilling every few days. There are endless hummers visiting it every day, well into the dark.

07-16-26

07-30-26

 This hummer arrives every day and uses the feeder as a perch.  He does his best to tell others it's his property and they should stay away. They don't agree so there are quite a few frantic flights as he tries to prove ownership.

 But why does the ant moat hanging above it empty so quickly? About a week ago I watched a woodpecker land on it and swing it violently enough to spill both the moat and the feeder. I knocked on the glass and he quickly  flew away.

 There's yet another reason the moat is so often dry ... and it's not evaporation:

07-30-26

 I was shocked to walk by the window and see this squirrel draped across drinking from the moat. Here's a closer view:

 In any case, the feeder is a popular spot with  both the birds and the critters. No wonder it requires so much upkeep.