Canada Day 2014 - Raising the Largest Maple Leaf Flag Along the MacDonald-Cartier Corridor

The pictures say it all. There was great attendance and the southwesterly wind flew the flag very well. The thunderstorms passed by to the north and the south. It was a great day ... and thanks to the generous folks from the Smart Centres. This Canadian Flag is already a landmark in its Birthplace - Brockville. The 50 Years of the Flag Committee still has much to do by February 15th, 2015.

 

Happy Canada Day from Brockville, the Birthplace of the Canadian Flag

There will be weather today!
Satellite imagery was always my "go-to" resource. Every line and swirl means something and diagnosing the atmosphere is just like reading a book. You just have to learn the vocabulary.
The attached early morning visible image is really useful - the sun casts shadows and allows one to fine the high convective tops. That prefrontal line through Peterborough is a concern for sure. Convection will fire along it first. The cold front is the line of convection casting a shadow west of Barrie and then linking to the thunderstorms north of Sudbury.
Note how eastern Ontario is clear! Hot and sunny weather at least to start. The thin cirrus over Brockville now will probably evapourate away except for the contrails.
The question is whether the atmosphere is capped in the low levels or not. If there is no capping inversion then cumulus clouds will form this morning and reduce the amount of heating. If cumulus is prevented from developing by a low level cap then the skies will stay sunny until the prefrontal line arrives later this afternoon. This would allow the sun to really charge up the atmosphere and load the canons for the thunderstorms. I suspect there is enough wind shear to organize the thunderstorms. There are some other important things I want to look at but I am retired and will sit back and enjoy the Canada Day Show. Boom...

Canada Day in Brockville - the Birthplace of the Canadian Flag

A new Canadian Flag will be unfurled at the Maple Leaf Flag Memorial at 3 pm on Canada Day. The generosity of Mitch Golhar and the Smart Centres, will raise a 35-by-75-foot flag atop a 160-foot pole. This new Flag will become the largest, highest flag between Toronto and Montreal along the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway.
For more ... http://www.recorder.ca/2014/06/28/flying-the-maple-leaf-high
Hot, and humid weather can be expected in Brockville for the July 1st festivities. There should be enough of a blustery southwesterly wind to get the new flag flying. The cold frontal passage with thunderstorms can be expected around 9 pm in the evening. Nature will provide the Canada Day fireworks!

One of the goals of the 50 Years of Our Flag Committee was to ensure that Canadians learned the history behind this iconic symbol and took pride in being a Canadian. We continue to work toward that end.
Some Flag Facts

• The largest Canadian flag ever made was recently unveiled at a football game in Hamilton, between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts. The flag was 38x76 metres (125x250 feet), and required at least 80 pairs of hands to carry it on to the field. This flag is too big to fly but it will be brought on to the turf at Ivor Wynne Stadium, the Ticat's home base, for the start of every home game. A flag that size costs $15,000.

• A larger flag is planned for Mississauga -over 300 feet in height with a 100 x 200 foot flag.

• A flag in Hamilton is 160 high with a 35 x 70 foot Flag matching that of Brockville. 

• A Flag similar to Brockville's is being planned for the Windsor waterfront. 

• A 250x500 foot Flag has been made for Copps Coliseum but it is too large to fly.

• The Flag pole on the 401 at Stevens Rd in Oshawa is 140 feet high and that Flag is 25 x 50 feet.

Welcome AES/MSC/EC Retirees!

I was waiting for you ...or at least hoping that you might come. I see that our mutual friend and tireless worker has included a link to my Blog. I post things of interest to me in this Blog. Lately I have been looking after the turtles and tree frogs. All Ontario turtles are struggling except for maybe the painted turtle.

I also post my paintings here even before I sign them in the studio. The link to my complete art site is philtheforecaster.com but it links from my Blog and to other sites as well including Picassa. I am waiting to buy a better camera in order to take quality pics of my last 100 paintings or so. I am up to 1500 works which leads us to Bob's question "Makes us wonder how they had time for their meteorological duties ...... but let's not dwell on that!"

Very funny Bob! Being retired, I can now reveal my secrets.

• Do the science to the best of your ability and learn something every day from the real atmosphere. 
• Stay operational on 12 hour shifts. A day job means commuting in heavy traffic and working long hours at home on agendas that are outside your control anyway.
• Accept all overtime - those will likely be the big storms anyway and the best opportunities to learn and to help those who need the most accurate forecast that you can provide.
• Take your overtime as time off - up to whatever is allowed. No one has figured out how to tax "time-off" yet.
• Enjoy the science and merge your day job with your passion. Art and science are really one in the same and it is good to be passionate about both.
• Take every day as a "present" and vow to play with your family and your art.
• Don't watch TV or organized sports unless your kids are involved. 
• Remember, you gotta laugh!

I may be quasi-retired but I still teach the human approach to prediction based on remote sensing, pattern recognition and situational awareness - things that NWP is still working on but that humans mastered when we crawled out of the cave along, long time ago - seems like only yesterday though!

One of my very first charcoal drawing completed with Mario Airomi ... I was ten or so. 

Move over Mantracker... Now there is Turtle Tracker

So far this year I have only been able to locate and protect five turtle nests. They may look slow but these Ninja Turtles can out maneuver me!
This is a fairly rare stink pot turtle. The baby turtles are only 3/4 of an inch long when they hatch out.
By the way, PPE is Predator Protector Effluence - pronounced "PEE".

Turtle Update 2014

Turtle nesting is a busy time. In my daily journeys I try to watch just where these Ninja Turtles lay their precious eggs. They may seem slow but they are tricky and easily outsmart me!. An unprotected nest is a raccoon snack and the nest is lost. Six of the eight Ontario turtle species are at risk.
This morning there were about six large northern map turtles hunting for just the right spot to lay. I was able to locate and protect three of these. One nest took me three attempts to locate which is why I take pictures of them as they are nest building. The turtles start with their front legs and finish the hole with their back legs. They hide them well but the sharp nose of the raccoon are able to locate them. A raccoon could easily flip the protector but they avoid them. I weigh some of these down with bricks.
Turtles live 70 years or more and maybe only one of 1500 eggs make it to adulthood. They are worth protecting!
http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/files/SS07-TurtleReference.pdf
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Species/2ColumnSubPage/MNR_SAR_TURTLES_AT_RISK_EN.html

2014 Courses with Phil the Forecaster Chadwick...

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Wilson Street Studio Art Retreat in the Kawartha Highlands - Canoe and Paint with Phil the Forecaster.For more details, follow the links ... hope to have a full Group of Eight! August 6-10, 2014.
http://www.wilsonstreetstudios.com/kawartha-highlands-retreat-2014.html
http://www.ontarioparks.com/park/kawarthahighlands

Southampton Art School Phil's Courses

http://www.southamptonart.com/instructors/phil-chadwick

wind, waves and weather en plein air 
with Phil Chadwick date & time: August 22-24, 9am-4pm

Spend all day with Phil searching for interesting subjects and enjoying the weather. Begin to see colour!

making waves on Chantry Island
with Phil Chadwick date & time: August 25-27, 9am-Spend three full days learning the fine points of painting water and everything surrounding it! Situated on the shores of gorgeous Lake Huron, students will directly experience Chantry Island. Join Phil while he shares his passion for weather patterns and how they affect the water, skies and the Great Lakes' great moods. Although the instructor will be painting in oil, acrylics and watercolours are also welcome.

Killarney- Artist’s Workshop at Charlton Lake with Phil Chadwick... All experience levels are welcome. Phil will tailor the program to suit participants’ backgrounds and expectations. The workshop will include plenty of “outdoor time” for exploration, inspiration, and nature painting. Sunday, September 21 to Wednesday, September 24, 2014.

Phone 1-877-587-3474 (toll-free); Web: www.charltonlakecamp.com; Email:

info@charltonlakecamp.com

Tree Frogs

Spring comes alive. The loons are back and squabbling over territories. Turkeys are gobbling and strutting around. We have heard whippoorwills as well.
The attached image of a very handsome tree frog was taken on our window sill. The call was so loud that we thought he was in the home. It is incredible that a sound so loud and piercing can come from a creature the size of your thumb! I assume it is a "he" but I do not really know. He was having a conversation with another nearby frog and I assume was trying to attract a mate. There are a lot of things I do not know!

No new posts... Abducted by Aliens?

Spring has been very busy but not with art.
One of my many tragic flaws is that things like "art" come after all the chores are done. I need peace in the kingdom to paint. My wife calls this "food-shelter and clothing" and doesn't think my tragic flaw is nearly strong enough. However I have been fixing the plumbing, doing drywall and wall painting. Trimming trees and cutting grass is also in the list now. We also had family and guests here for two and a half weeks and that time was very well spent taking walks and playing... four grand children keep life very interesting!
If that wasn't enough I have also been doing weather and climate change presentations. I have a major week-long meteorological training session coming up as well.
When those are done, I plan to paint up a storm. I hope the time away from the brushes might inspire some successful paintings when I get back to the easel.
Here is an image of a six and a half gray rat snake that lives nearby and shares the property. I used a tape measure to get my measurement  exact. I think I have seen this snake before - we are friends :>))