week1

Weather

What will you do if you encounter bad weather? Where will you take shelter?
-Ms. Cameron's 2nd grade class, Selby Lane Elementary, Atherton, CA

This is a very good question. I actually encountered bad weather during my first week on the road. No, it was not raining or very cold. In fact, it was VERY hot!!!

Side Note:

Did this insect find its way into my tent to escape the heat? Probably not. Many insects, like this crane fly are attracted to light. It probably liked my flashlight and decided to hang out (literally!).

Luckily, although it looks like a big mosquito, the crane fly does not bite.

This crane fly is brown and has white patches out on its wings.

I had to cross the Central Valley of California to get to Yosemite in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Luckily, I am carrying a weather radio which gives me the most up-to-date weather information from the National Weather Service. They said that temperatures were going to be up to 110 degrees fahrenheit in the Central Valley on Thursday, but that it would start to get cooler beginning on Friday. With this information I decided to bike a short distance on Wednesday to Woodward Reservoir near Modesto where I camped out until Friday morning. It was great to cool off in the water!
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Just about half a mile from Woodward Reservoir I saw this large white bird standing out in the field.

I believe it is a Cattle Egret. It has a yellow bill like a Great Egret but it is smaller in size.

What small animals might it eat out in the fields?

It can be just as dangerous to bike in very hot weather as it can be to bike at night or in the rain. When it is hot it is even more important to drink LOTS of water and stay out of the sun as much as possible. Why do you think you need to drink more water when it is hot out?

The weather did start to cool off but it has still been hot so I have started getting up really early, before the sun rises, so that I can start biking while it is still cool. It tends so get much hotter in the afternoon.
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This is a mantid which is also called a Preying Mantis. It joined me at my picnic table at Woodward when I was escaping the heat. The mantid waits for a spider or another insect to cross its path and then it grabs it with its strong forelegs (front legs). This mantid is green but they can also be brown or gray. Unlike many insects that move very fast, this mantid walked very slowly, even when it was on my arm. Perhaps it was feeling the heat as much as I was!

I do watch the sky for signs of storm clouds (big and dark in color), talk to people I meet, and listen to the weather radio so that I will be prepared for a storm. I am carrying waterproof clothing so that I will stay dry if it does rain. I also have garbage bags and protective covers for the bags on my bike so all my gear stays dry too. My tent is also waterproof. As much as possible, I will try not to bike in the rain. It is dangerous because the road is slippery and it is harder to see and be seen by motorists.

See you next week!

Click here or on my email address below to send me a question or comment. Please include your name, grade level, city and state. I look forward to hearing from you! Mike@Kahncious.Net

Environmental Volunteers
3921 E. Bayshore Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303
(650) 961-0545, (650) 961-0548 fax
www.EVols.org, info@EVols.org