February Banter 2026

[The Dude]

1 hour ago, Scarlet Pimpernel said:

On a lighter note in here...took these shots yesterday.  Yes, I went out in those conditions to do a little photography!!  First one is of a nearly completely frozen Rock Creek here in suburban MD (Rock Creek Trail, near Bethesda/Silver Spring).  Second one is a tree at the entrance of the Georgetown Prep school, I have always liked that tree, it's very stately-looking (black and white image)...

Great shots!  I know that tree well, and agree that it is very stately looking.

[stormtracker]

18 minutes ago, hosj III said:

in a technical sense you're right, because a newcomer that acted like Ji would probably get banned

Probably not.  They'd just stay and make terrible posts and get mocked as they currently do, so....

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

12 minutes ago, The Dude said:

Great shots!  I know that tree well, and agree that it is very stately looking.

Many thanks!  I live not that far from there so I've passed that school along Rockville Pike and have seen that tree many times.  Always wanted to get some shots of it over the years...and finally a couple of years ago I made a point to do so.  Have gotten a few photos of it since then, mainly in winter (the sparseness of the branches and how it stands out are more stunning, I think, with no leaves).  Interesting side-note about that:  I think sometime a year or so ago that one large branch at the bottom got cut off due to a bad storm.  It actually used to extend farther out to the left side.  Here's what I got (if I may) from almost exactly 3 years ago (Feb. 2023)...I actually like this shot that I took of the tree the most, using a creamy sort of black/white.  It was taken later in the day (plus no snow on the ground then, grrr!), and it has that larger branch extending to the left.  I like how it just stands out more, like a silhouette.

[The Dude]

1 minute ago, Scarlet Pimpernel said:

Many thanks!  I live not that far from there so I've passed that school along Rockville Pike and have seen that tree many times.  Always wanted to get some shots of it over the years...and finally a couple of years ago I made a point to do so.  Have gotten a few photos of it since then, mainly in winter (the sparseness of the branches and how it stands out are more stunning, I think, with no leaves).  Interesting side-note about that:  I think sometime a year or so ago that one large branch at the bottom got cut off due to a bad storm.  It actually extended farther out to the left side.  Here's what I got (if I may) from almost exactly 3 years ago (Feb. 2023)...I actually like this shot that I took of the tree the most, using a creamy sort of black/white.  It was taken later in the day (plus no snow on the ground then, grrr!), and it has that larger branch extending to the left.  I like how it just stands out more, like a silhouette.

I fully agree it looks best without the leaves.  The silhouette it offers without any other significant trees around gives a very stark and almost haunted vibe.  I live about a mile away and can't tell you how many times I've driven past and wanted to take a picture.  I need to follow your inspiration and actually do so sometime.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Just now, The Dude said:

I fully agree it looks best without the leaves.  The silhouette it offers without any other significant trees around gives a very stark and almost haunted vibe.  I live about a mile away and can't tell you how many times I've driven past and wanted to take a picture.  I need to follow your inspiration and actually do so sometime.

Yeah...and that tree just stands out by itself too.  I will say, it was not the easiest to get a shot of.  I had to work hard the first time I tried to avoid getting the brick wall along the side, the road, power lines, distant buildings farther up the Pike, and the driveway into the school in the shot.  And still capture the entire tree (wide angle lens definitely needed!).  I just wanted that tree with the background smaller trees and a bit of the grass in the foreground.  Once I found a spot, it was easier to do the next times I went to get a photo.  I'll offer this advice, if I may (such as it is!)...there's a telephone pole across from the tree (other side of the driveway entrance).  I've found that standing propped up against that enabled me to avoid the other distracting elements I mentioned above.

[Terpeast]

Taking it to banter. This winter we’ve had lots of cold and almost no torching. But that made for a frustrating season for tracking storms because we’ve been too dry. Apart from the major winter storm, we’ve had both a sheer lack of minor events and big misses to the south.

Last winter was more fun in terms of tracking because we had plenty to track between early Jan and mid Feb (although we didn’t get the happy ending we wanted then). This year we didn’t have as many events to track, and when we did, it was frustrating when we were willing something to happen the way we wanted and got a close miss instead. 

[CAPE]

10 minutes ago, Terpeast said:

Taking it to banter. This winter we’ve had lots of cold and almost no torching. But that made for a frustrating season for tracking storms because we’ve been too dry. Apart from the major winter storm, we’ve had both a sheer lack of minor events and big misses to the south.

Last winter was more fun in terms of tracking because we had plenty to track between early Jan and mid Feb (although we didn’t get the happy ending we wanted then). This year we didn’t have as many events to track, and when we did, it was frustrating when we were willing something to happen the way we wanted and got a close miss instead. 

Also had snow otg for 2 weeks(more melting than this winter tho) and 2 significant all snow events here- both in the 6-9" range. Think I ended up right about average for here (18") or a bit under. This winter has been much colder and and still a bit under 12" at this point. Just gimmie one 6" snow event even if its gone 12 hours later.

[MN Transplant]

If we're done, I'm still giving this winter somewhere in the B range.  Yes, we'd finish below normal snowfall, but the last two weeks have been the most impressive stretch of pure winter in my 21 years in the DC area.