In September of 2025, my work is generating the most income it ever has in my career. Yet, I'm being forced to shut down my successul operation, against my will, due to one cause alone: 95% of that revenue is being stolen by piracy and copyright infringement. I've lost more than $1 million to copyright infringement in the last 15 years, and it's finally brought an end to my professional storm chasing operation. Do not be misled by the lies of infringers, anti-copyright activists and organized piracy cartels. This page is a detailed, evidenced account of my battle I had to undertake to just barely stay in business, and eventually could not overcome. It's a problem faced by all of my colleagues and most other creators in the field.
Harvest time is a big deal here in the Midwest. The landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation: the corn that has towered along the roads for months is suddenly vanishing as the combines make their sweeping passes over the fields. From the sources I've read, while September and October are the primary months, the harvest is a drawn-out process that can actually linger into December before all of the fields in the region are done. It all depends on the weather - apparently only the corn that is completely dry and brown is game for harvesting - any remaning green stalks aren't ready, and any significant rainfall will postpone the process. Most of the corn around New Baden has been brown for the past couple of weeks, so I'd expect most of it to be gone soon. I'd been wanting to get out and do some photography of the harvest, but with the remnants of TS Hermine hanging around, the prospects of good lighting (namely golden sunsets) have been hard to come by.
Speaking of Hermine, the fringe remnants of the tropical storm are affecting the St. Louis area this week, although with nothing more than some light rain and a few overcast days. It's a stretch to even classify this weather as tropical-related, as the characteristics of the system are barely remniscent of a tropical cyclone. However, much of this rain and cloudiness would likely not be happening if not for Hermine, so it's technically not too out of line to say we're seeing secondary effects from a tropical storm here in the nation's heartland.
Before Hermine's remnants overspread the area, some post-frontal showers developed on Tuesday evening, with a display of rain shafts at sunset:
And lastly, the blackbirds/grackles/starlings are returning. I've seen several small flocks around the area for the past month, but in recent weeks, the groups seem larger and more numerous. This is only part of one on Haselhorst Road here in New Baden this afternoon. According to some sources, the fall season's influx of birds will rival or at least equal the activity seen prior to spring.
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From Dan: Please Read
To my regular readers, I offer my apologies for this heavy-handed notice. Unfortunately it has become necessary, so please bear with me!
Please don't copy/upload this site's content to social media or other web sites. Those copies have been a critical problem for me, seriously harming this site and my photography/storm chasing operation by diverting traffic, viewers, engagement and income. "Credit" and "exposure" does not benefit this site or my operation, rather they threaten my ability to cover my operating expenses. Please read my full explanation for this notice here.
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