Skiing.

3-6-14 VERMONT: I came north when the forecast promised warmer weather in hopes of getting in some skiing before the end of the season. Vermont is snowy again with snow in the pasture up to the bottom rail of the three-rail fence. Today was cloudless, windless and in the low twenties after a sub-zero night.

I went to the Dartmouth Skiway after some errands in the morning. The Skiway was groomed to perfection except for the trails allowed to form moguls. I was there for two hours today and hope to do more tomorrow. I was again reminded how much I enjoy sliding downhill on the snow. I can’t tolerate weather colder than today’s any more, and I am not the first one on the lift in the morning any more, and I’m not looking for steeps, powder or bumps any more, but carving turns on groomed trails is still fun.

The neighbors are getting ready for sugaring, spring must be just over the horizon.


The Dartmouth Skiway on a blue sky day.

iPhone selfie.

After Midnight.

3-3-14 SHORT HILLS: We were predicted to get another big snowstorm, but it veered off to the south, hitting Philadelphia and Washington, and leaving us with a dusting of fluff. I’m OK with no new snow.

The red-wing blackbirds must have been reading the blog because they appeared at the feeders this morning. There were three or four showing only yellow epaulets but no red.

Saturday we saw After Midnight. It’s a rollicking jazz revue featuring “The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars”, a sixteen-member band, heavy with brass, on the stage on a bandstand that rolls out almost into the audience at some points. The band is backed up by a troupe of young singers and dancers performing about two-dozen jazz standards, mostly by Duke Ellington and Harold Arlen. The trick is to recognize the song from the verse, before the song starts. The ‘guest star’, because shows need a big name headliner, is k. d. lang, who was excellent.


Brooks Atkinson Theatre-another old theatre with gilded moldings, chandeliers and murals hidden by lights, speakers and mikes.



Dancin '

Singin'

Grackles on their Commute.

Common grackle looks like a blackbird in the shade.

But in the sun, they have an iridescence. Can you see the tongue in this shot?

All that color shows up in the light. They have a noisy raucous call and hang out in flocks, all yakking at the same time.

These birds visit in the spring and fall and are usually followed by red-winged black birds.

Female cardinal has been here all winter.

And It Stays Cold...

2-28-14 SHORT HILLS: We’ve been back in the deep freeze for several days since the midmonth thaw. We had a dusting of new snow two days ago. Tomorrow, March 1, always seemed to me to signal the end of winter, but, obviously, not this year, in fact or feeling.

At the feeders, we have had lots of grackles, maybe two dozen or so, for several days. There are also several robins in the yard looking perplexed by all the snow.

Warm Weekend.

2-22-14 SHORT HILLS: As the sun gets higher in the sky, it gets warmer, in theory anyway. Today it’s in the low fifties and sunny after a few days of the forties. Yesterday there was a line of rain showers that slid across the whole eastern seaboard. There were T-storms to our south, but we just had a bit of hard rain. The day was otherwise fog and drizzle, but the snow has been melting. The shrubs that were freed from the ice have bounced up. The clouds cleared late in the afternoon to give us a nice sunset.

Next week, more snow and an encore by the polar vortex are predicted.


Nice sunset after the rain.

And a closer look.

"The winter of Our Discontent"--W.S.

2-17-14 SHORT HILLS: Since my last post, we have had more snow, done more shoveling and still flounder around the back yard in knee-deep snow, wishing for snowshoes. [In NJ!] The driveway is narrowed to one twisted, hard to negotiate lane. A lot of the local streets are down to one lane, and that lane is pock marked with potholes. The house is covered with snow and icicles hang from the gutters.

I saw a robin in the driveway yesterday. He flew into a holly tree and juniper bushes. I hope he finds enough berries to eat. Robins never go to the feeders, but everyone else is there all day.


That thing on top of the gutter is the sensor for the sprinkler system.

Have a seat.

And It Came To Pass.

2-13-14 SHORT HILLS: We got another ton of snow over night. Judy and I shoveled the driveway because there’s no place left for the plowers to push it. Now it’s raining. There’s not much wind, and the temp is in the thirties. We’re supposed to get another three inches tonight and more on Saturday. Personally, I’ve had all the snow I need for this winter.

Notice the shoveled driveway, cleared by Judy and me. There's no place for the plows to put the snow.

Patio table has retained some of the snow. The yardstick is at the 21 inch level.