In the Bleak Mid-Winter.

1-20-26 SHORT HILLS: “…the earth stood like iron, water like a stone, snow had fallen, snow on snow…” That’s from the hymn ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter.' That’s pretty much what we’ve got now. I must have Seasonal Affective Disorder, I just want sunshine and warmth at this point. It was different when I skied, then snow was welcome.

We had enough snow last Saturday/Sunday to get the driveway plowed and to cover the ground and the trees and shrubs. We canceled a trip to NYC to see Emmett and his mom and dad on Sunday, but went in on Monday, Martin Luther King Day, with clear roads and little traffic. The kid really has a good vocab now and conversation is easy. We did lunch with Lily and Danna after the visit. More snow is coming this Sunday.

The wind-chill factor is in the single digits now and more snow is expected this coming weekend. The birds have been mobbing the feeders. I saw a bunch of robins in one of the holly trees last week, but all the berries had been eaten, probably by other robins. Robins never go to the feeders and don’t eat the sunflower seeds on the ground under the feeders. I saw one robin today eating juniper berries from the underneath side of the branches because the tops are covered with snow. 

We had dinners with Bette and Lonnie, Bill and Lynn, and Nancy and Alan at various restaurants. 

Our driveway, trees and shrubs with snow.

More snow, the feeders are on the left side.

More snow.

Sunshine after the storm.

Before the snow, a cardinal and several house finches at the feeders.

Eighty Eight.

1-10-26 SHORT HILLS: We had some snow cover here in NJ, but a few warm days with rain have washed it all away except for the remnants of the plow piles. The warm days, with temps in the low fifties, were quite welcome after several days of sub-freezing weather. 

We’re a few weeks past the Winter Solstice, and the days are slightly longer, but it won’t be noticeable until we get to February. From November 21 to December 21 to January 21 the sun dips from about 19° South Latitude to 23.5° South Latitude and back to 19° South. It’s basically two months of little sun. By February 21, the sun is half way back up to the Equator, 12° South, and by March 20 it’s at the Equator, marking the start of Northern Hemisphere Spring. That’s 69 days away.

Today is my birthday, I’m 88, I checked with a calculator, the flu/pneumonia is almost over. I get an occasional cough, but still have fatigue. We are going to a new restaurant tonight with Lonnie and Bette. Thanks to everyone for the calls this morning. 

I saw a bunch of Canada Geese on the Passaic river where I cross it on the way to the dentist. I took pix on the way back.

There were even more on the downstream side.

I think these geese are permanent residents, who no longer migrate.

Happy [?] New Year.

1-1-26 SHORT HILLS: I realize that it’s been almost two weeks with no post. No post about Xmas, the Party, the weather, the guests, the dogs, the horses and all the festivities. It wasn’t because we were having such a good time, but we were both sick, sick, sick. 

I started with fever and an unrelenting cough, weakness and prostration. After a fight, I let them take me to the DHMC-ER where my X-ray showed pneumonia and my flu test was positive—a double header. The doc turned out to be the nephew of a classmate from BU Sch of Med back in the sixties! Dan and Judy poured me back into the car for the trip to CVS for antibiotics and then home. I was afebrile after a couple days on the antibiotics and well enough to make it to the party for a few hours between naps. 

Judy got sick a few days after I did. She had a terrible cold with nasal symptoms and then a sore throat. She drove us home while sick, packed and unpacked the car, saw to the dogs, watered the plants, all while dodging snow storms and frigid cold. Both of us have slept and slept and slept, and neither of us has any appetite. We watched CNN for New Years, but they never showed the ball drop, or we dropped off and missed it.

The Party was a huge success, and we are still eating left-overs. All the snow we had in VT almost totally melted, before new storms arrived with fresh snow, almost enough to fully replace that which was lost. We had snow in NJ and got plowed before we got home and last night we got a few  inches more. Today is cold and very windy. The sunshine isn’t warming anything up. I’m still coughing. I know someone I can wish this on.

The horses with Mom and Dad in the snow.

Party goers.

Before the party--carol sing in Strafford, I missed it for the first time in years.

From the DR to see the snow.

Secret Santa.

The party has set sail.

More party guests.

 

Fractured Flag.