We're Number 1-as in Minus Degrees.

12-31-13 VERMONT: We ended up with snow the other night, eight inches of wet stuff while the temperature hovered around freezing. In the morning, Judy and I shoveled us out so we would be cleared before the deep freeze turned the snow to stone. The temp dropped all day as we ran errands, ending up in the low, single digits in the evening. This afternoon it’s up to ten.

I walked the dogs out to the end of the pasture today, using the snowshoe tracks Judy made yesterday on her walk. The snow is decent, dry and powdery, and not crusted or frozen. It was a hard slog though, partly because of all the clothes—big parka, padded overalls, sweater, heavy boots and gloves. I did stay warm.


Mt. Lafayette, looking rather alpine, popped out of the haze for a short while this morning. It's more than forty miles away on our northeast horizon. Is this why they're called the White Mountains?

Short Dark Days of December.

12-29-13 VERMONT: The blue sky is gone, and we have the more typical New England winter sky—lead gray and low ceiling. It has been warm, in the thirties, and the snow is slowly evaporating.

We walk the pasture with the canine crew every day, and watch the snow melt off all the roofs. Tonight we’re supposed to get rain or wet snow, then a freeze, which will leave everything icy. More new snow may arrive a few days later.

Chickadees and nuthatches are busy at the feeders and still eating the frozen crab apples. The tracks in the snow, other than ours, are squirrel and deer.


Blue skies are gone.

Mooselauke just visible.

Out for a walk.

Vermont.

12-27-13 VERMONT: We came north yesterday. It was a long trip with traffic crawls in NY, CT, MA, and even VT. It wasn’t very cold, and we had been shoveled and plowed. We turned the house on, wound the clocks, built a fire, fed the dogs and had our own dinner--and unwound.

The Xmas guests left late on the 26th. The next morning we deconstructed the tree, packed the car and headed out into the traffic.

We have bright blue skies today and long shadows on our four inches of snow. The walk around the pasture was pleasant with little wind and temps in the low thirties.


Barns in the snow.

Warm new parka.

Noon sun low in the sky.

Fences and walls along the road.

NYC.

12-22-13 SHORT HILLS: The weather gods have truly gone schizophrenic. After the deep freeze with snowstorms, we have May. The predicted rain has yet to happen, but it is seventy and cloudy today. Almost all the snow is gone. Yesterday we were in the city, in shirt sleeves, most of the afternoon doing the holiday sights. Everyone else was out doing the same thing—huge crowds everywhere.

We walked from a garage by the Lincoln Tunnel through Times Sq., pausing to watch a street show, and went on to Bryant Park on Sixth Ave. it is full of tent shops selling street food, trinkets, decorations and large tent cafés around a skating rink and big Xmas tree. Even William Cullen B.’s statue was bewreathed. The crowds were all taking iPhone pix, as was I.

The park is the back yard of the NY Public Library, out front the iconic lions are also attired in garlands. A little further south on Fifth is Lord & Taylor, drawing crowds for their windows. In one window, the store lets people take a selfie and get it as an IM sent to the phone.

As we headed north on Fifth the crowds were even heavier at Rockefeller Center. Easily, ten million pix were taken. The tree towers over the skaters. We shared part of a street pretzel, a big salted, doughy thing served with mustard, and were looking for a trashcan for the uneaten piece. There were none anywhere. We finally found one, with an attendant to inspect the trash, by the entrance to Radio City.

Times Sq. was its usual lurid self with more hordes. We also saw Disney characters, robots, monsters, Elmo and a naked cowgirl. She was actually wearing a scanty bikini, hat and a guitar. She got a lot of attention.

On 43rd St. we ducked into BXL for a libation before meeting the gang for Garrison Keillor’s broadcast. The show was very Xmasy with lots of carols, some with new lyrics.

It was back through Times Sq. for our restaurant, Lattanzi, on W 46th St., the roasted artichokes were great.


Bryant Park, the NY Public Library's back yard fitted out with a rink, xmas tree, cafés and shops.

The front of the NYPL, the iconic lions are bedecked with wreaths and bows

Decorated Lion.

Rockefeller Center angels and tree.

The tree looming over the rink and Prometheus.

Dolls in the window.

Chase Bank has big balls.

Where you can find a trashcan.

Solstice Time.

12-20-13 SHORT HILLS: The birds continue to mob the feeders. Today is much warmer than the last two weeks, and it's nearing fifty. It’s overcast with very little wind. Rain is forecast for tomorrow. If it does, lot of melting may happen. With that in mind, I shoveled open the street sewers so our driveway won’t get flooded.

The Solstice is at hand, and the days will soon start to get longer, but it won’t be very noticeable until February.

Tomorrow we go to NYC for A Prairie Home Companion, an annual event for us with friends Bill, Lynn, Leeza and Roger. We may get up to Rock Center to see the tree if the weather is OK for walking.


Downy woodpecker, male.

Chickadee.

Northern Junco. Is that a tongue of a sunflower seed?

More Snow, More Birds.

12-17-13 SHORT HILLS: And there’s more snow today, another three or four inches. It has stayed unusually cold, but there’s no wind. We lost a couple branches this week, but nothing major.

The birds are swarming all over the feeders. I filled them yesterday and most of the sunflower seeds are gone already. I took about fifty pix this morning and kept a handful.


Blue Jay.

Blue Jay.

Male Cardinal.

Male Cardinal.

Red-bellied woodpecker, male with the reddish color on the abdomen.

More Snow.

12-15-13 SHORT HILLS: We had yet another storm yesterday with progressively more snow, about six inches this time. After the snow it turned to freezing rain that made everything glisten including the roads.

Regardless of the storm, we went to Cousin Kenneth and Jessica’s wedding. The venue would have been a ten minute drive for us, but with the snow it took twenty. The ceremony and reception were lovely. The band was huge and made a big impact. I think I got to try each hors d’oeuvre at least once.

During the afternoon the bird feeders were mobbed and I got a few pix through the window.


Cardinal female and house finch.

Red-bellied woodpecker, male.

A pair of finches.

Three finches and a chickadee.