Early Snow.

Early snow on the mountain tops....

Snow, looking pink at sunset, atop Lafayette and Moosilauke will probably be there until spring.

A few minutes later, more pink.

Even turning the pond pink.

Another Dark Day.

11-11-16 VERMONT: I just realized, while typing in the date, that it’s almost one hundred years since the end of WWI. The armistice ending WWI started on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The observance was originally called Armistice Day.

Today here is turbulent with gusty winds and overcast sky occasionally letting the sun through and occasionally raining.

I’m done with all the cleanup and winterizing. All the beds are cleared. The shovels are out for clearing the deck and doorways. The reflectors are up for the guys who plow the driveway. The furnaces have been serviced.

We’ll be back in NJ after the weekend.


That's ice on the end of the pond, a few days ago...

Actually, about half the ice has melted at his point.

Today is windy with dark clouds but blue poking through at times.

‘And darkness fell over the earth…’

11-6-16 VERMONT: ‘And darkness fell over the earth…’ It’s not about Trump, or not just about Trump, but it’s about the time change. I always hate the change back to EST and the early darkness. I understand that kids need morning light to go to school, but the darkness at 5 PM is depressing.

I haven’t said much about politics this election, but I’m definitely with her.

Well, back to the gardens, I have finished the front of the house and the north terrace beds and the hybrid daylily bed. It took another two days with 3-4 cartloads, or tarp loads, of cuttings and rakings each day. The weather has been cooperating. It’s been in the forties and breezy with occasional sun. The wind does make the tarp hard to use because it gets blown around. Yesterday there was still air after a morning drizzle ended. Today I do the veggie bed.


First time we've ever had a cardinal at our feeder in VT.

Pink clouds...

Bigger pix.

Apple eaters, there were about six robins in this tree eating the apples. Nice to see that somebody has a use for the crab apples. I'm a little surprised that these guys haven't moved on and are still here.

More Cleanup.

11-3-16 VERMONT: I did the front of the house from the driveway to the front door. Four cartloads went to the spot in the pasture where I dump it all. That spot is a marshy area behind the little barn. All the garden debris keeps the area a little drier.

Today we’ve had about 10 or 12 hours of hard rain, which kept me out of the gardens. I ran some errands and did some inside chores. It is still warm, in the fifties, but will be colder over the weekend.


Cleanup challenge.

Mission accomplished.

Rainy day off.

Vermont Cleanup.

11-1-16 VERMONT: I came up a couple days ago to do the fall cleanup. I have to wait until the perennials are dormant so that they are not harmed by cutting down the dried up stalks. If it’s not done, the debris interferes with re-growth in the spring and leaves behind plant diseases, mold and mildew to infect the new growth. I’ve done two days of work, those work days are shorter now than they used to be, and have cleared most of the beds between the pond and the house. Three cartloads of cuttings were dumped in the pasture.

Today was gorgeous, in the fifties and sunny this afternoon. This morning everything was white with frost. It was in the twenties last night. Yesterday and the day before were overcast and rainy, except yesterday morning, which was snowy. There was no accumulation, but I waited until things warmed up and dried out before going to work.

In early October things were very dry here, the pond was several inches low and the little pond in the pasture was empty and dry. Now the big pond is full and was actually draining yesterday, and the little pond is half full.

Flowers were still in bloom when I arrived—feverfew, cimicfuga, monkshood, loosestrife, witch-hazel, and sedum.

I had dinner with Cousin John yesterday and we plan to do it again tomorrow.


East side of the house when I arrived. Most everything was dormant.

After everything was cut down and carted away....


.... So that it will look like this again next summer.

I filled this feeder, it's SRO.

More Fall Fruit.

10-28-16 SHORT HILLS: The social whirl continues. We had dinner in NJ with Lynn and Bill, and then in NYC with Ina and Marcel. Tomorrow we meet Bebe and Ronnie for dinner. All the restaurant meals are showing up on my waistline, but soon I’ll be back in VT for garden cleanup and a chance to work off some of the padding.

We had another rain here yesterday and got almost an inch. The wind this afternoon is about 25 mph and it seem like it’s been blowing hard all week. I did a walk around the yard and saw many branches down, but I won’t do the clean up until it’s calmer and warmer. The forties feel like the twenties with this wind. Also I’m a bit nervous about working outside when heavy stuff is falling out of the trees.

I found a couple more red fruit to display. It’s been a good year for our black walnut tree, the yard under the tree is littered with walnuts. Squirrels, do your thing. If I remember, I’ll pick up a bunch and toss them where I need a walnut tree.

New blooms: witch-hazel.


Tiny witch-hazel flower with crepe paper like petals.

More red berries, these are from linden viburnum.

A perfect little red apple, just a half inch in diameter.

NYC and Seaside Park.

10-24-16 SHORT HILLS: The summery weather is gone and Fall is back. I took out the screens and put the glass in the outer doors and turned the heat back on. We did have almost an inch and half of rain on Saturday.

We were visiting friends Bob and Christine at their new house in Seaside Park during the rain and wind. The wind was very brisk from the west and was blowing spindrift off the waves and sand off the beach. Some surfcasters and surfers were out there in spite of the weather. Another friend, Jo-Ann, joined us for dinner at Aqua-Blu Restaurant in Toms River.

A few nights before that, we had dinner with Roger and Leeza at Gotham Bar and Grill on E. 12 St. in Manhattan. Always excellent. Everybody has the same take on the election as we do—we’re all with her. That includes Lily, who we met in Harlem and took to the Red Rooster on Malcolm X Blvd.

Downstairs from the main room at the Red Rooster is Ginny’s Supper Club which has a Sunday Brunch featuring comfort food and gospel songs. The food was great, and Vy Higginsen’s Gospel Choir of Harlem was electrifying.

After brunch we went uptown to visit the Morris-Jumel mansion. It is a most imposing, colonial era home that has survived since the 1760’s. The views to the east include the Harlem River, Yankee Stadium and the Bronx. Aaron Burr once lived there. For a while in the Revolutionary War, it was Washington’s HQ.


Great Black-backed Gulls, adults and a couple  immatures.

Great Black-backed Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls and Herring Gulls, all immatures.

The wind and weather didn't seem to be a problem for the surfers, but the fisherman looks cold.

Rosa rugosa with red rose hips just behind the beach.

Gotham Bar and Grill, always excellent.

Harlem's Red Rooster, Ginny's Supper Club is downstairs. Jazz upstairs, gospel down.

One block north on Malcolm X Blvd [Lennox Ave] is Sylvia's, famous for food and sauces.

The Morris-Jumel Mansion at 155th St, Colonial Era grand residence. Once home to Aaron Burr.

One of the elegant rooms in Manhattan's oldest house.