March turns Colder.

3-1-17 SHORT HILLS: I’m almost done with the first round of pruning. I’ll need to do it again when everything is in leaf, and when I can actually see what died over the winter.

We had a big rain over the weekend and another storm today with electricity from the sky. It was in the seventies, but will get colder and there will be sub-freezing temps over the weekend, possibly into the teens. That will do a lot of damage to the plants that have been rushing to open. They’ll be nipped in the bud, as it’s said.

There might be snow on Friday. I hope it won’t be as bad and as cold as the predictions.

New blooms: crocus, andromeda, maple trees.


Crocus not upset by opening in February.

More snowdrops, and we might get snow tomorrow.

Andromeda is always the first shrub to bloom, but not this early.

Here's the whole andromeda it's about 10 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet.

February Spring Ends.

2-26-17 SHORT HILLS: After several warm, May like, days, it got cold today. The weather changed with a short but tumultuous rainstorm yesterday. We were having dinner with Richard and Elaine at Café Fiorello and barely noticed the storm until we walked across the Lincoln Square to Geffen Hall for our concert.

We heard Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 and then No. 7 after the intermission. Herbert Blomstedt conducted the Philharmonic. We were in the back of the First Tier, and I think the sound gets a little thin there, but I need hearing aids so I’m never sure if it’s the hall or me. I especially like the second movement of the 7th, the Allegretto, when he changes from major keys to A minor.

A few evenings before that, we had dinner at Common Lot in Millburn with Bebe and Ronnie, and we dog-walked with them today.

I have been out in the yard doing the clean up since the weather warmed. I have worked my way about half way around, pulling off the deadfall and pruning dead branches from trees and shrubs. Some of the shrubs I didn’t prune, because I am waiting to see whether or not they break into leaf or have dead sections. I am not fertilizing now. It’s too soon. I am afraid of stimulating new growth that would be hurt by severe weather.

New blooms: elm tree.


Nyjer seeds on the right are monopolized by the goldfinches. They are starting to change into summer clothes.

Sunflower seeds on the left get the red finches and cardinals today.

The stage at Geffen Hall, née Fisher Hall, before the Beethoven symphonies.

Intermission from the First Tier looking at the plaza in the rain and the reflections.

Fountain in the rain...

The Met Opera House...

The reflecting pool and the Beaumont. Those white spots are the rain drops illuminated.

Springish in Jersey.

2-20-17 SHORT HILLS: When it was warm over the weekend in VT, it was hot here with temps near 70°. The snow that was covering the yard is completely gone, small remnants of the plow piles are still present in the driveway. Today was cooler, about fifty when we got back from VT.

It may well be too early in the season, but lots of plants are responding to the warm weather. Snowdrops are actually blooming in one spot and in bud in several others. Vinca minor has a couple flowers out. Buds of trees and shrubs are swollen and starting to open—viburnum, currant, chestnut, elm, spicebush, andromeda to name just a few.

The next couple of days are predicted to be warm with cool nights, but harsh weather is clearly possible and probably likely in the weeks to come. Temps in the teens will damage a lot of the stuff now rushing to open. This is one pitfall of climate change.

New blooms: snowdrops, Vinca minor.


Snowdrops are up. These are the first of lots in our yard.

Vinca minor one of two early flowers.

Elm tree branches with buds about to pop open with flowers.

Warming up in VT.

2-19-17 VERMONT: Yesterday and today have been warm, in the fifties. The snow has melted a little, but all the roofs shed their snow and icicle load with loud, resounding thumps. We were out in the pasture both days on the snowshoes.

Last night Judy gave a dinner party for Jane and Ken, Ann and Roger, and Donna and Bruce—I tried to stay out of the way. But after dinner I showed the Antarctica pix, everybody claimed they enjoyed the show. Actually, no one fell asleep. Today other neighbors are coming over to see the pix.

Scott was here to clear the doorways after the roofs shed the snow. We go back to NJ tomorrow.


Looks sort of like a Rothko?

Gus and Maizie making more trails.

Judy checks out the small pond.

Bally in deep.

On a sunny, warm day the metal roofs shed the snow.

'Sit. Stay. Staaay.'

VT in the Snow and Sun.

2-17-17 VERMONT: What a difference 300 miles makes. We came up yesterday to two feet of snow, powdery snow, with huge plowed and shoveled piles. Today we have bright sun, temps in the twenties and only a little wind.

We snowshoed around the pasture with the dogs. The dogs loved it. The pasture is crisscrossed with dog tracks. They dig holes, they bury themselves, they chase each other tirelessly. I forgot to take the camera out on the walk, so no dog-frolic pix.

We had dinner at Laura-Beth and Denny’s last night with Jim and Brooke and Honey and Bob. We must have had fun because it went til ten, a late night for geezers.

I filled the feeder yesterday, and today the chickadees are swarming all over it.


Hungry bird.

Enough bright sun to get us to snowshoe the pasture.

Yesterday mostly cloudy over two feet of snow.

Icicles of doom hang over the doorway. I can probably pull them off with a roof rake.

The End Is In Sight.

2-15-17 SHORT HILLS: It’s not really two weeks since I last posted, but just a few days because of all the Antarctica posts that I put up. That said, there’s not much going on here. After a mild January, February has provided some snow, maybe six inches. It’s now down to three inches with a layer of ice on top from a freezing rain. The freezing rain dropped a lot of small branches, but I haven’t seen any major damage from the ice as yet.

 Before the snow and rain, the snowdrops and daffodils were showing about an inch of stalk. The feeders have been busy, I’ve had to fill them about every other day. It’s been the usual customers and a flock of grackles a few days ago, who haven’t been back for an encore. There have been no penguins at the feeders.

 February is the month when I get tired of winter and long for some spring. Two weeks to go before March 1, which always means that it’s time to prepare for the warm seasons. I already ordered corn seeds and pond chemicals. Vermont tomorrow.


Feeding finches.

Antarctica XII.

1-28-17 STANLEY, FALKLANDS: We docked early this AM at Stanley, the capitol of the Falklands. The entire population of the Falklands, is less than 3000, most of them in and around Stanley. We were off the ship, on buses and delivered to town before 8 AM. Things were incredibly quiet early on a Saturday morning. We walked around a few blocks, almost all there is, hit a few shops when they opened, and then were back on the buses for the trip to Mt. Pleasant Airport.

The airport is part of a military base and handles a couple flights a week. They got us there at about 10 AM for a 2 PM flight on LAN to Punta Arenas. In Chile we got off the plane for immigration and customs and then back on the same plane for the flight to Santiago. We were at the Airport Holiday Inn at 11PM for a late dinner and big, soft bed.


Stanley Cathedral with whale-bone arch. Nice lupin.

Stanley P.O. When's the last time you saw a phone booth?

Stanley. Quiet Saturday morning.

Lupin love the Falklands.

Well, this is a Garden blog.

1-29-17 SANTIAGO, CHILE: After breakfast, the three of us took a bus to downtown Santiago for the sights. Santiago is in the Andes at 1700 feet elevation and has a dry, hot climate. The population is over 5 million.

It’s mid-summer there now and hazy, hot and humid. The bus ride went through poor sections of the city. Every dry, dusty, empty lot is a garbage dump with homeless shanties, graffiti covers everything and there is a general need for repair.

The center city is cleaner and more prosperous looking with less graffiti and a bank on each block. The people are better dressed. It being Sunday morning, there wasn’t much bustle. The central square has some interesting buildings and a cathedral. Steps, sidewalks, streets are all crumbled in spots and the whole city needs infrastructural repair work.

After a couple hot hours in the sun, we taxied back to the hotel to wait for our evening flights to Houston for us and to Kennedy for Val.


Santiago, Chile. Cathedral at Plaza de Armes.

Santiago, Chile. Santa Lucia Hill.

1-30-17 HOUSTON, TEXAS: We landed early, went through U.S. immigration and customs with only a few hitches. We boarded our flight for EWR on time, but got booted off because the pilot’s chair was broken. It took a couple hours to fix it.

1-31-17 SHORT HILLS: We ultimately got home at about 5 PM last night. Today I’ll start the story of the adventure….