Ice.

12-14-07 SHORT HILLS: We did have an ice storm and a lot of branches did come down, but nothing had major damage. When the sun came out today, everything was covered in diamond. By late afternoon much of it had melted and the shrubs had partially rebounded.

Icy Forsythia.

12-13-07 SHORT HILLS: The last several days have been similar, all rainy and progressively warmer until today. Today is colder, snowy, sleety, and rainy with temps of right around freezing. The precip changes, but all of it is sticking to the trees and shrubs, especially the evergreens. When it cools off tonight, it will freeze, and break a lot of branches.

Yesterday, when it was warmer, the forsythia started to open. Every year they seem to get trapped by a small warm spell followed by a cold snap. Of course, there are only a few flowers open, and most buds remain tightly wrapped. I suppose what seems foolish on the part of the plant is a way to catch early pollinators, and after all, nothing is better at survival than forsythia. It blooms early, stays in leaf late, spreads itself, and has no major pest problems. Pruning every decade of so removes dead wood and renews the shrub, or you can cut it into balls and cubes if you like. I prefer it natural. You can run it over with a bulldozer, and if a bit of root and stalk are left, it will be back in business.


Winter forsythia.

Rants.

12-6-07 SHORT HILLS: Is it just me or do others think that the revelation about Iran’s innocence is so the Bush Leaguers can save face? With no troops and no national will for a war with Iran, they just decided to fix the NEI so they can say no action is necessary now. No need to nuke them after all. We still can’t trust them or talk to them, but we won’t blow them up, for the moment anyway. If the report is true and the information available back in August, why did we have talk of World War III when we “knew” they were out of the WMD business? The facts and the behavior just don’t jibe.

And another thing, I’m sick of all this god talk. Why is it necessary for all the politicians to suck up to the evangelical element? I don’t care what religion they follow. I would vote for, and even support, a politician who says, “My religion is personal and none of your business.” Or even a politician who said she/he didn’t believe. Do they really believe prayers are answered? That’s reason enough for them to be certified, not elected.

In a 2004 movie, “The Big Bounce”, Morgan Freeman says to Owen Wilson, “God is an imaginary friend for grownups.” How can we have fallen so far so fast from healthy skepticism like that?

I pray the nation recovers from this obsession with god and religion. Thank goodness for Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins.

And the guns—another armed crazy commits mayhem in Omaha and no one asks, “How did he get a gun? Why was he able to get a gun? Why wasn’t another emotionally unstable jerk prevented form arming himself?” Why doesn’t anyone take on the NRA and the gun manufacturers? I guess those politicians are praying for an end to gun violence or maybe God likes guns.

It's cold in December, what's with that?

12-4-07 SHORT HILLS: The snow did disappear within a day or so, but now it’s cold, windy and wintry. We walked the dogs around the block, and everybody seemed to be in a hurry. It was a race to get back in the warm kitchen. There was no dawdling over interesting scents and no long pauses at street signs. We had a brief flurry. The standing water is frozen.

First Snow in Short HIlls.

12-2-07 SHORT HILLS: First snow of the year in this part of NJ, only about 3 inches of wet stuff, but enough to keep us from visiting Brooklyn for fear of traffic tie-ups from accidents and stuck vehicles. It looks pretty on top of the leaves that are still on the trees. The birds seem happy with the feeders. It will probably all disappear tomorrow.

Hungry Friends.

Interesting contrast of black, white, red and green.

Vermont is colder than New Jersey.

11-29-07 SHORT HILLS: The weather is definitely milder here than in Vermont. Nothing is frozen, not a hint of snow, and some trees—oak, beech, Japanese maple and dawn redwood still have foliage—it’s as if they are considering the option of not going deciduous this year. That foliage is, of course, not green but is still mostly on the tree.

The minimum temperature in Vermont has been as low as 15°, but in New Jersey our minimum has been only 25°. In NJ only four days this month have had minimums below freezing, but in Vermont, only four days have had minimums above freezing. December both locations will probably be more alike.

Perhaps this why it's called a red oak.

More Thanksgiving.

11-25-07 VERMONT: The weather has gone from foggy and warm to cold, windy and partly cloudy which gave us another nice sunset. The moon has been full and with snow on the ground, the nights are incredibly bright. The Koreys, Katz’s and Nelsons came to dinner last night, and tonight we meet Denny and Laura-Beth at Murphy’s. Tomorrow back to Short Hills.

There's a full moon in there.