It's Still Going.

2-23-26 SHORT HILLS: Monstrous dump. So far we have18 inches or. It’s a white out and still going. The birds are swarming the feeders. 

From the dining room window.

Two benches and a table under there somewhere.

The dogs are not happy, look at the wrought iron table.

Judy leading the dogs.

That's enough of a walk.

Snow everywhere.

At least the birds and a squirrel are getting fed.

Another Blizzard.

2-22-26 SHORT HILLS: After several days of above freezing weather with melting snow, we are back in blizzard conditions tonight. This winter just won’t quit. We are predicted for snow totals in feet! Plus more later in the week.

This storm started with freezing rain, so I’m afraid we will get damage to trees and shrubs from heavy, warmish snow. Some years we have snowdrops coming up the end of February, but not now. 

Snowdrops are sometimes up in Februrary but not this year.

Vermont Extras.

2-17-26 SHORT HILLS: We drove down today. Heavy snow had us driving slowly for the first 50 miles, but the storm eased and then stopped. When we got to NJ, the sun was out, and it was in the forties.

Some follow up from VT—the plumber finally arrived on Saturday afternoon and fixed the ice blockage in a few minutes with a steam hose down the drain. After that, a bit of clean up had us back to normal. We all ate at home. 

Sunday the kids went snowshoeing, slogging through the yard and pasture. Danna did a trust fall backwards in the snow and made a snow angel, but when she struggled to stand up, they called her a snow whale. Dinner was at Three Tomatoes. They left on Monday and Judy and I did clean up, mostly Judy.

Thanks, Mike, for the FB comment. 

A blue sky day in VT. That's Lafayette in the middle looking very snowy.

Snowshoers before their trek, Matt, Danna, Lily, Harrison and Blue.

Nice sunset.

Vermont Coldness.

2-14-26 VERMONT: We came up on Thursday in sunshine. Scott had shoveled and opened the garage door for us. We settled in, and later Lily, and Danna arrived with Matt, Harrison and Sharon, and Sharon little dog. 

The big news is that I was about to start the laundry Friday morning when I noticed that the bathtub next to the laundry was half full of waste water. From prior experience, I knew that it meant that the drain from the house to the septic tank was blocked by ice. When the house is unoccupied in a cold winter, tiny leaks from faucets drip, drip, drip and freeze in the drain until it’s blocked. When the house is in use, all the drain water flow keeps the drain open. We used to turn the water off in the winter months when we were not here, but with horses in the pasture, the water needs to stay on.

Help was supposed to arrive yesterday, but got pushed back to today. We are still waiting for the plumbers to get here with a steam pipe gadget to melt the ice dam. 

If it hasn’t occurred to you, dear reader, we can’t let water go down the drain, so no toilets, no sink use, etc. We put tubs in the sinks to catch water from toothbrushing and stuff, and we dump it outside in the snow. Most of us go outside to pea. Steve and Diana, our neighbors, said use their toilets whenever. 

I filled the feeders here yesterday but have had no customer as yet. We had an American Goshawk at the feeder in NJ, looking for a tasty songbird.  I also saw two raptors high in an oak tree on one of my walks, but the iPhone pic just showed silhouettes. Much tweaking of the images  didn’t help.    

We have lots of snow flakes in the air today but no accumulation as yet. There’s more than a foot and a half on the ground. All the guests, except for Harrison, are skiing at Killington today. Winnie the guest dog has been good, but needs a dog sitter. 

Snowy yard with flurries.

More yard with the upper pond.

Horses in deep snow, wearing blankets.

The guest dog, Winnie.

From NJ American Goshawk has chased all the feeder birds into hiding.

Goshawk displaying striped tail.

Back in the Freezer.

2-7-26 SHORT HILLS: The weather was a bit warmer and less windy for a few days, and we were outside for walks. Today is bitter cold again with high winds. I have been filling the feeders daily, and the bird activity has never been as active. 

We had dinner with Lynn and Bill and with Trina and Jeffrey. Everyone is tired of winter. 

Judy was honored at the Millburn Library for her dog therapy visits, and got a little statue.  

Robins have an especially hard time now because they don't eat the sunflower seeds either from the feeder or the ground. These juniper had a lot of berries, but I think ther're gone.

Three male cardinals and one female.

Wow. Five cardinals.

OMG. Seven cardinals.

Downy Woodpeckers. The one leaving the suet feeder has spread wings and tail. This is a 'Live' iPhone pic, but that probably won't upload and show the bird fly away.

 

Judy's award from the library.

Hiding from the Cold.

1-31-26 SHORT HILLS: It’s good to see the end of January, but February isn’t looking much better. We are still in the deep freeze, but not very much snow expected this weekend from the new storm. I’m banking on Groundhog Day to mark the end of winter.

We have been inside mostly to avoid the bitter cold. The temperature has been below freezing for more than  week. This morning the temp was 4°. We’re outside for the market and filling the bird feeders, which happens every other day. Judy has been doing her Dog Therapy visits.

One week ago we went to Cousin Eli’s Bar Mitzvah and saw lots of other cousins. Eli did a great job.  

With the snow piles around the house, it could be Vermont.

Feeder birds. There are two house finches in the air near the feeders.

Hairy Woodpecker looks a lot like the Downy Woodpecker except that it is twice the size.

Our sidewalk is in a snow canyon.

The Big Snow Storm.

1-26-26 SHORT HILLS: The massive storm has past, and it wasn’t so bad. We did get 12.4 inches of snow. It was so cold, 10°, that the snow was very light, dry and fluffy. Very little accumulated on trees and shrubs, and so I don’t  see any damage to trees or shrubs, but when it all melts, there may be problems that emerge. Now we have some sunshine. It’s windier now than during the storm, and it’s blowing the snow off the trees. We, thankfully, never lost power. 

The birds have been draining the feeders. I filled them yesterday during the storm and may have to fill them again today. We had as many as four male cardinals at one time. Both hairy and downy woodpeckers were on the suet feeder. 

For us, this was not a big deal storm that was forecast. 

Blue and Blanca testing the snow. Notice the lack of snow on the trees and shrubs.

Judy getting the dogs to walk with her.

Dogs and a photographer on the porch in his bathrobe.

Two male cardinals and a female.

Three cardinals and two bluejays.

Two cardinals and a house finch.

Feeder friends.