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.

In the Bleak Mid-Winter.

1-20-26 SHORT HILLS: “…the earth stood like iron, water like a stone, snow had fallen, snow on snow…” That’s from the hymn ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter.' That’s pretty much what we’ve got now. I must have Seasonal Affective Disorder, I just want sunshine and warmth at this point. It was different when I skied, then snow was welcome.

We had enough snow last Saturday/Sunday to get the driveway plowed and to cover the ground and the trees and shrubs. We canceled a trip to NYC to see Emmett and his mom and dad on Sunday, but went in on Monday, Martin Luther King Day, with clear roads and little traffic. The kid really has a good vocab now and conversation is easy. We did lunch with Lily and Danna after the visit. More snow is coming this Sunday.

The wind-chill factor is in the single digits now and more snow is expected this coming weekend. The birds have been mobbing the feeders. I saw a bunch of robins in one of the holly trees last week, but all the berries had been eaten, probably by other robins. Robins never go to the feeders and don’t eat the sunflower seeds on the ground under the feeders. I saw one robin today eating juniper berries from the underneath side of the branches because the tops are covered with snow. 

We had dinners with Bette and Lonnie, Bill and Lynn, and Nancy and Alan at various restaurants. 

Our driveway, trees and shrubs with snow.

More snow, the feeders are on the left side.

More snow.

Sunshine after the storm.

Before the snow, a cardinal and several house finches at the feeders.

Eighty Eight.

1-10-26 SHORT HILLS: We had some snow cover here in NJ, but a few warm days with rain have washed it all away except for the remnants of the plow piles. The warm days, with temps in the low fifties, were quite welcome after several days of sub-freezing weather. 

We’re a few weeks past the Winter Solstice, and the days are slightly longer, but it won’t be noticeable until we get to February. From November 21 to December 21 to January 21 the sun dips from about 19° South Latitude to 23.5° South Latitude and back to 19° South. It’s basically two months of little sun. By February 21, the sun is half way back up to the Equator, 12° South, and by March 20 it’s at the Equator, marking the start of Northern Hemisphere Spring. That’s 69 days away.

Today is my birthday, I’m 88, I checked with a calculator, the flu/pneumonia is almost over. I get an occasional cough, but still have fatigue. We are going to a new restaurant tonight with Lonnie and Bette. Thanks to everyone for the calls this morning. 

I saw a bunch of Canada Geese on the Passaic river where I cross it on the way to the dentist. I took pix on the way back.

There were even more on the downstream side.

I think these geese are permanent residents, who no longer migrate.