Another One In the Books.

12-28-18 VERMONT: After several sunny days, we have new snow, ice and rain, the change over happening as it warmed up a bit. It will get much colder again, but I hope that the trees and shrubs shed the rain and ice before the cool down. We already have a yard littered with broken branches from earlier in the year, and another load of ice will do more damage. It happens every year, but everything somehow survives.

The house is clean, the tree has been cut up and composted. NJ tomorrow.


Sunset a few days ago, the Whites looking pink.

Mt. Lafayette with its own pink cloud.

Today gave us snow, ice and rain.

I hope this ice melts before it breaks off lots more branches.

Post-Party.

12-26-18 VERMONT: The Xmas party last night was a huge success, some family and some neighbors were here. Judy’s table was laden, I almost ran out of wine. We got down to the last glass of red, and all the Prosecco was gone. It was nice to see all the younger gen reconnecting. Leftovers for tonight.

We have had a dusting of new snow that has covered some of the bare spots, and it’s been cold, single digits, at night. The skies have been cloudless blue.


My version of a Rothko.

Bare branches on the horizon and on the frozen pond.

Chickadees might be my favorites.

Party scene, lots of people still hanging out in the kitchen.

Ken and Jane's tree. A white pine from their pasture decorated brillantly with dried hydrangeas.

Winter Solstice.

12-21-18 VERMONT: We’ve been here for a couple days and had sun and blue skies for our first set of errands preparing for the invasion to come. We cut down the tree at Nichols Tree Farm and set it up in the living room.

We had about a foot of snow, a little crusted and compacted. I walked around the pasture in boots without snowshoes. It was in the twenties during the day and about ten at night.

Today it’s warm, foggy and pouring, but we braved the slop and went shopping for food, much food, and wine. Some of the food is in Diana’s freezer across the street. Judy plans to start cooking tomorrow.

When the rain stops tomorrow, hopefully tomorrow, it is predicted to get very cold. All the standing water will become ice—good on the pond, bad in the driveway.

Today is also the Winter Solstice, when the sun reaches it furthest southern excursion and starts its trek back to us in the north. Here, in VT, we get about 8 and a half hours of daylight now, but will have twice that much in June for events to happen then.

Coincidently, we have a full moon tomorrow, although we may not see it if the rain persists. I did see it yesterday, almost full, just as it rose over Mt. Cube in the northeast at about 3:30. The sun at the same time was close to setting in the southwest.


Moonrise Thetford, VT. That's Mt Moosilauke to the left of the pine tree and Mt. Cube under the moon on the right.

Another view, a few minutes earlier. You might notice that the moon is a little higher and a little further south in the first picture.

A better look at the moon. Shortly after this pic, the sky was overcast and it began to rain.

Tis the season...

About the same time as the moon shots, the mid-afternoon sun was close to the southern horizon.

Today heavy rain, 50° and fog. Snow in Norwich and Hanover is largely gone. With a quick freeze the pond might be great for skating.

Xmas at Lincoln School.

12-17-18 SHORT HILLS: Today was the annual Xmas party at Lincoln Elementary School in Newark, NJ for Ms. Catalano’s second grade class. Judy and some other volunteers go there monthly to coach the kids’ reading skills with the therapy dogs. I understand that it’s usually serious work. Today was a party, almost raucous. Judy brings small toys and stuffies donated by folks in the Upper Valley of VT and NH.

The toys were delivered by Subaru as the reindeer were not available. There were cookies and sloppy-joes and cocoa.

We head to VT in a few days.


Stuffies from the Upper Valley of VT and NH have arrived at Lincoln Elementary School in Newark, NJ.

The annual, for about ten years, Xmas party for the second graders at LES. We have seen a whole generation of kids go through the school.

Group pix with three dogs, three pet partners, Ms Catalano, the kids and the stuffies.

Walking lesson for Kaley.

Cooper's Hawk.

12-9-18 SHORT HILLS: I was watching the bird feeder activity out front yesterday morning. There were birds bustling about on the ground under the feeders, birds flying onto and off of the feeders, and birds on the suet feeder pecking away. It was a sunny morning, and I noticed a shadow cross the area.

Every bird suddenly disappeared into the shrubs. A moment later a large hawk landed in the ash tree that hangs over the feeder site. I got several shots while he/she hung around for about ten minutes.

An hour later everything was back to normal.

My expert consultants, Mike and Donna, agreed that the bird was an immature Cooper’s hawk. I find it hard to tell one immature bird from another.

Thanks to Lynn and Bill for dinner last night with Leeza and Roger and us.


Coopers hawk, immature-above and below...

Darker and Colder.

12-5-18 SHORT HILLS: We’ve been back in NJ for a couple of days. We had a warm rainy day followed by a cold windy one and today cold without any wind. The ground is starting to freeze again.

The days are shorter, darker and colder. We are almost down to only nine hours of daylight, and we won’t get longer days until the end of January. Sorry.

Since this year saw record Global Carbon Emissions, and the CO2 levels rose above 400 ppm for the first time in at least 400,000 years, maybe as long as 20 million years, it will be much warmer in the near future, and with a hotter atmosphere, the weather will become more unpredictable and more extreme.


Goldfinches, mostly in winter brown, have taken control of all eight perches on the nyjer seed feeder.

Mourning doves on the ground under the feeders.

From VT, the Bushnell game cam, catches a deer looking for the grass on a snowy night.

The Moultrie game cam on a dark afternoon.