It's Still Falling.

2-26-23 VERMONT: Five below zero yesterday morning, warming up to 15° above in the afternoon. There were snow showers on and off most of the day. Today started at zero, and is supposed to get to 30°F, as snow continues to fall. “…snow on snow, snow on snow, in the bleak mid-winter…”

I haven’t mentioned that we have been getting heat pumps installed this week. Travis and Chris will be back tomorrow and, maybe, Tuesday to finish the job, except for the electrical work necessary to connect them to the electrical panel, which will wait until we’re back in March. The unit for the new house will help with heat and will cool us in the summer. In the old house we can only have cooling in the summer.  

We had dinner at Elixir in WRJ last night with Dave and Shari and John—great company. They were full with an expanded menu and open bar. I forgot to thank Diana and Steve for dinner a few days back in their re-done house and kitchen.

We go back to balmy NJ tomorrow to avoid the next big snow storm on Tuesday.  

Whiter than white.

After shoveling, more snow falls.

Maizie loves lying in the snow. Notice the piles that have slid off the roof, and there's a roof full to come.

I'm Back, says Mr. Winter.

2-23-23 VERMONT: We got six or seven inches so far, and more is still falling. The cruddy, dirty, icy snow is gone, covered by a pristine blanket of white. It’s cold at 25°, but there’s no wind, so far the power has stayed on. We’ve been plowed, and Judy shoveled the steps. The road is also plowed, but there is almost no traffic—everybody is at home.  

There was a nice sunset a few days ago, and before the new snow, I had been out walking. Across the road, Steve was boiling sap, making syrup. The horses are wearing blankets, their Mom was here to feed them.

Judy won a big oil-on-canvas of horses in a barnyard at Smith's auction. It's from the late 1800’s.  

New snow, there'll be more before April and mud season.

You can see how much we got before sitting down at the picnic table for lunch.

Sunset earlier in the week.

Red squirrels are smaller than the grey squirels, who are driving them out of their habitat.

Maizie on her tenth birthday.

Sap drips into the buckets...

And gets concentrated here in the Sugar Shack. Smoke and steam coming out the top.

Painting by B. Aplin Howe. Anybody know him?

Winter Yet Reigns Here.

2-19-23 VERMONT: It’s still winter here. We came up yesterday, an easy trip on a sunny day.  We have to be here for the heat pumps installation and chimney sweeping next week. There are auctions also. 

When we arrived, there was no phone service and no burglar alarm. We contacted E.C. Fiber and got some help that got the cell service going, and then called Tasco Security. Tasco’s technician came out and fixed the alarm system and the phone service, on a Saturday evening. 

Places in the yard and pasture that get more sun are snow free, but where there is deep shade the snow is still six inches deep. All the snow is ice encrusted from warm days and rainy days that are followed by freezes. The road was muddy yesterday when we arrived, but frozen today.

Today is overcast, breezy and about 38°. I walked out to the end of the pasture with Maizie and the camera. The horses’ Mom and Dad took them for a walk on the road to give them some exercise. Neighbor Steve was out with his tractor collecting sap from the buckets under the maple tree taps—sweetness on the way. Thursday we might get new snow. 

I filled a bird feeder after we arrived, and today the chickadees and nuthatches are busy eating sunflower seeds. There was a red squirrel on the snow underneath the feeder. 

The houses and garage while I was on my walk.

Maizie following me.

Peaches in front of Raven.

Maple trees giving it up.

A fox near the new pond with black legs and ears.

Not a fox, taller no black pigment, Coyote? Fox hunting?

A Very Mild Winter--So Far.

Could it be that the groundhog was wrong? The extended forecasts only show warm to seasonal weather with rain, but no big snow storm or blizzard. Forecasts are, however,  inaccurate and just guesses more than a few days out.

While we’re waiting for the big storm, the snowdrops are open, and we saw new dandelion flowers on our dog walk this morning. It was sunny and warm.

At the feeders, we have the first grackle back from winter vacation. Usually they’re in a massive group and chase everybody else away from the feeders. 

Judy has been busy doing dog therapy visits to schools, from pre-school to college, and to various medical facilities. She alternates Maizie and Blanca, our two Goldens. Maizie, being 10, gets the shorter and easier outings. We are looking for another adult adoptee.

New blooms: snowdrops, dandelion.

Ready for the pollinators.

It's just another wild flower, not the devil's work.

Can you find three House Sparrows? The feeders are a little to the left.

A better look at one of the three.

Judy, Maizie and the Seton Hall Pirate.

Winter Birds.

2-8-23 SHORT HILLS: It’s been quite a while, I know, but I’ll try to post more frequently now. So far, this winter has been a no show. We’ve had at most a dusting of snow and a lot of rain. Is this a climate change winter? But, a big but, there’s plenty of winter left, most of February and all of March, to bury us in snow. 

We had a cold snap that lasted about 12 hours and sent temps down to near zero, but two days later it was in the fifties again. The snowdrops are up and showing some glints of white from the flowers that will soon follow. Green foliage from ramps is up. 

Today is sunny and mild with almost no wind, and it was warm enough this morning for me to sit outside with the camera and capture some of the feeder birds. 

Windy days have left the yard littered with sticks and branches that I have been picking up. A few weeks ago it was warm enough to pump the pool cover dry. I raked up the dead, soggy leaves left behind and pulled them off the cover. 

Snowdrops showing hints of the flowers to come.

It can be hard to catch these White-throated sparrows because they're usually in constant motion.

White-breasted nuthatch working the suet block. This one is the last of a dozen the birds have eaten in about three weeks.

Tufted titmouse holding still for me.

Red-bellied woodpecker, funny name for a bird with a white belly. This is a male.

Hairy woodpecker, female, finding something in the bark.

Downy woodpecker, a pint-sized version of the Hairy, but with a relatively shorter beak.