~
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 8:30 a.m.
18 degrees, breezy, hazy sunshine
The sky was clear at dawn with just a few clouds to the
southeast, and sunrise was pretty
but unremarkable. High thin clouds have moved in and
diffused the sunbeams into an overall
shimmer instead of the razzle-dazzle of first light. A
couple of inches of big flat flakes fell late
yesterday, so fluffy that one hard stamp of the foot
sends them scurrying in all directions.
The moon shone through the squall and turned the whole
evening into a sparkling wonder-
land, cold as a deep-freezer and pretty as a snowglobe
full of glitter. Predictions are for
a rather dense band of lake effect squalls to move into
our area for the day, but we
know how accurate the forecasts have been lately. I won’t
plan my day around it,
but will take any snow that we get with a glad heart.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 8:00 a.m.
5 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
We are having a heat wave here on Gomer Hill compared to
areas in the valley.
Lows of minus fifteen have been reported in some low-lying
spots, while we never
dipped into the negative numbers last night. All kinds of
birds are active this morning,
starlings, bluejays, chickadees, crows, and turkeys have
been in the neighborhood during
the past ten minutes. All have been very vocal except for
the turkeys, who seldom utter one
little gobble all winter long. Maybe they just don’t
have anything to say. Chickadees are rare
visitors to our yard, but this morning the forsythia
hedge sports three fat little guys, like christmas
ornaments nestled in the snowcovered twigs. They may have
been attracted by the nearby grape-
vine, which still has a few clusters of little hard
raisins leftover from last autumn’s failed crop. Our
wine cellar’s loss has been a boon for the fruit-eating
critters who might be looking for a midwinter
treat. I tasted one of these little mummified fruits
before the snow fell, and it was chewy, seed-filled,
and as sour as the unripe grape that made it. Still, to a
bird, it may be an amazing find. I wouldn’t
be surprised if they were after the seeds, and not the
desiccated pulp. This is a beautiful day,
but full of appointed tasks. I will make the most of the
time spent traveling from place to
place, and enjoy the brief treks to and from the car as I
complete them. Perhaps I can
sneak a little walk in; even if it be on sidewalks
instead of wooded paths, it’s all good !
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, January 29, 2007 7:30 a.m.
1 degree, calm, mostly sunny
The sun is finally making an appearance, easing up from
behind a dark purple
bank of clouds that hovers over the Adirondack Mountains.
It is pushing a lighter
strata of melony-peach before it as it emerges, and in a
moment I will have to lower
the curtain against its brilliance. For now it casts a
warm glow all over the pristine thin
layer of yesterday’s new-fallen snow. The small
amount of fluffy powder that we have
received a half inch at a time over the past few days has
been just the ticket to improve
cross-country ski conditions, upgrading them from merely
passable to darned good. The
rotted frozen slush that underlies the newer surface snow
is still a presence to deal with,
giving way at inconvenient times and catching the edges
of skis with comical effect. For
the most part, our new snow adds great glide and good
grip to the whoops! of the brittle
crust that lies below. It has been so cold that there are
plenty of good places to cross the
creeks that crisscross Tug Hill, and the swamps seem to
be frozen up good enough to open
up that interesting terrain as well. We do need to
reroute at times to avoid barbed wire fences,
as the depth of snow is still too low to easily climb
over them. It looks like a great week all
the way through Sunday to get out and explore the forests
and meadows in your neighbor-
hood, or trek along one of the many state trails
available in the north country.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, January 28, 2007 8:30 a.m.
15 degrees, calm, partly sunny, flurries
I’m taking today off. Really. No kidding, gonna not
even write.
Going outdoors, might even pack up a picnic and turn off
the computer for the day.
Just a mini vacation, back tomorrow for sure.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, January 27, 2007 8:30 a.m.
6 degrees, breezy, overcast, freezing rain
How is it even possible that rain is falling on such a
frigid morning ? It has frozen on to
the uninsulated windows of the sunporch, and I can only
imagine that it will be a definite
hindrance on the windshield as I make my way to
appointments today. It is probably freezing
onto the road surface as well; I hope the sand trucks are
doing their usual excellent job this morning.
Still, as ice builds up on twigs and weeds it is an
enchanting sight. Yesterday’s temps never rose above
zero, and the wind was gusting enough so that even a
short walk required face protection and a head-
down trudge position. The trek home with the wind at my
back was a little better, but still I was happy
to be back indoors. It was a good day for pasta, hot
fortified lemonade, and sorting through messy
storage areas, coming across old greeting cards and
letters from friends and family members who
have been gone for years. There are some things I can’t
bear to throw away, but yesterday I
managed to at least pare the memory piles down a little.
What bothers me a bit is the stuff
I kept from people I no longer can identify; at some
point I deemed them important
enough to tuck that postcard or letter into my shoebox,
but now their name means
nothing. Yep, never will forget good old what’s-his-name...
Have a memorable day,
Daisy
~
Friday, January 26, 2007 8:00 a.m.
-7 degrees,
breezy, mostly sunny
The quality of light
on such a cold morning is beyond clear, even the
adjectives
crystal and diamond seem insufficient. It
is more than just a visual effect; it is also
the way little daggers of ice shoot up the nose while
waiting on the step for the dog to
finish up, or the bright tears that begin to leak when
the breeze brushes past dry eyes. It
is not all that windy, but even the little breeze that
blows is enough to keep me indoors until
the temperature rises a bit. Be sure to keep an eye on
your pets, even if they are only out
for a little while. It was on a morning just like this
three years ago that we found a frost-
bitten short-haired white kitty in the barn, starving and
dehydrated. She is now all comfy
curled up in the chair closest to the wood stove. Keep
your eyes and ears open,
and you might be able to find a furry friend in need in
an outbuilding near you.
Have a purrfect day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, January 25, 2007 8:30 a.m.
-2 degrees, calm, partly sunny
We are in the deep freeze for sure; at least it isn’t
windy. Yet. It is a good morning for a
walk or even a little ski trip, but the dog is not a real
snow dog so we will leave him indoors
today; his feet aren’t tough enough to stand such
frosty surfaces, and road salt is a hazard that
all pet owners should be aware of. A little dip of the
paws in tepid water after a walk on treated
roads will keep the pads from becoming irritated by the
chemicals, not to mention we don’t want
them licking the stuff off either. We see lots of birds
pecking at the road mix during the winter, but
I believe they are after the grit, not the salt. Some
mornings there is a big flock of turkeys all hunk-
ered down and pecking away in the middle of the road,
filling their crops with tiny pebbles to help
grind up their food once it hits the gizzard. Back when
we kept hens for their eggs, and had to kill
an old one, we would split the gizzard to clean it and
find several smooth polished stones, even
some little bits of glass that had been worn to a
beautiful luster over the course of four or five
years. I still have a little jar of these hen’s
teeth , as pretty as any gemstones and, I would
imagine, nearly as rare. Once I found a little pearl in
an oyster, how lucky was that !
Many of our most precious things are readily visible,
like the way the sun gleams off
of the surface of new snow, or a single bluebird feather
found underneath a tree.
Other wonder-full delights remain hidden from view until
we go poking around.
It’s all good !
Daisy
~
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 9:30 a.m.
18 degrees, breezy, partly cloudy, flurries
We have about six inches of new fluffy snow in our neck
of the woods, enough to plow
but not enough to hinder. The drive home from Boonville
last night was extremely slippery;
thank goodness everyone was traveling with care. If a
deer had jumped out in front of me,
I doubt I could have braked in time to avoid it, so it
was lucky all four-legged critters stayed
snug in their hidey-holes last night. The wind kicked in
at bedtime, almost loud enough to drown
out the chainsaw buzz of roving gangs of snowmobilers,
but not quite. There has been snow falling
off and on all morning, but I doubt it will add much
depth. I skied a little bit yesterday, just around
the meadows. There were a lot of little holes connected
by tiny pawprints, evidence of voles, deer-
mice, and field mice traveling along under the snow.
Several deer trails meander in and out of the
trees in the hedgerow, and a brushpile left from fall
woodcutting has sheltered many small animals,
with tracks galore coming and going. I tried to figure
out the ending to the fox hunt from yesterday
morning, but tracks had been mostly filled in with fresh
snow; the fox did leave the springbox area,
but I couldn’t find evidence of his prey. Whether it
was dead or alive remains a mystery. Even our
human footprints in the snow tell a story; we travel to
the mailbox, to the garage, and finally to the
barn for an armload of kindling, leaving waffle-prints as
we go. If we are lucky, those same prints
will exit and re-enter the driveway accompanied by those
of a friend or two, and a couple of
happy dogs. Phone a friend today, and arrange to meet for
a little walk.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 8:00 a.m.
15 degrees, calm, mostly cloudy
It looks like some flurries are headed our way later this
morning, and then some real
winter action will arrive at suppertime. Our area is
under a lake effect snow warning from
4:00 today until noon tomorrow, and then the band will
march south and affect Oneida County
until late Thursday. We had a little snow last night,
just enough to make the roads slick but not
too bad. A fox dashed across the east meadow a little
while ago, chasing a fast little rodent who
skimmed along the surface of the snow just ahead of
Reynard. The hunt culminated in a flurry
of activity in the toolie bushes by the springbox; I am
not sure who won that battle, but the fox
hasn’t emerged from the shrubbery yet, so he is
either waiting for the prey to show itself again,
or is digesting a little breakfast. A big dark deer is
standing in the middle of the road, looking
uphill towards me. Here comes another to join the first;
they are both standing stark still and
staring at the house. This is odd. Ah, now they both
bound off into the neighbor’s driveway,
and here come two more from the opposite direction. Deer
are on the move, fox is in the
field, and now a flap and fuss as the
blackbirds change trees to make the picture perfect !
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, January 22, 2007 8:30 a.m.
7 degrees, calm, mostly cloudy, flurries
A scattering of snow flurries moseys slowly to the
ground, adding to the inch that fell
overnight. The morning is bright with reflected filtered
sunshine streaming through high
thin clouds that blanket this part of Tug Hill. Yesterday
was a gem of a day, blue sky and
brilliant sun with not a breath of wind. We skied
crosslots to the Carpenter Road state trails,
entering across from the Welsh Hill cemetery on Gomer
Hill Road and bushwhacking through
the blowdowns and brambles. Breaking trail was a little
tricky, with crusty frozen scurf lurking
under the fresh powder, catching our edges and hindering
forward progress on the route in. The
first skier in line actually had to employ vigorous pole
thrusts to glide (s l o w l y) down the first big
hill. Once we laid down the tracks, however, the going
was excellent, zippy and smooth. We took
turns breaking trail, and the return trip offered perfect
gliding. The spot where we usually cross the
creek was awash with backed-up water from earlier heavy
winter rains; fortunately, it was pretty
much frozen solid, but there were still a few exciting
moments as we crossed, wondering if the ice
was thick enough to support human traffic. The state
trails hadn’t been skied on yet; we met one
skier who had come in from the Carpenter Road entrance
who reported that as far as he could
tell, he was the only one on the trail besides us. We saw
very few large animal tracks, which I
thought was odd, especially around the creek where there
are usually plenty. In the forest we
found the double-footed jumping prints of dozens of red
squirrels, and one varying hare trail.
A raven kept up with us for a little while, mumbling a
little as it flew, giving us some piece of
advice or telling a tale, a merry greeting, nothing that
even Poe could find menace in. I
can never find a raven when I am looking for one, but
often they will find me and
take a moment to say hi. (Hi back atcha, you know who you
are...)
Have an excellent day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, January 21, 2007 8:30 a.m.
1 degree, calm, sunny
It is very cold but mercifully calm. Although I arrived
home yesterday well before dark,
the trip from the car to the kitchen was so bitterly cold
from windchill that any plan I had
to go for a sunset ski was trashed. We are eager to get
out for a cross-country jaunt after
lunch today; it looks like the snow is just about perfect.
We have a week of cold temps and
a little snow in the forecast; can it be that Old Man
Winter finally found his way back home to
us ? The past few nights have afforded excellent
stargazing opportunities for the very hardy soul.
The waning crescent moon was hanging out earlier in the
week with Jupiter and Antares. Jupiter is
big and glows with a dull white light, while Antares
shines with a full spectrum of colors, although
officially it is considered a red planet. Last night a
waxing crescent moon hung low in the west
during the purple hour with a huge star (planet?)
disappearing behind the horizon first. It was
probably Antares again, but I am not certain. Whatever it’s
name, it was a stunning sight.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, January 20, 2007 7:30 a.m.
8 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy, snowing
We have been blessed with about six inches of new snow so
far from several brief
squalls that came and went yesterday. Wind picks up the
loose snow and swirls it in
long skinny funnel clouds all over the meadows. Snow is
flying sideways and upwards
at the same time; the view is a busy one this morning. As
eager as I am to grab my skis
and head off into the woods right this very minute, I
have a full day of appointments to keep
and will be lucky if I can find time for a quick spin
around the meadows as the sun goes down.
The wind will pack this light fluffy snow in nicely,
giving us an excellent surface for a good ad-
venture tomorrow. Meanwhile, blackbirds sit huddled in
the big tree, letting out an occasional
little piece of song, but mostly they are clicking their
beaks, perhaps the avian equivalent of
chattering teeth. Seven crows circle the copse by the
springbox; I wonder what has them
in such thrall. They are utterly silent as they fly, and
they have been there a half hour
or more. I will have to check that area out for tracks at
the first opportunity. Ah,
here comes the sun to shed a little light on the
situation.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Friday, January 19, 2007 8:15 a.m.
24 degrees, breezy, overcast, snowing
Snow falls steadily, fine lake-effect grains blown in
from west to east. This is what we have
been waiting for, good steady snowfall that will pack in
and stay a while. There is a lake effect
storm warning for areas south of here, but Nexrad radar
currently shows the band is passing directly
over Turin as well as northern Oneida County. I would
expect that the next time the written report is
updated it will also include southern Lewis County in the
snowy forecast. Our idea that walking yester-
day would be easier than cross-country skiing was a
flawed theory. We hiked along a snowmobile trail
that was mostly ice. The word must have gotten out that
the trail is poor, as we only saw two sleds during
our 90 minute walk. There were occasional runs where the
surface had been churned up a little bit, and then
the footing was good. We had to pay careful attention to
every footfall, which left little time for sightseeing as
we walked. We stopped in our tracks many times to admire
the play of sunshine through ice that still clung
to bare branches, dazzling against patches of true blue
sky. The dogs had a good romp, sniffing at every
track they encountered, including each other’s.
There was a good collection of tracks in the fine layer
of snow at the edges of the trail, all manner of bird and
mammal, including tiny little rodent prints
mixed in with the larger sign of coyote and fox. Hunting
must have been good the past couple
of days, with long-reaching visibility and no deep snow
to hinder either the predator or the
prey. Deer have been breaking through the crust, leaving
deep hoofprints through the
woods and meadows. Now the snow is falling faster, and
the flakes have plumped
up into fatties, all still flying sideways, a wonderful
sight ! Hooray !
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, January 18, 2007 830 a.m.
15 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
I imagine that today’s breeze and stronger windy
gusts will help to dispel the glaze
of ice that coats every branch and twig. It is a
beautiful sight when the sun passes through
the transparent crystals, and as the trees begin to sway
I can almost hear the music of tiny
silver bells as the twigs collide. Almost. The
loudest sound of all outdoors lately has been the
crunch of frozen granular snow and ice underfoot with
every step. How I miss the clean squeak
of cold snow, friendly fluff, not this hip-breaking scurf
that currently covers all of Tug Hill. As little
as two inches of new snow would make a huge improvement
in back-country skiing. As it is now,
there is no good grip because of the ice, and darned
little forward motion because the skis become
embedded in the crust as soon as you put weight on them.
Since it has been so cold, the wet spots
are probably less of an issue as they are now mostly
frozen. We will wait for more snow, however,
before making another foray into the woods. It’s a
beautiful sunny day, perfect for a walk on the
snowmobile trail; I doubt there will be much traffic on
it today, and there is so little snow that
trail shoes and a warm pair of socks are all that we will
need. Downhill skiing should be
pretty good; as I came home at midnight I could see the
snow guns at work making new
snow at the Snow Ridge Ski Area. We may get a little
natural snow during the next few
days, but until then we will be happy with this fine
sunny weatherand have a grand hike.
Take advantage ofwhatever the weather gods send your way.
Seize the day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 8:00 a.m.
-7 degrees, calm, mostly sunny
We are in the deep freeze for sure ! But what a stunning
morning, all shiny
with leftover ice clinging to little twigs now bare of
snow. Thank goodness there
is no breeze, or the windchill would be uncomfortable and
even dangerous. The night
was moonless and filled with stars; they seemed extra
bright for some reason but it was
too cold to linger very long in admiration. I noticed
last night that it is no longer pitch-dark
when I drive home from work at 5:30. The sun has set, but
it is still twilight and that gave
proof that we are indeed on the return path from deepest
winter towards the spring equinox.
Sunrise is still pretty late, but we now gain almost two
minutes of daylight every rotation.
Things will warm up a little for the weekend, with no
more rain in sight... for now.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 8:30 a.m.
5 degrees, calm, mostly cloudy, flurries
After yesterday’s wintry mix had its way with us,
the temperature has settled down to near zero.
The ice that had built up on every surface yesterday
morning was sluiced off by hard rain later in the
day; almost all ice has been replaced by a fine coating
of snow. The largest icicles that hung from the
eaves are gone, with just a few tiny ones left clinging
near the doorway. Roads were wet when I drove
off the Hill yesterday, and were still good in Oneida
County when I left to come home just after dark.
The thermometer on my car dashboard indicated a
temperature of 36 degrees when I pulled out of
the parking lot in Boonville. Just past the county line,
it started to drop, and by the time I reached
Talcottville the rain was freezing instantly on to the
windshield. The defroster running at full blast
did little to dispel the frozen drops. By the time I
reached the top of Gomer Hill, the temperature
was 22 degrees; not only was the car coated with ice, but
dense fog had formed as I gained
elevation. Crossing the yard from the garage to the house
was a real balance challenge, and
I was happy to finally enter the warmth of the kitchen.
We will continue to see very cold
temps for a couple of days, so bundle up. Don’t
forget your hat and mittens; better to
have them and not use them, than not have them and need
them.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, January 15, 2007 8:00 a.m.
26 degrees, breezy, overcast, freezing rain
What a revoltin’ development this is ! The massive
snowstorm that was expected to
blow in overnight has been pushed off to the north by a
wall of lofty warm southern air,
which is dumping rain on us, freezing immediately as it
hits the colder air close to the ground.
Make sure you warm your vehicle up before you travel
today, and give the ice a chance to melt
from the windshield. Ice is starting to build up on wires
and trees, so be prepared for a power outage.
We received two inches of new snow yesterday, but back-country
skiing was still pretty challenging, so
I took the dog for a walk instead. It was cold but not
windy, and we were comfortable as we walked
and jogged as the mood struck us. Creeks are still
running higher than usual for this time of year, and
standing water is just beginning to form a little ice on
top. I am not looking forward to my drive to
work later, as the weather is not expected to improve.
Snow I can handle, but ice is scary.
Take care,
Daisy
~
Sunday, January 14, 2007 8:15 a.m.
28 degrees, calm, overcast, flurries
Snow falls straight down, no breeze this morning at all.
More snow can only improve what
can best be described as some of the trickiest
backcountry ski conditions I have ever experienced.
I had anticipated that the underlying layer of slush
would have had time to freeze before yesterday’s
snowfall. Fresh snow on top of a frozen granular base is
the best surface for both kick and glide. Fresh
snow on top of waterlogged slush is nightmarishly
unpredictable and hard to manage. The downhill runs
find each foot moving independently at different speeds,
the left dragging through heavy mush and the right
skimming the surface. At any moment the situation changes.
Heaven forbid both feet are traveling at the same
speed and depth; just as I begin to enjoy the glide, a
dry patch of snow brings one leg to a screeching halt
while
the other keeps up its forward motion, gravity adding
momentum and that all important excitement factor,
the gut-wrenching loss of control that would bring a big
fat expletive to even the Pope’s lips. Trudging
uphill
is little better, good grip until you break through the
fresh snow layer and into the slush-puppie beneath, where
one or both skis then begin to hydroplane; yeah, out-of
control backwards may be worse than facing the on-
coming train. I put up with the tricky footwork because
the view yesterday was breathtakingly beautiful. Fog
had frozen on to every little twig and weed, wreathing
everything with delicate fairy-frost. This doesn’t
happen
very often on Tug Hill, mostly because our steady wind
whips such fragile formations away almost as soon as
they form. Even the humble dried goldenrods assumed the
feathery aspect of an ostrich plume, with some of
the frost columns reaching lengths of a half inch. In the
forest, small spruce saplings were coated with crystals,
looking very much like some of the first artificial
holiday trees from the fifties, perma-flocked for your
conven-
ience. Overhead, taller evergreens blended into the sky;
they were nearly the same pearly hue. Deer have
been traveling along my ski tracks, necessitating some
detours around their poo, so the woods are now
a crazy quilt of both human and deer trails, mine often
looking like a drunkard’s path, but I swear I
was just either looking up at the treetops or doing the
deer-poo slalom. Today I must admire this
gorgeous lacy frost some more, but perhaps I will try out
the snowshoes for a change.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, January 13, 2007 8:15 a.m.
28 degrees, breezy, overcast, snowing
We fell asleep lulled by the sound of steady rain
accented by the louder plop plop plop
of icicles melting on the tin porch roof. As the
temperature began to fall, the soft hiss of grauple
kissed the windows, and even that too changed after about
an hour into snow, bug fat flakes that
continue to fall. Snowmobile traffic hasn’t slowed
one bit, in spite of the fact that much of the trail
is now a wet muddy mess, similar to April riding. Today’s
snowfall should help, and tomorrow we
are due for possible significant accumulation. When in
doubt, consult this site absolutesnowmobile
for accurate trail reports that include the Tug
Hill area. Cross country skiing remains pretty good,
with yesterday’s rain providing zippy glide but not
much grip, so the uphills were hard work; if
you have the choice, use your metal-edged skis until this
weather settles down into true winter.
As cold air drifts down from the north later today, the
surface will freeze and bond with fresh-
fallen snow, providing the best of all backcountry
conditions, powder over ice. Downhill skiers
and boarders will be happy with conditions at Snow Ridge,
as new snow continues to provide
good edging on a machine-groomed surface. Yesterday’s
rain didn’t keep me out of the woods,
but I saw no birds or other critters at all. The deer
trails flowed with water, and their beds are
worn down to the spruce needles and cones of the forest
floor. Huge clumps of wet snow
fell from evergreen boughs to the ground, dislodged by
the wind and rain. I had a couple
of near-misses where I could have been knocked flat by a
slushy cascade. I can’t wait
to head out today and check out the changes this crazy
weather has left in its wake.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Friday, January 12, 2007 8:30 a.m.
32 degrees, windy, overcast, flurries
Tiny wet snowflakes fill the air, instantly melting on
the windowpanes, not adding much
to the piles of snow already on the ground. Precipitation
will probably change into rain if
the temperature increases. A mix of snow and rain will be
very good for forming a firm base
for future snowfalls. What we have now is merely one
layer of fairly deep snow sitting on top
of extremely wet meadows and squishy muddy forest floors.
Deer trails have a layer of brown
slush at the bottom of the well-traveled rut, and in many
places our skis call forth long stripes of
icy water, sponged up from the underlying massive puddles
as our body weight compresses the fluffy
snow and the water wicks up. Breaking trail with
backcountry skis has been hard work, but the return
trip finds the tracks zippy and slightly glazed. Those
skiing for the next few days should be sure to carry
a scraper in their pack in case water freezes on to the
plastic bottoms. Yesterday’s outing showed that
deer have been branching off of their deep single trail,
with many sets of hoofprints crisscrossing the
woods in fairly straight lines. Chickadees led the way,
keeping just one branch ahead of me, looking
back and chirping directions now and then. Several sets
of coyote tracks circumnavigated the farm
equipment that is parked along the edge of the woodlot,
disappearing under wagons and weaving
in and out of the long woodpiles. Turkey tracks led into
a swampy area and then disappeared,
indicating that they had taken flight in the middle of
their stroll. It was so windy yesterday
afternoon that much of the trail I had set in the meadow
was filled in with blowing
snow by the time I headed home; the forest had been
sunny, calm and
serene and a good choice of venue for such a breezy day.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:30 a.m.
17 degrees, calm, partly sunny
Sunlight bathes the valley with a shimmering ribbon of
light, while hazy clouds soften the
intensity here on Tug Hill. After a frigid night filled
with the roar of snowmobiles at all hours,
it is pleasantly quiet and peaceful this morning on Gomer
Hill. Our weekend snow tourists seem
to have gotten an early start, lured to the North Country
by the recent lake effect snowstorm. Trails
are in generally good condition, but several riders have
reported long stretches of water that may seem
to be harmless puddles at first glance, but in actuality
they are man-eating swamps. Before the snow fell,
there was an amazing amount of standing water all through
the area, and none of it has frozen. If you wander
off the trails, you are sure to find yourself
participating in an unscheduled watercross event. Clubs
do their best
to maintain the trails, but even the best groomer can’t
eliminate all that water. The same problem exists for the
back-country skier, but water on the skis is a mere
inconvenience compared to sinking a heavy sled with
nothing
but manpower to haul it out. We are intimately familiar
with every aspect of the terrain near our place, and can
guess where most of the water lurks and have been mostly
able to avoid the wet spots as we ski. Deer have
been sticking to one main trail, probably waiting for the
snow to settle a bit before heading out. We counted
a dozen deer beds along the edge of the gorge yesterday,
and there was plenty of fresh sign to mark their
earlier passing. Chickadees were predominant in the
forest, and a few red squirrel tracks ran from tree
to tree, but otherwise our only company was the soft
sough of a rising wind and the shadows of snow
clumps plummeting down as they became dislodged from
evergreen boughs. Today looks like it
will be a little warmer than yesterday, and fit for any
outdoor activity; even if you just have
time for a short walk, get out and enjoy this beautiful
winter day.
Don’t forget your mittens,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 8:00 a.m.
14 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
A few lingering flurries are spinning slowly to earth,
adding little to the foot and a half of snow
that fell during yesterday’s storm. At times the
snow was falling so fast as we shoveled out the
dooryards our footprints disappeared in an instant. Turin
was on the southern edge of the lake
effect band, so I went to work in Boonville as scheduled,
where there was only a dusting of snow.
Still, when I backed my car out of the garage, in the
time it took me to get out and close the door and
lock it, almost an inch had fallen on my car. Now that’s
a good old fashioned lake effect storm ! It
was a long trip home, as there was heavy snow falling
between Talcottville and Potter’s Corners,
blinding and mesmerizing as it strobed by the windshield.
When I pulled into our yard, the sky
was star-filled and moonless, and the air was very cold.
The lake effect band is now southwest
of here, spreading its wintry message over Syracuse and
the surrounding area. This morning
our road is full of blackbirds and crows pecking at the
salt and sand spread by the town
truck; a flock of turkeys crossed earlier, single file
and trudging slowly. Blue jays are
sticking close to the springbox, three or four of the
colorful birds making that their
home base for the past few weeks. Snow Ridge is opening
today for you downhill
enthusiasts, with plans to resume their regular schedule
including night skiing
Thursday and Friday. And now, time to bust out the cross-country
skis
and lay down a trail before the next rainstorm foils my
plans.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 7:30 a.m.
24 degrees, breezy, overcast, SNOWING !
Snow started to fall on Gomer Hill yesterday afternoon,
but melted as soon as it
hit the warm wet ground. Roads were still clear when I
drove home from Boonville
at 6:30, but the air temperature was decidedly colder
when I exited our garage, and
the wind was howling from the northwest like a banshee.
We awakened to about six
inches of snow so far, and it is still snowing pretty
hard. Our schools are running two
hours late; this storm is so localized that it is the
only district in the north country that
is affected by this snowfall. Town of Webb schools are
also on a delay, but they are
in the Adirondacks, on the other side of the river, where
another narrow lake effect
band is working its wintry magic. If this keeps up, it
will be the first significant
snowstorm of the 2006-07 season. I love snow, can you
tell ?
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, January 8, 2007 8:30 a.m.
39 degrees, breezy, overcast, foggy, sprinkles
Sprinkling, drizzling, or maybe just really fat fog
droplets blowing around,
whatever the heck it is doing out there this morning it
is very wet. Some snow
fell overnight, but now it has all turned to mush and the
fog is drawing it upwards
to meet with the stuff that is falling at this particular
moment. The indiscriminate wetness
is supposed to change over to snow later this afternoon;
we shall see about that. We had
a wonderful long walk yesterday afternoon, traveling on
back roads because the woods are
full of standing water and gooey mud. Some of the larger
puddles and little ponds still had a
layer of ice on top, which was surprising in light of the
high temperatures at the end of last week.
Creeks and ditches were running high, and the gurgling
and plopping was music to our ears. Be-
cause it has been such a wet autumn and winter, the ferns
of late summer have not had any chance
to desiccate and turn brown, and stand out emerald green
against the dun of the forest floor. Darker
green myrtle and nearly fluorescent chartreuse mosses add
to the overall feeling that we were strol-
ling through an April afternoon, not January. To quote
one of my ski buddies, “This is beautiful,
but it’s not right for winter...” I agree. I
have a feeling that sometime soon, as I navigate through
blinding wind-driven snow in the dark on my way home from
work, I will regret my yearning
for snowfall, in a classic case of Be careful what you
wish for.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, January 7, 2007 8:00 a.m.
30 degrees, calm, cloudy
Yesterday’s high temperature of 62 degrees broke the
record for that date by a good ten degrees.
The balmy spring-like air lasted much of the morning
before strong gusty winds swept across the Hill
and the mercury dropped like a stone, a chilly forty
degrees by mid-afternoon. Rain showers persisted
throughout the afternoon, but there were also dazzling
breaks of sun and several rainbows to brighten the
outlook. We drove a short distance down to Whetstone Gulf
State Park and walked up the trail next to
the creek as far as we could go. The foot bridges were
removed for the winter, so it was a short hike. The
water was raging, foamy and swift with whitecaps and
uncrossable rapids. Sheer shale cliffs ran white with
freshets, too many to count and awesomely beautiful. A
huge brown bird, probably an owl, flew down the
gulf, chased by fifty or more crows, all diving at the
larger bird and scolding noisily. When we left the crows
were still creating quite a ruckus. We went to Lyons
Falls where the Moose River joins the Black at the old
paper mill, and admired the power of all that water
crashing over the falls. Our own little creeks here on
Gomer Hill are full, sweeping fallen branches into
waterlogged piles at every turn. Our clouds are slowly
thinning out and exposing little bits of pale blue sky,
so the water will have a chance to return to normal
levels before the day is over. Take a walk today and
check out the scene in your neighborhood.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, January 6, 2007 8:00 a.m.
51 degrees, breezy, overcast, raining
It was raining so hard this morning that I couldn’t
hear the radio when the alarm first went off,
I had to turn up the volume. Among other items of local
news, I heard that night crawlers were
exiting their watery homes last night, unheard of for
January. It looks like the hardest rain has moved
off to the east, and the mild temperature invites one to
linger on the stoop and admire the soft misty view.
Crows sit in the same tree as yesterday’s ravens;
perhaps they have resolved their territorial dispute by
agreeing on joint custody of certain areas. Blue jays and
blackbirds are waging a battle of the bands in
the big trees that bracket the barn, stirred to crazy
singing by the springlike weather. I wouldn’t be
surprised to hear the merry tones of the red-wing
blackbird joining in the chorus, inviting all to
stay-and-plaaaaaaaay. This morning’s sound
track is going to remain in my head all day long,
an unprecedented and welcome accompaniment to the
bittersweet task of removing holiday
decorations. It’s always a good idea to keep a song
in your heart as you go about your work.
gliddy glub gloopy
nibby nabby noopy
la la la - lo lo
sabba sibbi sabba
nooby aba naba
lee lee - lo lo
tooby ooby wala
nooby aba naba
early morning singing song !*
Daisy
*Hair
~
Friday, January 5, 2007 9:00 a.m.
42 degrees, breezy, overcast, drizzle
Hard rain overnight has sluiced away every bit of our
lingering snow, although there may still
be some left in the shelter of the forest trees. Three
ravens are hunting in the east meadow, soaring
low to the ground and occasionally perching on an apple
branch around the springbox to savor their
catch. I heard on the radio that robins have been spotted
near the river, and it didn’t surprise me at all.
Our daffodils have started to emerge from the depths, and
a few snowdrops are heavy with buds. Skunks
are still on the prowl, and friends in the Adirondack
foothills report that bears have not yet snuggled down
for their long winter’s nap. I haven’t spotted
any woodchucks, but I’ll bet they are restless as
well. What
will become of all of these misplaced signs of spring
when we get our first big dump of snow? I am fairly
certain we will have snow this season, better late
than never. The animals and plants that have jumped
the gun will certainly be shocked by a sudden turn of
weather. We are in for a few rainy days, then
winter may finally arrive next week. Enjoy the day, rain,
snow, or shine; accept it all,
and you’ll feel fine !
Daisy
~
Thursday, January 4, 2007 8:00 a.m.
40 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
We have been blessed three mornings in a row with
colorful extended dawn presentations.
The sky was multicolored during much of the hour before
dawn, with tangerine neon jet contrails
and hot spots of fuchsia on the edges of the clouds
hovering over the valley. Then the sun rose
about a half hour ago, its brilliance overriding all of
the colors, replacing the pinks and oranges
with pure white light. The clouds have taken over once
again, with the sun disappearing under
the slate-grey puffy stuff and casting a rich melony hue
across the entire view to the southeast.
Last night’s effulgent sunset was a treat as well,
with the moon rising at the exact same instant
that the sun disappeared behind the opposite horizon. The
full moon loomed huge and orange,
only to disappear almost immediately under a lowering
purple cloud bank. There has been so
much to see in the sky these past couple of days that we
have almost forgotten to look at the
ground with its sparse scattering of leftover snow and
slush. The lingering pawprints of our
visiting big dogs serve only to remind us of how quiet
things are since our visitors left;
the hubbub of the holidays is settling once again into
more familiar daily routines,
just as interesting but maybe a tad bit less thrilling.
And so it goes, the highs
and lows and ordinary shows of our lifelong journey
balancing each other,
our dance card full of lazy slow waltzes as well as crazy
tarantellas.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 9:00 a.m.
35 degrees, windy, sunny
What a very satisfying sunset/moonrise last night, both
events occurring at about
the same time. The moon is officially full tonight, so
look for a similar occurrence today
at about 4:30. This is normally known as the Wolf Moon,
signifying the howls of hungry
predators as they look in vain for vittles in the deep
winter snow. Perhaps this year we could
rename it the Smorgasbord Moon, as there is an alarming
number of deer and other delicious
animals that are to be found grazing in our bare meadows,
easy targets for any carnivore. Such
an easy winter will only serve to elevate the amount of
nuisance deer that will be all over the
crops next summer. Driving at night these days requires
constant visual scanning for animals
getting ready to dart in front of the car and damage not
only the critter but the vehicle. There
is no snow in sight for the rest of this week. I picked a
pansy on new year’s day, absolutely
unheard of in this neck of the woods. The next few warm
days will no doubt give the iris
and snowdrops a little growth spurt; they really never
went dormant this year at all.
What’s next on the agenda for the winter that never
was, I wonder?
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, January 2, 2007 8:30 a.m.
27 degrees, windy, partly cloudy
Some pellets of grauple fell last night, making the roads
a little slickery but it is
already starting to melt away, dripping from eaves and
truck bumpers and forming
into long skinny icicles. The wind is right out of the
north and carries just enough arctic
bite to nearly cancel out the warmth of the sun. Although
the scene appears quite inviting
from indoors looking out, my short foray into the yard
earlier left me wishing for a hat and
gloves; I may actually have said BRRRRRRRR aloud a
time or two, like a character in a comic
strip. A huge bank of clouds hangs low in the east, dark
grey masses with magenta and orange
edges, moving right up the crease of the Black River
valley. They slowly begin to disperse, with
huge rays of light spilling every whichaway, a
spectacular start to the day. Because such brilliance
has been in short supply the past few weeks (months,
actually) it is even more wonder-full to behold.
Keep the glow going in your heart; shine your light on
all you meet.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, January 1, 2007 8:00 a.m.
38 degrees, breezy, cloudy, fog
Happy New Year everyone ! 2007 made a grand entrance with
some hard rain
showers, which thankfully didn’t freeze onto the
roads to hamper revelers’ travel in
the wee hours this morning. What is left of our snow is
being slowly returned to the sky
as fog on this quiet morning, an anti-climax to yesterday’s
sunny wintry scene. A waxing
3/4 moon was already well up in the sky when the sun went
down; as the beautiful last
rays of sun bathed the land with warm colors, silvery
moonbeams kept the glow going,
illuminating the snowy meadows until engulfed by clouds.
With today’s mild temperatures
we could be starting a January thaw, right on schedule
but with nothing really frozen to
thaw. Maybe 2007 will bring us more normal weather
patterns; we can only hope.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
~
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