~
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 8:30 a.m.
12 degrees, breezy, sunny
What a beautiful morning, clear as a bell and not
dauntingly frigid. Four blackbirds were huddled
close together in the big tree by the garage but flew
away as I stepped into the yard. They continued
to chatter from a perch out of view behind the barn,
mostly catcalls and conversational clucks, very little
tuneful singing involved. Everything is so shiny in the
bright sunlight; even the tips of the Adirondack
Mountains
seem to pulsate with radiance. There is just the
slightest veil of thin clouds resting above the peaks,
and it is
probably the play of light echoing through the mist that
lends the illusion of animation to the far-off peaks.
Nearby meadows glisten with snowy crystals, and there is
the faintest shimmer of frost suspended
in midair, visible ambient humidity that translates to my
mind’s eye as simply ooooooooh, shiny !
Have a brilliant day,
Daisy
~
Monday, February 27, 2006 8:30 a.m.
-1 degree, breezy, sunny
At minus one it has warmed up considerably from a morning
low of minus eighteen.
Yikes, that’s cold ! It is especially cold when
there is a stiff breeze from the north driving
the chill down to your core. Yesterday’s flurries
have freshened up the scenery and covered
over road sand which is necessary but unfortunately
dirties up the view. Our resident blackbirds
are nowhere to be seen this morning; I wonder how they
decide if it is too cold to hang out in the tree.
Is it wind-related, or just a function of temperature
alone? What of one diehard bird wants to go out and
play and everyone else thinks it’s foolhardy. I have
never seen any less then three birds in a group, most
often there are at least half a dozen. Do they vote? Is
it always the same crazy thrill-seeking adolescent
fledgling that wants to go out no matter what? That’s
a really stupid idea, Chauncy, you’ll catch
your death if you go out there today. Get back in this
barn, don’t make me say it twice...
Perhaps they follow a schedule, or choose lots: Dang,
I got a short straw, hey Maudie,
fetch my mittens... (Seems like maybe I watched a few
too many Disney movies as a kid.)
Don’t forget your mittens,
Daisy
~
Sunday, February 26, 2006 8:00 a.m.
2 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy, flurries
Snow is coming in fits and starts on this frigid morning,
nothing like yesterday’s
steady onslaught that resulted in at least a foot of
snow, probably more. It was dry
dense powder, not the champagne fluff that skiers dream
of, more like slippery sugar
underfoot. We are finally beginning to build a good base
and it is nearly March. Something
tells me we won’t be able to plant peas in April
this year. Bits of sunshine appear through
the white curtain causing twirling snowflakes to shimmer
like the true crystals they are,
a wonderful effect that no camera could possibly capture.
When the wind dies down
I believe I will buckle on my snowshoes and see what’s
new in the woods today.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, February 25, 2006 8:00 a.m.
12 degrees, breezy, overcast, snowing
Snow is quickly piling up in the yard. Since we moved the
car out of the garage a half hour ago,
at least two inches of fluff has accumulated on the hood
and windshield. Nexrad radar shows that
the bulk of today’s storm is still a little to the
west of us, and it looks like we are in for a good dump.
The breeze is mild for a change, so there is a good
chance this snow will stay where it lands. Flakes
nearest the window appear to be floating upwards, no
doubt riding the thermals as heat escapes from
the house. What a trick this plays on my senses; which
way is up? The big picture shows thick snow
falling in every direction, mostly towards the earth.
However, if I focus on the snowflakes nearest to the
window and block out all the others, I really get a
skewed version of gravity and the natural order of things.
Come to think of it, anything that is taken out of
context and viewed as a single defining concept is bound
to be full of misinformation. Make sure you look at the
BIG PICTURE before jumping to conclusions.
Evaluate all of the parts before deciding something is a
fact, and then feel free to change your mind if
it turns out you were misinformed due to lack of input. (Jeezaloo,
I wish some of our world leaders
would tune into this column...) At any rate, whether the
snow is falling down or up, or even if it
falls not at all in your neck of the woods, I hope you
have an excellent day.
Enjoy your view,
Daisy
~
Friday, February 24, 2006 8:00 a.m.
16 degrees, windy, overcast, snowing
We are experiencing some light snow right now, but it is
the high winds that are keeping us
under an official Winter Storm Warning for most of the
morning. About six inches of new powder
has fallen according to the Snow Ridge ski report, but up
here it has arranged itself into graceful drifts
and ripples, crazy-deep in some places, and scoured down
to the ice in others. Flakes seem to be every-
where at once, flying fast in from the west but moving in
the exact opposite direction close to the house
as they hit protected alcoves; now and then the wind
stops for just a moment, and all of the snow hangs
suspended in midair before succumbing to the next zephyr.
Yesterday we traveled to the Mohawk Valley
and passed through some awesome bands of lake effect
snow, with a lot of accumulation just south of
Boonville. Between the bands there were periods of bright
sunshine, and although the little squalls were
intense they were brief in duration, and there remains
very little snow in the southern part of Oneida County.
Our ride home in mid-afternoon showed off the Valley at
its best, all rolling hills and broad vistas kissed
by pure late winter sunlight. The sun will poke out later
today before the next batch of snow arrives,
making for some great conditions for just about any
winter sport.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
Thursday, February 23, 2006 7:00 a.m.
27 degrees, breezy, overcast, flurries
We are just at the northern edge of a band of dense
precipitation moving swiftly through
the southern tip of Lewis Country and northern Oneida
County. It looks like Boonville is getting
quite a downfall. As the mercury rises into the upper
thirties we may even see a little rain later today.
Crows have been very active this morning, flying all over
the meadows and calling loudly well before
sunrise. Yesterday I heard plenty of crows as I skied
through the forest, but they never came into view.
I neither heard nor saw the pair of ravens that I was
seeking, but it was a fun search anyway. The actual
skiing conditions were terrible, sticky snow like
porridge under my skis. It wasn’t too bad in the
fields, but
in the woods every step added more snow to the bottoms of
the skis. If I hadn’t stopped every now and then
to scrape the buildup off on downed branches, I would
have been ten feet tall at the end of the trip. I kept on
truckin’, moving through the woods at a snail’s
pace, happy to be outdoors on such a beautiful blue-sky
day.
Recent storms had plastered the western sides of trees
with shelves of snow, looking like white tree fungus,
layer upon layer all the way up the trunks. Several huge
trees had broken off or uprooted during last Friday’s
awesome windstorm, and the ground was marked by dozens of
deer tracks, left as they browsed the tender
buds newly at their level, a literal windfall for
them of midwinter forage. I fear that we will be even
more over-
run with deer this summer that usual; it has been a very
easy winter so far for them, lots of food and not a heck
of a lot of snow. I left the woods and took a couple of
laps around the big meadow, just for the sheer joy of the
improving kick-and-glide as the temperature dropped near
dinnertime. A turkey trail runs diagonally through the
field, straight as an arrow with the birds walking four
abreast, a packed path two feet wide and bearing the
marks
of many birds. As I skied around, I checked inside our
bluebird boxes, and three of them had dead critters
inside.
A shrew and three meadow voles spent their last hours
curled up in the corners of nesting boxes, for whatever
reason, who knows. I have found rodent’s nests in
the boxes before, but these unfortunate critters were
just huddled in the corners on bare wood. Perhaps they
were caught in the open when the storm
came last week, and crawled in to get out of the gale.
There was lots to see yesterday, and
I am glad I persevered in the face of challenging
conditions. It was worth it.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 8:00 a.m.
19 degrees, calm, mostly sunny
A dozen blackbirds fly back and forth between the two
biggest trees in the yard, swapping
places and keeping up hearty chatter as they do so. It
almost seems like some kind of musical
chairs going on, that game from a long-ago memory of
little girls’ birthday parties and kindergarten
class. Now that is an odd life’s lesson to
learn at such a young age. For those of you that never
played
musical chairs, here’s how it goes: If there are
fifteen people, then fourteen chairs are set up. Music is
played,
and when it stops, every participant but one sit down.
Then one chair is removed from the row and the music
starts again. Finally the field is whittled down to two
players and one chair. This is entertaining? It never
occur-
red to me what a stupid and mean-spirited game this is
until now. Clearly it involves a lot of pushing and
shoving
and just plain bad manners; should the winner really
receive a prize for this? Is this what we want our
youngsters
to learn, that life is a jolly dance until the music
stops, then it’s every man for himself? But I
digress; you really
want to read about the weather. It is a fine and sunny
morning, with eight inches of new snow that seemed
to fall all at once yesterday afternoon. It will be a
relatively warm day, perfect for any outdoor adventure.
Critters should be on the move as well today, so if you
head into the woods be sure to take a pair of
field glasses with you; you never know what might pop out
from behind a tree on such a nice day.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 8:30 a.m.
17 degrees, breezy, partly sunny, flurries
In spite of the snow swirling around outside the window
this morning, there are many signs
of spring starting to, um, spring up that make
this time of year so wonderful to me. Flies are
beginning to emerge from their winter torpor to buzz
noisily against the windows. Wouldn’t they
be surprised if I opened it and set them free? A few
ladybugs have appeared as well; one bit me
on top of the foot as I sat dozing in a comfy chair last
night. The biggest surprise of all... I water our
cactus plants every couple of weeks, and this last time
one presented us with two very large yellow
flowers. I have only seen this particular plant bloom
once before in the twelve years since it was given
to us. It is a wonderful thing to see this desert native
in a sunny window that has snow plastered to it,
climate-related extremes in one convenient chestnut
framed venue. There are several more flower buds
on the plant that are not developing very quickly;
perhaps all of the little cactus’ energy was
directed to
these two spectacular blossoms, one male, one female. I
transferred some pollen with a soft paintbrush,
hoping to see what kind of fruit may develop. One of our
other cactuses blooms every spring, and leaves
behind dozens of small long berries that fall off when
the plant is moved. Our geraniums are beginning
to develop buds as well, responding to the longer days
that arrived at the end of December. It is
almost time to start a few early tomato seeds,
determinate patio varieties that will do well on an
indoor porch until after the last spring frost. It is not
too early to start planning a garden, is it ?
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, February 20, 2006 6:00 a.m.
11 degrees, breezy, snowing
A very early appointment has me out the door before
sunrise today. We have had about four
inches of snow during the night, and light flurries are
still falling. The town plow just went by, but
I think I will be able to blast through the pile that
they left at the end of the driveway with little trouble,
as the snow is very fluffy. Yesterday proved to be even
windier than Saturday, so another day was spent
indoors looking out, just not that into frostbite I guess.
A raven spent the middle part of the day in a dwarf
spruce tree in the back yard. He hunkered down on the
leeward side, and I wondered why he had left the
protection of the woodlot. Perhaps he was looking for
food. I have seen only one raven lately, but this is
the season when the females are working on the nest,
either building a new one or repairing a former site.
I hope this is the case, that nothing tragic has happened
to the mate. When the lone bird left the yard he
passed by the porch and looked right in the window at me,
a simple direct glance before disappearing
into the forest across the road. The next time I ski
through the woods I will take my binoculars
and try to find my old friends and their nest. That would
be a rare treat !
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, February 19, 2006 8:00 a.m.
8 degrees, breezy, overcast, flurries
A good stiff breeze from the west is turning these few
flurries into a little squall.
Trees sway gently in the wind; the entire hedgerow is
moving as one unit, like rolling
waves far out to sea. Our decorative hedges and domestic
shrubbery have had very little
snow cover this season; I will be amazed if any of them
manage to sport one small blossom
come springtime. We will be lucky if there is even any
foliage, after 90 mph gusts at zero degrees
on Friday. Yesterday was beautiful and sunny but bitterly
cold, with windchill factors well below zero.
I waited too long to get out on skis; by the time I was
ready, it was simply too raw outdoors for me.
It may have been pleasant in the protected areas of the
deep woods, but the quarter mile trek from
here to the trees was daunting. Swirls of airborne snow
were painting a pretty picture across the
meadows, but at zero degrees I knew that those scenic
gusts would drill right through even
high-tech clothing. Sometimes common sense accidentally
prevails, surprising even me.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Saturday, February 18, 2006 8:00 a.m.
-5 degrees, windy, partly sunny, flurries
There is a fifty degree difference in temperature in a
twenty-four hour period of time. That’s pretty
amazing.
We have lived on Tug Hill for thirty years, and yesterday’s
storm was without a doubt the worst I have seen
up here. We have had high winds with thunderstorms,
blizzards, and microbursts, but those blustery periods
were nothing compared to the all-day battering we
withstood yesterday. Fierce wind roared all day long and
into the night with no letup. A steady blast pummeled the
buildings with anything that wasn’t tied down and
stripped our big old trees of branches; scary intense
squalls shook the house and plastered the windows with
snow. Gusts of nearly 100 mph reported at the wind towers
must have had those puppies spinning like tops.
My dog refused to go outdoors (smart pup!), so I had to
accompany him in the middle of the day. I held on
tight to the door frame while he did his duty, and
although it may seem hard to believe, this I saw with my
own
eyes; his little doggy logs blew away before they had a
chance to hit the ground. Now that’s a windy
day !
If he hadn’t been securely clipped to his cable I
believe he would have blown away as well, a fluffy little
kite of a dog off to the Land of Oz. We got about eight
inches of new snow from the storm and if I bun-
dle up against the deep-freeze later the cross country
skiing should be very good. If you are playing
outdoors today, make sure you check your exposed skin for
frostbite now and then. More snow
is on the way later with a possibility of lake effect for
our area. I guess winter is finally here...
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Friday, February 17, 2006 8:30 a.m.
35 degrees and falling, windy, snowing
When I checked the temperature earlier it was 45, and at
8:00 it was 40 and raining very hard.
Now there are huge sheets of snow blowing sideways in
from the west, and we have dipped down
five more degrees in a half-hour’s time. The radar
map shows Turin under a dark red band of precipitation
moving wicked fast; this must be the cold front that will
usher in tonight’s bitter freeze. A large branch
just
broke away from the aspen tree outside the window, and
the front yard is littered with twigs and branches of
all sizes. Be careful where you park your vehicle today.
I think I will stay indoors and enjoy the mayhem from
the snug safety of our warm farmhouse. Better fill some
jars and buckets with water in case the power goes out.
Have an interesting day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, February 16, 2006 8:30 a.m.
38 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy
A perfect crimson hemisphere of sun appeared briefly
above the clouds earlier before becoming
obscured totally. It reminded me of the red sun at
morning, sailor’s take warning admonition, so
any outdoor activities planned for today should be
undertaken as soon as possible. Rain will move in
later, mixing with and finally changing to snow, all
driven by an icy wind that promises gusts up to 60 mph.
Yesterday was very windy as well, and the warm breath of
late winter took away lots of snow on Tug Hill.
Snowmobile trails are pretty bony due to a combination of
snow-eating breezes and high traffic. If we get
much rain today then riding conditions will become very
poor indeed. Cross country skiing was lousy yes-
terday as well, with neither kick nor glide; sticky snow
grabbed the skis and refused to allow for much for-
ward movement at all. A walk on back roads was much more
successful. The frost has started to leave the
dirt road, and it was quite muddy. A few roadside pussy
willows have burst their buds into fuzzy little catkins,
an early sign that winter won’t last forever. Sunset
was beautiful, many colors spread all over the land
before
twilight cast its purple cloak over all. The moon rose in
a haze, a faint ring encircling the pale waning disk.
Look for a big change in the weather during the next two
days, Old Man Winter at his best.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 8:00 a.m.
36 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
What a lovely sunrise ! It is nice to have such a sunny
mild morning, filled with the happy
chatter of dozens of blackbirds and crows that are
hanging around the yard. A cool
poem came my way earlier, and as I must dash off to keep
some appointments,
I hope you don’t mind if I opt for sharing someone
else’s words for a change;
have a wonderful day,
Daisy
ONE VISION
Day and night, no difference.
The sun *is* the moon: an amalgam.
Their gold and silver melt together.
This is the season when
the dead branch and the green branch
are the same branch.
Nightmares fill with light like a holiday.
Humans and angels speak one language.
The elusive ones finally meet.
Good and evil, dead and alive,
everything blooms
from one natural stem.
You know this already, I'll stop.
Any direction you turn
it's one vision.
-Rumi
as translated and rendered by Coleman Barks and David
Ulansey
~
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 9:00 a.m.
21 degrees, breezy, mostly cloudy, flurries
There is a little break in the snow for the moment, but
it has been this way all morning,
coming in blustery waves as another thin lake effect band
zooms through the area. Yesterday
I drove through a little blizzard just after lunch that
had lots of blowing snow and very poor visibility
for only about one mile. The main road had been mostly
clear and I was enjoying some sunshine through
the open car roof, then I was immediately plunged into a
dark swirling mass of snow with several inches
piling under my tires so fast I never saw it coming.
Thank goodness for top-of-the-line winter tires and
the presence of mind that kept me from putting on the
brakes. The drive home from Boonville just after
sunset was snow-free until I hit the Turin town line; I
was swallowed up by another intense squall, which
intensified as I moved on up the Gomer Hill Road. We have
received about ten inches of new snow from
those lake-effect dumps, and may see some more this
morning. Our skis are hung up for the day, and I
will be taking the dog out to walk in the fresh air after
the stormy spells have moved on. Downhill skiing
should be excellent, a powderhound’s dream if you
get to the slopes early enough for first tracks.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Monday, February 13, 2006 9:00 a.m.
16 degrees, calm, partly sunny, snowing
We have had a few flurries off and on all morning, but
right now it is snowing pretty hard.
An inch has gathered in the yard in the past fifteen
minutes, and it looks like we might get some
good accumulation out of this little storm. Ski
conditions have been durn near perfect since winter
returned to Tug Hill, and more snow can only add to the
good base. We skied yesterday through the
pine plantation up the road and on to the state trails
that originate on Carpenter Road. The unblemished
snow of the plantation parted easily before our silent
skis, and the gliding was exceptional. The state trails
were well-worn, and even zippier than virgin snow. Animal
sign was everywhere, with dozens of squirrels
and tiny rodents stippling the snow with long chains of
footprints. The heavy-footed trenches of porcupines
connected several big aspen trees together, but we didn’t
see any of the prickly little fellers. We heard the
sharp drumming of a pileated woodpecker but the busy bird
stayed out of sight. The sun shone brightly
through the trees creating beautiful patterns of dark
shadow and pure light on clean snow. Brooks are
running slow as the temperatures have dropped, but there
is still lots of open water in the woods,
gurgling under and around ice so clear it looks like
window glass. Streamsides are hung
with long transparent icicles, nearly touching the
surface of the water as it flows
beneath. We have been fortunate to have three perfect
days of skiing in a row,
and blessed to be able to share the wonders of Gomer Hill
with friends.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, February 12, 2006 7:00 a.m.
10 degrees, calm, overcast
It’s a nice quiet morning here on Tug Hill. A few
guests remain from yesterday’s festivities, and
we all agree over our morning coffee that the cross
country skiing yesterday counted among the best
trips of the year, if not the decade. The pace was zippy
with the trail broken in from one end to the other,
and all of the washed-out wet spots remained nicely
frozen for our convenience. The sky was wonderfully
blue, and the wind that blows 99% of the time up here
stayed calm just for us. We made too much noise
on the trip to be able to sneak up on any wildlife, but
evidence of their passing was everywhere. Rabbits
and porcupines had crossed the trail at many junctions,
and scads of deer had used our trail during the 24
hours since we laid it down Friday. We skied to the top
of Snow Ridge and back, and as we sped out of the
woods on the last good downhill run we were treated to a
beautiful blazing sunset in the west and a near-
full moon already a hand and a half above the horizon in
the east. What a beauty of a day ! I would like to
be able to report that, as we get older, these gatherings
become more controlled and sedate, as befits
our advancing years. I would like to be able to report
that, but it would be a big fat lie.
Party on !
Daisy
~
Saturday, February 11, 2006 7:00 a.m.
7 degrees, calm, partly cloudy
There are broad bands of pink to the east where the sky
is clear. Big smoky clouds are moving so
slowly they seem not to be moving at all, unless you
unfocus your eyes and look at them sideways. A
nearly-full moon found some open sky in the west from
which to bid a glowing farewell a little while ago.
It is a beautiful still morning, peaceful for the moment.
In a little while the joint will be jumping with friends
old and new, gathering for an annual cross country ski
trip that has been going on for the better part of two
decades. We skied yesterday, and the crossing at Mill
Creek was washed out by the hard rains of the Jan-
uary thaw; fortunately it has been cold enough that there
is now a shallow but sturdy ice crossing where a snow
bridge had previously been. We broke trail through about
a foot of lovely fluff, not at all hard to manage. Larger
creeks are flowing beneath a transparent film of ice, and
bubbles trapped just beneath the surface dance and spin,
merrily, merrily... Later we took a ride up the Flat Rock
Road to show off the Maple Ridge Wind Farm project
to an out -of-state friend. Several vanes were turning,
so we shut off the engine and got out of the car to see
what they sounded like. A steady rhythmic ssssh ssssh
ssssh pulsed through the air as each vane swept to-
wards the earth, almost hypnotic. I suppose you might get
used to it if you lived nearby. We saw plenty
of deer on the ride home, and a huge flock of turkeys was
gathered on a manure pile, making me rethink
my fondness for roasted wild turkey. Today will be sunny
and fine, a great day for any outdoor event.
Have a very wonderful day (I know I will !)
Daisy
~
Friday, February 10, 2006 8:45 a.m.
12 degrees, calm, mostly sunny
Stars were winking out one by one in the sharp predawn
glow as a huge moon set over
the treeline to the west. It is nearly full, almost a
perfect circle, and has been a very visible
presence the past two nights. The snow reflects its light
even in the still chill of midnight, making
the fields glow almost as brightly as a regular cloud-filled
winter’s day. We had a little bit of lake
effect snow yesterday afternoon, lasting about an hour
and blessing us with a couple more inches of
fresh powder. The winter storm warning was lifted late in
the day and sunset was perfectly beautiful.
Overnight the temperature dropped to six below zero, but
things are warming up nicely in the length-
ening morning sun. As I drove home from work last night I
noticed that every vehicle headed north
was towing a snowmobile trailer. They’re
baaaaaaack... Everybody have fun this weekend, and
please remember to respect the privacy and boundaries of
the folks who live here all year.
Play safe,
Daisy
~
Thursday, February 9, 2006 8:00 a.m.
10 degrees, breezy, mostly sunny
Sunrise this morning presented a long drawn-out blast of
colors, vivid pink jet contrails and
magenta bands of clouds lying low against the mountains.
When the sun finally appeared from
behind the clouds, the snow in all of the meadows
reflected a rosy glow, shimmering with frosty
crystals. It is very cold out, and a strong western
breeze drives the chill directly to bare skin on my
face, ears tingling and nostrils frozen stiff. Although
blackbirds are singing up a storm, I will have to
bundle up a little better to fully appreciate their
cheerful greeting. There are clouds moving in from
the west, and a lake effect snow warning is active for
later in the day, with up to a foot of new
snow expected by morning. Don’t forget to take a
broom to sweep off your vehicle after
work, and toss some snow boots and warm socks into your
trunk while you’re at it.
It is a wonderful thing to enjoy an outdoor adventure in
the snow,
less wonderful if it is an unplanned adventure with your
car
Take it easy,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, February 8, 2006 8:30 a.m.
8 degrees, calm, overcast, flurries
Softly falls the snow, lightly touching down on top of
the banks and drifts,
covering yesterday’s sanding with a clean new look.
The sun is making an attempt
to shine through high clouds, a silvery ball surrounded
by misty swirls of wintry goodness.
We walked for a while yesterday afternoon, sticking to
the plowed roads which were squeaky-
cold with new snow. It was colder than we thought, with
windchill contributing significantly to the
whole package. Snowmobiles were back in full force last
night, seemingly more numerous than the
weekend warriors we have had on Tug Hill so far this
season. I’m not sure if it is a never-ending stream
of different sleds, or the same group riding back and
forth or around in circles, all traveling at top speed.
It doesn’t seem like that many different
people would have the same death-wish, going ninety miles
an
hour in the dark over terrain that has less than a foot
of snow, riddled with blow-downs and random wild-
life crossing the road. I don’t know if there is a
snowmobile speed limit, but there oughta be a common-
sense factor that kicks in now and then, some kind of HOLY
CRAP! realization that there are things
beyond the range of the headlights that might just sort
of accidentally kill ya... Probably with the
return of snow to the area we will see an increase in
sled traffic this weekend, with a corres-
ponding higher incidence of accidents and tickets issued.
Ride as if your life depended on it,
because it actually does.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Tuesday, February 7, 2006 8:30 a.m.
12 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
What a beautiful sparkling morning ! All is white; bare
muddy spots are finally covered over with
a clean layer of fluffy snow. The yard held less than six
inches against the plow and shovel. It was
quite a while before the wind died down enough last night
to allow snow to pile up. I am sure that
there are areas in the meadows that will be over my knees.
Several drifts right around the house
are three feet deep, gracefully curved into ridges and
gently rounded mounds. The Snow Ridge
Ski report indicates fourteen inches of new snow, and
they are just next door. Areas north of
here saw three feet of accumulation, and south of here is
bracing for lake effect snow today.
There is now more blue sky than cloud cover, and it seems
like our storm may be over for
awhile. I do believe the long thaw is at an end, in the
nick of time.
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Monday, February 6, 2006 8:00 a.m.
19 degrees, windy, overcast, snowing!
Yippee! After scads of false starts and brief teasers of
fat fluffy flakes yesterday, snow started
to fall in earnest sometime during the night. It is
impossible to tell how much has already landed;
the icy yard is scoured clean by blustery winds but there
are some impressive drifts scattered here
and there, freeform sculptures courtesy of Old Man Winter.
Radar indicates that we are at the very
southernmost edge of a heavy band of lake effect snow,
and as it drifts farther south during the day we
should see some good additional accumulation. Finally!
Meanwhile, yesterday’s waiting game had much
to offer to any intrepid trekker with piercing vivid
sunlight as it shone from behind massive dark clouds. If
it
were a late summer day, I would have expected
thunderstorms at the very least. Mild temperatures did
little
to blunt the winds that accompanied the intense sunshine;
even though I was bundled up a sharp gust stole
my breath away more than once. I walked alone; the dog
decided to return to the warmth of the kitchen
after one hair-raising minute on the back step. There
were no birds hardy enough to cheer me on from
the treetops. Even the traffic was non-existent. I had
Gomer Hill all to myself for a brief time, and the
occasional snowflake that smacked me in the face only
served to underscore the fact that I was walk-
ing a muddy road, not skiing on a lovely pristine frosty
trail. At any rate, the sun, wind, mud, clouds
and stray flakes made for a memorable little hike. For
today, I will get my ski equipment all
waxed up and ready to go for some good adventures when
the storm clears.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Sunday, February 5, 2006 8:00 a.m.
34 degrees, windy, mostly cloudy
This is the first time a January thaw has slopped over
this far into February.
Hard rain started falling just after sunset last night,
and continued off and on all night.
Every time there was a lull in the deluge, I hoped it was
because the rain had finally changed
to snow, but that was not the case. The amount of snow in
the meadows has been reduced to
about 60% coverage. There is still enough to ski on, but
it seems more like a late April excursion
than February. The lake effect watch for later today has
been elevated to a warning, which looks
promising. I have to keep reminding myself how many times
the forecast has been absolutely wrong
this season, and how fickle lake effect storms can be,
blessing one neighborhood with feet of snow
while kissing the next with less than an inch. Yesterday’s
unusual warm and sunny morning was just
perfect for a long walk. The frost is leaving the dirt
roads, and every step left a squishy impression.
We were passed by scads of SUVs hauling snowmobile
trailers moving off Tug Hill, finally giving it
up for the weekend. Most of the trails are a muddy mess,
and there is standing water everywhere.
As I look out over the Black River Valley on this clear
morning, I can see very few white patches
on the farmlands; even the Adirondack Mountains look more
green than white. Stay tuned;
hopefully I will be able to report an entirely different
view tomorrow.
Think snow,
Daisy
~
Saturday, February 4, 2006 8:00 a.m.
36 degrees, calm, partly sunny
It is a beautiful morning, possibly one of the last sunny
breaks we will see for a little while.
Lake effect snow is in tomorrow’s forecast, and if
we are lucky we will be one of the spots on Tug Hill
that will receive significant amounts of snow. I know, I
know... be careful what you wish for... it is all
good,
isn’t it, the sunny squishy mornings and the frigid
blinding gales at opposite ends of the winter spectrum,
each
one thrilling in its own way. This morning there are
birds all over the place; blackbirds are positively
jubilant
as they sing their praises to a bright dawn. Crows
abound, one bird keeping ahead of the rest of the flock
as
they make their way around the tall trees that line the
meadow. They are very vocal, calling back and forth to
each other as well as to unseen birds in the distance. A
couple of downy woodpeckers is mining the aspen tree
bark just outside my window, spiraling downward as they
search for wriggly morsels. A whole bunch of turkeys
just ran lickety-split down a neighboring field, they
kept on coming, a long line of fleeing birds. They must
really
hate to fly; they always seem to be running, seldom
taking to the air. We still have plenty of snow on the
Hill
for cross-country skiing, and if the weather holds I may
head out for a while after lunch. This morning is going
to the dogs... literally. I am resigned to the fact that
a doggie bath will have to be added to the day’s
tasks;
it will be easier than trying to keep him out of the mud.
Have a grrrrrrrreat day,
Daisy
~
Friday, February 3, 2006 9:00 a.m.
37 degrees, breezy, overcast, raining
Rain is falling straight down with monotonous regularity,
streaming down the roadsides
because the drainage ditches are still covered with
snowbanks. I hope it lets up soon, or
we may see some erosion. Rain is expected to continue
through tomorrow, at which point
our snowcover may be seriously thin. Hopefully we will
receive enough snow next week to
allow for some great skiing next weekend; friends are
coming from all over the place to join
me in some outdoor adventures. We have already been
looking for alternate routes in case we
don’t get our snow-bridge creek crossings back in
time. That is one of the best things about skiing
on Tug Hill; there are literally thousands of square
miles of terrain suitable for just about any snow con-
dition. We haven’t been able to go on some of
my favorite trails because there are barbed-wire fences
to cross. In a year with plenty of snow we can merely
step over them, but this year they are too far from
the snowpack, which has been minimal. This has led to the
discovery of different paths, free from fences
but challenging in other ways, with swamps, puckerbrush,
or deadfalls to ski around. Hills are another story
entirely; I know where there are some awesome gullies and
gulches, exciting and picturesque, but this year
they have been pretty bare, so we stick to the gentler
slopes of cultivated fields and cow-shorn meadows.
I think that tomorrow, instead of my usual Saturday ski
journey, I will do some serious snow-dancing in-
stead. Put some good north country bluegrass (Snowfall
by Banjo Dan and the Midnight Plowboys
springs to mind) on the stereo, wear your long underwear
snugly on your head, and join me in a
little winter two-stepto lure back Old Man Winter. At
least then I will feel like I have done my
part to bring some snowy goodness back to Tug Hill. (Really,
I’m not kidding; if you like
winter sports at all you must do the snow-dance, strength
in numbers don’ tcha know...)
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Thursday, February 2, 2006 9:00 a.m.
32 degrees, breezy, partly sunny
It is a great morning for old Mister Woodchuck, who (in
this neck of the woods anyway) is still
tucked in his den in a state of winter torpor. The
official National Woodchuck (Punxsutawney Phil)
saw his shadow this morning, so that means we only have
six more weeks of winter. Heck, I’m still
waiting for winter to get here in the first place. You
have to wonder how accurate a tame woodchuck
can be about predicting the weather anyway. I guess he is
at least as accurate as the weathermen have
been lately. I like the idea of an old-fashioned weather
stick. I have some I can sell to you for ten bucks
apiece, and they are guaranteed to accurately tell you
the weather. You hang the stick out in the yard. If
the stick is bright and shiny, it is sunny. If it waves
back and forth, it’s windy. If it’s wet, it’s
been raining.
If it’s covered with snow, it’s been snowing.
If you can barely see it, it’s foggy. If you can’t
see it at all,
it’s a moonless night. Like I said, all yours for
only ten bucks, plus $9.99 for shipping and handling. At
any rate, today looks pretty nice; my weather stick is
shining bright and swaying gently in the breeze;
I think I’ll go over to the woodchuck hole by the
old potato field and see if I can wake the tenant up.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 8:00 a.m.
25 degrees, calm, cloudy
There is a stretch of cloudless sky over the Adirondack
Mountains to the east, the peaks
gleaming in a touch of sunlight with a dark edge of cloud
beginning to move in. The mountaintops
are snowy, as is most of Gomer Hill. We had flurries all
day long, while the valley got some rain.
About two inches of new snow sits atop a similar amount
of slush, making for a very sloppy trip
from the garage to the house last night. Now that the
temperature is below freezing, the yard is a
moonscape of frozen tire tracks and footprints, much to
be preferred over the glassy smooth icy
surface it would be without the new layer of snow. A
flock of fat evening grosbeaks swooped
through the yard earlier this morning, taking advantage
of the break in the wind, pausing just long
enough to scope out the likelihood that there is a bird-feeding
station that they may have missed in
the neighborhood. Sorry, none here little friends; try
one of the more protected locations down the
road a piece. All of our experiments with winter bird
feeding stations have ended up with seed spilled
everywhere, or snow driven into the feed by the massive
wind gusts that are an almost daily occurrence.
There is virtually no spot here that is out of the wind,
and no nearby shelter to protect the birds during
the worst storms. Suet and seeds hung in nets worked out
during the coldest of winter weeks, attracting
a variety of woodpeckers and bluejays, but the fat
quickly became rancid in the strong morning sun, and
would stink up the whole yard. I think most birds are
better off staying in town, where the winters aren’t
so harsh. The crows and blackbirds that hang around all
winter long must find plenty in the way of weed-
seeds and roadkill to satisfy their needs, and that is
all the avian company I require until the first robins
return.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
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