We have a lot of weather going on all at the same time
this morning,
none of it very festive. When I was growing up, the last
day of the year
was spent cleaning all the cobwebs from every nook and
cranny of the house.
Hmmm, I guess it’s not too wet to play outside after
all, considering the alternatives.
Snow Ridge Ski Area is open from 9-4 today but will not
have night skiing as formerly
planned, due to the rain. The temperature will be mild,
so cross country skiing/hydro-
planing is not out of the question either. Whatever you
choose to do today,
do it with a designated driver.
See you next year,
Daisy
~
Thursday, December 30, 2004 8:00 a.m.
26 degrees, calm, overcast
It is a very peaceful morning, the calm before the storm.
Seven blackbirds are gathered in a tight little cluster
on a high branch
with their heads together, murmuring softly among
themselves. I assume
these are the same seven birds that have been hanging out
in the yard since
the turn of the season, but who knows; they may work in
shifts. When it is
impossibly cold they hide somewhere, but on gentle
mornings like this they
decorate the property nicely, usually singing with gusto.
Crows have returned
to the hedgerow and they are mostly silent as well, no
loud brassy calls this
morning. There is change on the way, the famous January
thaw arriving a
day early. Batten down the hatches and get out your
highwater pants;
the next few days will be wet. Get outdoors this morning
if you can,
and revel in the ordinariness of such a day.
Stay dry,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, December 29, 2004 8:30 a.m.
28 degrees, breezy, overcast
Yesterday’s flurries turned into a bit of a
snowsquall late in the afternoon, but this
morning there is little accumulation to show for it.
Roads were sloppy with salty slush
for the drive home from work last night. The town sand
truck has been by twice this
morning in an attempt to make the macadam into
a dirt road once again. A squad of
juncos is patrolling patches of bare ground outside my
window, and blackbirds chatter
happily from the sentinel tree in the yard. The crows
have moved on to a different neigh-
borhood, and are missed. One bluejay has been hanging out
in the dwarf blue spruce by
the garden for several days, feasting on small cones and
nearby rose hips. His vibrant blue
feathers are a welcome break in the monotonous grey
landscape of the past two days. There
is mixed precipitation in today’s forecast, but this
needn't be too discouraging. Downhill skiers
should expect spring conditions on the slopes, and cross
country skiing will be zippy on what
little snow we have. There is not enough snow for
snowmobiles, but somehow this week’s
riders don’t seem to notice (or care). Please stay
on the trails; tender meadow grasses and
legumes like clover and alfalfa are being destroyed by
thoughtless vacationers ignoring pro-
minently displayed No Trespassingsigns. With so little snow cover, next year’s
hay crop
is being churned to mulch by off-trail traffic. Would you
like me and my friends to ride our
dirt bikes at breakneck speeds through your perennial
beds next June at two o’clock
in the morning every night for a week? (Didn’t think
so...) Enjoy the beauty of Tug
Hill in a responsible way; it’s the right thing to
do.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
Last night’s bright moonlight morphed into this
morning’s pearly grey sky with little visible
difference. Things looked pretty much the same when we
arose as when we went to bed.
It is warmer this morning by ten degrees, with no wind to
drive winter’s chill to the bone.
Several crows are lingering in the treeline, the first I
have seen in a few weeks. We skied
in the forest yesterday and saw some birds out and about.
A pileated woodpecker was
startled from its roost and took off with steady deep
wingbeats, careening through the trees
in a hurry to leave. One little chickadee seemed glad to
see us, striking cute poses on bare
twigs right in front of us. “What, no camera? Can’t
you see how unbelievably cute I am ?
Watch this ! And this ! Watch me, watch meeeeee !
Chick-a-dee-dee-dee...” There were
several small birds flitting about in the bare canopy,
sparrows I think, or something resemb-
ling them; they didn’t stay still long enough to get
a good look. The skiing was fabulous, just
the right combination of dry cold snow and bright
sunshine. Open areas were very windy,
so we stayed in the woods for most of the journey. One
old hayfield that we crossed has
become overgrown with blackberry canes, and as we skirted
around them we were attacked
by burdock burrs; they almost seemed to leap off the
stalks in an effort to spread their barb-
ed seeds abroad. We skied through an old orchard full of
twisted ancient trees, not one single
apple left hanging for the wildlife to munch. The snow
depth is thin, and we passed some old
foundations that are usually buried this time of year.
“That’s what our place will look like in a
few hundred years”, I reflected. “Just rows of
stone and a cellar hole...” Sometimes we need
to take the long view to see what really matters (like
skiing with a friend instead of cleaning
up the kitchen...) Make a date to do something fun; the
dishes will still be there.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
At bedtime last night big fat snowflakes were drifting
gently down and settling into
a fluffy smooth blanket of white that reflected dazzling
moonlight when the clouds
parted from time to time. Sometime later my dreams were
interrupted by the howling
north wind, and this morning that serene snowy carpet has
been rearranged into drifts
and ripples all across the Hill. In some spots the
meadows have been blown nearly bare,
with hay stubble poking up through last week’s layer
of ice. The wind is still stiff straight
out of the north; it nearly blew the back door out of my
grasp this morning. The sun has
made a few brief appearances but is doing little to warm
things up. Any adventures
in store for today must be planned with an eye to the
weather, wearing our best
snuggies and checking each other’s noses for signs
of frostbite.
Bundle up,
Daisy
~
The sky is such a pale shade of blue that I had to look
twice to see what was clouds and
what was clear sky. Maybe the moon was so bright last
night that it bleached most of the
color out of the heavens for today. Look for tonight’s
full moon to rise just before sunset,
about 4:15. It will travel the entire dome and set just
after sunrise tomorrow, making tonight
a good chance for some moonlit fun. We skied on some
abandoned farmland yesterday after-
noon and the traveling was interesting. Thursday’s
hard rain had ponded in many places, and
two inches of new snow disguised those bodies of water so
well that we didn’t know we
were on one until we heard the crack of thin ice
splintering and felt icy water sloshing over
our boots. We soon realized that we had to avoid low
spots and tested the surface frequent-
ly with hard jabs from our poles. We saw many old tracks
and animal signs, but the freshest
were those of several coyotes and one larger canine. Many
of these trails followed a straight
line from here to there, but occasionally we would find
some that switched back and forth,
then the jumbled tracks of a pounce and brief struggle.
There was no blood or fur scattered
on the snow, so the prey had to be just big enough for a
mouthful. Later we saw one of these
little critters, tunneling under the snow and humping it
up into long snowy eskers and occasionally
breaking the surface, little dark brown blurs of rodenty
motion. Some of the patterns they left
in shadowy relief were quite intricate, doubling back on
themselves and forming graceful spirals
and loops, like the practice sheets from a Palmer Method
handwriting class. We headed into a
balsam grove which was absolutely beautiful, trees
bedecked with layers of sparkling snow,
like an elegant Christmas card. We had to exit quickly,
as there was more water in the swamp
than we wanted to deal with. We ended the journey with a
zippy downhill run at sunset, a vast
sky full of orange and pink clouds reaching from the
forest we had just left all across the
valley to theAdirondacks. A very merry day indeed !
Have a festive day,
Daisy
~
It just doesn’t get much better than this: a lovely
moonlit night, outstanding
colorful sunrise, good coffee and a savory simple brunch,
thoughtful gifts and
the company of one good man and several furry critters.
Long gone and far
away are the little boys who traded turns wearing the
Santa hat and filled the
house with chatter and happy noise on Christmas morning.
Gone even longer
are the parents and grandparents who made each and every
holiday extra spe-
cial during my childhood. Siblings are scattered in miles
but close to my heart
not just today every day of the year. This is a simpler
day for us now, a smaller
tree and way less calories,but no less special in our
small house full of love.
It’s all good,
Daisy
~
Friday, December 24, 2004 9:00 a.m.
15 degrees, calm, high thin clouds
One bright silver spot of light in an otherwise light
grey sky shows the position
of the sun on this still morning. The wind last night was
incredible; I could barely
stay vertical from the garage to the house. It was bad
enough that all that rain from
the entire day was now frozen into a treacherous icy
obstacle course, but the wind
made every effort to blow me sideways into a frozen
snowbank at the end of the yard.
At least the rain had stopped, but as stars popped out
one at a time I despaired of see-
ing even one snowflake, and imagined that we would be in
for an icy weekend. Strong
gusts were still howling as we retired for the night, and
around midnight the noise stop-
ped on a dime. Silent flakes soon floated across the
Hill, not much more than an inch,
but enough to give us the White Christmas we hoped for.
Cross country skiing will be
a dream on this new snow, not deep enough to require a
huge effort to break trail, just
enough to cover dangerous ice with a perfect gliding
layer. Downhill sliding will be good
as well, especially on old-fashioned runner sleds like
those from my childhood. (Ahhhhh,
Rosebud...) We may see more snow today, depending on the
whims of the Lake Effect
Gods. Whatever the weather, bundle up and enjoy part of
your day outdoors. It has
often been said that Christmas is for children; time to
wake up the child in you.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Well, we knew this was coming, this January thaw in
December, but it was still
disappointing to hear the rain drumming on the tin roof
in the middle of last night.
Sheets of water are blowing sideways past the window,
borne on a stiff south wind.
I can’t help but wish it were ten degrees colder;
what a snowstorm this would be !
But I guess I should be careful what I wish for. Tomorrow
there will be scads of
people trying to get home for the holidays, and I hope
that the weather cooperates
for all those on the road, riding the rails, and trying
to get in the air. Everyone who
is traveling will need an extra dose of patience and good
cheer when dealing with
the kind of weather that is in the forecast for tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I think it is
amazing that it is fifty degrees warmer now than it was
Monday. What a huge range
of weather conditions we have had in the past week! There
is an old saying here on
Tug Hill; Don’t like the weather? Wait a day...
Whatever your plans, take some
time to listen to the song the raindrops play on this wet
winter day, with the wind
as backup and the voices in your head harmonizing nicely.
Have a tuneful day,
Daisy
~
The sky is quickly filling up with clouds, closing
in on the faint afterglow that followed
a beautiful flaming sunrise. There is a warming trend in
our immediate future, culminating
with rain showers for tomorrow. If we are lucky the rain
will help settle our existing snow
into a solid and stable base for more snow on Friday.
Unless we get a significant amount
of snow, There will not be enough trail cover for the
kind of snowmobile traffic that can
appear on the Hill on a holiday weekend. If you are
coming to your North Country vaca-
tion home, make sure you bring your snowshoes, sliding
sleds, and cross country skis,
along with some cards and a few board games, in case
conditions remain poor for snow-
mobiling. Today is the first full day of winter; now the
days begin to grow longer as we
turn the corner into another season full of outdoor fun
and indoor comforts. Take
advantage of the mild temperature today to take a nice
walk before the rain begins.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Clouds in the eastern sky set the stage for a beautiful
sunrise,
a big orange fireball playing hide and seek between
layers of mauve. Four degrees
above zero seems almost balmy compared to yesterday’s
arctic chill, although the
west wind can still take your breath away. Today marks
the beginning of the winter
solstice; the actual amount of daylight today is one
second shorter than yesterday.
Because the actual solstice didn’t begin until 1:42
this morning (EST) the first full day
of winter is tomorrow, when the length of day will
increase by two seconds. Weather-
men measure the seasons in a different way; according to
a local meteorologist, winter
begins the first of December and lasts until the end of
February. Of course, up here
on Tug Hill winter starts sometime in October and lasts
pretty much until the middle
of April. When winter actually begins is a moot point;
step outside and you know
its been here for a while. The ground is frozen, the
creeks have slowed to an
icy trickle, and the snow has settled into a firm layer
of frosty whiteness.
Happy winter !
Daisy
~
Monday, December 20, 2004 9:00 a.m. -24 degrees, calm, sunny
It was so cold overnight (-28 was the low here) that the
furnace kicked on near dawn.
There was still a deep bed of coals in the wood stove,
but it just couldn’t keep up. The
furnace comes in handy when we head into the deep freeze.
The stars were extraordinarily
bright last night; I guess without all those pesky heat
particles to slow them down the star-
beams had a direct link to Earth. Even with a brilliant
half moon gleaming and reflecting
a millionfold from our new snow the stars’ beauty
took my breath away. Pinpoints of
adamantine light glistened from the snow, and frost
crystals twinkled in midair, all in the
middle of the night. It was as if I had been trapped
inside of a disco ball, but in a good
non-scary way. Now, in the hard light of day, the
atmosphere is still clear as a bell, and
shadows hardly dim the festive elegance of our entire
view, polished by Old Man Winter.
Keep an eye on your pets when they go out to do their
business; our little dog was so
overwhelmed by the frigid air that he couldn’t take
another step after his morning toilette;
When he didn’t come right back to the house, I found
him sitting with one paw in the air,
shivering, about five yards from the door. It’s
lucky I was paying attention. Make
sure you let your vehicle warm up for a few minutes
before you head out today,
and wear a scarf so you can warm up the air before it
goes into your lungs.
Take care,
Daisy
~
Two inches of dense snow fell overnight, and it is still
sifting gently down like
sugar from a shaker. The skies were clear at bedtime with
a perfect half moon
rising in grand style, gleaming as brightly as any full
moon ever did. I heard coyotes
far in the distance, so faint I thought I was imagining
them. The way our dog pricked
up his ears and stared intently off towards the deep
woods told me they were real.
A late afternoon stroll revealed no new tracks except for
those of many deer, but we
stayed on the road. Perhaps a foray into the woods today
will reveal signs left behind
by last night’s caroling canines. Our walk was
brief; we were stuck in the middle of a
stinky blue haze of exhaust from dozens of snowmobilers
who are pushing their season
to begin a little too soon. There really isn’t much
snow cover, and what there is has been
ground down to the dirt already. The snow is so thin that
the trail groomers haven’t been
out yet. Please, folks, if you are planning to
spend the holidays at your winter homes on
Tug Hill, use some good judgment before starting your
engines. Above all, ride safe.
Enjoy the Hill,
but respect it as well,
Daisy
~
Clouds have moved in quickly to obscure a beautiful blue
sky. Sunrise was surprisingly
unremarkable, given the colors that filled the horizon
during the predawn hour. Everything
has a thin sheath of frost crystals, and it is amazing
that they are staying put in a stiff breeze.
The wind is singing a monk’s chant, deep tones in a
minor key; perhaps it’s the ice crystals
calling the tune. It almost sounds like the sea, waves of
frosty air. The good news is this: As
we approach the winter solstice on Tuesday, the length of
day shortens only a little. Today
there is only ten seconds less daylight than yesterday.
Three months ago we were losing two
or three minutes a day. It’s like Mother Earth is
putting on the brakes as she prepares to turn
the corner into winter. It’s a fact that winter is
seen as the harshest season, and yet for most
of it we are returning to the light, which helps lessen
the gloom. People who think they suffer
from Seasonal Affective Disorder at this latitude may not
be taking advantage of the daylight
that is available. If your job keeps you indoors from
eight until five, get out of the building at
lunchtime for a fifteen minute stroll; it will do wonders
for you, body and soul. On weekends,
don’t even look at the thermometer; it is never as
cold as you think it is. Just go out and do
something. Dress in layers so you can peel them off as
your walking/ skiing/ snowshoeing/
jogging/ sliding warms you up. Once a bunch of us went
out skiing for the afternoon, and the
thermometer outside the kitchen window read 28 degrees.
When we returned after a vigorous
afternoon on the trails, we noticed that the sensor had
been buried by the wind in a snowdrift.
When we pulled it out, the reading dropped to ten below
zero. We were plenty warm while
zipping through the woods, and were astounded that we
didn’t feel the biting cold. I know
for a fact that at least three people would have chosen
to stay indoors playing cards if they
knew how cold it really was. Meteorologists do their
darndest to discourage folks from head-
ing out on a cold windy day, citing a wind chill
factor of forty below zero ; well, wear a
warm hat and mittens for pete’s sake. So, are you
still sitting at your computer ?
Where’s your Flexible Flyer ?
Bundle up and go have some fun,
Daisy
~
The air is filled with fat snowflakes, and the wind is so
strong that they don’t have a
chance to land anywhere. For all I know it’s the
same flakes being lifted aloft and swirling,
flurries in perpetual motion. I heard the plow go by in
the wee hours, but there is no bank
at the end of the driveway. I wonder if this is one of
those top-of-the-Hill storms, and the
sun is shining brightly in the valley. Last night the
drive home from Boonville was cold and
clear with a fat waxing crescent moon presiding over the
skies; I didn’t see a bit of snow
in the air until I reached our property line at the top
of Gomer Hill. Now the air is crazy
with snow, and it is becoming obvious that most of them
are new, blowing in on a roar of
wind from the northwest. All of the tracks in the yard
are quickly disappearing, even the
ones our dog just left a little while ago. Cross-country
ski ruts laid down during the past
two days are filled in, and a landscape of ripples and
drifted ridges is beginning to take
shape. Yesterday afternoon I saw large dog tracks heading
up from the east meadow
and through the garden, pausing to nose around the old
compost pile. A stray? A large
coyote? The local lone wolf ? Whatever, those tracks were
big. I might better
tuck a few dog cookies into my ski pack, just in case.
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
The sun just showed up, a big ball of fire ascending from
a beautiful hot pink
cloudbank. The entire Hill is blue and pink and shiny. A
half hour ago the south-
eastern sky was crisscrossed with neon orange contrails
like a giant laser light show.
The blackbirds have spread themselves thin, one here, two
there, parked among five
separate trees; for some reason they are silent on this
lovely morning. I skied all through
the woods yesterday, all alone but not lonely. It was
dead quiet but there were lots of
signs of life. Fresh deer tracks have already started to
form deep ruts in the snow, and
several new beds had been scraped out along the edge of a
deep gorge. There were
many lines of tiny double tracks going from tree to tree,
probably red squirrels dashing
quickly, so light they barely left an imprint.Dainty fox
tracks meandered between frozen
puddles, possibly looking for a drink. Horsey Creek is
the only running water in this neck
of the woods, and it is quickly filling in with ice as
well. I was deep in the woods when I
heard a goose cry out, and thought perhaps it was the
lonesome straggler from last week,
but boy, was I wrong! I skied to a small swampy clearing
just in time to see hundreds of
geese pass low overhead with a loud cacophony of honking,
in a single line that must have
been half a mile long. They were headed west, possibly
aimed for the old reservoir on
the Smith Road. As I skied out into the meadow near
sunset, two dozen more geese
headed the same direction, silent as the wind. Yes my
feathered friends, winter
is certainly closing in, better shake your tailfeathers
and get a move on !
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
It is so nice to see the sun gleaming off of beautiful
white snow. Only about a
half inch fell early last night, enough to cover all of
the sand on the road and soften
up the hard edges the plow left along the roadside.
Before the sun came up there was
a gorgeous line of rosy clouds that followed the line of
the Adirondack Mountains, and
when the sun appeared a few minutes ago it was too much
to look at, blindingly bright.
The whole view is painted in purest white, with long
slate blue shadows being cast by
every vertical object, and melony warmth spread along the
otherwise dull weathered
barn siding. I stepped out to carry wood ashes to the 55
gallon storage drum, and was
happy I grabbed a hat and gloves at the last minute. The
dog stayed out just as long as
he needed to, pulling on his leash to head back before my
little housekeeping task was
completed. I left him indoors for the trip to the compost
bin. It really is cold out there.
The blackbirds are huddled together on the same fat
branch; there are still seven of them,
faithful companions all. The snowy owl must have been
just passing through last
week, or if it is still around we haven’t been able
to connect with her again.
It will be an excellent day to look for animal tracks in
the snow;
remember to bundle up !
Have fun,
Daisy
~
Ahhhhh, this is more like it! Beautiful light snow is
falling, covering the land with dry
tiny morsels of frosty goodness. It looks sugary enough
to sweeten anybody’s mood.
We have been blessed by about eight inches of snow since
it started to fall Sunday night,
and as unpredictable as the weather has been these past
few months I hesitate to speculate
what will happen the rest of this week. The Snow Ridge
Ski Area is gearing up to open this
weekend, but it would still be a good idea to check out www.snowridge.com
before mak-
ing definite plans. Cross country skiing will be
excellent anywhere on Tug Hill. If it stays cold
enough, swampy areas that are difficult to traverse in
warmer weather will provide a venue
full of fragrant green balsams and festive red twig
dogwood shrubs, a fun ramble through
nature’s Christmassy colors. The sun is trying to
burn a hole through thick cloud cover,
a spot of lemony light in an otherwise dull sky. Last
night was too cloudy to see any
shooting stars, but we could imagine them carrying on
behind the scenes; The show must go on, even if there is no audience.
Carry on,
Daisy
~
Four inches of new snow fell last night, and it is being
pushed around by a fierce
northwest wind. The sun occasionally appears from behind
big fluffy white clouds,
but it sure looks like more snow may be blowing our way.
The crows are going crazy
this morning, flying helter-skelter from tree to tree in
the hedgerow to our east, their loud
calls carried away by the breeze. Our blackbirds are
tucked safely away this morning,
and the crows are the only visitors to our property so
far today. We have a few squashes
and apples that are coming to the end of their shelf
life, so we will take them across the
road for the deer, a little winter snack. If the skies clear up,
tonight from sunset to dawn
tomorrow we may be able to see the Geminid asteroid
meteor shower. After dark, face
east where you'll see Orion (look for the three stars in
his belt) and the two brightest stars
of Gemini and Saturn. Forty to fifty meteors per hour are
possible. Since there is no moon
tonight the viewing will be excellent, as long as the
clouds don’t gang up on us. At midnight
Gemini will be overhead and in the west just before dawn.
The Geminid meteor shower
occurs every December when Earth passes through the
debris of an asteroid named
3200 Phaethon. For more information, check out http://www.jackstargazer.com.
Keep looking up,
Daisy
~
Sunday, December 12, 2004 9:00 a.m.
23 degrees, breezy, overcast
We awoke to another foggy morning, but now the skies are
merely sliver
with high clouds, a little mist draping the valley. One
heck of a storm is currently
pummeling the western great lakes and will swoop down
upon us sometime within
the next twenty four hours. Yesterday’s light
dusting of snow has already cleaned
up our view considerably, and a few dancing flakes have
been moseying around this
morning, not quite enough to qualify as a flurry. It is
breezy enough that twenty three
degrees feels mighty wintry, and before we head out for a
little hike we will have to
add a windproof layer to our garb. Hopefully, this time
tomorrow we can clip on cross
country skis as well. We traveled off the Hill yesterday,
and I have never seen so much
water standing in fields and meadows. The ground must
have been just frosty enough to
prevent all that rain from soaking in. The Sugar River
roiled over rocks and ledges as it
passed under the tall bridge on the upper road, brown
with mud and carrying away all
of the shore ice that had formed earlier in the week. I
always wonder how fish can sur-
vive such a change in their environment; they must find a
good spot under a log and just
tuck in. On the other hand, who’s to say they don’t
just go with the flow for a while and
enjoy the ride? Would trout enjoy a water theme park? Ah,
now several flakes are swirling
outside the window, a preview of winter’s main
attraction... rated E for Everyone !
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
What a revolting development this is. We expected to wake
up to snow,
in fact had planned our day around it, but instead the
steady patter of rain never
stopped all night long. The yard is inches deep in icy
slush, and when the temperature
finally drops we could probably ice skate from the house
to the barn. According to
the weather map, we are just south of the line where a
half foot of snow fell last night.
We were robbed. Fog and clouds present a vista so dim
that the yard light is still glow-
ing brightly an hour after it should have shut down.
Yesterday we slogged through wet
snow on soggy ground at an old christmas tree farm to
choose our holiday tree. We pas-
sed a hundred acres of perfectly shaped sheared trees and
entered into the old-growth
part of the property. It didn’t take long to find a
tall balsam, fell it, and remove the top
ten feet. It is a slender gem, more the shape of a rocket
ship than a teepee, but it will dis-
play our heirloom ornaments well. If a tree is too
perfect, it detracts from the decorations
hung thereon. An unshorn tree allows each handmade
ceramic figurine and salt-dough
star to hang and dangle, gently swaying with the air
currents of the room. Old glass balls
and shiny metal bells reflect the light from old-fashioned
standard size opaque white bulbs;
tiny felt animals nestle among the branches, a wedding
gift from my Mom long ago. It won’t
be long before the wonderful fragrance of fir permeates
every room of our cozy home.
In spite of the gloom outside, there is merry to be made
indoors on a day such as this.
Have a festive day,
Daisy
~
Friday, December 10, 2004 8:30 a.m.
32 degrees, breezy, sprinkles
Rain came to us in the middle of a foggy night but has
tapered off to a light mist,
formless and damp, too heavy to be fog and not holding
together into actual raindrops.
There is still quite a bit of snow on the ground, a big
grey slush puppy with jimmies made
of twigs stirred in. Late yesterday afternoon a single
canada goose passed over our barn,
flying low and honking loudly. He was headed west: too
late, and headed the wrong way.
I hope that lost bird gets his sense of direction back,
or it will be a cold lonely winter for
him. Perhaps it is a pet headed home, or a gander whose
mate now floats on some heavenly
pond, and he has been keeping watch over her earthly
remains, as geese often do. Geese
mate for life, and often pass on within a few weeks of
each other, so great is the grief of the
survivor. There are a lot of possible stories that ride
along with that lone bird, many
different plots and scenarios. Or, it could simply be a
goose, nothing more.
What do you think ?
Daisy
~
Thursday, December 9, 2004 9:00 a.m.
28 degrees, calm, cloudy
There was a little color in the eastern sky just before
dawn, and the sun rose behind
a pale shroud of milky orange clouds. A small tinge of
warm hue still hovers above the
Adirondack Mountains, but elsewhere there is nothing but
flat dull grey. The snow is
streaked with dark accents of dirt and twig and weed
rubble, no longer a beautiful un-
broken blanket of gleaming whiteness. The sky has been
laid up one dusky layer at a
time, shades of grey varying from pale oyster to dirty
smoke. Trees are absolutely bare of
leaves and appear as slate-colored sentinels, casting no
shadows across the washed-out
meadows. The only spot of color in our entire view this
morning is a single pink flamingo
(plastic, not real) nailed to the henhouse door, looking
as out of place in its bleak surround-
ings as a polar bear would in Fort Lauderdale. How about
you? Do you feel like you fit in
on this colorless day? Or will you be the one bright spot
of color, adding a bit of
lighthearted whimsy to the monochromatic backdrop...
Have a colorful day,
Daisy
~
It has been a pretty interesting morning so far. Wind and
rain serenaded us all night long,
and much of the snowcover is gone, with swift icy streams
cutting broad gullies down the
paths of least resistance in the meadows. Yesterdays icy
burden broke off hundreds of
small twigs and a few larger branches from the guardian
maples that frame our house,
and the yard is littered with kindling. Mill Creek
overflows its banks in town, and I’m
guessing many a sump pump is chugging away this morning
in cellars all over Turin.
About an hour ago the temperature dropped just enough to
transform the rain into snow.
The wind is still howling in from the west, and the
windows on that side of the house are
beginning to glaze over with big wet flakes. I am
particularly happy that I am not scheduled
to work anywhere today; I am really enjoying this
wonderful storm from the comfort of our
toasty-warm living room. All precipitation is supposed to
end around noontime, but the
wind will keep thundering across the Hill, a steady gale
with heavier gusts here and there.
Tomorrow is the one bright day forecast for several days;
if you are planning to cut a
tree for Christmas, it looks like that will be the best
day to do it. (Wear your waders...)
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
We had ourselves quite a little snowstorm yesterday,
receiving about six more inches
of sugary snow before it turned into freezing drizzle
just in time for the ride home. The
roads hadn’t been plowed at all until the middle of
the afternoon, and driving wasn’t the
tricky part; stopping in the nick of time was. The light
rain that fell has frozen onto every
little detail on the landscape, turning all of Tug Hill
into the perfect setting for a visit from
the legendary Ice Queen. I could almost see her early
this morning, steering her silvery
chariot, white horses manes and tails flying in the wind,
and with one wave of her frosty
wand enrobing all she passed with a lovely transparent
glaze. The old tales from child-
hood have a way of leaping to life in the half-light of a
winter dawn.
Imagine that,
Daisy
~
Monday, December 6, 2004 9:00 a.m.
15 degrees, calm, overcast
Although the sky is grey with high clouds, the Adirondack
Mountains stand out
in sharp silhouette, their dark contours sharp against a
pale pearly background.
A flock of crows just moved from one fenceline to
another, silent in their passage.
They probably were busy listening to the blackbirds, who
are making enough noise
for the whole avian community. Yesterday was sunny and
brisk, with the coldest
part of the day arriving late in the afternoon. We walked
up a seasonal road, and
noticed the tracks of a snowmobile along the berm. This
was surprising, as there is
barely enough snow to support a couple of skiers,
especially since Saturday night’s
rainfall. I have never been on a snowmobile, but I can’t
imagine it is good for the
machine to be dragging it over two inches of snow with
all that gravel and dirt
underneath. A little more snow is on the way for today
before giving way to rain
at midnight. It could be a tricky ride home later, so
take it easy on the roads.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Rain showers overnight settled the snowcover into a
crusty layer of mush.
Light snow is falling now, swirling this way and that in
the wind. Yesterday’s sunshine
and frigid temperature provided the excellent skiing
conditions that we had been waiting
for. Big flakes of powder scooted out of the way as my
skis forged ahead, gliding easily
on the frosted layer of old snow underneath. The fresh
snow looked much like the big
snowflake-shaped sequins we affixed to styrofoam balls
with tiny pins, Christmas craft
projects from my Brownie Scout days. I had underestimated
the amount of snow that
had fallen on Friday; there were places in the meadow
where drifts had formed as high
as a foot. I think an average of five or six inches is a
good guess of depth from that storm.
Gliding was smooth, and we traveled easily through the
woodlot enjoying dappled sun-
light on clean white snow. We peered over the edge of a
gorge and saw that the creek
was still flowing fast from Wednesday’s deluge, and
parts of it disappeared under a thin
film of ice. Strong shimmers of sunlight filtered through
feathery balsam boughs, back-
lighting tops of tall trees whose roots were at the creek’s
edge. It is somewhat disorienting
to be looking straight into the top of a hundred foot
tall tree. As we skied, we saw many
deer tracks, especially through the gardens where they
have recently cleaned up the re-
maining broccoli and cabbage plants. The coyotes that
enlivened our nights during the
early part of the month have apparently moved on; the
only canine sign we spotted was
a dainty trail left by a fox. We kept our eyes peeled to
catch a glimpse of the snowy owl
that had been in our yard at sunrise, but didn’t
even see the pair of ravens who call that
part of the forest their home. The snow is picking up a
little now, blowing in from the east,
a definite change in wind direction. Change is in the air
for sure.
Have a fine day,
Daisy
~
We spent most of yesterday in the city and were a
little disappointed to find that only
another two inches of snow fell while we were gone. Roads
were bare and for the
most part dry for our whole trip home, but when we turned
the corner at the bottom
of Gomer Hill Road it was a different story; the tarmac
was snow-covered but sanded.
We easily motored up the hill to find the end of the
driveway plowed shut, easily enough
remedied with a little shoveling. It was very cold last
night, with the mercury dipping into
single digits. I stepped into the frosty morning air to
greet my blackbirds at sunrise and
they weren’t anywhere to be seen. I soon found out
why; a huge snowy owl lifted its
bulky body from the roofcap of the barn and flew off
towards the neighbor’s house with
ponderously slow wingbeats. These hardy birds summer in
the Arctic Circle and fly south
to this region for the winter. It has been many years
since we have had a snowy owl in the
neighborhood. If this one decides to stay it will be
interesting to see where it will fit into
our little community of crows, ravens and blackbirds that
share the same space. So far
everyone seems to be getting along. Perhaps I will spend
a little time today trying to find
the newcomer. It will be easy to spot as it has some dark
mottling strewn amid its white
wingfeathers, not to mention it is the biggest airborne
thing currently in this neck of the
woods. There is always something new to see here on Tug
Hill; how lucky can we get !
Have a wonderful day,
Daisy
~
Friday, December 3, 2004 8:30 a.m.
30 degrees, calm, flurries
Two beautiful snowy mornings in a row have me all excited.
This snow is perfect
for making snowmen, forts, or snowballs for the dog to
chase. It also will mold into
just about any shape for making snow lanterns; just pile
up some snowballs around
a votive candle, leave a few holes in the sides for air
to get in, and light with a long
gas match. Beautiful! Tug Hill is not quite ready for
cross country skiing; it is com-
parable to trying to ice skate on a sandy beach. The
ground is so wet that each stride
kicks up a whole seep of slush, and it is just cold
enough that the slurry binds to the
bottom of the skis and stops one cold. If, on the off
chance you manage to glide more
than ten feet all in a row, moisture or hay stubble or an
underlying invisible pile of coy-
ote poo grabs ahold of one ski and suddenly puts the
brakes on. We are slated to get
a few more inches of snow today; perhaps more cover will
combine with warmer (or
colder) temperatures to allow for a little ski adventure
over the weekend. And, just
because the kids are grown up and gone doesn’t mean
you can’t wax up their old
sleds and head downhill, wind in your face and
butterflies in your belly.
Whatever your pleasure, get out and enjoy this fine
winter weather.
Have a great day,
Daisy
~
Finally! Yesterday’s driving rain morphed into huge
wet snowflakes which became
plastered to the northwest side of every tree, hedge,
doorway, and window by high
winds that accompanied the storm front. The wind died
down late last night and light
snow continued to fall, and now all is a quiet study in
black and white, each tree frosted
the entire length of one side by beautiful clean snow.
Even though the sky is overcast,
our entire view is brightened by the snowfall, in much
the same way a room is revitalized
by repainting a ceiling with bright white paint. I can’t
wait to see how the skiing will be
today, although I anticipate that the ground beneath the
snow is so supersoaked with
rain that it may be a little more like water skiing. More
snow is on the way later;
do you know where your mittens are ?
Enjoy your day,
Daisy
~
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 6:30 a.m.
33 degrees, windy, raining
Doggone it, just a couple of degrees colder and we would
really have something !
It has been raining hard since midnight, and every time
the sound of it smacking
down on the roof stopped I imagined it had turned into
silent snowflakes. No such
luck. Now the latest report is for the rain to change to
snow later today. I refuse to
get my hopes up, I’ve been disappointed enough the
past couple of weeks. The wind
seems to be picking up, and rain is hitting the windows
harder every minute, no sign
of it letting up any time soon. On yesterday’s walk
I looked into the woods and re-
called all of the wonderful ski journeys we have had in
the forests of Tug Hill, snow
covering all of the blackberry canes and burdock heads,
gliding silently among the tall
fragrant balsams. It’s just so much easier getting
around on snow, and many areas are
more accessible after ponds freeze and thorny weeds are
buried. Wildlife signs are
more visible, and the critters themselves are easier to
spot against a white background.
Of course, five months from now I will probably be
longing for the freedom of kicking
up my heels on a dirt road without having to get all that
ski gear together first.
It’s all good,
Daisy
~
~
~