Welcome to Sunnyhill

It’s already impossible for me to remember what the hills looked like when the trees were bare and the only ground cover was dead leaves.  The woods to the east of the house are tucked behind a dense green curtain now.  I looked into those woods all winter, and I could see the contours of…
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Green fields covered in bright yellow dandelions, a pointillist’s delight.  Spring comes so slowly, and then all at once.  I missed writing about the time of green mist, when the trees on the hillsides were covered with the tenderest new leaves.  I missed writing about the first daffodils on that south facing slope at the…
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Tom has sold the Fly Creek General Store.  We first met Tom in 2019 when Mike Heustis, who was working for us, suggested we try the deli there for sandwiches. From our house on Gulf Road the General Store was just under 10 miles away, a beautiful drive through mostly open country.  We were still…
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When we walked into the kennel room at the SPCA on Friday, March 27, most of the dogs got very excited – jumping up their windows and barking for attention.  But Fanny sat quietly, wagging her tail and gazing at us.  We weren’t planning on a  puppy and Fanny is only 7 months old, but…
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We ended the life of our sweet little dog Charlie today.  It’s a hard loss, but it was time.  We have a lovely friend who is a vet and does euthanasia at home, which is really a gift.  We called her out late in February after Charlie had refused food for two days – he…
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This is the second pretty warm day, a trend, not a fluke.  We are not fooled into thinking winter is over, but this is a welcome break and it holds the promise of change to come.  Charlie has aged so much this winter.  There’s no spring in his step.  But he does lift his nose…
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We woke to an inch or so of new snow, the heavy wet kind that coats every surface, even the vertical tree trunks.  Look, I said, a winter wonderland.  Jay didn’t miss a beat.  Yeah, he said, I wonder how did we land here? He relented and admitted it was beautiful.  Everything was white, and…
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The long and intense cold spell has broken for now, and we’re seeing temperatures above freezing. Today, in winter sun, the icicles on the west side of the house, just outside my office window are dripping their lives away.  The massive wall of icicles that hung from the canopy above the front door has broken…
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In bright moonlight the shadows of trees are sharp on the crusted snow – each branch, each twig.  Winter compensates for its inconveniences with breathtaking beauty.  Icicles threaten gutters, but they are alive with light when the sun is out. The fields shine so brightly we need sunglasses.  Across the landscape there is the vivid…
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Ashley is not the only reason I haven’t written in so long, but she has made life here a little busier and a lot richer.  Ashley Katherine Nanyonjo arrived here from Uganda on August 25.  Seventeen years old, she’s a Rotary exchange student attending Cooperstown High School.  Over the summer a friend of ours was…
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