The pond is still frozen solid, but there were geese on it anyway this morning. I’ve seen small groups and pairs flying over the last few days, but this is the first time I’ve seen them land. Almost all the snow is gone from the hill, except in the shady places near the wooded borders,…
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The eastern slope of the hill was white before dawn, bordered by the filigree of rime covered bushes, a lighter shade of pale with the dark statues of bare trees beyond. Between the ridges of hills in the distance there were pale clouds of mist. Beyond them, at the horizon, the sky was soft orange…
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On the west side of 205 heading towards Fly Creek, there are dried cattails standing stiffly in a frozen pond, each with its perfect cap of snow. We go to the Fly Creek General Store for breakfast, sharing a western omelet sandwich on rye. The General Store is warm in every sense. We’ve gotten to…
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We had been tracking reports about the coming storm since early in the week. At first it looked like we’d just catch the edge of it, with only an inch or two of snow predicted. But by Wednesday, the predictions were more certain, and the word was around 14 inches. We spent part of Wednesday…
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As late fall shifts down to winter the pond freezes lightly many nights and thaws most days by midday. But for the last couple of days the temperature hasn’t made it above freezing, and instead of thawing the ice has covered the whole pond and looks somehow more solid. When we left the hill this…
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I’m not sure why I’ve been writing so little lately. I had thought that I would write more with Covid keeping us home so much, but it hasn’t happened yet. I’m not even writing to the grand kids. It’s not that there is nothing to write about. There is the morning light, the evening light,…
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The weather zigzags its way through autumn. On Wednesday the wind came up hard and dragged in dark slate grey clouds. Rain came in sheets, thrown against the window. There was pea sized hail, enough to gather in little white piles alongside the house. Friday morning we bundled up in wool hats, sweaters and coats…
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We are back from a few days at Lake Placid in the middle of the Adirondacks Forest Preserve. The preserve is a stunning place, and huge, over 6 million acres. It’s dotted with towns and privately held property, but almost half the area is public land, ours. With so little going right in our country…
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At 4:30 this morning Venus and the waning crescent moon were brilliant in the still dark sky, just a few degrees up from the horizon. By 6:00, the sky was light, but they were still faintly visible, Venus just a pinpoint, high in the sky. I never mind waking up at night here because the…
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