SANTA'S IN THE BARN: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 Christmas up here was gentle and warm. Affections and devotions were abundant. Comfort food in many forms emerged from the heart and the oven. No turkeys were harmed!

Hard to stay active in the winter, especially when the old treadmill finally lost its bearings. Those things are heavy --- the old one coming out in pieces, the new (donated) one coming in in bruises. It's temporarily upstairs where we can have some daylight on our walks...

White Christmas happened with a major snowdump lasting 36 hours. Winter wonderland in all directions. The depth gauge on the deck rail showed a foot of white stuff, like icing piled on pound cake.

So we did get some outdoor exercise after all, just with shovels up and down the hill. Birds and squirrels were comical in their efforts to find morsels of food.

Then the sun came out for an hour or so. A sudden melt made all the local waterfalls rush 'n gush. But the scene became magical in all directions. 

Pat's car had been in the shop for a biblical 40 days when she finally got it back on Christmas Eve. Old Saint Nick has come and gone but our Santa's safely in the barn! Here's hoping for a much better 2021on this beat-up and ailing planet. Happy New Year everybody! 

T'WAS THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

All is calm but all is not so bright up here on the hill. Christmas has crept up on the horizon during this time of restrictions and area lockdowns. 

Not unusual --- more snow started the week but it was the dry type so the local ski hills are busy (but distanced!). The shovel brigade got another chance for some fresh air exercise. 

A baker's dozen of red squirrels gather every morning, like old guys at a coffee shop. Some even munch on the sumach stalks. But our lady friend appears, playing a version of cat-and-mouse. Somehow, everybody looks well-fed.

We're still getting flocks of birds, probably because we're still feeding, later into the season than usual. There's cardinals and doves that winter here anyway. But goldfinches and evening grosbeaks should have migrated weeks ago. The Bird Diner is open for pick-up and take-out!

Quite a week coming up for sky watchers. The bay steams due to water that's actually warmer than the air. On clear nights you can see Saturn and Jupiter conjoin for the first time in 800 years. And Monday morning at 5:02a.m. EDT the sun is furthest south, the sign of solstice and the official arrival of winter. Longer days here we come!

This Friday is Christmas Day. May you be safe and mindful of all your good fortune, even in a time of lockdowns and distant family and friends. A heartfelt Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night....

STRETCHING IT

 All of the pictures today are from this week but they sure look similar to other weeks. Stretching it!! But there's still some news if you look all the way down.

Our female fox is still Lady Gaga to us. She shows up at dawn and sniffs the scene. Up to 12 red squirrels are totally preoccupied with gorging at the feeder. The fox leaps, the reds scatter! Sadly, more often than not the fox slinks away empty handed (empty mouthed??). She must get luckier down the hill.

December days begin and end in blazes of pink sky. We're usually away and don't see that!

The pond iced over but don't skate on it just yet. We had a thaw that made it easier to clear the driveway. A first ever for December --- our loaner car was able to drive up. No groceries in backpacks this time.

Indoors, the treasure hunt of heritage boxes continues. Pat found bedsheets from the seventies --- remember brown/orange/green/gold? But downstairs my treadmill finally crossed that great Finish Line in the sky. Can I quick step a couple of miles daily in circles in the kitchen??

Yesterday pouring rain, today below zero cold. The thaw is one thing we couldn't stretch...

FIRST DUMP --- OH DEER!

 Quite a week of change in the weather and scenery. Early on there was sunshine. Lakes freighters unloaded road salt and took on grain. The town market was under protocol but getting active again. That odd ship that is pushed by a tugboat made a stately departure. 

Up the hill, she fed the guy with a roll of cookies while he fed the critters with sartorial splendor. 

Then BAM! the first heavy snow dump of the season hit overnight. Winter wonderland through the windows, on the roof, and coating the drab trees. The Shovel Brigade was out in full force but in frosty clean air.

Down at the road the barn and the propane tank needed clearing. The sun is brilliant but all its warmth is heading south (we're not!). Days are short but shadows are long.

The ongoing Treasure Hunt of family heirlooms focused on cloth this week. Piles of hankies, table runners, cushion covers, and other bits of textile were archived and curated lovingly. Breath-taking and heart-warming pieces from kids to homemakers, and even men's formal suit pocket puffs. So far there are 272 pieces of which 201 are hankies. (But another boxfull was discovered in the pile in the basement!)

Out the side window it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Cardinals and woodpeckers look like tree ornaments. And isn't that  Rudolph going north for the Big Gig?