Don't forget to feed your geese

I know I just mentioned that I stopped feeding the geese -- but it snowed and it's not easy to find food when the ground is covered. So I tossed out a ton of seeds (and peanuts for the other critters) today.

This is the post-meal photo. See how relaxed they are? It's great to sit in the snow when your stomach is full.

When it snows, think of the creatures that live nearby -- and feed 'em. It does your heart good. (Click the photo for a larger view. Awwww. They're so sweet.)

Heavy snow coming tonight

Heavy is the operative word here. A wet, heavy snow. Maybe seven inches or more. This could bring down the power lines out here in the sticks where, curiously, I find myself at this point in my life. If I disappear, you know the drill: remain calm and know that I'll be back as soon as I can.

PS: I just saw a news bulletin go by on the TV screen. It said "Nighttime bathroom trips make you less productive." Personally, peeing in my bed would make me less productive. But maybe that's just me.

See you tomorrow (hopefully).

Heavy snow coming

If you don't see me here tomorrow, it means I've lost electricity. According to the weather folks, my area is expecting between 9 and 33 inches of snow. I'm hoping for the big-time: 33. We haven't had a real snowfall in years. It's definitely time.

The computer forecast that shows 33 inches is the European model. You may recall that it was the European model that correctly predicted the course of "superstorm" Sandy. So I guess we're in for a huge snowfall.

I think that's great. The Australian Baseball Championship Series is on ESPN this weekend. Three games, starting on Friday. Given satellite TV's difficulties in a big snowfall, I may miss the Friday game. But I'll still have two more.

One last thing. It's nice that normal, everyday people will be able to earn money by shoveling snow. That's one of the best things about snow and it comes at an opportune time, when many people's wallets are empty.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I guess we're having a winter this year

After last year's mild winter in New York, I wondered if it would ever get cold again. But lo and behold, the wintry weather has arrived. It even snowed right after Xmas.

Right now it's 14 degrees outside -- and I'm not talking about the wind-chill factor. It's 14 for real. And it's going to be 1 degree tonight. So yeah, I guess we're going to have a real winter in New York this year. Thank goodness. Warm weather is nice but I treasure winter. There's just something so clean and pure about cold air.

When it gets this cold, I always think about how the wild animals are dealing with it. I've been feeding our local birds and squirrels for many years. The photo up top is this morning's plate of peanuts and seeds for the squirrels. I feed the birds elsewhere, though of course there's overlap. My sister says the squirrels are getting so fat from my peanuts, they can hardly walk. Success!

One last thing. I love to look outside in the morning, to see the animal tracks. It's like Grand Central station out there. Look at all those marks in the snow. Deer, mostly. But who knows what passes by in the night? I sometimes hear a deer trotting around the house, looking for peanuts. It sounds like a horse is circling my house. At times, antlers hit my windows.

I love animals (and insects and fish and anything else that moves). Just love 'em.

Here comes the storm

It's snowing outside and we're expecting high winds. Here's hoping our Sandy-battered electrical system can handle it. There must be a lot of tree limbs out there, hanging by a thread right over a power line. We're expecting up to five inches and this is a wet, heavy snow. In other words, I may lose power. If I disappear, it's not by choice.

Good luck to all the Hurricane Sandy victims who are trying to weather the cold in half-destroyed houses. New York and New Jersey are still a major wreck. I don't think people outside the area really understand how bad it is. The election was a nice intermission but reality is returning with a vengeance.

UPDATE: It's the next morning and all is well. Got about 4 inches but the lights stayed on. Phew.

The coldest winter ever

I can't believe how cold this winter has been and how often it has snowed. We just got a foot of snow and an inch of ice on top of that -- and we're getting another ten inches tonight!

I figure it's time for a song. Stay warm!

We already know it's winter

"Window"

Has this happened to news in your area? It used to be the case that when you turned on the news you'd see, you know, news. No more.

About two years ago, NYC's TV stations decided that news is optional on their news shows. Once they made that decision, they were free to broadcast a full hour and a half of snow coverage whenever they wanted to. Or rain coverage. Or any old weather-related thing. The heck with news. We don't need that stuff anymore.

But see, we already know it's winter. Even if we don't go out, we have these things called "windows". For this reason, snow doesn't come as a total surprise to us. We know when it snows. Now, if the only way to learn whether it had snowed was to turn on the TV and have them tell us, then it would qualify as news. See how that works?

This is a huge problem these past two months because there has been a slew of total-snow "news" shows. They don't even pretend to tell you anything that went on in the world that day. They just interview one shoveler after the next. They don't do this every day but they do it way too often.

And then, of course, they don't do it well. One of their most recent innovations -- wait for it -- is to send reporters out in a car so viewers can see out the car window as they travel along. Because we can't do that. We can't possibly get in our cars and look out the window. That is something only possible through the magic of TV. And the most horrifying thing is that as soon as one of the three NY news stations did this, the others promptly sent intrepid Driver Reporters out into the, you know, snow. Wow. I don't know about you but I'm impressed.

I remember when there used to be news. I liked it. Are things any better in your area?

Lest you think

Lest you think the boys in the photo below have a small job on their hands, here's a less zoomed photo of the pond. And even this photo shows only about a third of the pond. That's a lotta shoveling. They'd better have a ton of fun after a job like that. Bet they will.

First you shovel

It's not all fun and games for kids who skate on ponds. First you have to shovel the latest snowfall to get down to the ice, which is what these young men were doing today. 

It's going to be fiercely cold here this weekend. I expect they'll be out there the whole time. And more power to them. It seems like a great pastime to me. But no falling through the ice, you hear? Actually, it'll be so cold this weekend, even I won't worry. That ice is solid.