By Gary Lee
We had a one-day break from below zero temperatures and that was it. Last night (2/22) it went back down to –15 and didn’t get above zero all day today.
It was much lower than that with the wind chill factor, which anyone who was out in it could attest to.
Lake Ontario has a great amount of its surface covered with ice but there is still enough open water to cause lake effect snow.
That happened today as a band of lake effect hit the New York Thruway east of Syracuse causing over 100 vehicles to go off the highway in a 10-mile stretch.
The westbound lane of the thruway was shut down for more than four hours to clear up the mess.
There were no reported major injuries, only lots of cold folks and bent fenders.
Speaking of accidents, a couple snowmobilers lost their lives in local accidents last week.
While going to Big Moose Saturday night I had a close call that could have resulted in another fatality.
Just as I was starting up the road out of Eagle Bay some snowmobilers were crossing the highway.
They hit the bank on the opposite side of the highway and then crossed back to their side right on the first few curves. I missed hitting them and passed several others along the way.
When I got to the top of Dart’s Hill there were several machines coming up the hill so I luckily slowed to a crawl.
As I came to the sharp bend in the highway a kid about 12 was coming right at me on my side.
If I hadn’t been going so slowly he would have hit my truck head-on.
Luckily I missed him by just a whisker. It took about 10 years off my life and if we had hit it probably would have ended his.
His parents must have been in the group. I hope their hearts skipped a couple beats.
There are rules to follow while traveling the open highways so these things don’t happen: ride to the right and at 25 miles an hour. Yeah right, when does that happen!
Coming home from Boonville on Friday afternoon (2/20) there was moderate traffic coming north into town for the weekend.
As I was going through Otter Lake at 40 mph a pickup pulling a snowmobile trailer pulled up on my tail.
I got up to speed when I got out of town. He stayed right on my tail but couldn’t pass due to south-bound traffic.
Luckily he didn’t pass as there was a State Police radar trap in the snowplow turnaround with three troopers tagging speeders.
As indicated by several turnarounds along that stretch of the highway, they had made several stops.
The fellow following me couldn’t pass there or along the long stretch before Okara Lakes because of oncoming traffic.
If he had been able to pass, the Webb Police were sitting by Okara catching those who must have figured all the troops were south so it was safe to speed up.
I am sure I added five minutes to his travel time but also sure I saved him from a ticket.
Let’s get back to nature and see what’s happening there. I had several calls about the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Most of them came a day or two after the count ended from folks reporting that a special bird had showed up in their yard too late to be included.
You can actually report bird sightings at any time on eBird through Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
You can record the presence of birds anywhere you find them, whether in your backyard or on a hike.
I‘ve been to Woodhull Lake four times this week and each time I’ve seen a pileated woodpecker right near the end of the lake.
He has set up a territory there for sure and will be nesting nearby.
Out in back of our house the ravens have been up at their nest site on the ledge talking about things to come. It won’t be long before they are sitting on eggs…even at these temperatures.
My nephew who lives just north of Atlanta told me there have been several reports of evening grosbeaks at feeders in northern Georgia.
I guess they knew when to get out of Dodge. But with all the ice down that way they better be at feeders.
I only saw one this fall on its way south and had no other reports from the area.
However, Star Livingstone called the other day and said she has had 30 to 35 at her feeder for the last month or so.
Because there are so few that remained in this area for the winter they questioned her numbers when she reported her count.
Evening grosbeaks are hard to mistake so she just pressed them that she did indeed have them so they accepted her count.
Some folks better get out and scoop their roofs…but that’s another story. See ya.