by Gary Lee
The weathermen predict a foot of snow and we get an inch, they predict an inch we get a foot.
Well, it sure came down last Saturday as we were right in the snow band line off Lake Ontario. We were nearly at the end of it because if you went past Raquette Lake there was only an inch.
I talked with Terry Perkins from Stillwater Reservoir and he said he only got an inch of snow that day.
Without any frost in the ground the foot I had was down to six inches by the next morning.
With the warming and rain we are going to get this week it will only be a memory by Christmas day.
They are predicting that it will be in the fifties and sixties on Christmas day.
Time to get back out the skateboards and mountain bikes.
Next snow on the horizon is predicted for Monday the 28th, which was my mother’s birthday.
Full moon is on Christmas day so there will be something to photograph other than presents under the tree and a table full of holiday food.
Today (12/21) is the first day of winter and now the daylight hours will be getting longer by a minute or two each day.
It seems to be much darker until later in the morning and gets darker earlier in the evening than I remember, so a few minutes each day will help.
Several hikers have been surprised by the early sunsets and have been stuck out in the woods without any headlamps.
There have been several rescues of people who didn’t make it back to the road before dark.
Luckily their cell phones were working so they could be located.
With this up and down weather the cloud cover has been great for photographing daily sunrises and sunsets.
When I see the reds coming in the morning sky I can run over to Limekiln or Seventh Lake and catch the beauty before sunrise.
The reds, oranges and blues have been great and the reflection on the surface of the lake some mornings has been better than the sky colors.
Many will get presents under the tree on Christmas morning…but we got the best news and Christmas present this week as Karen’s surgeon gave her a clean bill of health last Thursday.
You will see her back in the Library starting this week.
I want to thank all of you who sent well wishes and prayers during her recovery, it does help.
Also to those who brought food and treats to the house which helped us both get through a very tough time.
We will be celebrating our 52nd wedding anniversary on December 27th.
For a while there it is something Karen didn’t think she would see. She is one tough lady. If you have an overdue book…look out, she is back!
The Old Forge Audubon Christmas Count was held in the blinding snow storm on Saturday, December 19, so most of the birds counted were seen at feeders.
I took a walk into Tuttle’s old campsite about noon when the snow slowed a little.
I never heard a single bird in two hours of walking.
Five birds that were seen during count week, but not on count day, were: northern cardinal, bald eagle, red-winged blackbird, sharp-shinned hawk and ruffed grouse.
If it hadn’t been snowing two inches an hour I’m sure some of these birds would have been seen.
Twenty four different species were seen and 358 birds were seen.
Species seen were: herring gull-1, slate colored junco-20, American goldfinch-37, hooded merganser-12, common merganser-14, Canada geese-48, mallard duck-54, American black duck-1, common loon-3, wild turkey-1, American crow-1, common raven-3, European starling-1, black capped chickadee-95, white breasted nuthatch-10, red breasted nuthatch-1, tufted titmouse-4, barred owl-1, blue jay-31, downy woodpecker-13, hairy woodpecker-11, pileated woodpecker-2, white throated sparrow-1, and brown tree creeper-1.
I would like to thank all the woods walkers and feeder watchers for their counts and some great birds seen.
With all this nice weather there should be some fantastic flower gardens next spring, as we have had an extra two months to work on them and get them ready for winter.
I was still collecting seeds from several wildflowers and some garden flowers right up until it snowed.
I just scatter them as they would fall off the plant and most of them take. I’m sure the mice eat a few but that’s how it works in nature.
Karen and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Get out and enjoy the natural beauty that’s all around us here in the Adirondacks.
Watch for some of the trees to bud out… but that’s another story. See ya.