Blizzard Warning

Now you see us...species number 21 for 2015

For tomorrow until Wednesday.

Oh, yay. Yes I know it is January but on top of everything else that is going on, we do not need a major storm.

However, that and a dollar will get you a coffee..at some stores at least.

So the boss is talking to hay customers about whether they need hay right away or can wait until after the storm to get it, as he needs to make sure we have plenty of wood to keep everyone warm. Meanwhile, Liz's husband has a serious medical crisis in his family...good thoughts and prayers would be appreciated...so they are wrapped up with that. 

And now you don't, although we are there if you look closely

 I hope you who live within reach of this big storm are going to be somewhere safe and warm with plenty of supplies. Meanwhile, as always when the weather gets bad, make sure to stock up on milk. NY dairy farmers will thank you.

Crows in the backyard during a small squall

Good Grooming

Snowcat making trails for Arctic Cats....

Bark Eater

The little Hudson

Your mission, should you choose to accept it....Mr. Alan and Mrs. Mom.....

"Drive way up into the mountains and find Green Mountain Market, where wholesale, restaurant-grade foods are available at amazingly reasonable prices.



Should that Camaro go faster than the posted limits, don't bother to call. We will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

Bye, bye, NYC, hello Adirondacks.

This is the other side of NY, wild, and natural, where it was not unreasonable for us to keep an eye out for moose as we traveled. 

Because Alan decided, after we successfully concluded the assigned part of the mission, to drive north to go south.



Thus we saw Lake Luzerne, Gore Mountain, West Mountain, heck, lots and lots of mountains. NY is full of them...we saw a Barred Owl sleeping on a power wire, feathers blowing in the wind. 

Alan saw two deer standing near the road nibbling...you guessed it....bark. 

We saw that the wild animals seem to congregate near the snowmobile trails, perhaps because the groomed paths make travel easier. Where there were no trails there were few tracks in the snow. Where the trails approached the highway tracks abounded.



As usual we saw no moose...although Alan did see huge tracks leading into the woods at least six feet apart. Certainly coulda been. I looked for gators as well, having seen none while in Florida and being ever the optimist. None of those either, even when we returned south out of the mountains.

Miles of lonely beauty, scene upon scene of wonder.

Saw the Hudson River twice in two days, once at its huge, flat mouth, bristling with cranes (we saw the one at the link...amazing!!) where the new bridge is being built and yesterday a whole state to the North, where folks rent tubes to ride it and offer guided river tours. Such contrasts at every level.

It wasn't just the scenery. Down in the big town people were self-absorbed, toll takers too busy texting to even reach out for the ticket and money, and not one would say hello no matter how pleasantly greeted and thanked. Too many people, too close together, too little beauty, too much everything....I guess.

In Indian Lake, where we stopped for a minute, small town friendliness saw doors opened politely, pleasant greetings shared, and change back from your dollar returned with a smile. 

We were gone about the same length of time each day, but the second was surely lovelier....running through the Dacks is like coming home...been playing there since I was much younger than Alan. 

Along the way he pointed out the mountains he has climbed...Peak, Hadley, and others. And talked of those he plans to climb in future years.



Me, I've climbed Cathead and Kane, and that is enough. Ran down Kane btw, which is not highly advisable. (Don't try this at home.) Fell in a heap at the bottom, laughing our butts off though. We were twenty-somethings then and silly with it.

And home again, home again jiggity-jig, with boneless chicken, whole pork loin, a big enough can of garlic powder for this kitchen full of cooks (not made in China either) and some nice vegetables.

Mission accomplished.

Red Tail Road

This is

As I worked on early morning bill paying and Farm Side writing yesterday, our boy came downstairs and said, "Wanna go to NY with me?"

I had to think for a minute, because I was dressed for the barn, and really had work I should be doing, but how could I say no to an offer like that?

So I dumped my coffee in a red Solo cup, grabbed the binoculars and camera because...birds you know....

not

And off we went. 

Trips like these are not adventures in Times Square or visiting the Statue of Liberty or shopping for over-priced stuff. He just needed to pay his union dues in Queens.

But still....hours on the road with one of my favorite people....and birds you know....

Of course the Interstate is not an idea birding locale and the city has its limitations, but man, oh, man, did we see Red-tailed Hawks. I wish I had started counting at the beginning of the trip, but we saw dozens of them, often two and three at a time.

I think this is because the mowed areas at the edge of the road, bordered on the other side by brush and trees, offer a wonderful hunting ground.

my

At any rate, where some people might play punch buggy, we sang out, "There's one."

"There's another one."

We even saw one swirling up the draft on the side of a gigantic apartment building (which gave me shudders at the horror of living in such a place) and several swooping around right in town.

It was, in an odd way, kind of fun. And now I can say I visited the Big Apple in barn clothes.....not everyone can....

world

YesterDawn

And YesterDog

Sunday Stills....Cold as Ice

For more Sunday Stills.....

Is it Saturday Already?

Must be. The young men are off to Boonville or some such place to ride snowmobiles, so I will have to worry all day, but I surely hope they stay warm and have a good time.

Happy Baby

I was greeted by a fresh, hot, lovely, cup of delicious perked coffee when I entered the kitchen this morning, courtesy of Liz, so that was nice. 

And it appears Becky has a second job.

And so, yes, it is Saturday, just another day in Paradise.

The wild birds are so hungry and so tame these frigid days that you essentially have to scoot the White-throated Sparrows out of the way with your foot to get out of the house. Really. They hop right around your feet while you fill the feeders and greet you whenever you go out. I have never seen anything like it.

The boss went out yesterday and came right back in to get some more seeds for them as they were even accosting him.

Wow. However, something along the lines of Global Warming at the kitchen level is causing the shoreline of that coffee to recede rapidly.....just sayin'. Or maybe Kitchen Climate Change, as it seems to be getting colder actually.....Brrrr.....

Grumpy Grandma
*Actually, I was perfectly happy, enjoying taking photos
of the squall
It is just that my default expression is scowl.
Thank you Grandpa Montgomery. lol

Update: The darned White-throated Sparrows are so tame when Liz was unloading her laundry one immediately went into her truck to fly around. Becky rescued it and brought it in to make sure what kind it was before releasing it. Wonder if they make car seats for birds. 

Porch for Rent....Cheep

White-throated Sparrow warming up on the back porch,
 sitting on the mop wringer, surround by a cattle weighing tape.

Remember the bird that landed on the boss's hat the other day? Yesterday Alan was working on getting us better heat, building a new fire and all, and going in and out a lot.

One trip through the porch yielded a White-throated Sparrow, which obligingly sat in the mop wringer for a moment while I took a photo, before he let it out the door. The porch is enclosed but we deliberately left a big crack open when we buttoned 'er up this fall, hoping that the wrens would partake.

And sunning outside the porch

Later I came in from walking the Daisy Doodlebop to find not one but two Carolina Wrens snuggling down for the night. One was up in a little tin pie pan the boss's late mom put up to discourage House Sparrows from nesting and one was under an old laundry basket on the floor.

Daisy was sure taken with that one. I had to drag her into the house! And Jonna, the red feeder you sent last year? It took a while, but the wrens come every morning to gobble orange suet balls contained therein. My heart rises each time I see one.

Thank you!

There are a lot of them around this winter, down from the far, far north

And thanks to Alan for cleaning all the wood and ashes and coals out of the stove, building an entire new fire, cutting load upon load of wood from various places, and washing the stove plenum.

The last was the deal maker. He jumped up last night, as we were all sitting around shivering in our blankies in the living room, grabbed his dad, and they ran downstairs and ran water through the thing. The boss had cleaned it with compressed air the other day, but evidently that was not sufficient.

The water did the trick. 

This morning the house was toasty...toasty I tell you. Warm enough not to wear my winter hat. Warm enough for no outdoor vests instead of two. Warm.....enough.....

It's grand. Wrens on the porch...and White-throated Sparrows are just icing on the cake.

Carry on...

If the Downy Woodpecker sees his shadow.......how much more winter?

Aunts and Uncles are Cool

Especially if you are a baby with a full complement of same living with you.

You get to read really good baby books, about kitties, and bunnies and firemen with hoses.

You get to snuggle on the living room floor and learn how to use the shape sorter barn.

Honorary uncles come to visit and hold you and bounce you and talk to you.

And around here you have a gramma and grandpa handy whenever you need one.

And that's not to mention mom and dad.

 All in one day. You gotta love it.

Cheerios

Are a big hit! That gooey stuff is banana. From a grandmother's point of view, one could use the cereal as structural material and the banana goo as Spackle or mortar. 

Sunday Stills....It's a Mistake

This might not be the worst photo I have ever taken, but no amount of bumped up contrast, cropping, or highlighting will save it. Believe it or not it was a Black-capped Chickadee that was trying to get something insecty and tasty out of a clump of gunk on a post in the little garden outside the back door.

For more Sunday Stills Fail Week Spectaculars.....

Back to Reality

New York style.....

First Bird

I was so excited about my potential first bird for 2015. We were staying in Orange Park Florida. Florida! The possibilities for ooh-ah birds were endless.

 Got up early so our boy could take us to Cracker Barrel for breakfast...which was fun by the way....I hadn't eaten there since the 70s....

I was careful in the motel parking lot not to look up. It was barely dawn, but the street lights might illuminate a European Starling or some such unwelcome creature. I wanted at least to wait for the Boat-tailed Grackles at Walmart, where we went to get some fruit to take home. (And yes, the grapefruit were fantastic.)

And then, we got to talking, I stopped paying attention and my birder habits kicked in. I accidentally glanced up and there it was....a plain old Rock Pigeon.

Dagnabbit! Later in the day we saw so many good ones and I have to accidentally spot a pigeon first. Oh, well, it was an exotic Florida pigeon at least.

Tallied up our annual farm count for 2014. We got 73 species, which although the highest yet was a disappointment. We missed so many common birds that I know were there. Never saw a Common Raven, few gulls, few ducks, lots of flycatchers though, which was cool.




73 different kinds of birds in one year, on one farm doesn't seem too shabby and I know there were ones i either didn't see or couldn't identify.

Now, over a week later than I should have, I am starting the 2015 count. Wish me luck.