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Showing posts for 'winter'. Clear search
Supple season
January 02, 2020 - In earlier posts and newspaper columns, I've referred to winter as the "subtle season"—the season during which not a lot...
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The pollinators arrive
March 12, 2018 - In a recent scientific paper I scanned, the headline touted members of the housefly congregation as the dominant pollina...
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A lot like Christmas
December 14, 2017 - Last night, the Weather Channel and the National Weather Service started touting the imminent arrival of a storm the WC...
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Getting still warmer
February 24, 2017 - Remember that this is February, not, as would be nice but hardly remarkable, April. Remember that when you open the door...
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Prim and improperly early
February 23, 2017 - Warmer still today, and with the snow just about gone, it's now possible to scan the newly uncovered ground for more sig...
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The last ski trek
February 22, 2017 - George Washington, this country's first president, was actually born today, and to mark his 285th birthday—the official...
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Golden birch
February 13, 2017 - One of these days, I keep telling myself, I am going to learn my trees, and though those days seem to come and go withou...
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Winter's return
January 31, 2017 - The promised snow had yet to arrive at daybreak, so, after I'd finished writing captions to go along with the pictures t...
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Winter's calling card
December 05, 2016 - The warning flags went up on the the Weather Channel last night and they included the S word, as in measurable snow. Tha...
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Larch, renewed
May 02, 2016 - It sure didn't feel like May this morning, with a 40-ish chill in the gray air and, OMG!—hey, I might now be at full ret...
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Airborne capture
April 26, 2016 - When you're using a "big gun," one of the hardest things to master is the classic action shot... especially if you're tr...
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The best adventure ever!
February 23, 2016 - A visit with my granddaughter Stasia, who's here for her winter vacation, would not be complete without at least one tre...
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Trail's (temporary) end
February 18, 2016 - It felt like early spring today: bright, sparkling, and just enough chill in the otherwise semi-warm air to let you know...
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Haunted meteorology
February 16, 2016 - On Valentine's Day we broke records for low temperatures; today, we just about set a record high for the date. It topped...
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Channeling Snowflake Bentley
February 15, 2016 - In the winter of 1885, armed with a microscope, a cumbersome view camera, and a naturalist's deep and abiding curiosity,...
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Downright frigid
February 13, 2016 - When I woke up this morning, the wind was already strong and the Arctic cold had brought the mercury—I know it's an envi...
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Small visitor
February 12, 2016 - The infamous Polar Vortex settled in overnight with a dusting of light snow and genuinely Arctic temperatures... well, f...
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A change in the wind
February 11, 2016 - As a photographer, I'm always on the lookout for interesting light; as a naturalist, I'm forever looking for signs of im...
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Uncommon commoner
February 10, 2016 - I don't know where the Blue Jays have been all winter, but they sure haven't been hanging around my backyard, where the...
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Snow softened
February 09, 2016 - The latest storm brought us about four inches of fresh powder, and though the snow was too dry to coat the branches and...
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Storm silent
February 08, 2016 - The winter storm warnings went back up as a nor'easter dubbed Mars—go figure—came closer to the coast than expected. By...
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After the storm
February 06, 2016 - The aftermath of Winter Storm Lexi, as this surprisingly strong gale was called, was a combination of sublime beauty, es...
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Reality check
February 04, 2016 - After the unnatural warmth, the heavy, April-shower-esque rains, and the early spring prognostications of the groundhog,...
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An early spring?
February 02, 2016 - When Punxsatawney Phil, the most famous groundhog in the universe, awoke this morning on his day—well, was roused out of...
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Winter... in Miami
February 01, 2016 - This is a set-up, right? A rabbi, a priest, and a groundhog walk into a bar and... OK, tomorrow is the "whistlepig's" bi...
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Food bank withdrawal
January 30, 2016 - More warmth, and with it comes a stirring in the mammals that, so far, have treated the winter, however balmy and snow-f...
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Still frozen hollers
January 29, 2016 - The thaw is on, and everything frozen is melting rapidly. But in the more shadowy hollows—er, to use my favorite bluegra...
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Here's lookin' at ya, kid
January 28, 2016 - The January Thaw is definitely upon us and most of the snow from last weekend's mini-blizzard is disappearing rapidly. T...
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Early unfurling
January 27, 2016 - The snow is rapidly disappearing in the face of, of course, the return of El Nino warmth. What we're experiencing is ess...
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Light to ski by
January 26, 2016 - We're a day or so past the first full moon of 2016, which the Native Americans and the colonists used to call the Full W...
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After Jonas
January 24, 2016 - The nor'easter has passed out to sea, and in its wake, there are stories of truly epic amounts of snow to our south and...
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A real one
January 23, 2016 - After several days of incredible, "storm of the century" hype, Winter Storm Jonas roared into out neighborhood. To be su...
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Sandpiper two-step
January 22, 2016 - Sanderlings are those wonderful little sprites you see scurrying along the shore just ahead of the incoming foam of brea...
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Getting plumped
January 21, 2016 - Most of the birding action is now along the shore, so my feet are taking me in that direction. One of my favorite winter...
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Not quite correct
January 20, 2016 - Summer seems forever ago, and the hordes of vacationers who frequent our shores have long flown south with the avian and...
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Shopping for a sunset
January 19, 2016 - It's been frightfully cold and windy—the high today barely nipped 20, and the windchills put the feel-like temperature a...
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Single digits
January 05, 2016 - Now this is more like it. With the passage of yesterday's cold front, it got, well, appropriately cold and, with a stead...
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Icebreaking
January 02, 2016 - Maybe we actually will have a meteorological winter in 2016... After the insanely warm start of the Once-Cold Season, th...
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A dash of color
March 29, 2015 - Who could'a thunk it? asked singer-songwriter Greg Brown. He wasn't, of course, talking about winter, but that immortal...
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Neither fire nor ice
March 27, 2015 - When Robert Frost pondered, akin to T.S. Eliot, the way the world might end, the flinty sage of Derry, New Hampshire, su...
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Maiden voyage on snowshoes
March 21, 2015 - Winter, no, Spring Storm Ultima dumped about four inches of fresh powder atop a solid, six-inch crust, and my granddaugh...
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Aquatic pancakes
March 19, 2015 - There's yet more cold in the offing and, if at least one of the forecast models is correct, we're in for a continuation...
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Great floral expectations
March 17, 2015 - With every little bit of new warmth—and there have been a few episodes—you can start to see that, yes indeed, there is s...
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Tracks in sharp focus
March 17, 2015 - The identity of the track maker is easy to determine: cloven hooves in the middle of the woods, and no telltale odor of...
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March mini-flood
March 16, 2015 - A recent spell of rain and relative warmth has put winter on notice that the vernal equinox is around the corner and, we...
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Otter... or fisher?
March 15, 2015 - At 3:08:53 pm, I spotted a weasel-like critter on the ice of the millpond. I didn't see how it got there, but as I watch...
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The (black) birds
March 14, 2015 - The day started out OK, but with murkiness and rain in the forecast—and a presentation to complete for presenting tonigh...
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Hooded, with apologies
March 12, 2015 - I take a lot of pictures, often more than a couple hundred a day, and, since I pretty much know what I'm doing and I tra...
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A touch of fog
March 11, 2015 - It never went below freezing last night—something of a first for the winter—and in response to the relative warmth, the...
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Unfurling
March 10, 2015 - The snow is still deep. I continue to need to use snowshoes to get to the compost pile. I've yet to swear off long under...
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In flight entertainment
March 09, 2015 - This was almost going to be a photo-free day—sigh—what with a deadline project that needed to be finished, but in late a...
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Here's to you, Potter!
March 08, 2015 - With the sun starting to disappear behind the forecasted rain clouds, I took off my snowshoes and walked back to my car.
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Wear a hardhat
March 07, 2015 - There are some subtle signs of melting, but the biggest, most obvious indication that there's actually some warmth in th...
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Snowbound sparrow
March 05, 2015 - Thor finally left the ridge, but, of course, in the wake of a giant winter storm, the temperature plummeted. This was bo...
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Graveyard shift
March 05, 2015 - The snow from Thor lightened overnight, but it never stopped entirely, and at daybreak, it increased in intensity. I gue...
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Thor starts to hammer
March 04, 2015 - Winter Storm Thor arrived this afternoon, and by sundown, the snow was falling fast and heavy on the ridge. By about ten...
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Scat!
March 03, 2015 - One of the supreme challenges of natural history is learning how to identify ghosts—figuring out the identity of a critt...
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Left behind
March 01, 2015 - Sparta left about six inches of powdery snow in its wake. I did about half the shoveling late last night, and I got up e...
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Snowground
March 01, 2015 - The plan had been that we would bring our granddaughter back home today, but the impending arrival of Winter Storm Spart...
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Today, the toboggan; tomorrow...
February 27, 2015 - OK, I know... this is supposed to be a nature photo-and-essay blog—not an account of the blogger's family. But hey, my g...
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Unexpected visitor
February 26, 2015 - Woodpeckers have distinctive feather patterns, sizes, and voices, but sometimes, you can know which species is in the ne...
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Scaling Everest
February 25, 2015 - It barely got into the 20s today, but the sun was bright and reasonably inviting. We had a full calendar, however, so th...
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The snows of New Hampshire
February 24, 2015 - Today was not going to be a walking day, since we were on a mission to travel north to coastal New Hampshire to pick up...
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A brief "January" thaw
February 23, 2015 - Winter Storm Pandora did more than bring more snow to the ridge. The storm also pulled in a brief spell of warmth—a tast...
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Pandora's Sunday surprise
February 22, 2015 - I hadn't expected this: a fresh blanket of new snow that arrived in the morning as Winter Storm Pandora swept by. There...
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A genuine survivor
February 21, 2015 - I love this tree, an ancient birch sculpted by decades of exposure to wind, rain, snow, cold, warmth, birds, and bugs. I...
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A touch of warmish gold
February 20, 2015 - It started off at three below, and it didn't rise all that much during the day. But, cold or not, I got into my skis and...
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The last open water
February 19, 2015 - With Winter Storm Octavia out of the way and Pandora on the horizon, I discovered something unpleasant: I am not quite i...
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Surprise, it's spring
February 18, 2015 - It wasn't too beastly cold today, but it was a shopping and errand day, so I didn't have much time to do anything more t...
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Octavia's junco
February 17, 2015 - After a one-day, semi-respite—as if winter tundra conditions, even though sunny, constitute balmy—we were paid a visit b...
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Bottoming out
February 16, 2015 - Winter Storm Neptune is taking its last gasps in the Maritimes, but, while the snow is over here, the wind continues to...
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Hail Neptune
February 15, 2015 - Maybe it wasn't a particularly smart idea to go for a walk at the height of the Second Coming of Winter Storm Neptune. T...
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Keeping afloat
February 13, 2015 - It was clear and cold to start the day, with a low of 1 above at daybreak and then a slow climb out of single digits. I...
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Cross country
February 12, 2015 - The snow dogs of yesterday presaged cold this morning, and they presaged right: it was 9 degrees at daybreak, and it did...
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Snow-ways
February 10, 2015 - One of the great joys of this winter is the fact that, although it arrived late, it arrived with abundant snow... and sn...
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Never trust a pump handle
February 09, 2015 - For all of the advanced billing, Winter Storm Marcus proved to be something of a mild-mannered fellow—at least in our ne...
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Back to workable
February 08, 2015 - When I started this humble blog, my plan was to take a walk a day, camera in hand, and create a mini-essay around the be...
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Jeepers, creepers
February 05, 2015 - It's possible we've had Brown Creepers at the suet feeder for most of the winter, but if so, they've certainly made them...
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Shadow play
February 04, 2015 - The storm is past, and it's cold, still, and dazzling. There's at least a foot of snow on the ground, so getting anywher...
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Phil makes if official
February 02, 2015 - With snow coming down pretty hard on the ridge, I checked out the official Groundhog Day website for the much awaited lo...
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Encouragement
February 01, 2015 - There's at least a foot of snow on the ground, and there's more—maybe plenty more—if the offing tomorrow, so, even thoug...
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Juno arrives
January 27, 2015 - Juno took its own sweet time arriving, but by midnight, it was snowing pretty heavily and the wind was howling. It was a...
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How cold was it?
January 08, 2015 - In the country, when the old geezers gathered around the pot-bellied stove in the general store during the winter, the f...
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