Things that make you go......"hmmmmmm....."

Okay all you nature people....why does that tree still have its leaves? Hmmmmm.....

Black and White

What you see is what we got. This past Thursday evening into Friday morning....about four inches on the hill on the lawns and about two down town.

 Magicsalt™ had the roads in Sharon bare. (now just because every car in Sharon needs brake lines because this stuff is eating them off, well, that's a whole other issue). Drive at your own risk I guess.

Sweet 55 Nomad

Rose of .......Sharon?

Nah. A real rose of the red type. From some hot-house some place no doubt. The camera's eye enables one to enjoy it a bit more....

Maple syr-ple time the old home-fashioned way..

Under this tin roof...

the sap shall drip...

the fire boils the sap...

taking more than sixty gallons to make one gallon of syrup.

The top small pan is pre-warming the sap.

Flying north for the.....winter?

So I think every Canada goose this side of Lake Placid was on Beardsley Pond yesterday morning. I was returning from the transfer station when I caught eye of them. Not being in a duck blind, the minute I stopped my truck, they started moving. The noise they were making was amazing!


Couple of things I noticed: geese do a lot of standing around and they all face the same direction much of the time. I mean hundreds and hundreds of birds, all facing the same direction. At the same time. Amazing. Now, I readily admit that they were all either taking off or getting ready to do so. But I just never knew they all looked in the same direction like that....cool!

No mail here...

                      I think that this particular mailbox is, shall we say, kaputski?

     

Snowy walkway

~over a dry brook. We do need some moisture I am told....

Muskrat Love on Valentine's Day

I knew I could work the word "love" into today's offering if I tried! Came across three muskies the other day down on the west side of Crystal Lake. Must admit I had to come look them up on the web to make sure that is what they were. I had my zoom working but the problem was, there were cattails between me and the rats, and it kept focusing on the plants. Lesson learned. Go manual focus next time.

Storm damage education

If you live here, well, this is like old news. But I have numerous followers who are spread around the country and look forward to my photos to help tell how things are around here. Today's posting is a short look at how so many trees in our area, actually the whole state, look since the October storm which did so much damage. Much has been cleaned up, but there is so much, like this willow for example, that are in horrible condition and are in areas where they never will be touched. They won't get pruned. They won't get cut down. What you see, is what you get. Many normally pretty vistas are ug-ly. And there are many widow-makers. By that I mean, there are many dangerously large branches, broken and hanging, some 30, 40, even 50 feet in the air. They can fall at any moment. Gravity just takes over. And if someone happens to be under, well, injuries can and have happened already. I have heard of a few car windshields that were fine when the homeowner parked the car. But when they went out later, well lets just say the glass man had a new repair to take care. Spring will help. New foliage will hide a lot of ugliness. But the hangers are still there, so we all must be cautious for some time to come....

Three dog night for sure!

I was busy doing projects around the house this afternoon when I realized I needed to grab the camera and go for a ride, the work could wait. I spent an hour out looking at sights around town and had a good time seeing lots of things. Just down from my house I found subjects number one and two.......dressed for the occasion. The temperature, after a basically so-far, snowless and somewhat warmer winter, has really dropped the last two days and it is supposed to stay down for another twenty-four I believe. As I write this now, between Grammy performances, the wind is howling pretty loudly outside and I am thankful for my warm home. I hope the "guys" below are tucked away in their stalls, with the doors closed tightly!

Horse blankets have come a long way!

How NOT to park...101

I have too much time on my hands, that is fairly obvious. Yesterday, I particularly loved this parking job. Partly in the no parking zone and partly in a marked out space. No other cars were near when they pulled in. No handicapped sticker/sign what-have-you....Went into some business and left the car there for almost two hours. Nice. Real nice.

what in tar-nation........?

Not sure if you've been to Lakeville of late, but the newest of Hotchkiss's projects is really shaping up. What you see below is about one-half of the roof of the soon-to-be heating plant for the school. Construction of a new Biomass Facility, is slated to come on line for the 2012-13 heating season. The new facility will replace an outdated power plant. The facility will burn wood chips rather than petroleum to heat hot water for all the buildings on campus for heat and for hot water consumption.


Located just of Route 41, the roof of this new facility (which you see below) will be covered in sod and the building will supposedly hardly be noticeable. I am curious as to where the wood chips that the plant will operate on come from and, how much it will take to operate for an average day/week/month. May take a lot of tractor-trailor loads to operate, but am sure that it will be far better for the environment regardless than to be burning all that oil. Thank you Hotchkiss School for your efforts to do better. I also read where the school is buying almost 30% of their electricity from windmill farms. Again, thank you Hotchkiss. We ALL need to learn and follow your example. Maybe soon we'll see the MAC (Mar's Athletic Center) roof covered with solar collectors, and harnessing energy from the sun? Perhaps?

"You better watch out, you better drive right....

     Sharon has become bear country of late. Quite often of late we have been having police sightings in Sharon, and not just at xtramart™ for free coffee. Many times of late they are located in the driveway at Union Savings. I only comment because there are weeks, sometimes months, where we never see a police presence in Sharon.


      I hope that having them here proves to be a good thing regarding speeding vehicles through the retail area, meaning by the shopping center. It is my old gripe. Someday, some innocent person is going to get creamed pulling out of the plaza, or xtramart or the bank by some speeder, more than often coming from the north, heading south. Today, this officer was on the grass right by the school. I presume he was looking for speeders headed north, catching them as they crest over the hill. I wonder if they have gotten complaints and are reacting, or just acting on their own? Whatever, I see it as a good thing.

Found him!

I knew I had another few shots of a black squirrel. This was back late last October when I caught this guy, close-up. 

Thoughts..

~so tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday in America.  Not quite sure, but it sure has a lot of facts with it to ponder. 

1. who will win, The Pat's or The G'nts?
2. does it matter?
3. which will be the most popular commercial?
4. does it matter?
5. Will four million a minute for advertising prove to be a worthwhile investment?
6. does it matter?
7. How many zillion bags of potato chips and the like (Frito's, Dorito's, etc) will be consumed?
8. does it matter?
9. being in the business, I wonder how many gallons of beer will be consumed nationwide from let's say noon tomorrow till midnight?
10. does it matter?
11. Will this be Tom Caughlin's last game as coach for The Giants?
12. does it matter?
13. I heard more than once that tomorrow is the most violent day in domestic abuse in America, due to stupid behavior by both husbands, wives, and partners.
14. I pray that not to be true this year. That does matter.

So, who are you rooting for?  I am an old Giants fan,  from back in the 80's I guess.  So,  I guess I'll root for them. Go Blue!

More Clouds

The Snowman

Did any of you ever watch the video", The Snowman™", based on a book by the same name, by author Raymond Briggs? Coming home the other day, the sky had this large magnificent cotton ball/floating ice-pack of-a-look to it. I stopped to take a photo or two, and suddenly I saw this image in my rearview that reminded me of the beginning of The Snowman video. Thats really about all there is to say about it (the photo). The video was a favorite in our family for years, and still is. First saw it on PBS™, then got our own copies. I think we wore a few out from watching with our kids......


Catch a great spot, perhaps the best,  from the video, here....