Out and About: Is Winter Coming or Going?

It hasn't been a very exciting winter weather wise. We got the beautiful twenty-four inch snowstorm in early December, about six inches January eighteenth through nineteenth, and dustings of snow here and there.We've seen some ice and sleet, rain, above average degree days with a high of sixty on January eleventh. Who had a drink on their porch that night? There's been a few cold nights to remind us where we live. Now into February and the groundhog not seeing his shadow and predicting spring will come early, is winter really leaving or will it come back with a one two punch? I think the latter but we'll see.
I get out and about each day and have seen bluebirds at Griffin's Ridge and on the Zim-Smith trail by the pedestrian bridge.I saw about three dozen robins by the bridge last week too. I've spotted a Red-tailed hawk up by Victorian Landings and around the village by bird feeders. Fox and deer tracks are in the wooded areas and Liz Rigney got a great photo of a red fox in her back property. Michele Decker just saw a Bald Eagle in a tree across from her house on the lake. Dennis got photos of two eagles sitting on the ice at the inlet this winter. Lately, the Great-horned owl has been hooting around Alumni Hall and Baker's Park in the wee hours of the morning. I haven't seen or heard the Barred owl in a long time. It did hang out in the pine trees off the Zim-Smith trail by Sue and Tim Lessar's house in Griffin's Ridge. The Wades came home from work one night to find an opossum at their grill on their porch. What was for dinner that night?
I've gotten out for  half a dozen hikes within thirty minutes of the village since the new year. I haven't needed snowshoes at all. Microspikes on my hiking boots have worked perfectly for icy slippery slopes and trails. I've included photos of the hikes. Hope everyone is doing well and maybe I'll see you when I'm out walking around.

Schoolhouse Park on January 18th with Leftover December Snow Mound

Schoolhouse Park January 19th. That's More Like It!

Henning Preserve in Providence. Standing on an esker which is a ridge created by a retreating glacier

Esker

At Henning Preserve

View of  Cadman's Creek at Henning Preserve

Lake Bonita. Was the water supply for Mount McGregor Prison

Ice Sculpture on the trail to Lake Ann Moreau State Park

Lake Ann. It's a Bog Habitat

Lean-to at Lake Ann

Sign in woods near lean-to

Another old sign in woods!

Deer Beds at Woodcock Preserve Clifton Park

Ice Sculpture at Woodcock Preserve

View from Western Ridge Trail Moreau State Park. Hudson River

Ice Moss

Waterfall Trail off Western Ridge Trail

Little Free Library at Moreau Lake State Park

Warming Hut Moreau Lake

On Lake Trail

Moreau Lake

Out and About: Around the Village With Twenty-four Inches of Snow

A two day snow storm on December first and second with give or take two feet of snow, made for lots of shoveling, snow blowing, car clearing, plowing, sledding, fort building, and wet winter gear. On Tuesday morning the sun came out and under blue skies the Village looked beautiful covered, coated, and layered in white!

After Twenty-four Hours of Snow

Snowmobile

Tuesday Morning after Two Days of Snow

Alumni Hall and Baker's Park

Round Lake from Ames Avenue

Draped

Sycamore Sisters on South Lawn

Stream by Peck Avenue Woods

Peck Avenue Woods

Topped Off in Snow

Fanned

Snaking

Snow Swags

Schoolhouse Park

Looking Across Pat's Old Farm Field

Iced Light

Out and About: October Was A Treat

Mother Nature treated us to a lovely month of October! She gently brought the temperatures down to the sixties and fifties so we could make an adjustment from September's seventies. Then Halloween's forecast looked dismal but turned out to be a seventy degree night. The rain held off, the winds picked up, and leaves swirled and crunched underfoot making for a spooktacular time. I took advantage of the sunny days during October to see autumn color and finish hiking the Saratoga Plan nature preserves. November came in windy and colder zapping my pepper plants at last. We didn't get a coating to an inch of snow which was predicted for November seventh but likely will see snowfall on November eleventh through twelfth. Take a look at fall color in Round Lake and some views at Henning and Levine Preserves in the town of Providence and Rowland Hollow Creek in Milton.

Zim-Smith Trail

From the Pedestrian Bridge on the Zim-Smith Looking East

Beginning of the Connector Trail off the Zim-Smith

On the Connector Trail

Sunny

Red Colored White Oak Leaves at Baker's Park

Contrast at Coldrick's

Misty Morning on Round Lake

Ames Avenue

Cadman Creek at Henning Preserve

Henning Preserve

Fast Moving Cadman Creek at Levine Preserve

Copeland Covered Bridge. The only covered bridge left in Saratoga County

Copeland Bridge below Beecher Falls

Beecher Falls Town of Edinburgh

Dock Ducks

Great Sacandaga Lake

Under the Batchellerville Bridge. photo by Dan

Rowland Hollow Creek