Snow.
I awoke early this morning to the sound of a jet fighter screaming low overhead. That got my attention. Then when I could barely hear the the cars passing on Route 1 out front I realized, Ah, snow plow. Sure enough, an inch or so of snow had fallen already—never mind forecasts of a minimal chance of it. And snow continued to fall, if lightly, most of the morning. We got maybe two-three inches before the sun broke through the haze, and the rest of the day happened under a brilliant blue sky.
Cloud.
Crows hung around, as always. Heard a chickadee out back and house finches frolicking merrily across the road. In afternoon I had to take off early to reboot a server. Chilly, with a bit of wind. Gulls, pigeons, and starlings in town. At the datacenter, house sparrows chirped from some shrubbery nearby.
I decided to take Jack right away out Route 17 to the hill. A couple dozen mallards were huddled on the bank of the Chickawaukie Lake outfall. Two cars in the Beech Hill parking lot, and we soon came upon an older couple hiking gamely up the snow-covered icepack, exchanged a few words of greeting on our way by. The footing, although still iffy, was much less treacherous then yesterday’s. Up in the open air, the wind commenced to blow, gustily, from the west. This morning’s snow flew through the air, collected in little drifts on the trail.
A bright sun, a white hillside. We met a friendly young couple snowshoeing down. Didn’t stay long at the summit—just long enough to appreciate the matchless view.
Coming down, I joked about the wind with the older couple still steadily ascending. Watched and listened for bird life, as I can’t help doing, but none revealed itself. Just a gusty wind, bracing air, bright afternoon sun.
Beech Nut.
Tonight, the wind has really picked up, and the temperature has fallen dramatically. Not the kind of night I’d like to camp out in.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
No bird seen or heard on the hill today.
Elsewhere
1. American crow
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. House finch
4. Herring gull
5. Rock pigeon
6. European starling
7. House sparrow
8. Ring-billed gull
9. Mallard
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, European starling, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mallard, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon
