Birches.
Looked to be some snow out there when first I looked out the window this morning. Yep, as promised—kind of wet, whirly snow. And on our first excursion out, although Jack didn’t seem to notice, I heard a chickadee and a house finch. And crows.
The snow didn’t stop me from desk work, though, nor Jack from napping near the fire.
Beech Nut.
Later, we ventured out in it. Traffic was maddeningly slow. (Folks shouldn’t be driving at all if they can only go that fast, is my opinion.) And at one point, when the motorist in front of me—going all of 15 mph—stopped to let a gigantic front-loader pull out from a side street, I braked and watched several inches of snow I hadn’t bothered to clear off the roof of my pickup slide down onto my windshield, completely blocking my view. Wasn’t that embarrassing. I ended up having to turn onto the same side street the front-loader came out of to scoop it off.
Herring gulls flying around. And after a while, as we headed out Route 17 to Beech Hill, I saw the resident mallards huddled together on the parking lot of the Chickawaukie Lake swimming beach. And one pair huddled on the snowy shoulder not three feet from the highway.
None had thought about pulling into the Beech Hill parking lot, meantime. We were the first. The snow had begun to mix with sleet and freezing rain about that time. I pulled on snowshoes, and Jack and I hauled our asses up the snowy trail.
Rock.
A nice, breath-taking hike. We walked in a hurry—faster, in fact, than over yesterday’s icy lumps—and felt the sting of the frozen, wind-whipped precipitation on our faces. The sting somehow increased the thrill of it, our hike in snow today. I guess both of us have a crazy hankering for extreme weather conditions.
Back home, the snow seemed to let up a bit, and I figured I’d do a little shoveling. About six inches of wet stuff to toss aside. Good work, though. I like it. I worked my way around the front of the building, up the ramp, then returned to do the back stairs. Finally reached the deck—and heard the distinctively sharp chip! of a northern cardinal. Then another. I scanned the low, little trees for the birds but had trouble finding them with so much frozen precipitation flying into my eyes. That is, until a brilliant male flitted up onto an open branch not thirty feet away. I was near the back door, so I snuck in for my camera. The bird was still there when I reemerged. I raised my camera, focused, and saw nothing in the viewfinder. It’d successfully escaped my photographic intentions.
Tonight the snow has stopped but the wind is positively howling. And it’s grown suddenly, bone-chillingly cold.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 3 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
No birds seen or heard on the hill today.
Elsewhere
1. American crow
2. Black-capped chickadee
3. House finch
4. Herring gull
5. Mallard
6. Northern cardinal
Tags: American crow, black-capped chickadee, herring gull, house finch, mallard, northern cardinal
