SNOWICANE 2010

i'm sure you've all heard about the nasty confluence of storms attacking the northeast u.s. last week... it all started harmlessly enough with wet snow on the budding snowdrops around noon thursday...less than a foot of snow thursday afternoon, yet the pyrocantha is already in the driveway?
this was the heaviest wet snow people around here can remember, and it stuck to branches obscuring our house from the street... streets not plowed yet... we lost power thursday night at 8:30 pm...
downed trees were a major problem... 75 trees fell in our small town... 40,000 people lost power in our county...
we walked into town looking for a warm restaurant, but everything was closed...
one had to be careful walking under these beautiful arches down the street from us... a person died in central park, nyc, from a falling branch...
our cold house... we had 16 inches of snow...
friday morning, no power, but a patch of sun broke through to brighten spirits...this sun later melted the snow from the branches, but i ran out quick to snap these...
the river birch bent to the ground... i'm glad it survived
the spruce was definitely meant for this weather...
witch hazel 'diana' before i rescued it from the snow... it did lose one large branch, as did my southern magnolia, which lost its leader...
witch hazel 'diana' has been in full bloom...

here are the branches i had to cut from the witch hazel and magnolia... the house was about 50 degrees when i took this!
saturday morning, the rising sun set the palisades ablaze! we finally had our power restored around 3 on saturday afternoon.

SNOW REDUX

today, another 4 inches of snow bends the dogwood in front of our house.

SNOWY VALENTINE

dombeya has really put on a show this year just in time for valentines day...these photos are from 7am the morning after our big snowfall, before the sun stole the snow from the branches...

grilling, anyone?
yesterday, this young lady came to visit across the street from us... i did not use the telephoto...

i guess i was just too close, maybe 15 feet away. check out the camouflage!

SNOW DAY

we had a great storm today, snow is still falling and we have over a foot! all of us worked from home. and we got out for a little play.
hubs and me skiing on the old croton aqueduct trail ( a friend took the photo)
pretty house on the trail (not my house)
i'm holding up an aqueduct vent with graffiti
the potager... we got much more snow after these photos
harry lauder walking stick

ICE FOLLIES

the local pond froze quickly last week, yielding a smooth, clear surface.

ST. JOHN, USVI EPISODE 6

i think this will be my last post about st. john, as i'm out of photos that i like. this shot is of the omnipresent red bugs on st. john, which i think are a type of pyrrhocoridae hemipterans. red bugs were all around the forest edges on the beaches. i love the dramatic pattern they all share.
we hiked up to the annaberg sugar plantation ruins. i read a history of the slave rebellion of 1733 on st. john, which failed, and the slaves were so hellishly executed that i will not repeat their punishments here. i felt so creeped-out by this place, knowing how the slaves were treated, that i took little notice of what the old buildings were, and just shot them.


there is also a grand pirate history on st. john and st. thomas, but i didn't see much to photograph. thanks for joining me on this adventure!

ST. JOHN, USVI EPISODE 5

st. john has quite a few donkeys, goats, chickens and pigs on the loose. the donkeys are extremely friendly... here's one making her move...i'm coming closer...
snorgle, snorgle!
yup, she stuck her head right inside the jeep! here's a baby donkey sleeping in the road... one has to drive quite slowly on st. john due to the steep roads and animals...
there seem to be goats everywhere. i saw this herd going down the road to the soccer field every morning to keep the grass perfect.
and we did see one feral pig... we didn't stop to pet her though!