Signs of Spring (2015)

As they appear....


Mid-February:   I was shocked to find daffodils emerging along the side of the house, when everything else was hidden under 2 feet of snow:

Mid-March:  we ventured out on the trail for the first time in more than two months, where we saw our trail friend, Dave and his beagle, Sierra.  Still lots of snow on the trail, but just getting out there again felt great:

Mid March:  After 7-10 sunny days with temps in the 40s, we've had lots of thawing.  Ice in the Allegheny River is starting to recede... 

March 20: a small setback on the day of the Vernal Equinox...winter's last hurrah (hopefully)!

March 21:  First full day of spring!  We are starting to see the barest hint of buds on the trees.  Barely buds, but I'll take it!!

March 21:  Starting to see more green along side the house!  My daffodils have survived since mid-February, and lots more have come up.  I'm rooting for them! 

March 21: A collage for visual progress:

March 22:  Back on the trail! YAY!  We found some areas near Gargoyle Park are finally walkable.

March 24:  Yesterday we saw one hole in a tree (the larger bottom hole), possibly made by a Pileated Woodpecker. Today there was a second hole!  And even more wood shavings on the ground!  What will it be?  A woodpecker condo?  A possible nesting sight?  It will be fun to watch what happens next...

March 28, 29: Snow still falling sporadically, and the icy parts of the trail are melting very slowly, as seen in the collage below:

April 2: We're seeing an abundance of robins and other birds on the trail, and temps got up near 60 today.  Hopefully the trail will be completely melted by next week!

April 6:  Walked the trail today, and all vestiges of ice are finally gone!  YAY!  

Unfortunately the thawing runoff is causing river flooding, into low-lying areas along the trail, and into fields across the river.  All the water is attractive to the dozens of swans that have come to town!

 April 7:  SNOWDROPS in the yard, our first blooms of spring!!  YAY!

April 11: More spring blooms appearing: Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)

Niagara Falls in Winter

March 11, 2015:   After the coldest February on record in western NY, we wanted to see the "frozen" Niagara Falls.  I've visited Niagara Falls several times over my life, but never in winter.  So we decided to go before things thawed out too much.  

We didn't see all the frozen mist on the trees that we'd heard about on the news, but what we did see was pretty awesome and impressive anyway.  

American Falls

Sue & Bob on Observation Deck

What remains of frozen trees

American Falls, from Observation Deck

Icy, turbulent Niagara River from bridge to Goat Island

Rainbow in the mist and the Rainbow Bridge
(to Canada) in background
American Falls from Goat Island

American Falls from Canadian Side

Horseshoe Falls seen from Canadian side

Rainbow Bridge  and American Falls (right) from Canadian side

Crossing the Rainbow Bridge back to USA

An awesome sight and a great day!

*       *       *  

The Longest Winter

March 5, 2015:   FINALLY!  It's only 3 more days until we change the clocks forward to DayLight Savings Time; only 15 more days until the Vernal Equinox!  

But this has felt like the longest winter, ever!  Certainly it's the coldest and snowiest one I've experienced in a VERY long time.  

But there have been some moments worth capturing:

Withered leaf (Dec 2014)

 Light snow on the trail (Dec 2014)

 Ice starts to form on the river (Jan 2015)

Snow on the trail (Jan 2015)

 Icy Reflections in the River (Jan 2015)

 Dilapidated Barn on Lillibridge Rd (Jan 2015)

Pfeiffer Nature Preserve After a Heavy Snowfall (Jan 2015)

 Me at Pfeiffer Nature Preserve (Photo by Bob)

Five Mile Creek Freezing Over (Jan 2015)

 Early Morning Shadows on Snow (Jan 2015)

Coldest Day in January (-18F) 

and pipes froze for the first (of three) time(s)

Valley View from Lillibridge Rd (Jan 2015)

 An Icy Dawn (Jan 2015)

February was just one cold and/or snowy day after another 

Some beauty still to be found (Feb 2015)

Wonder of Wonders! 

daffodil shoots in early February surrounded by 2 feet of snow!

 Winery in February, near Canandaigua Lake

Vineyard in February, near Canandaigua Lake

Whiteout conditions between Syracuse and Watertown, NY 

(mid-Feb, 2015)

 Same area as above, 5 days later (mid-Feb, 2015)

 More snow, late February 2015

 Coldest temp was -20F,  twice in one week! 

(late February, 2015)

 Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous, Ridgway, PA (Feb 2015)

March finally arrives, but who can tell?????

Hoping for more springlike photos to come ....SOON!