(For those of you not living in the Northeast of the USA, we have had record snowfall this winter. It seems it snows almost every other day, bring at least a foot of snow each time. OK, that might be an exaggeration, but not by much. This is a sign at one park where we walk Hikari. Click on the image for a larger view.)
Category Archives: Life at Home
Dreaming of Summer, Part 2
Our forest last July in summer wind. Click on the image for a larger view.
A Year in Color Revisited
Winter gives you a long time to think about the seasons in Maine. Previously, I had posted the year in color for our forest for 2014. As an experiment, I revisited that year to try another way to visualize that change. January is the section between 12 o’clock and 1 o’clock with the following months continuing clockwise between each hour. Click on the image for a larger view.
Dreaming of Summer
The snows this winter have been taking their toll. We have had over twice the average snowfall so far this year. It is hard to remember our garden being anything but white.
This is not a small pumpkin, but one of our heirloom tomatoes. We still have tomatoes in our freezer from last summer, but bringing in one of these fruit straight from the vine is very different—the rich smell and the sun-warmed flesh can only be experienced in the summer. A thick slice on a piece of freshly baked bread with a little ground pepper makes the perfect meal. Click on the image for a larger view.
Shadows and Snow Drifts
The blizzard left us with about 22″ or 55cm of snow. The winds create hollows and drifts that can come well below or above that. We spent several hour digging out and clearing the driveway after the storm. It appears we may get another 12″ or 30cm of snow today. Click on the image for a larger view.
Blizzard of 2015
New England was hit with a massive blizzard yesterday. This was my safe view from the window of our front door—you can see our bird feeder and the apple tree we call Midori in the foreground. Fortunately, so far, we have not lost power, unlike the ice storm we had last winter. Click on the image for a larger view.
Winter Forest Panorama
Our forest after a storm. Our oldest apple tree is on the left of the image in the foreground. We are unsure of the variety, but it seems to bare fruit biennially. We are hoping to get apples from it this year. Click on the image for a larger view.
Snags
It was a gray winter day yesterday. I came across this snag, a dead standing tree. Snags have very little use to the human residents of a forest as they are usually too rotten to have any value for lumber or even firewood, but they do have great value to the other residents and the forest itself. As you can see, the snag is a great feeding post for our woodpeckers and flickers. When the tree finally falls, it will act as water storage for the forest. Click on the image for a larger view.
Contrasts, Part 2
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Contrasts, Part 1
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