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First Snow

October 27, 2016

Today it snowed for the first time this year. It’s actually been snowing all day on and off, and even as I type has become heavier.

Unusually for the first fall it’s sticking, rather than instantly melting like first snow usually does. I’m sure it will all melted away in a day or two.

It’s bitterly cold out right now. I didn’t wear gloves and could only stay out for a couple of minutes to take these photos since my hands started freezing (plus I have a cold). The snow is thick and slippery, and is weighing down the trees since it has come before some of them have shed all their leaves.

That’s a dogwood in our front yard. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the branches (which usually stand straight up) touch the ground like that. I was a little alarmed about the giant branches of the big trees out front which were touching the roof. I gave them a vigorous shake to try and dislodge some of the snow and raise them a bit.

I went out for a drive earlier and saw cars in ditches and police lights everywhere which is common when winter first comes. Right now though the sounds of sirens are almost nonstop. It’s a little eerie since the snow dulls a lot of sound and only the sirens are carrying.

As I said this will all be gone soon. But I hope it’s a good sign of more to come. Last year’s winter was depressingly snow-free. This year I could do with more of it. As Florence always says, snow on the ground is when Earth is at it’s most beautiful. 😉

Wildlife XV: The Shining

August 16, 2016

I left the wildlife camera out while we were away. It captured the usual suspects (squirrels, deer and birds) but also some of the rarer visitors to our yard. In total there were over 300 photos taken, almost every one of which featured an animal of some sort.

I’ll confess I didn’t put much thought into placement, and am quite surprised it didn’t fall over while we were away (I half-leaned it against the house). The above shows what you’re looking at, since many of the following shots are at night.

Two different unknown cats. There were many shots of the fluffier one in particular, suggesting that s/he looks into the french doors to peep inside our house. My guess is Emi and Yoss know about this cat (and vice versa) because they spend time every night downstairs looking outside.

One of many opossum shots. In fact there were probably more opossum photos in this one period than in every previous use of the camera combined! He’s no stranger to our patio!

A big raccoon, exiting stage left! He was only in this one frame, which suggests he was moving quite quickly. While I’ve captured raccoons before on the camera (including on video), I’ve not yet seen one with my own eyes.

Speaking of raccoons…

These actually appear to be two baby raccoons! While they were in several shots, they never got close enough to the camera for a very clear photo, and this is the best there was. But they are obviously smaller than the guy above and appear darker-furred. That and the little stripey tails tell me they may be babies! What do you think?

Lastly I’ll leave with the guy that just had to be the center of attention:

Fire In The Sky

June 23, 2016

It’s almost July 4 and once again fireworks are back in stores. Last year was the first time they were sold here in NY in many years and we had a great time setting them off. This year the selection is incredible… and we’ve invested heavily!

That’s the haul so far. I don’t want to calculate how much we’ve spent already but I think we’ve layed the groundwork for two fireworks shows to celebrate JAF’s birthday in a little over a week 🙂

We’ve got big ones and small ones and sparklers and cracklers and smoke bombs and even a frog! Still no launchers though; they’re still not legal here. We’d have to drive to Pennsylvania to buy some of those…

That’s the biggest we’ve got so far. It cost $25, stands about a foot tall and judging by the disco ball in the art will probably dazzle us with holograms and shooting stars and maybe silhouettes of dancers made of living fire! The little guy next to it was only $2 and is similar to most of what we had last year. We’ve upgraded 🙂

This is a two pack: “Rocketman vs Rage Monster”. They’re both quite large, and (again) judging by the art I’m expecting cybernetic warriors made of flaming smoke and a terrifying monster radiating purple fire and bellowing curses from the deepest pits of Gehenna!

We accidentally bought two of these two packs. So double everything I just said 🙂

This is the most expensive one we have so far, at $35. It’s a large fanning fountain, which means the showers of sparks will not just go up but also out to the sides. If I position it carefully in KLS’s parents backyard I may be able to incinerate trees on both sides simultaneously!

It’ll be a night we’ll never forget!

Sparkzilla. Sparkzilla! I don’t know who named this but he was a genius. Although fairly large in my hand, this isn’t even in the top five of biggest fireworks I’m waiting to ignite. But it has to be the best, based solely on that name: Sparkzilla!

Im expecting a titan of ash and cinders rising out of this box, trumpeting with the joy of freedom as it mercilessly rains destruction down upon us. I wish you could be there to see it!

And then we have the ‘Fiery Frog’. Like a green Pac Man from hell, this one boasts of glowing mouth and eyes as the purifying flames issue from its head. I’ve never seen anything like this and cannot wait to set it on fire.

That’s just a portion of what we have so far. And I don’t doubt there’s more to come. Yes it will all – quite literally – go up in smoke, but watching it happen is going to be glorious!

Robot Claw