Winter Quiet

The first day of the storm.

This whole January has been cold. Air temperatures have been below normal almost every day. It has also snowed at Protection Farm nearly every day.  Cities along the Northeast coast, New York, New Haven, and even up to Concord and Portland have already received more snow this year than they usually do in a whole year. And today is January 23. We have had been some pretty big snows and winds here. Nothing like the dark howling blizzards that I have seen in some winters, but the low roar has picked up several nights in the treetops. One night it almost felt like the forest around the house was being lifted up,  but that passed in a few hours.  

Its seems that it has been snowing every day. The snowpack is about 3 feet here at the farm.

I guess you could call this a typical January in Western New York. But is sure has been cold.

The cold has come in on a couple of brilliant and clear fronts.  We have had three cold fronts in the past two weeks.  Tonight is the 4^th.

Dawn of Saturday January 22

January 22

This could be a sand dune?

Bird feeding station at living room picture window

White-breasted Nuthatch visiting during the storm 

Hairy Woodpecker has been here every day.

This Red squirrel and his pals come around every mid morning and raid the whole feeding station.  Usually they don't scare off very easily. Today I let them get their fill for about two hours and then I scared them off, and they stayed away the rest of the day.

Tonight is predicted to hit -5F in Buffalo, 40 miles away. It is sometimes as much as 15 degrees cooler here on Protection Farm.

Right now, the sun has set. It is very quiet outside. Not a bit of wind. 

Many of the January evenings have brought with them calling screech and Great Horned Owls.

I haven’t heard any for almost 5 days, since the big storm that dumped a foot or more on us through yesterday morning.  So far tonight, no owls. The sky is clear. It is cold. The stars are sparkling.

As we settle into the night we are bundled up against the cold. Jonna and I wrapped in blankets and both cats sitting nearby, looking for any chance to climb onto a lap.  It is very winter quiet outside right now.