They’re very savvy.
When we lived in Bangalore we would occasionally encounter the resident band of monkeys – actually Bonnet Macaques – as they passed through the neighborhood, seeking any possible way to sneak into apartments and steal food. At least once, one pushed open the front door and came traipsing across the living room floor. We heard from others that these savvy critters knew how to find and open refrigerators. Check out this a pair of blog posts (and associated photo galleries) from November 2008!
An early appearance of snow fleas.
When I was out skiing last week, on a sunny day in Hanover, I came across some bootprints in the snow … with little black specks hopping around inside. Snow fleas!
This sighting was unusual, I thought, because I’ve never seen snow fleas so early in the season. They usually appear in March or April, when the air warms above the deep snowpack. This day it was not that warm – hovering around freezing – and there were only a few snow fleas. (Often they are so plentiful the snow is nearly covered!)
The thing is, they’re not even fleas, or even insects! They are springtails, and have a fascinating ability to live in freezing conditions. Coincidentally, a local naturalist came across snow fleas last week, too, and posted a short video.
Another fine Thursday.
Another Thursday, another hike up a Vermont mountain in beautiful snow conditions. Today, Kathy and I climbed Spruce Mountain in eastern Vermont, selected because we had limited time (afternoon) and it was reasonably short and reasonably close. Read on…
Almost nine years ago I switched blog platforms – to WordPress, when MobileMe shut down. Although I cached and posted a copy of that blog, I really wanted to aggregate all that content here on WordPress, back-dated to the original date. As you can see on the right-hand side of every page, it’s now all here!
As I noted last May when I started this effort, I tried to migrate the content without accidentally triggering notifications to subscribers – but I think a couple slipped through. Sorry about that!
I may yet add some other old stories – and photos – so keep an eye out for more ‘retro blog’ posts.
Beautiful conditions for the past week.
I’ve been fortunate to be out skiing five out of the past six days – the exception being the snowshoe day on Pico Peak – because the conditions have been so lovely. Last week the temps hovered around freezing most afternoons, softening the snow surface, but a dusting of fresh powder most nights have freshened-up the trails and skiing surfaces. Here are some photos from today’s ski tour in the outer reaches of Lyme.
A glorious afternoon snowshoe up to Pico Peak.
I count myself lucky to spend a day snowshoeing through fantabulous deep powder snow in the Green Mountains of Vermont, as I did last Thursday on Worcester Mountain. But I count myself uncommonly lucky to spend another day snowshoeing through spectacular deeper powder snow, exactly one week later, as I did today on Pico Peak in Vermont. Read on, and don’t miss the photo gallery!
Dasara is the most important festival in Mysore.
As I mentioned recently, I will occasionally post some flashbacks to some favorite old trips and events. In 2008-09 we lived in Bangalore, India, and traveled extensively.
Today I’m remembering an incredible day in Mysore, a small city a few hours west of Bangalore, which we visited for the major Dasara festival. The parade was an incredible sensory experience, including elephants, bands, dancers, and more. Check it out!
A nor’easter brings winter conditions back home.
Although the mountains still hold fantastic winter conditions, as I found last Thursday on Worcester Mountain, the immediate Hanover-Lyme area has little snow left. Our yard was still covered in an inch or two of old hard snow, but the neighboring woods were becoming largely bare. All that changed today, as a powerful nor’easter swept up the coast. We accumulated 8.5 inches of fresh white stuff, far less than what some saw down east – the coastal regions received a foot or two – but eight or nine inches is quite nice indeed. It was a bit warm here – topping the freezing point for the afternoon – so the snow is a bit wet. At higher elevation I hope to find deeper, lighter powder. Read on and check out the gallery of photos.
David Kotz 