From the West Coast

 

  Grandpa Frank got out to California for a visit with Matt, Jenica and the kids.  If I didn't know better, I'd say he photo shopped a picture of Matt in the shot from the beach with Cali.

Old Guys

 

    Bunch of guys who all turned 70 last year.  Not sure what year this is from.

  One of them wrote a book and dropped my name.

Up North

 

  

  One place that has gotten both snow and cold this winter is Tug Hill.  Gail advocated for a trip organized by the Cayuga Ski Club which was an excellent plan.  The drive up was an adventure in itself that started in heavy rain and switched to heavy snow by the time we got to the Thruway and missed an exit.  We made it to Boonville, and it resulted in fresh, deep snow to ski in Saturday and Sunday.  There was also a chance to hang out with many fellow club members at the hotel and in the warming hut at BREIA.

  Single digits Saturday, well below zero Sunday, kept us in the woods as much as possible.  We were able to keep warm and enjoyed excellent conditions.

  Every once in a while, you have to repeat that line from Blazing Saddles, "Excuse me while I whip this out."  Well, you don't, but I still do it.

  While most of the trails were groomed before the Friday snowfall, it was still good to get a chance to break trail in fresh snow.

  This is Gail's "I just saw a moose" look.  We didn't see it long though.  Despite the extreme depth of the snow, it ran fast and far and was quickly out of sight.

  Thanks to the towpath along the old Black River Canal, I was able to ski off Tug Hill and into Boonville to get back to the hotel.  And thanks to a clear cut for power lines carrying Canadian electrons, we got a view of the Adirondacks 20 miles to the east.

  Here's looking at you.

Local Winter Action

 

  It's been cold enough in town for some decent ice buildup.  On my way to skate at the reservoir, I considered skating down Bridal Falls but thought better of it.  And I've been stopping at Ithaca Falls a few times a week on my walk to work.  Lots of people skated on the Inlet, but I never made it down there while the ice was good.

  After the ice formed, we had a nice snow squall, but it just wasn't enough to do any creek skiing.

  The day I set this bridge up, the ankle-deep water was flowing fast.  I was optimistic I'd be skiing over it soon, but it took a month before I got the chance, and then went around.

   There has been consistent skiing in Caroline, but with the drive involved, that's been limited to weekends.  Somehow, I missed the chance to clear all those logs on this trail, but glad Connie and Andy got out to do it and to ski with them.

  Andy and I made it over to the Summerland Preserve where the wind never stops.

  Well...

Bob

   One of the joys of my job as an ENL teacher is the freedom to teach what I want.  I always make time for a couple lessons focused on Bob Dylan so the kids might "catch a spark".  I'll never forget Dora's response after listening to a duet with him and Joan Baez from 1965 when she exclaimed, "They're singing in English?"

  When I heard about the movie A Complete Unknown a few months before it came out, I found myself down the rabbit hole a few times in anticipation of the era the movie is about.  I still wasn't prepared for how much I enjoyed seeing it and had to see it twice over the Christmas break.  It's going to take awhile to emerge from this rabbit hole.  Then the director's cut will come out and it will start all over.

  Hard to say what my favorite scene was, kind of like naming my favorite Dylan song.  But this one stood out for a bunch of reasons: Dylan was starting to feel jaded and pressured to be who everyone wanted him to be.  They showed he was still able to sit down with Pete Seeger and enjoy singing a song together, even if it was in front of a bunch of record company execs and other rich people.  Timothee Chalamet and Ed Norton did great jobs singing and playing live to the camera (as does Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez) and in this scene they are playing Pete's guitar and banjo. 

  For anybody unfamiliar with Dylan and go to see/hear Timothee Chalamet, you're going to love the albums:

 

  There are a few books to read too.

New and Old Around Town

 

  

This is a familiar building in College Town to me.  I saw my first old time performances here when Mac and Marie would play at Cabbegetown Cafe.  The Four Seasons Korean BBQ has been there for over 20 years and it's been too long since I had the tofu bokum.  But in all that time going there, and walking past it and Fontana's across from it, I never noticed the brick work at the top until the other day when a railing for security during a roofing job appeared.

   The Breeze Apartments at the former Ithaca Gun location are well underway.  There's a project that only took 15 years to get started.

Some Siblings

  Pat sent me a picture of us with Janet and Mary Ellen.  That is so familiar, it seems like it could have been just a few years ago.

  The next, next generation are growing just as fast.  Declan and Dori are proving that.

  Brian and Brett sporting shirts honoring their grandfather who wrote a comic strip in the last century.  Sadly, Brett died in December, he was a good friend when we were growing up and I was fortunate to see him occasionally as we aged.

  And a couple sisters I was fortunate to know when they were in high school, Tin Cho on her first Christmas break from college and Nano still living in her parents basement. 

Merry Christmas

 

  We had a quiet Christmas on Columbia St.  The neighbors have a traditional open house and we went over for a couple hours.  I got a cookie from a student when her class decorated them.  And Santa switched up the mode of travel this year.

A Good Ski Run

 Winter made a timely entrance this year. Snow fell heavier than expected on Friday after school ended for 11 days and I made an effort to get out and ski at the break of winter on Saturday.  Timing is everything.

  The first ski of the season on South Hill revealed a surprising new development: someone (not me) has cleared the old rail bed behind the houses on Kendal Ave.  I haven't checked with the Town Parks Dept. yet, but it seems like large equipment was needed and they have it.  Maybe it was to increase access to college kids on Kendal to have a more direct route to Second Dam?

  She's still around.  Probably old enough to have a fawn this year.  About 1% of deer express the gene necessary for this.

  You've heard of ice wine and cider, now get ready for ice hot sauce.

  Took a drive to the Arboretum for a spin around the grounds, and then checked out the Dryden Rail Trail to Rt. 13 and saw signs of progress on the north side of the highway.  

  Since the snow was on the thin side, Gail wore her rock skis.

  My new coworker, Bailey, is a skier and lives near the Burns Rd. end of the Rec Way so we met there and I showed her some of the trails in the woods.  She survived.

 
  Alas, the snow melted and precipitation turned to rain.  I went out in it to tend to the trails that had some obstructions.

  Out in Caroline, Andy and I were able to cut a tree that fell across a trail.  He didn't think we could do it using my folding saw, but we got it done.  I've been told that Connie went by later and was able to get the trunk to stand up straighter.

Gone to the Dogs

 

 

Roxy had a good spin around the Secret Dog Park.  In addition to getting to run a bit, she feasted on several frozen watermelon rinds.

I approve of the new signs at Cornell Natural Areas.  No word on how enforcement is going and I haven't seen if any are available for Ithaca city natural areas.  I'll keep you posted.

A Bit of Snow

  The first snowstorm of the year hit just a bit outside of Ithaca.  We'd been so dry, getting a couple inches of rain was almost as good as 17'' of snow.  Andy's heart held up shoveling the weighty stuff.

  It was just a short walk up the hill to find some snow, though it was so wet, it was more like white rain.

  It took me just a little too long to get out there to ski.  Most of it had melted, but where there was still snow on the ground, the conditions were quite good.

  Surprisingly, enough snow fell out in the hills again the following week and Gail and I both got to enjoy some skiing when the conditions were much better.  On top of that, Andy and I made it all the way to the Summerland Farm Preserve and back before it warmed up too much to spoil the conditions.  Hoping this is an indication snow will be more present this winter compared to last.  It would be even better if it doesn't melt after a few days.

 
    A special highlight on top of skiing was the bird sightings.  On Saturday, we were all treated to seeing four short-eared owls fly out of some pine trees together.  I got a not-terrible picture of a single one.  Andy and I had an added treat when we heard a flock of 30+ sandhill cranes.  I'm not sure the picture qualifies as a not-terrible picture, but it was pretty cool to see and hear them.