Jay Gaulard

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Archives for December 2008

Snow Removal With Backpack Leaf Blower

It’s snowing again.

I woke up this morning with a great idea. Since this snow is cold and fluffy, what’s stopping me from using my handy dandy backpack leaf blower to clear off the front walk and steps? Absolutely nothing, that’s what.

I decided to go outside and give it a try. I pulled the backpack blower off the wall and rested it on the ground. Then, I went outside and took some “before” pictures.

Snow covered front walkway

Snow covered front steps

At the time of these photos, I would estimate there being about 3 inches of snow on the ground.

I started up the backpack blower and put it on my back. I only hung it on one shoulder because I really didn’t want to commit to the entire project. I had no idea how it was going to turn out.

I started blowing off the sidewalk and the bushes. About halfway down the walkway, I was totally snow covered. I plowed on and finished up what I was going. Here, take a look at these “after” shots.

Cleared walkway

Cleared front steps

I guess the reason I am writing this is to warn you not to use your backpack leaf blower to clear off your walkway. You will get snow covered and cold. I will say that it does a tremendous job at cleaning the snow off the bushes, which would otherwise suffer damage without being cleaned. Also, I may give the blower a shot at the back deck and stairs. Those are always a real pain in the butt to do with a shovel.


Tennis Balls In Dryer For Static Control

Many of you may have noticed that it’s winter. Yes, the good ‘ol freezing cold air is back. If you aren’t enjoying the air, maybe you’ll get a kick out of clothes that almost electrify you. I’m talking about static, folks. Yes, static.

I have these long Nike warm-up pants that I sometimes wear when I am playing tennis. They are pretty cool and crazy comfortable. I used to wear them in the summer sometimes until I realized that while they were cool looking, they weren’t all too cool on my legs. My legs are at the pinnacle of muscular perfection and insist on being able to breathe.

Since it started getting colder outside, I have been wearing my warm-up pants more often. I would wear them every time I play tennis, but I am being inhibited by one issue – static electricity.

I am not kidding when I tell you that I have shown up to the tennis club with these stupid pants completely stuck to my legs. I stand there laughing while I try to pull them away from me like that lady on the static commercial on TV. You know the one…she is grabbing at her skirt, trying to get it straight. Yeah, right. Good luck with that.

It gets even worse when I actually start playing tennis. For those of you who haven’t been to an indoor tennis facility, I’ll tell you that there is a very fine layer of “tennis ball dust” covering almost the entire floor. This dust is really the neon yellow fibers that come off the tennis ball when it is hit by a racquet. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that all that tennis ball dust is eventually going to find its way onto my magnetic pants. It’s a wonder I still wear them at all. By the time I am finished playing, my pants are covered with yellow from my knees down.

Needless to say, I hate static.

I’ll tell you one more story before I get to the point.

I have this nice black zipper up fleece that I bought from L.L. Bean a few weeks ago. It’s a very handsome fleece and I really like it. Actually, I did like it until I washed it. You should have seen my eyes when I pulled this thing out of the dryer. Forget about the lint catcher, my fleece caught all the lint. The fleece is pretty much unwearable now. I don’t know what I am going to do about it.

To deal with this problem, I started looking at anti-static remedies online. I went through the traditional fabric softener and dryer sheet thing, but I didn’t think that would really work. There were a bunch of people out there that said they had no luck with dryer sheets on fleece. They said that nothing works. Not cool when you have three cats adding to the problem.

I also came across those reusable dryer balls. I think they are made of rubber or something. People said they had mixed emotions about them, but there was a consensus about putting tennis balls in the dryer with your clothes to reduce wrinkles and static. Since I have an ample supply of tennis balls, I decided to give it a shot.

Tennis balls in dryer

I did a few washes and dried the clothes with the tennis balls. Of course, Laura didn’t try this home remedy with her clothes. She lost faith in my laundry capabilities (and tips) long, long ago. Let’s just say there have been some issues. I believe I don’t need to explain any further, because anyone out there who lives with someone, surely knows of the damage one can cause in the laundry room. Especially, when that someone has an imagination like mine. Just look at me trying to blow snow with a backpack blower in the next post.

I have some good news and some bad news, and I’ll give you the bad news first. My fleece still has visable lint all over it, even when I washed it with only dark stuff. The good news is, the rest of the laundry is almost static free and virtually has no wrinkles. I used to have a wrinkle problem, but since I started using the tennis balls, no more wrinkles. I think that’s fabulous. Also, the rest of the clothes seem to be really lint free.

So, my conclusion is that tennis balls work in the dryer to help out with static reduction, wrinkle reduction and lint reduction. What works on a handsome black fleece? Who knows. If you know, trust me, my ears are open.


What’s In A Tennis Game Anyway?

After a little break from playing tennis, I am back at it. I played last night and again this morning. I’m a little sore.

I didn’t think I would ever get back, with the way things were headed. I remember missing one clinic for one reason or another, and then the snow hit. Come the holidays and my schedule was all messed up. Personally, I’ll play tennis on Christmas morning, it’s everyone else who wants some time off. Oh, they probably want to play too, they just aren’t telling anyone.

I lost the match last night and two tie-breakers this morning. When this happens and I’m on the court, I hang my head in shame. I make up all sorts of excuses and increase my level of smack talk. This is all just to mess with my competitor’s head. Even though I look like I’m upset, I’m really not. You see, I have a method to my madness and I’ll tell you what it is.

When I play tennis, I play to lose. What? Seriously. I play tennis to get better and if I’m not hitting the ball with all my heart and missing my target, I’ll never be able to hit the ball with all my heart and hit my target. Practice makes perfect. Well, in tennis, no one will ever be perfect, especially not me.

Let me use a little a little analogy to help explain. Say I was a race car driver and I practiced all the time. Now say that the usual speed of a car race is 200MPH. If I practiced at 40MPH, I would never win a real race. Got it?

I do miss a lot of shots though and that’s what usually makes me lose. It doesn’t help that my partner runs every night and he can get to every damn ball I put over the net. He has a nasty habit of now hitting to my forehand (my weak stroke). He fears my backhand…that’s right, FEARS it. And he should.

Tennis ball

This is a tennis ball that I have kept for a while. It rolls around the back seat in the car. I’m not sure why I keep it. Paul might recognize it from when we used to play catch in the office.

I have an issue with losing steam during the second set. It happened last night and it happened today towards the end of the clinic. When it happens, I completely lose whatever motivation I had to play. There was only one time where I kicked butt all the way through and that was when I ate dinner and two candy bars and then played. All that juice kept me going. I am going to start doing that more.

“It’s the little things that make all the difference.”

That’s what I said today, while trying to improve my forehand. My buddy said, “You know that’s true. That applies to a bunch of things in life too.” We are very introspective while on the court.

Oh, tennis is one of those games. If you love it as much as I do, you’ll know what it feels like to never be satisfied. It’s like I said today, if I keep losing, then I only have one place to go from here…up.


Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

One of these days, I am going to stop writing about beer. Then, you guys are all going to come crawling back, begging for my famous beer posts. Until that day, I will continue writing.

Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale is a very fine ale that I found in my recently purchased holiday 12 pack. I was actually trying to avoid this beer, because I usually don’t like ale, but I figured I would give it a go ahead this time around.

I’m tellin’ ya, this is a great tasting beer. The spices the fellas over at Sam Adams put in really wake this one up. As far as regular ales go, I think they are rather light. To me, it’s like drinking a Coors. Fezziwig Ale has a full body and a great finish. How do you like that?

Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Here is what Beer Advocate thinks about it. They gave it a B+ with 676 reviews. I would give it a B+ too.


Baby It’s Dark Outside

I just got off the phone with my brother. It’s like talking to myself. No, he doesn’t always copy me, he’s just a lot like me. Or, I’m a lot like him. He’s a few years older, but I’m taller, so I call him “little brother.”

Anyway, we were talking about how damn dark it is outside. I almost screamed. He gets an extra half hour of light at the end of the day, but that wasn’t what I was getting mad at. I was hating the dark – period. What is up with this? Why don’t the “people in charge” just give us daylight savings time all year round? I mean, seriously, who would care?

I was telling him that my ideal situation would be mowing the lawn at 9PM. Now, that’s what I’m talking about. I want it to get dark at around 10PM. I want to be drinking a beer, watching the sun go down when all the little kiddies in the town have been asleep for an hour already.

These days feel so short. I know they’re not, but what in the world am I supposed to do with all this darkness? My logical mind tells me to find something to do in the dark. Yeah, right. What does everyone else do? That’s what I’d like to know. What in the world does everyone in this world do during winter? Is it me, or is the vast majority of our population sitting on the couch from 6PM to 11PM watching TV to only fall asleep a few minutes later? Does it feel like ground hog day all winter for everyone?

Boy, I’m on a tear tonight. I think it’s because when I got off the phone, the clock read 9:56PM. I thought it was around 7PM. Almost 3 hours of my life just disappeared. I’m not going to get those hours back folks, and I blame this darkness for it.

Sunshine, I know I cursed you in the summer, but I’m sorry. I want you back. Please give me another chance.


Christmas Dinner At The Mayflower Inn

We did it. We really did it. For the first time in our lives, we didn’t exchange Christmas gifts. It was a bold (and more difficult than expected) move, but one that we thought we needed to do.

If you haven’t noticed, the exchanging of Christmas gifts has…well, lost something throughout the years. I notice it more and more as time goes on. Throughout each year, we seem to take quite good care of ourselves, which leaves little to be desired towards the holiday seasons. Instead of falling into the cyclical trap again this year, we decided that it would be best to enjoy a relaxing evening together. No presents, no stress, no guilt. All we wanted was to go someplace nice for a quiet dinner to talk amongst ourselves.

That is exactly what we did.

Last night, I decided to make this one of those really long posts. When I woke up this morning, I felt the same way. There really is so much to write. As I sit now typing away, I think I am going to cut it short. The reason I am going to do this is because I have quite a few pictures, and I don’t really want to dilute my message; the message about our dinner. Perhaps I will discuss our trip through Southbury, Woodbury and Washington another day. I’ll still include the few photos I took of those areas in this post though.

Okay, so we took off around 4PM for our 6PM reservation at the Mayflower Inn in Washington, CT. Washington, CT is probably most famous for the Mayflower Inn and the Gunnery. The Gunnery is a private 9-12 private school and is located across the street from the Mayflower. When I look at the area on Live Maps, I always confuse the two, because of the similar architecture of their main buildings.

The ride was pretty non-eventful getting out of the Hartford area. One thing I did notice was a ski mountain that I never knew existed. It’s right next to where 691 intersects with Interstate 84. I’ll have to find out the name to that one. We made it through Waterbury and got off the Southbury (Rt.6) exit.

Now, this drives Laura absolutely nuts. A long time ago, we drove over to Southbury, CT to check out a motorcycle I thought I wanted to buy. It was dark outside, but the location has been festering in my mind ever since. The area was really nice and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. We drove around a bit last night, but I could tell that I was boring my lady, so I stopped the search. This all happened on our way back, so we were probably more interested in getting one the highway anyway.

Either way, the Southbury, Woodbury, Washington area is really fun to drive through. Woodbury is antique central and offers those great sidewalks that sit back from the road. It’s a great walking town and is truly New England. It sort of reminds me of Ridgefield, CT. Washington is situated so far back in the woods, it actually hard to find. If you are wealthy and privacy is your middle name, Washington is your town.

We have been to Washington many times, but have never taken Washington Road from Woodbury to get there. Let me tell you, it was quite the trip. At one point, I didn’t think the mountain we were climbing would ever end. It doesn’t matter which way you get there (from New Milford, Brookfield, New Preston or Woodbury), you are bound to drive through some pretty tight roads. The darkness of winter doesn’t help much. The good part about the trip is that when you finally arrive, it is usually a pleasant surprise. It never gets old and there is always something new to discover.

We pulled in the parking lot of the Mayflower Inn at about 5:20PM. I snagged a sweet parking spot right up front and we climbed out of the car to head inside. The first thing I did once we got out of the car was to pull out the camera. I took a quick shot of the walkway going up to the spa.

Mayflower Inn walkway

What’s very nice about the Mayflower is the service. I don’t think we have ever been there and haven’t had the front door opened for us. Although, all of the “Hello”s, “Merry Christmas”s and “Can I get you something”s puts me a little on edge. It is really very welcoming, but being the home town boy that I am, I am just used to doing it myself. It’s still hard for me to let anyone do anything for me, even if it is their job.

Since we were a bit early, we decided to head straight for the library. I mentioned my love for the library in one of my previous posts. I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I’m sure the fireplace, warm colors and cozy seat below the large window helps. I took a few pictures of it, since I knew you would be just dying to see what I am talking about.

Mayflower Inn library

My favorite seat - under the window

Looking in the library from the porch

Mayflower Inn library

It felt great to relax in there for a little while. The best part was that no one in the entire inn came into the library when we were there, before and after dinner.

After checking out some books for a few minutes, we wandered over to the bar area, where we ordered a Samuel Adams Oatmeal Stout and a Victory Donnybrook Stout. I liked the Outmeal Stout, while Laura enjoyed the Victory Stout. That may have been because those are the ones we chose.

We sat and talked for a while and decided to do a little exploring. We got up and walked out to the porch. It’s a bit odd walking around on a completely heated porch in the middle of winter, but really cool at the same time. The inn encased the entire porch in double paned glass to keep it heated and cooled year round. There were tables and chairs set up for the entire span.

Mayflower Inn porch

Mayflower Inn porch

After we wandered around for a little while, I decided to go back up front to grab a few quick shots. Dinner was about to begin, so I had to put the camera away. Here is what I got.

Mayflower Inn lobby, staircase and Christmas tree

Room leading to the library

Mayflower Inn staircase and Christmas tree

Sitting and relaxing room

Okay, I got that out of the way, so we were ready for dinner. We walked in the to main dining room and sat at our usual table. It’s the one in the right, rear corner. During the day, you can look out the window at the garden. At night time, you face the seats so you are looking at the rest of the dining room.

I am not going to say much about dinner, except the fact that it was delicious. The only complaint that I had is that I couldn’t have another…everything. The dessert was especially annoying to finish. I kept scraping the plate with my spoon in an effort to get every last bit. It was good. It’s rare to find food that good, it really is.

About an hour and a half later, we left the dinging room to head back to the library. Once we got back in, Laura spent her time browsing the walls for some good books to flip through. My eyes kept wandering around to see how the fireplace worked and how everything was put together. At one point, I picked up a few books myself. I found a set of really neat books called, “The Historians’ History of the World.” These books were very thick and very ancient. By ancient, I mean 100 years, not a million. I decided that someone should buy me the set of these; they looked very interesting. It would make for some good bed-time reading.

If you’ll notice, I didn’t drink a glass of Scotch. That might be because I haven’t found my flavor yet or because I didn’t want to smell like a bottle of liquor while driving down the road. Either are good excuses.

After a while, we decided it was time to head up to Washington and take a little tour. We got in the car and made a right out of the parking lot. We made it to the top of the hill and didn’t see a soul. It’s a very quiet and well behaved town on Christmas night, I suppose. We made a quick left, when I thought we should turn around. As I was turning, I looked to my left and saw an enormous church. I had to take a picture of it, so you would see what I am talking about.

The First Congregational Church, Washington, CT

Now, this is a serious church. They aren’t messing around. This is like the “center of town” church. I thought it looked really cool, especially being that is was Christmas night.

We continued down the hill to pass the entrance to the Gunnery…

The Gunnery, Washington, CT

After that, we made a few wrong turns, but eventually made it back out to the main road.

I’m almost done, but there is one other photo I took that is pretty neat. On the way back, we passed by the Woodbury Ski Area. Now, you know me and I can’t pass up an opportunity to take a picture of something so lit up as this. Here is a shot of some night time skiing.

Woodbury Ski Area

Well, there aren’t many people skiing, but I am sure you can imagine what it would be like if there was.

That’s my Chirstmas post. I hope you liked it as much as we liked living it. Till next time…


Samuel Adams Winter Classic

I think that’s what it’s called. I burned the box last night after we put the beer in the refrigerator, so I’m not quite sure. What I do know is that there are 12 beers total, two of each winter classic.

This isn’t my Christmas post. Unfortunately, that will have to wait for tomorrow, since we just got back a few minutes ago. I wanted to quickly get on so I could write about two tasty new beers we tried last night on Christmas eve.

Okay, so we went food shopping last night. We thought that would be a good idea, because no one else on earth couldn’t possibly be out on Christmas eve. Wrong. It seems that everyone else was out. They were all at Whole Foods in Glastonbury. For the first time, we drove in the parking lot and had to actually drive back out and circle around to find a parking spot. We ended up parking at the bank next door. It was pouring rain, so we got a little wet walking over to the store. Yes, I know, this is just a continuation of yesterday’s post. I’ll get to the point.

Laura sent me over to get one of those boxes of clementines that seemingly are only available at Christmas. I thought that was a neat idea, so I agreed to the order. I was in the produce department already, which made hunting for these boxes all the easier. I walked to the back of the department, found some stacked 12-packs of Sam Adams Winter Classic beer, grabbed one and walked back to Laura. I didn’t even look at her. I just rested the box of beer on the edge of the cart and said that I couldn’t find the clementines. She really didn’t seem to mind because I think she had beer on the brain.

I asked a fine gentleman who was working in the produce area where the clementines were and he pointed over to the front of the store. We walked over, but since this post has absolutely nothing to do with clementines, I will move on.

When we got back to the house, Laura was kind enough to chill and open two bottles of beer. The first one was Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic and the second was Samuel Adams Holiday Porter. She poured half of each beer in two glasses and the other half in two more glasses. That way, we could both enjoy both types of beer.

Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic

Samuel Adams Holiday Porter

I must say, I really enjoyed tasting two different types of beer at the same time. It was like another mini tasting. I dug it.

Both beers were very good, but the Cranberry Lambic was a hint too fruity. If it just had a bit less sweetness to it, it would have been perfect. The Holday Porter was awesome…right up my alley. That’s my kind of beer. Neither of these beers were all too heavy, but they really hit the spot.

The beer, the sushi, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty The Snowman made for a wonderful evening.

Merry Christmas and be sure to stop back tomorrow. I am going to post all my pics of tonight dinner at the Mayflower Inn.


Johnnie Walker Red, Black and The Glenlivet

This post is dedicated to my good friend Robert, who, as it turns out, is a Scotch man.

The other day, I wrote a post telling you that we were planning on traveling over to the Mayflower Inn, in Washington, CT for Christmas dinner. In that post, I described how I was going to finish eating, order a nice Scotch and walk over to the library to look out the window. Well, just as luck would have it, my friend Rob read that post.

Just yesterday, Rob called me up and started talking about how much he likes Scotch whiskey. He asked what kind I prefer the most. I said, “I don’t.” “What do you mean? I thought you were going to drink Scotch after dinner on Christmas,” he replied. I said, “Yeah, I am, but I am not sure I have ever actually tasted Scotch.”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a long history tasting various types of whiskeys and I am sure I bumped into Scotch along the way, but for me to remember what I was actually drinking would be difficult. It’s been kind of a long ride. With that in mind, I thought it might be a good idea to study up on various whiskeys and even taste a few.

Today, Laura and I headed up to Whole Foods to get a bunch of delicious stuff to eat tonight. Oh man, we got sushi and various types of cheeses and all sorts of goodies. It’s going to be fun. When we finished shopping and loading the food into the car, Laura suggested that we cross the street and visit Glastonbury’s finest liquor store (or at least one of Glastonbury’s liquor stores). I agreed and we began walking across the street.

Upon taking two steps into the store, I was faced with two distinct boxes that had the name, “The Glenlivet” on them. I said, “Hey, that’s Rob’s favorite Scotch right there.” I was pretty surprised because I thought it would be a more challenging find. Guess not; I’m sure Christmas brings the expensive Scotch out front and center.

I picked up one of the boxes and started looking at it. Then, I picked up another brand that was resting close by. I kind of fell in love with the other brand because the bottle was in a really cool tube and it looked like an extremely clean piece of jewelry when I looked through it. It twinkled in my eye and was simply marvelous. I informed Laura that this bottle of Scotch was indeed the bottle that I intended to crack open when we got situated on the couch tonight. She jumped on board and walked with me to the counter to pay up.

When we reached the counter, I was forced into a quick decision making situation. Right behind the lady at the register was a whole shelf full of those little sample bottles of all different types of liquor. I thought, “Should I keep the one big bottle of Scotch that I had in my hand or should I get a few different types to try them out?” I especially needed to see if I liked them or not. I thought it would be a wise choice to put the big bottle back and grab a few of the little ones.

Here is what I bought…

Mini Scotch bottles

We walked back to the car and Laura could see the excitement on my face. It isn’t very often a man like me gets to find a new favorite thing to love. I was wondering if Scotch would be one of them.

When we got back to the house and after we unpacked the groceries, I couldn’t help but to stand the little bottles up on the counter next to each other. I did that and they looked really great. A few seconds later, I began thinking to myself that since they were all just standing there, they really should be opened for an official tasting. Laura is always right next to me for things like this. I believe she was just as curious.

I opened up all three bottles and picked up the Johnnie Walker Red. Now, Wikipedia tells me that this type of Scotch is meant for making mixed drinks. Oh well, because today it wasn’t going to be mixed. I brought the bottle close to my lips and when it was about an inch away, I immediately had a flashback. The flashback was of many, many moons ago. I won’t even got into it, but let me tell you that Johnnie Walked Red smells just like good ol’ Irish whiskey. Man, oh man.

I took a small sip and handed the bottle to Laura. I kind of shook my head a bit to get used to what I had just tasted. Laura took a sip and then we proceeded to try the Johnnie Walker Black and the Glenlivet. Laura immediately chose the Johnnie Walker Black as her favorite. I told her that I didn’t have a favorite because I really didn’t see myself continuing to drink any of them.

I don’t think Scotch is my drink. It reminds me way too much of whiskey, and whiskey was really never my thing. You might say, “Well Jay, Scotch is whiskey you idiot.” I might respond, “Yes I know that, but thank you for pointing out the obvious.”

We both gave the bottles another round and I informed Laura that if I had to choose a favorite, it would be a toss up between Johnnie Walker Black and the Glenlivet. They both seem to have more of a distinct taste and both offer different advantages.

We agreed that if we were to relax at an inn with a few good friends, Scotch would be perfect. If we were planning on staying over and were allowed to let the liquor work its wonders, Scotch would definitely bring us to the place we needed to be. I say this while recognizing that I am simply a boy who performed a very small Scotch taste test this afternoon.

I would like some feedback. I am sure there are many people reading this right now who have some pretty strong opinions on liquor, one way or another. Please fill me in on your favorites and what you choose to avoid. I am sincerely interested. I have come to embrace the fact that I am a sweet liquor kind of guy. I have a bottle of blackberry Brandy on the kitchen counter that has been serving me well. I love after dinner drinks, so I guess I will stick to what I like.


A Winter Walk In The Woods

I can officially call it winter now that it’s the 22nd. It feels like just a few weeks ago that I had sweat dripping off my face from working outside. Now, sweat is just a distant memory.

When I woke up this morning, I noticed a blue sky peeking through the little half circle window above the closed shades in the bedroom. I was pretty happy because every time it’s sunny during these “dark” months, you pretty much have to take advantage of it. Being trapped inside a house during a very snowy weekend can get on your nerves. Not that it isn’t beautiful outside, it’s just that seeing the same walls over and over again can take its toll.

I decided that today would be a great day to take Holly down into the woods to go for a walk. Since Holly is a Nordic dog, I figured that she would jump at the chance to bounce around in the deep snow. The plan was to hike down the hill behind the house, cross the walking trail, climb over the rock wall and continue down to the river. Maybe Holly could get a quick drink while we were there and then we would figure out a way to get back up that steep, snowy hill. That was the plan.

I went downstairs to get Holly, who was asleep on the warm basement floor. I said, “C’mon Holly…c’mon,” while slapping my hand against my leg. She kind of just lifted her head to look at me. Then, I started jumping around so she would get the message. Holly isn’t the best listener, so it takes a bit of theatrics to get her to do anything. Finally, she got up and followed me up the basement stairs and out the garage door, where I clipped her to her leash. I think she was starting to wake up, because she had a little pep in her step once we hit the driveway pavement.

To get Holly warmed up for the snow hike, I walked her up the driveway to the mailbox and back down to the edge of the woods. Once we were all set to enter the woods, I gave her a tug and jumped in myself. She followed me, but once her paws hit the snow and her body sank about a foot into it, she looked a bit discouraged. She glanced up at me with those, “No way, man” eyes. I wasn’t having that, so I started to tug on her leash a little more. We got about 50 feet into the woods and she stopped. She just stopped. Her head kept on leading back to the driveway. I stood there in utter disappointment. What had this dog turned into? Oh well, today is her birthday and she did just turn 14. I’ll give her a break.

We started heading back up the driveway and she began hopping in the snow. “Oh, so there’s all that energy,” I said. She was saving it to make sure she would make it back to that warm basement floor. She might need it to fall asleep again. Oh well. I brought her back inside and headed down into the woods myself.

Good thing I had my big boots and snow pants on. If I tried to hike around in anything else, I would have been totally covered in snow. We must have over a foot, because the white stuff was well past my shins and right below my kneecaps. It’s not fun when it hits the skin and starts to melt. Winter is all about dressing the right way. I figured that out a long time ago. Believe it or not, the second time I went skiing, I attempted to go down Mt. Snow in jeans. What an idiot. I’ll chalk that up to being an inexperienced youth.

I had my camera in my pocket and was ready to take some really beautiful shots of the New England woods after a snowstorm. I made it a bit down the hill to the treehouse. I figured I would take a few pictures of it to show you. I mentioned to Laura this morning that we should make a point of fixing it up this summer, just in case we ever wanted to sit up there and watch the woods. It’s situated in a nice little cluster of Hemlocks.

Treehouse in Hemlock trees

Treehouse in Hemlock trees

The treehouse is built very well and quite sturdy, so I don’t think we’ll have any problems maintaining it. Laura already climbed up there over the summer to peek out the window. I got about half way up and turned around. I few years ago, I would have been jumping up and down on top of the roof. What the heck happened to me?

I continued down the hill, across the hiking trail, all the way to the river. It’s really not that far, but when you are lifting your knees to your chest, trying to walk, it seems a lot further than it really is.

I made it to the river and took a few photos. This one was the best.

River leading into wetlands

The water wasn’t as active as it was a few days ago, after that huge rainfall we had. It was pretty calm today, but I’m sure we’ll see a change after the rain and warm weather that’s predicted for the next few days.

From there, I stopped to smell the figurative roses. It’s not every day I am able to stand, once again, in silence. It was really nice. There were no footprints anywhere, so I knew I was alone. I took a look around to see what I could take pictures of. It was kind of challenging, because there wasn’t a lot of substance. It’s hard to explain, but in the summer months, there are leaves, trees, flowers, animals, etc…to take pictures of. During winter, there is snow and wood. I did find a few things though…

Branch with buds

Looking into the sun

Small branch with ice on it

Tree branches in winter

Dried leaf with snow on it

Small tree in winter woods

At that point, I figured that I had enough pictures. Trust me, there were many more than what I am showing you, but so many didn’t come out the way I wanted them to. With many of them, I was experimenting with the various settings on the camera.

When my fingers started getting cold, I turned around to head up the hill.

If you have never seen this hill, I’ll tell you that it’s somewhat difficult walking up when there is no snow on the ground. When there is snow, it’s all the more fun. I made it about half way back up when I stopped at the treehouse again. I saw a few low hanging Hemlock branches, so I pulled the camera back to see what I could do with them.

Close up Hemlock branches

That was fun because the Hemlock is my all-time favorite tree.

As I rounded the crest of the hill and got closer to civilization, I felt the cold air against my face. I was using a lot of energy, but not sweating in the least. I continued to walk and thought to myself how beautiful winter and snow can really be. I spend so much of my time complaining about how I can’t go outside and plant things, that I overlook much of what this time of year has to offer. Today was a great day to get outside and remind me of that.

The last picture I took was of one of the Rhodedenrums out in front. It looked to good against the blue sky, I just couldn’t help myself.

Rhodedenrum against blue sky in winter


The Morning After The Snow

I guess it really isn’t the morning after the snow, because it’s still snowing. I think it’s supposed to stop today, but I heard last night that we can expect 4-6 more inches tomorrow. Holly, the Norwegian Elkhound (snow dog), just loves it.

Norwegian Elkhound

The minute she feels snow under the pads of her feet, she rolls around like crazy, giving those weird snorts that dogs give.

Typically, I would be a little upset at the whole situation. I was hoping to avoid any snow at all this year. But truthfully, I am having a blast. I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have to scrape anything off the cars and try to shovel around them. That was always a miserable task. Also, I don’t have to shovel the end of the driveway. I used to really hate that part of the ordeal.

Remember when I was telling you about how I thought we could shovel the entire driveway instead of buying a snowblower? Yeah, I must have been on crack. There is no way in the world I would have been physically able to shovel this driveway. No way at all. Even if I had a team of my best friends on the job, half of them would have quit.

By this point, I don’t have to tell you that the snowblower is da bomb. I was so proud of it this morning, I asked Laura to come outside and take some action shots of me. She took a whole bunch, but these are my more fashionable.

Clearing the first area of snow with the snowblower.

Sure beats a shovel.

Snowblower eating the snow for breakfast.

I did learn a few things while clearing the driveway this morning. First, blow the snow in the same direction as the wind. I nearly froze half my face by going against the wind once. Second, self propelled snowblowers are awesome. I loved watching those snow tires grab that pavement. No slip, no slide, no nothing.

That’s all I learned.

Go enjoy the snow. I’m outty.