Day 15.355: Fun and games

We spent the evening and saw the New Year in with our neighbors. It was a blast - Jackbox games and a couple of rounds of Human Era interspersed with conversation, snacks, drinks and a toasting of the arrival of 2023. 

Day 15.354: Cracking ice and cracking ice

The main attraction of our loop in Ferry Beach State Park yesterday was the ice - in some places there was enough trapped air etc. to see how deep it was:

In the swamp there were amazing swirly patterns (stress perhaps from the various trees and boardwalk supports?):

This one also showed how high the water level had been when this ice formed:

The thing we noticed the most were the loud cracks as the ice shifted. We thought it was heavy equipment at first. I didn't catch the loudest sounds, but this video will give a little flavor (at around 7 seconds - sound on!):

Day 15.353: The beach and Ferry Beach

Exile #4 joined Exile #2 and me for a walk on the beach this morning. We did a loop in Ferry Beach State Park before returning. Here are a few pictures:

The three of us on the beach

Looking across to the lighthouse on Wood Island

Sandy beach and scattered clouds

Exile #4 and Exile #2 on the boardwalk in the Tupelo Swamp

Exile #4 and Exile #2 in silhouette on the reflective beach

Day 15.352: What we saw at Fuller Farm

Where we parked we could only see the back of this new structure - we were surprised to find what it contained - not the information we were anticipating. A lost-and-found perhaps, or - as Exile #2 suggested - an emergency hat, "Break glass in case of cold head!"

Some very glass-like ice:

The waterfall was frozen, this was the way the ice was forming at the top:

...part way down:

...and at the bottom:

It was hard to get a good angle of the falls as a whole - this was the best I did:

In terms of birds, all we had seen were two blue jays that flew past us until we were nearly back to the car. Then I saw a robin and a few unidentified birds. They turned out to be cedar waxwings and bluebirds. The photo also revealed why this particular bush was a popular location for them.

Day 15.351: Fuller Farm

Three of us ventured out to Fuller Farm this afternoon. Exile #4 was keen to see if any of the ice would break. I was fascinated by how you could see - in places - how deep the flood waters were when the first ice formed. It was also very beautiful.

We didn't walk across the meadow but enjoyed the views from the edges

Ice testing

Two shelves of ice well above the current water level

The three of us

We think this boardwalk on the western side of the meadow must be new

Ice stranded well above the current water

Bonus - Exile #4 in action (and giggling): video

We saw some other interesting things - but that can wait for another post.

Day 15.350: Observed

We had another fun day today - including a game of Reindeer Hoopla:

Day 15.349: Christmas: fun, food, fire

We had a lovely day - gifts, family video calls, games (this one was a raucous game of Happy Salmon) and food (including setting the pudding on fire of course).

Day 15.348: Merry Christmas #16

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Day 15.347: Wild

I woke up at around 5 am to the sounds of strong winds starting to pull at our roof and threaten to overturn anything not very secure outside. And so it continued for most of the day. Weirdly warm for the time of year, heavy rain and very strong winds. A couple of trees fell in the woods just behind our house but apart from that we have avoided any serious ill effects so far. Others nearby have been less lucky with significant flooding, wind damage and lots of power outages. 

This evening the temperature started to drop rapidly and I took this to record that some snow had survived even though most had - not surprisingly been washed away by the warm rain. 

A few minutes later it started to snow and everything is in the process of turning white again. 

Day 15.346: A hairy close encounter

When we were at Gilsland Farm a couple of weeks ago, we were amazed at this hairy woodpecker that was going about its business within a few feet of us and other observers. I don't think I've ever considered woodpeckers to be particularly skittish, but we've never seen one this close before.

Day 15.345: Advent with the birds

Our church’s Advent theme has been the dawn chorus and one of the activities was to cut out these birds and make ornaments from them, we decided to combine them with the Scrabble-tile ornaments Exile #2 made some time ago with the appropriate words on them for the weeks of Advent. 

 

Day 15.344: Cookie; Holiday show

I’m currently in the middle of editing the video for the winter dance show. This was a lovely thank-you on the day - a spectacular decorating job. Since it was gluten free, I could share it with Exile #2 as well.