I've written several times about visits to the Ipswich River Audubon Sanctuary. It has become one of our very favorite places and we keep going back. I have been wanting to make a winter visit to see it in the snow. When I learned they were having a Groundhog Day celebration for kids yesterday, I signed up immediately.
The program was really good. There was a short presentation indoors at the start where the kids learned lots of cool facts (there are only three true hibernators in Massachusetts: groundhogs, jumping mice and little brown bats; hibernating groundhogs lower their heart rate to 6 beats per minute and their body temperature to 37F and cannot be woken up; bears are torpid in the winter but are not true hibernators). Then we went out in the snow in search of Topsfield Tim (the local version of Punxsutawney Phil). We found him in a snow burrow and he told us even more about groundhogs. When we were done talking to Tim we went to some other snowbanks and the kids took a stab at building their own burrows. We ended by visiting the bird garden and learned about small animal tracks in the snow, and we were joined by a gorgeous red-bellied woodpecker.
Of course after the program we knew we were going to try to hike to The Rockery. The snow is pretty deep so we weren't sure we could get there in just boots. We fueled up with lunch in the car and then headed out. Fortunately the many snowshoers had packed the trail enough that we could walk without sinking.
The Rockery was pretty cool in the snow. Audrey made snow slides between the boulders and did some trail-breaking through deep snow. Charlotte was quite a trooper and enjoyed the snow that was half as deep as she is tall.
After the Rockery we made our usual loop around Rockery Pond. We came across a deer that had been recently devoured. It was just a rib cage and spine plus two complete front legs and two stripped to the bone rear legs in a tramped down area of blood-stained snow. The stomach had been left nearby, along with segments of the tail. It was sort of gruesome but also fascinating. Charlotte has no qualms about such things (she closely examined the chipmunk Tessa killed last summer) and wanted to look for a long time. Audrey, on the other hand, was pretty traumatized by the scene. I think she was partially fearful that the coyotes (the presumed predators) would do the same thing to her. Understandable.
Not too long after that we encountered two women who were feeding birds from their hands and they kindly gave Audrey some seed. They saved our day. The joy of having chickadees and nuthatches land on her hand diminished the trauma of the deer carcass.
As we hiked back toward the car I picked Audrey up to hug her like I often do. All that pillowy snow beside the trail gave me an idea and I threw Audrey into it. She loved that, so it became a game and I tossed both girls into the snow many times each (see the video).
The girls also decided they would like to try snowshoeing. Carol and I have snowshoes. Now we'll have to get some kids' models. It's great that they are getting old enough to try things like snowshoeing!
Ipswich River is really a magical place for me personally. Every time I go there I feel calm and joyful and wonderful. It's a combination of the natural beauty and feeling good about getting the girls out in nature. I always come away from our visit with a glow. Yesterday that effect was even stronger than usual.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Very Snowy January
We've received about 39 inches of snow this month. The record for January is 43 inches so we won't quite get there, but it's still a lot of snow. We've had a big snow in the middle of each week of the month; the biggest was about 15 inches and the smallest was about 8 inches. The girls' schools have had four snow days.
When we get big snows that often, and with no thawing in between, we run out of places to put it all. They bring out construction equipment and pile the snow up on street corners. The pile at the bottom of our street is about 9-10 feet tall. The piles next to our driveway entrance are more than 5 feet tall. The sidewalks are trenches.
Carol has been enjoying the snow days with the girls. She's come up with fun indoor activities for the kids when they aren't out playing in the snow. One day they made snow sculpture. Another we all made paper bag puppets.
On most of the snow days I have also chosen to work from home because it would take forever to get to work on delayed public transit. The projects for the girls keep them in a separate room from me so I can actually work. After a couple of hours of snow blowing and shoveling, anyway.
All of the houses have huge icicles on them and ice dams. Ice dams can be a problem if they back meltwater up onto the roof such that it goes under the shingles and into the house. If the roof was installed properly it should be fine (with a sheet of waterproof material under the bottom 3 feet of shingles). So far, so good on our house. The main ice dam area on our house would be very difficult to access so I'm checking the attic and hoping for the best. I recently learned about a device called a roof rake and everyone in the neighborhood has borrowed our neighbor Victor's rake to clear as much snow as possible from their roofs.
I won't be riding my bike to work for a while. The roads are very narrow with huge snowbanks on both sides. There is barely room for two cars to pass each other on most roads and drivers would get very impatient to pass a cyclist.
We've had some fun activities on the weekend. We've made a couple more visits to the Museum of Science which the girls always enjoy. Last weekend we attended the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra's Family Concert which was followed by an instrument petting zoo. Audrey and Charlotte really enjoyed the music. One piece was "Peter and the Wolf" with the story narrated by a local NPR station's announcer.
We're supposed to get another storm in the middle of this week, just to keep up the pattern. They don't have a clear idea of how much yet. Let's just say that our winter vacation to Tucson, AZ and Palm Desert, CA in a few weeks is going to be very welcome.
When we get big snows that often, and with no thawing in between, we run out of places to put it all. They bring out construction equipment and pile the snow up on street corners. The pile at the bottom of our street is about 9-10 feet tall. The piles next to our driveway entrance are more than 5 feet tall. The sidewalks are trenches.
Carol has been enjoying the snow days with the girls. She's come up with fun indoor activities for the kids when they aren't out playing in the snow. One day they made snow sculpture. Another we all made paper bag puppets.
On most of the snow days I have also chosen to work from home because it would take forever to get to work on delayed public transit. The projects for the girls keep them in a separate room from me so I can actually work. After a couple of hours of snow blowing and shoveling, anyway.
All of the houses have huge icicles on them and ice dams. Ice dams can be a problem if they back meltwater up onto the roof such that it goes under the shingles and into the house. If the roof was installed properly it should be fine (with a sheet of waterproof material under the bottom 3 feet of shingles). So far, so good on our house. The main ice dam area on our house would be very difficult to access so I'm checking the attic and hoping for the best. I recently learned about a device called a roof rake and everyone in the neighborhood has borrowed our neighbor Victor's rake to clear as much snow as possible from their roofs.
I won't be riding my bike to work for a while. The roads are very narrow with huge snowbanks on both sides. There is barely room for two cars to pass each other on most roads and drivers would get very impatient to pass a cyclist.
We've had some fun activities on the weekend. We've made a couple more visits to the Museum of Science which the girls always enjoy. Last weekend we attended the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra's Family Concert which was followed by an instrument petting zoo. Audrey and Charlotte really enjoyed the music. One piece was "Peter and the Wolf" with the story narrated by a local NPR station's announcer.
We're supposed to get another storm in the middle of this week, just to keep up the pattern. They don't have a clear idea of how much yet. Let's just say that our winter vacation to Tucson, AZ and Palm Desert, CA in a few weeks is going to be very welcome.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Audrey Loses Her First Teeth
Audrey can freak out about medical things. When she had strep a few weeks ago she fought us so hard when the doctor tried to get a throat swab that she threw up. This morning when Carol reminded Audrey that she'd be leaving school at noon to go to the dentist Audrey seemed to take it in stride. A good sign.
Carol reports that Audrey resisted a little during the Novocain injection (who doesn't?) and at the very first tug of the first tooth. But it was over before she knew it and Audrey did great. Carol says the dentist, who we were referred to by friends as the best pediatric dentist in the area, was fantastic.
We think Audrey may have been silently stressed about it (she knew it was coming) because she has been even more giddy than usual the whole afternoon. Now her permanent teeth can assume their proper position. Hopefully the rest of her baby teeth will come out on their own. Carol was also stressed about how it would go and is now greatly relieved.
Monday, January 17, 2011
January Nor'easter
Starting early Wednesday morning we had a classic Nor'easter. This is a common storm pattern in new England. A storm (or sometimes multiple storms combining) traverses the US mainland and turns northeast when it reaches the Atlantic. It spins up the coast and the center of the storm passes by us offshore. Since low pressure systems spin counterclockwise, the winds from such an offshore low blow from the northeast. Thus the name. They can bring a lot of precipitation any time of year, but in the winter when we often have a cold air mass from Canada sitting over us, those winds and that moisture from the ocean combine with the cold air to deliver a large amount of snow. We received about 15" at our house in about 12 hours on Wednesday. Parts of Massachusetts farther inland got more than 2'.
All of the schools and government offices in the state were closed Wednesday and the governor and Boston mayor encouraged everyone to stay home. My office was closed for the day. Pretty much everyone stayed put except the snowplow drivers.
The storm started at about 3:00 AM so by the time we all woke up at 7:30 there was already a lot of snow. We made Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast and stayed warm in the house watching it pile up outside. Finally at about noon we ventured out.
The snow was a little on the heavy side and perfect for building. I got the bright idea to build an igloo. Audrey helped for about 5 minutes and then went off to find something more fun to do. She became the tunneler. She and neighbor Parker dug a collection of snow caves all around the house. All the kids had fun struggling through the deep snow.
It took me about 4 hours to complete the igloo. After I finished I watched a video a friend sent me about how the Inuit build them. I did it completely wrong. Oh well. I also didn't have several feet of wind-packed arctic snow.
When we get that much snow they bring out the construction equipment to deal with it. The plows push it to the side of the road, but at intersections there is just too much of it. So front loaders come and collect the snow into huge piles. We have such piles at both ends of our block. They make great "mountains" for the kids to conquer.
Schools were closed again on Thursday but my office was open. It took me a while to get there with a late train that then had to stop for brake work.
The world looks very different with big snowbanks on both sides of every road and sidewalk. It looks like I won't be riding my bike to work for a few days.
All of the schools and government offices in the state were closed Wednesday and the governor and Boston mayor encouraged everyone to stay home. My office was closed for the day. Pretty much everyone stayed put except the snowplow drivers.
The storm started at about 3:00 AM so by the time we all woke up at 7:30 there was already a lot of snow. We made Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast and stayed warm in the house watching it pile up outside. Finally at about noon we ventured out.
The snow was a little on the heavy side and perfect for building. I got the bright idea to build an igloo. Audrey helped for about 5 minutes and then went off to find something more fun to do. She became the tunneler. She and neighbor Parker dug a collection of snow caves all around the house. All the kids had fun struggling through the deep snow.
It took me about 4 hours to complete the igloo. After I finished I watched a video a friend sent me about how the Inuit build them. I did it completely wrong. Oh well. I also didn't have several feet of wind-packed arctic snow.
When we get that much snow they bring out the construction equipment to deal with it. The plows push it to the side of the road, but at intersections there is just too much of it. So front loaders come and collect the snow into huge piles. We have such piles at both ends of our block. They make great "mountains" for the kids to conquer.
Schools were closed again on Thursday but my office was open. It took me a while to get there with a late train that then had to stop for brake work.
The world looks very different with big snowbanks on both sides of every road and sidewalk. It looks like I won't be riding my bike to work for a few days.
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