Frigid Friday!

(N.B. I've changed the "Link" color back to a dark blueish gray.)

From WKTV Channel 2

"Arctic Icebox Reaches Central NY."

Today: Partly sunny, very cold, with lake effect snow mainly south and west of Utica, with minor accumulations. Wind chill values -10 to -25. High 7
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Low 0
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with light snow. High 25 Low 11

It's -4.9 degrees at 7:00 A.M.

Here are the daytime temperatures as forecast by AccuWeather.

If this holds true, it'll be up to a whopping 6 degrees

when the

ANNUAL GIVE AWAY

opens at 10:00 A.M.
(photos to follow!)

and

10 degrees in the late afternoon

when it'll be time to drive to the American Legion

for the

FINAL JANUARY FISH FRY

4:30 - 7:30.

The last two weekly dinners have sold out, so don't be late!

I had a nice long E-mail, yedsterday, from Marjorie and Willis Barnes’ son Tom, who lives in Collinsville, Connecticut, and who published two books about Kate Loftus Welch - the “Poet of Forge Hollow” - a few years ago. He sent the following notes:

“According to our friend Kate, if we were back in the 1920’s, this is the time when there would be: ‘many pheasants with brilliant plumage, Frosted Trees, Perfect sleighing, the sounds of bells incessant. Ice cutting at the Waterman Pond, Loads of logs for the Waterman Mill, Lime from Gibbons Kiln. Seed Catalogs. Only horses that are sharp shod venturing abroad.’ Ten species of winter birds common in the valley: ‘Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Down Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Brown Creeper, Junco, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Tree Sparrow and English Sparrow with a few others appearing now and then: Flicker, Goldfinch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Cedar Wax-wing, Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak. And perhaps flocks of Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs from the Arctic Circle.’ ”

I’ve not seen a pheasant in Winter in a long time, nor a Lapland Longspur, but all others on Kate’s list make local appearances and, down in Whiskey Hollow, the Browns once again have two Carolina Wrens wintering with them and a Barred Owl can be heard “barking” at night.

The writer wonders if anyone can tell us where Waterman's Pond and Mill were located?