Friday

It's 32.7 degrees.

I don't think that we had more than an inch or two of snow, overnight, but Kevin's already out with the sidewalk plow.


An article in this morning's Observer-Dispatch tells readers not to plan on going anywhere at all on Sunday! The writer must have gotten his/her information from WKTV.

• Friday: A few snow showers, especially north of Utica. Otherwise, breezy with clouds and some sun. High in the mid 30s.
• Friday night: Chance of a few snow showers early, otherwise partly cloudy and chilly. Low in the upper single digits to low teens.
• Saturday: Sun and clouds to start. Increasing clouds in the afternoon. High: 22, Low: 10
• Saturday Night: Snow arriving after 8 PM or so. Snow will become heavy at times after midnight. Significant accumulation possible toward morning.
• Sunday: Heavy snow likely with significant accumulation likely. Windy with near blizzard conditions at times. High: 16, Low: 12

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During yesterday's storm.
A "courageous courier" - in shirtsleeves, no less!

I was reminded of the old "neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night," which I thought was the motto of the United State Postal Service. But when I "Googled" that phrase, this morning, this is what I found:
"Many of us have heard the postal carriers' motto in one form or another. One popular version is 'Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds'.
The original saying was actually 'Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these courageous couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds' and was said about 2500 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus. He said this adage during the war between the Greeks and Persians about 500 B.C. in reference to the Persian mounted postal couriers whom he observed and held in high esteem.

Today many people believe this saying to be the U.S. Postal Service (U.S.P.S.) motto, but, in fact, is not their official slogan. According to the U.S.P.S. they have no slogan at all. The reason it has become identified with the U.S.P.S. is because back in 1896-97 when the New York City General Post Office was being designed, Mitchell Kendal, an employee for the architectural firm, McKim, Mead and White, came up with the idea of engraving Herodotus' saying all around the outside of the building.

The inscription was supplied by William Mitchell Kendall of the firm of McKim, Mead & White, the architects who designed the Farley Building and the original Pennsylvania Station in the same Beaux Arts style. Kendall said the sentence appears in the works of Herodotus and describes the expedition of the Greeks against the Persians under Cyrus, about 500 B.C. The Persians operated a system of mounted postal couriers, and the sentence describes the fidelity with which their work was done."

From that time on the saying has been associated with U.S. postal carriers.

(Source: Bob Cannon, Public Affairs and Communications Officer for the U.S. Postal Service in Boston, MA.)

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More pix as things happen!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

thursday Add-on

Now we're back in working order!

I had E-mail this morning from Jody Hildreth, who wrote: "I found some Pine Grosbeaks over in Sauquoit today."



"I put together a photopage at: PINE GROSBEAKS. Look for them around fruiting trees - especially crabapple trees. You can tell if they have been visiting by lookin under the tress. The Pine Grosbeak rips the flesh of the fruit apart only to eat the seeds inside. The fleshy fruit gets discarded on the ground. So, a tree with lots of small pieces of fruit undoubtedly has Pine Grosbeaks."

A blog-reader sent this to me saying that he prefers the New York State style of Tree Decoration more than that of Florida!

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Here are some pictures that I took, yesterday.
It was a "tree" day, for sure!

And the effect was grand! Apparently the wind had been blowing from the NW and the trunks of trees at Hanover Green all wore white stripes.


These trees, on the S. side of Route 20 W of Pleasant Valley Road, mark the Buckley Burying Ground. There are several stones there, but the only now readable is that of Ezra Buckley who died in October of 1843 at the age of 71 years.


The ancient Elm on Madison Street.

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But today it all looks different; it's snowing hard!


Click here for WIBX CANCELLATIONS

Even more at the Observer-Dispatch

where I found listed the

Sr. Winter Concert

- postponed until Monday at 7:30 P.M.

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At the corner of Barton and Putnam.


Barb was out on her regular walk, loving the snow.

Now here's a problem - or two: asked by more than a few villagers to "do something" about this, I parked at the top of Buell Avenue and, while waiting for the light to turn green, I turned on my camera. I had intended to take a picture of the bright lights in Dollar General's window - the lights that are driving drivers crazy after dark, blinding them so that they can't see the traffic signal - but saw another problem, as well: cars parked willy-nilly in front of the store and using the (traditional) entrance to leave the parking lot. This pedestrian had a merry time of it, zig-zagging back and forth between cars just to reach the sidewalk safely! Getting across Main Street presented another challenge - again, because of cars exiting the Green Acres parking lot the "wrong" way.

We seem to have signs for everything else: could another pair saying "NO EXIT" and "ENTRANCE ONLY" be that hard to acquire?

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The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are here!

Thursday: Blogspot Malfunction! Sorry!

It 20.5 degrees - no precipitation.

DO check weather forecasts: we're in for more snow, today!

GARBAGE DAY!

And that's all I can tell you, because Blogspot refuses to do any more than this, right now!

I'll do an Add-on, later, if I can.

You have a good day!

Wednesday

33.8 degrees.

The road is wet and a few flakes of snow are falling.

It's Recyclables Day!

• Wednesday: Morning snow and sleet tapering off to flurries and scattered snow showers. Light accumulation possible. High in the mid 30s.
• Wednesday night: Clear early, but clouds increasing late. Low in the single digits to near 10 degrees.
• Thursday: Snow developing. Snow could be heavy at times south of Utica. Some accumulation likely. High: 27, Low: 25

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The weather yesterday afternoon turned quite nasty - freezing rain.

I'd been to Utica, and only took one picture - this, on Lombard Road - before deciding to put my new car back in the driveway, out of harm's way!

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Becky Maggio has sent me this poster of a Legion Event and public Bake Sale.........

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..... and Michelle, at Dollar General, asked me to remind you that

will hold a

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION

Saturday, December 15th

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Bridgett Welsh sent these photographs to me.

Some beef cattle at Lowery's Money Pit Farm look a little perplexed ....

they have a new neighbor!

Thanks, Bridgett!

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Would you like to see more pictures of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Newcastle, Maine? Byron Stuhlman has sent me this link to the church's website: it's lovely!

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Beginning tonight, the RCIL Wonderland of Lights at Acacia Village will be lit every night.

And Mark sent another view of Christmas in Florida.

*****

Still Shopping?

Looking for a gift for Someone Who has Everything?

Consider making a donation to

THE MEMORIAL BANDSTAND FUND

in their name!

They'll get a handsome Thank You Card and Souvenir Lapel Pin and you'll both feel good!

Every little bit helps!

(Click image!)


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Have a GOOD DAY!

Tuesday

25.9 degrees - no precipitation of any kind, at the moment.

• Tuesday: Mostly cloudy. Snow, sleet or freezing rain developing after Noon. Coating to an inch of slush possible. High near 35 late.
• Tuesday Night: Snow, sleet or freezing rain gradually mixing with and changing over to plain rain from southwest to northeast. Adirondacks will remain an icy mix, with a coating to 3" possible. Low in the low 30s.
• Wednesday: Lingering light snow or sleet in the morning. Then, mostly cloudy. High: 33, Low: 12

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Does anyone know when the Gareden Club's Lighting Contest will take place?

I know that it's difficult to coordinate out-of-town judges, all of whose schedules are no doubt as busy as ours. And then there's the weather to think about!

Whoever they are, and whenever they come to Waterville, they'll have a hard time choosing winners!

On Sanger Avenue

Osborn Avenue.

It appears that many families decorate the outside of their homes first, and then the inside.

There goes another tree!

There really aren't that many left. Don't miss out!

Don't forget to stop in at Morgan's for your raffle tickets!

And here's another date to circle on your calendars:

December 23rd, from 1 - 3

The Town of Marshall Parks & Recreation
and the Brothertown Association

will sponsor

Christmas at the Depot

on Route 315 in Deansboro.

Santa will be there along with horse and wagon rides and refreshments. Families are welcome to come and enjoy an old fashioned Christmas Celebration.

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I had a note from Nancy Ayala, yesterday. (She's the one who has been playing the bells in the tower of the Masonic Temple every Sunday for over a year, now!) She wrote,

"I want to give credit to Anna Williams, 7th grader at WCS, for her assistance playing carols yesterday on the bells. She did very well for her first time."

Thank You Both!

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And here it is: the new Blog Car!

I hated, terribly, to part with my Subaru, but I really wanted OnStar and the two just don't go together now, so ..................

Even I don't know if I'll recognize it in a parking lot!

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The eyelids? Well -- whereas my field of vision is wonderfully improved and the purplish bruising has faded a great deal, I'm still staying pretty-much out of public view because I'm now going through the yellowish stage - and puffy - and even MY sunglasses aren't large enough to hide behind! Another week should do it!

Monday

It's Garbage Day!

27.5 degrees.

There's just a bit of new snow and, although I've heard snowplows, there doesn't seem to be anything slowing down traffic on Rt. 315!

• Monday: Cloudy with leftover snow or sleet. Total accumulations of 1-3". High: 34

• Monday night: Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Low: 23
• Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain/snow showers. High: 35, Low: 27
• 
  

I ventured out for a ride, yesterday afternoon ....

... and found that some snowmobilers had been out riding, too!


A few mallards were making the most of the small patch of open water on the pond at the foot of Grant Hill.

The Gray residence, in "Dicksville," is elegantly decorated!

And the big new barn at the Gallagher Farm, there, is coming along.

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From the Gallagher Farm in Sangerfield came this nice long - and interesting - E-letter!

"The well system everyone saw being put in behind our barns is now working to provide water to the youngstock in an easier manner. Many thanks to Dick Barnes and Jim Belfield ( and my husband paul) for putting in many hours in cold snowy weather to finish the job! Also, the Blue Team from Memorial Park visited in the fall. They named a Holstein calf that was born shortly before their arrival. The name they chose is Lynn.
They will be following Lynn's growth and progress here on the farm. Last year they named Ginger who is now a "yearling" and who will become pregnant shortly. She was in the last "snowy picture." on the blog.

A hot topic in the farming community at this time is the "labeling" and marketing of dairy products. Many processors have changed their labels to say things like: "BST Free" , No Antibiotics!", No artificial Growth Hormones.". Did you know that no antibiotics are in any dairy products being marketed? If we have to treat a cow, her milk is discarded until it tests free of all antibiotic residue. All milk that is picked up at the farms is tested throughout the processing track many times for antibiotics, bacteria and other quality indicators. So all dairy products you purchase are free of antibiotics.

The same goes for hormones in the milk. All cows naturally have hormones in their body systems. Cows that may receive BST shots- their milk tests the same as cows that do not recieve the shots. ( Just for your info- we don't happen to utilize BST as a tool here.) There is no known test to tell if a farmer even has used them. So when you pay more for this milk in the store, there is no difference from the other milk which does not make these claims. The only peopel really benefiting from the often higher prices charged for dairy products making these claims happens to be the processors. At one meeting in Pennsylvania, a farmer held up a gallon of milk priced at 2.99/gallon and another making such claims prices at 4.35/gallon and pointed out that the farmer is not getting the benefit of the price mark-up. The consumer is being misled as well. Anyone with questions can email me - PGallagher@twcny.rr.com - I will be happy to talk with you further."

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John Brouillette sent this photograph of some old Opera House posters he uncovered on the third floor of "The Wheeler Block" on Main Street. (The building had originally had only two stories - the third one added sometime between 1870 and 1874*. The Wheelers were (I believe) brothers who operated a grocery store in one half of the building and dry goods company in the other.

* The first place that I go, for information about buildings in the Historic Triangle District, is to the "Centennial Book" that was published in 1971. These books are hard to find, so my husband - a year or so ago - scanned one of the originals. I have a few bound copies and can also put the file on CDs - I think.

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I knew it would work!

Less than an hour after I'd posted the blog, yesterday morning, I had E-mail from Byron Stuhlman giving me his new E-address! I won't post it here, but - if you want to write to him - I'll be glad to forward E-mail to him in Maine.

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I'll be out and around more, today, so there will be more pictures tomorrow!

Have a good one!

Sunday

25 degrees, with just the teeniest bit of new snow.

And this is the teeniest bit of a blog post! I just wanted to let you know that:


1. Mohawk Valley Living's Roadtrip to North Brookfield, seen on WKTV last weekend, is now on YouTube. Enjoy!

2. Here's a WCS Girls' Varsity Basketball update left over from Wednesday's O-D.

3. - and to make a special request: Byron, Jean and I are receiving your E-mail from Maine just fine, but we cannot reply! (Dreamscape sends our mail back to us, claiming that the "user" is "unknown," and we know that's just not so!) Do you have a NEW server? and/or a new E-mail address?

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It seems that most people know about using bags of frozen vegetables as "ice packs," but try freezing a Baggie of uncooked rice: that's the best! (Thanks, Allison!)

Have a good day!!