And the pretty much sums up the weekend, folks!

We went to see the Sound of Music on Saturday at the Paper Mill Playhouse. That stanza of the song “My Favorite Things” keeps running through my mind ..

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes …

That and “How do you solve a problem like Maria?”

The performance was wonderful, the staging so well done! What lucky raffle winners we were!

And, speaking of snowflakes on my nose and eyelashes, I guess our expected snow amount has dwindled to “a coating to an inch” which is not ideal but certainly better than no snow at all. We shall see. Of course, places like Oklahoma are due to have a blizzard. Can you please tell me why it’s cold enough to snow in Oklahoma but not in New Jersey? Weather mystifies me. It truly does.

Yesterday found us up bright and early doing our Christmas grocery shopping. We needed to go to Franklin Lakes (stomping grounds of the Real Housewives of New Jersey) to the Market Basket to get our duck breasts and a few good cheeses. We had breakfast at the Oakland Diner, better known to its patrons as just the O.D. (I know Bigsis, I know!)

After groceries it was off to neighbor Kim’s annual Christmas open house across the street for a few hours of holiday cheer and chatter.

We hadn’t been home for very long when Rick yelled “SANTA, Lynne, get your camera!!” I had already changed into my around-the-house-sweats and slippers but I grabbed the camera and headed out the door. I didn’t have time to change lenses and had my biggest zoom lens on because the last time I used the camera I was aiming it at a woodpecker at the feeder. It worked out okay though. It was a little challenging since our normally empty street was lined with cars at the open house.

A slipped a twenty dollar bill in Santa’s helper’s hands and got a candy cane thumbs up from Santa!

I love living here. I just wish the expected snow counts were reversed and we were getting the blizzard and Oklahoma would get the coating-to-an-inch.

A month or so ago when our friend Carolyn was here we took a walk through Skylands.

Shadows on The Avenue of Oaks taken two days ago.

We started our walk through the Avenue of Oaks. When we go to the small pond known as Duck Pond Rick spied a huge nesting box on a tree. He wondered aloud if it was for the Pileated Woodpecker that he and I had seen and heard on a previous walk in the same area. You would not be able to see the nesting box when the trees are leafed out!

(If you’re not familiar with the Pileated Woodpecker, it’s the woodpecker that Woody the Woodpecker was modeled after in the cartoon. They are beautiful, striking birds (no pun intended) but very shy.)

Just as the words were out of his mouth we heard the woodpecker … knock, knock, knock on a nearby tree. Then he let out his signature laughing call. We watched him as he flew from tree to tree. I tried to get a photo but these were the best I got on that day. Can you see him?

But here are some photos I took several years ago of one that was right on our street! I was lucky to have driven by him on my way home and he stayed there long enough for me to go home, get the camera and take these shots from the car. I don’t expect to get shots like these ever again! Pure luck!

 

 

Since the day we saw the box from the road I’ve wanted to go back and take a closer look, so the other day that’s just what I did. The minute I entered the area I heard the woodpecker. This is one busy bird and obviously very territory driven. I didn’t even try to get a photo of him as he continued to scold me as he flew from tree to tree.

The forest around his home looks like something out of the Hobbit.

I was walking around where I knew we had seen the nesting box and was just not seeing it. I had reached the end of the pond, so I turned around for a look behind me and that’s when I finally saw it on a tree right on the pond’s edge.

I needed a closer look at the reflection of the sky in the pond!

I was determined to see the nesting box from the front so I crossed over the inlet to the pond on slippery rocks and walked to the opposite side.

I’m sure they planned the entrance to the box so that people couldn’t manage to peek inside and disturb the birds. You’d have to be in the water in order to see inside! Not that I was planning on upsetting them or sticking my face next to a hole with a large-pointy beak inside of it!

It looks like a lovely place to live doesn’t it? I might just have to have a stake-out to see him closer. Anyone know how to build a bird blind?

Here is a link to a pileated on a backyard suet feeder that is worth watching for a really close-up look at this amazing bird. Watch out though at the beginning of the video—he comes in very fast!

 

In response to some questions, yes I did post the woodpecker pics on my blog but it was years ago. Here is the link to that post.

Gloomy sky at Skylands yesterday.

Good Morning! We had rain (nearly one inch of the wet stuff) and lots of wind overnight which kept waking me up. The rain has tapered off now from sheets of driving rain to just rain but the trees are still frantically swaying to and fro with the wind, waving their branches around in some kind of native dance known only to trees.

Yesterday I took myself off to Skylands for a walk and also in search of the pileated woodpecker’s nesting box that we saw the last time we were there. But that’s another story for a different day.

The day was mostly gray with some sun peeking through at times. It was kind of strange. Hardly anyone was there. I think I passed one couple walking their dog and another man who was on his cell phone. I thought to myself, is that really necessary when you are out communing with nature to be on the phone? I don’t get it. I walked the lower loop that is mostly woods and outside of the actual park.

The duck pond (which was my intended destination) was partially frozen from the cold nights we’ve been finally having which led to half frozen/half watery reflections. I found them interesting.

I spent quite a bit of time at the pond taking photos, some of which I will be sharing in another post. The rest of my walk was pleasant, if a bit damp and chilly. The only other creatures I saw (besides the couple with the dog and the man with a phone in his ear) were squirrels scurrying through the underbrush, who just flicked their fluffy tails at me and went on about their business. I always find this walk calming and relaxing.

When I got up this morning I checked the weather on AccuWeather as I normally do. And I saw this:

Are you reading the print under the forecast where is says something like “Snowfall Monday night will total 4-8 inches”? A White Christmas? Surely they jest!

Our venture in to the city went wonderfully the other day. Traffic was a little snarled heading up 54th Street but not too bad. We parked pretty close to Radio City Music Hall and walked up to Rockefeller Center.

We thought the tree was bigger and prettier this year. It wasn’t quite dark when we arrived. And of course everyone wants their photo taken with the tree. It was impossible not to get the screens of other people’s iPhones in a shot. (Doesn’t anyone use a real camera anymore??)

It’s also hard to get really good photos in such a crush of people. People pushing and shoving for a spot to watch the skaters, desperate to have their or their children’s photos taken. People suddenly appearing in front of my lens just as I clicked the shutter. sigh. So, I felt my pics were not up to par. I’m sharing them with you anyway since it’s all I’ve got!

I love the little square around the tree with its toy soldiers.

And the little walking street with all the lovely shops and the view of the tree and The Rock.

 

Several shops along this street caught my eye. One was Botticelli. Oh My. I don’t normally wear real fur, but what beautiful things were in the window! A gorgeous fur-trimmed sweater coat. To die for fur-lined boots!

We drooled over Swiss chocolates in the window at Teuscher’s and were surprised and excited to find this familiar little green box inside the shop. Ah, the Champagne Truffles we used to get in Europe! Rick always brought them home from his travels back and forth.

On to the window display at Saks Fifth Avenue. We were pleased to see a more old-fashioned display this year and not the weird Bubble Maker theme they had last year. It was more of a snowflake theme, and very cute.

This window had about 50 snow globes on rotating platforms that would shake them up at intervals.

This little boy was cutting out paper snowflakes.

It was snowing feathers in this window.

 

We walked back to the tree to see it in the dark.

We were still early for dinner so we stopped at a wine bar and had a glass of delicious Malbec. We sat at a table outside with a view of the center.

Dinner at Alfredo’s was delicious. We don’t normally order pasta out when we go to an Italian restaurant, but the pasta sounded good to both of us. I’m glad we made that choice because it was all homemade. I had spaghetti with a tomato basil sauce and veal meatballs and Rick had a trio of lasagne, ravioli, and fettucine alfredo. He wasn’t sure which one was the tastiest. A good waiter and a bottle of nice Italian red wine helped to round out the experience.

The seating was intimate (meaning close to other tables) and the table next to us was occupied by two young 20-something women. When we first sat down I didn’t think they were speaking English. Then I realized they were. After more eavesdropping, we realized that one of the women was switching back and forth in mid-sentance from (what sounded like) Russian to English constantly. Flawlessly, and without hesitation. She spoke English with no accent. Very bizarre. Her companion on the other hand, was only speaking English. We just hope she was following the whole conversation!

After dinner it was onward to the show!

 

 

Our seats were amazing! Orchestra, third row, center. The show was very enjoyable and also very different from the one we had seen a few years ago. The Rockettes are amazing. Such precision! So many set and costume changes! It really is well worth seeing.

The New York City skyline projected on the walls.

 

All in all a great night out in the city and a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season! I hope you enjoyed your visit!