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!