State Plow West of Pulaski

I knock on wood, and I do not pass snowplows going my way. This plow truck was in front of me from Pulaski out to Rt. 3 and then north to the turn to Sandy Island Beach.

Sandy Island Beach: Ice to the Horizon

As I mentioned a couple days ago, I longed to look at the ice from the perch along the beach this week. Tuesday dawned clear and remained so, with the lake effect snow coming ashore ten miles to the north, so Brenner and I clambered through drifts, faced a stiff and cold wind on the return, and achieved the objective. There was no other person around, and parking was scarce. 

The sea out beyond, hardly visible but for a sliver, was green, rough and rolling, and about the most inhospitable place I can imagine, at least around here.

Woodland Reservoir, Bitterly Cold

The major part of reconstructing our water works is complete and Woodland Reservoir has been refilled. The gulls and ducks have returned.

Firefighter's Memorial Park

Big Ice at Sandy Island Beach

This was the scene a week ago on a perfectly calm and not terrifically cold day along Lake Ontario. Surprising to me is that people had been driving large-tire vehicles along the shore edge of the ice to get to their camps further out the peninsula, or perhaps to access the ice for fishing on the inland pond.

The ice field you see here is the result of deep cold that began to freeze Lake Ontario, followed by very strong winds that are almost always westerly here, pushing it all up against the shore in a dense pack. At the North Sandy Pond outlet, a mile north of here, ice crammed into the outlet and blocked drainage of the ponds, North and South, for several days causing major flooding to many camps along the ponds.

Below are two early spring photos from other years taken from the same platform for comparisons' sake.

If I could, I would go to Sandy Island Pond tomorrow because I think the scene will be spectacular. We are having another Arctic blast of cold and a lot more wind and snow from the west. The weather will be poor for exploration for another day or more. Lake effect snow is making driving impossible at times and impossible to predict, extending along a wide swath east of the lake. This evening that snow belt reached all the way to Saratoga Springs, more than one hundred miles away. 

On Wednesday, or Thursday, but maybe not until Friday, a road trip is in store.

additional, partial advisory for Tuesday am:

•  IMPACTS...HEAVY LAKE EFFECT SNOW WILL RESULT IN SNOW COVERED 
  ROADS ALONG WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND PERIODIC 
  WHITEOUT CONDITIONS THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY DIFFICULT TO 
  NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE AT TIMES. IN ADDITION...VERY COLD WIND 
  CHILLS WILL RESULT IN A RISK OF HYPOTHERMIA AND FROSTBITE FOR 
  ANYONE OUTSIDE FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME WITHOUT PROPER 
  CLOTHING. 

Ottawa: Balancing by John Hooper

Balancing, restored and placed near the top of the Rideau Locks. This article in the Ottawa Citizen tells more.

Quebec: Stone Church of St. Stephen in Old Chelsea

Writing about St. Stephen's includes this article from the Gatineau Valley Historical Society, and this from the St-Stephen's Parish website.

Ottawa: Maman's Egg Sac

Maman by Louise Bourgeois stands by the main entrance of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Ottawa: During Construction Even the Shroud is Artful

The Great Hall of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa is undergoing window replacement. At the start of the project the entire structure was covered by an iceberg! Watch the installation here. Fortunately for us, who had not been to Ottawa since last spring's tulip extravaganza, the project is running longer than anticipated.

Louise Bourgeois' Maman welcome most visitors to the museum, although my commenter from Ottawa mentions that some arachnophobes choose another entrance. I understand.

Skaters on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa

Ottawa: Peacekeeping Monument

Boy Discovers His Reflection

On the Ice in Ottawa with Children

Thousands of Skaters on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa

Crow

Centro Hub

Inner Harbor: Saved for Repurposing?

Upper Onondaga Park

The Historic Landmark Theater

The Landmark Theater, 1928, is a classic that has been saved by an active city, community, boards and management. Preserved, restored and cleaned, and with a recent major addition containing a much larger stage area have all made it more viable going forward.

Ornamentation in the lobbies and within the concert space is a mash-up historically called "Oriental". It really ought to be seen to be truly appreciated!

Parking Meter Project

When the city removed downtown parking meters several years ago, it offered some of the posts to artists. Many of the outcomes have endured and make downtown that much more interesting.

Snowy Creekwalk near Onondaga Lake

Bald Eagle at Onondaga Lake

It looks completely graceful. Next moment it is ungracefully skidding out. 

Hooded Mergansers

Finding rich birdlife right now at the Inner Harbor and downstream at the lake.

Great Blue Heron

I almost missed it among the ducks and phragmites. 

Canada Comes to Downtown

 The paper says a coffee war is heating up. 

Tim Horton's opened downtown last week, right on the busy corner in a newly rehabbed building, all shiny and inviting. Catty-corner is the stalwart Dunkin' Donuts, feeling the pain and offering coffee for 99 cents.

Last year when a new Dunkin' Donuts opened out on West Onondaga, the nearby Tim Hortons was giving it away.

Should you get classy, Dunkin', and change your name to Duncan?

Brenner Gets Cozy

Did you know that outside the US, the word is more commonly spelled "cosy"?

Brenner runs, not walks, to this chair when Ed gets up. You can set your watch by it.

Syracuse Landmarks

The large blocky building behind the round-cornered Courier Building is an extension of the State Tower Building built at the same time as the tall art deco tower.

The south sides of both the State Tower Building and the Courier Building were built along the diagonal Genesee Street, now a public walkway.

City Hall is fully on Washington Street.

The north sides of City Hall and the State Tower Building are a block away from the path of the old Erie Canal, on Water Street. Behind the Courier Building is Fire Station No. 1, converted to other uses, and a diner.

Coffee Cup Seats

Cafe Kubal installed this useful seating right at the bus stop in front of their windows.

I do wish they were heated. 

Hunkered Down Beside Open Water at Minus 6

Still Life with Bait

A Bit of Beauty to Celebrate the New Year!