
Migratory waterfowl
With temperatures in the 50s this week, ice is leaving the Esopus Creek. Today, the open water attracted some visitors: a mixed flock of waterfowl numbering in the hundreds. Mostly Canvasbacks and R ...

The manifold half-mile
The distance from the trailhead where I park my car to the front door of the lighthouse is a half mile. How do I get from point A to point B? There a numerous possibilities. For routes, the choices a ...

Flat Stanley
Today, a most unusual visitor arrived at the lighthouse, and he arrived by mail. In my mailbox was a large brown envelope. I opened it and found Stanley Lambchop inside. The envelope also contained ...

While I was away
When I left for vacation, ice was just beginning to form in protected coves during cold nights. By the time I returned a week later, after several days and nights of temperatures in the single digits, ...

Last Cactus Blossom
The Christmas cactus in the kitchen window started blooming in mid-November. Today, it dropped the last of its pink blossoms. I suppose that makes it a "Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years" cactus.

Slippery slope
Early this morning, I emerged groggy-eyed from the lighthouse. I noticed the icicles hanging from the bird-feeder, the result of freezing rain overnight. However, I did not notice the thin coating o ...

CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT
On these unseasonably warm January days, small talk about the weather quickly shifts to big talk about climate change. It's certainly on my mind as of late. In early December, I attended a conference ...

Record Temperature
A south wind blew out the fog this morning, wisping through the reeds and trees. When the fog bank cleared, a bald eagle appeared in the treetops. The sun also appeared from behind the clouds. By mi ...

New Year's Day
A thick shroud of fog enveloped the lighthouse for most of the day today. Oftentimes, the fog was so dense that I could not even see the other side of the river. The air was completely still, and the ...