BeetBear and I wish everyone a Happy Solstice. At least now we can start getting some of our daylight back, but remember: "When the days begin to lengthen, the cold begins to strengthen." Time to go in and order seeds... #BeetBear #Gardening #Allotment #NewEngland #Zone6b #Winter #WinterSolstice #Solstice

Just had a powerful storm blow through overnight and this morning. It brought in much warmer air, too. Last week's snow is history. Wind gusts this morning hit 50 mph / 80km/h and temps got up to 56.7°F / 13.7°C. Rainfall was .67 inches / 18mm. We've got power outages all around us but here we're ok. At least there was a reward in the sky as the storm passed. #gardening #Allotment #NewEngland #Winter #Rainbow

Here is this week's Project Feeder Watch data. It's now week Seven of the count. We had 19 species and 127 individuals this week. The Red Shouldered Hawk is still around but everyone seems to be avoiding it pretty well, so far. Chipmunks have finally all gone to ground, but squirrels still coming. Also one lonely grackle still around. Otherwise it's just the regulars. First count of the season with snow cover, also. #ProjectFeederWatch #Birds #Newengland #Gardening

Well, the "Light dusting" snow squall event predicted for yesterday turned in to about 4 inches (10cm) of light snow. Garden now has it's ground cover of "Poor Man's Fertilizer". Temp got down to 13°F /-10°C overnight and now has managed to climb to 22°F/-5°C, so this isn't going away for a while. Gotta go feed and water the birds... #Gardening #Allotment #NewEngland #Zone6b #Birds

Just finished entering totals for Project Feeder Watch week number 6. We had 18 species this week and 132 individuals. Winter is closing in fast and it's a chore to keep the water trays unfrozen. My favorite visitor is always the Carolina Wren. It's amazing how something so small can have such a big attitude. Attached is a screen shot of the count totals for the week. #ProjectFeederWatch #Birds #NewEngland #Gardening

With temps dropping to 14°F /-10°C overnight and staying well below freezing for at least the next 5 days, it was time to drain all the rain barrels before they freeze solid and burst. The few things left in the greenhouse will get tap water for a while. #Gardening #Allotment #NewEngland #Zone6b #Winter

I'm not good at video, but here's my family of birds coming in for the afternoon feed on a cold, wet day. Temp is ONLY JUST above freezing and it's raining at this point. Most of the birds seen here are house sparrows and house finches, but a few other regulars are also coming in. #Birds #ProjectFeederWatch #NewEngland #Gardening