White-Out New York (Sunday)

Sunday was a great day for me. I woke up fairly early and went out with my mom to exchange some clothing and accessories that I received for Christmas that either didn't fit or didn't work for me. Going to malls stresses me out because of the artificial light and terrible air circulation but we just went to Ann Taylor Loft in downtown Huntington and I found some great things to get with the store credit! Very exciting! The sky was white and ominous looking and we had heard we were in for a big snow storm so we figured we would also stop at the grocery store to grab a few things in case the weather went all "winter of 1996" on us! We had initially planned on seeing True Grit today but it was lightly flurrying when we went into Waldbaums and positively dumping this heavy, wet snow by the time we were going back to our car. It's okay, don't worry, we had enough ice cream to last us for at least a few days if we ended up getting snowed in!

Since it was only the day after Christmas I had not had much time to simply be able to relax and enjoy being home because everything before the holidays is insane. I was fine, then, with however much snow would fall because I had a warm house, a great book (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson!) and parents to catch up with.

I made some tea and sat by the window watching the snow fall and the birds frantically eat all the seeds they could in anticipation of the storm and the coming night. It is truly amazing how diverse the bird species are that regularly visit the bird feeders in my backyard. I saw dark-eyed juncos, black-capped chickadees, northern cardinals, tufted titmice, blue jays, a downy woodpecker, several types of sparrows, nuthatches, and mourning doves! And of course there are the squirrels, which feed on the bird seed as well as some peanuts that they happen upon in the yard. I could sit for hours and watch these creatures interact. The squirrels were cracking me up because they would jump up onto the feeders and grab some seeds and then hang upside down while they ate... maybe it's easier for them to eat while being upside down than it is for us!

A cute squirrel munching on some seeds.

My dad and I waited until there was a couple inches of snow and then we went out and shoveled. We didn't realize the wind would later nullify our efforts by blowing the snow around everywhere but it was fun for me so I didn't mind. Some time after dark the gusts of wind picked up and so did the rate of snowfall. I could see now that we were not going to get jipped on the snow end of things!

I went and sat again by the window, watching the birds flying around, taking turns on the feeders and foraging on the ground. As dusk approached it started to get darker outside but I didn't turn any lights on in my room. I wanted to be able to see outside for a bit longer and to tell when the birds would call it good and turn in for the night. Through the worsening storm the dark-eyed juncos won out as the most persistent bird in the backyard. They would scurry across the ground looking for seeds that had blown out of the feeder and when a gust of wind would blow, they would brace themselves against the force. It is amazing to me that they were able to stand without getting blown away considering how little mass they have!

Slate-colored junco

How interesting the world looked to me at that moment. The snow-covered ground was the same color as the snow-filled sky and the juncos matched perfectly with their slate-colored bodies and white breasts and beaks. I think they are beautiful.

This junco is perfectly camouflaged against the background of snow and stone.

Lulu, my crazy cat, also became interested in the life outside the window so she came over and peered outside with me.

Lulu silhouetted in the dark room against the bright snow.