New Year's Eve celebrations
Giles
differently from year to year. This year I'm doing it.....not
alone.....but without any human company. It feels like alone,
though. The cardinals and the blue jays, the goldfinches, the
solitary common redpoll, the downy and the red-bellied woodpeckers,
the tufted titmice, the juncos, and the omnipresent black-capped
chickadees are nearby (where would they go?) but they left the feeders
hours ago, before dark, to find safe and relatively snug places to sit
out the long cold night. Some of them won't be back tomorrow. The
thermometer out at the end of the elevated walkway to the driveway
reads -5. I don't trust it. The actual temperature could be as much
as ten degrees higher or lower. Personally, I think it's lower. But
it's better than the one stuck to the window. That one only reveals
the temperature of the window pane.....interesting, but not very
useful. Anyway, it doesn't matter much. It's COLD out there. The
only thing I can see moving by the light of the full moon is the smoke
coming out of the flue above the wood burning stove, and even it looks
listless in the chill and still air. Coyotes are singing off in the
distance but they sound especially mournful tonight. Maybe they don't
care much for the new year. Maybe they lament the passing of the
old. Maybe '09 was a very good year for them. Even the great horned
and the barred owls seem to have left off their courtship......haven't
heard so much as a single hoot out them since I arrived this morning.
Lately they've been quite active, getting ready to breed, build nests,
incubate eggs and start rearing their young. Even more surprising,
the gang of crows that usually harass the owls (the ruckus is a
clarion that sends us rushing out the doors to get a look at an owl
when it inevitably tries to escape its tormentors) are entirely
absent.....haven't seen or heard one all day.
Well, maybe they're all resting. Maybe their celebrations start late
and last into the wee hours. Perhaps, just this one night out of the
year, they go into the deep and dark places to do their animalian
things in private, far from the persistent and annoying eyes and ears
of the tourists who so regularly invade their space. If so, they've
certainly picked the right night for it. I'M not going out there to
find them. Too late, too cold, too comfortable here in the house with
the smell of wood smoke and coffee. Too many good books beckoning
from the shelves and from the tables and from the counters and from
the chairs and from places where you can't see them but you can hear
them whispering your name. Mostly, though, too late. It's almost
eleven and I don't have another wakeful hour in me.
Besides, I've been celebrating since I got up and hit the road at six
this morning. Celebrated all through the three hour drive, and every
minute since arrival. Celebrated getting back on the tractor to plow
through the fresh snow that has fallen since I left on Sunday.
Celebrated hauling wood from the pile behind the barn to the one
behind the house. Celebrated my hosts' company for a couple of hours
while they were here and then celebrated their departure when they
left for a dinner engagement in the city. Celebrated eating way too
much real authentic Wisconsin chili (tomato sauce with hamburger,
celery, kidney beans, maybe some onion, and a dash of some wretched
chili powder concoction. I put it on spaghetti. Tasted like home.
Sometime tomorrow Becky and her brother will be rolling in. Larry and
Gisela will be back. Who knows who else might show up? Larry has a
lot of friends. Pretty cold, though. Probably won't be many. That's
o.k. Celebrating can be pretty exhausting.
So, how are YOU celebrating New Year's Eve?
georgecleveland
wrote:
>Everybody does it differently. Individuals sometimes do it
>differently from year to year. This year I'm doing it.....not
>alone.....but without any human company.
snipped
>So, how are YOU celebrating New Year's Eve?
Drinking a Leinies and keeping a slug of Caol Ila scotch on deck for
the 12 strokes of midnight. And then to bed.
Happy New Year, Auld Acquaintance.
Geo. C.
Daniel-San
> Tasted like home.
Sounds like a pretty good celebration.
-Dan
(Who's currently rocking the little guy back to sleep. Sure beats
watching the ball drop)
DaveS
Just finished . . . celebrating a 30 years late wedding party for
friends. Its an older soccer/outdoors crowd, Filipino Farmers hall all
prettied up and a nite when I cannot avoid dancing. Year's travel
slides touting walls, some good wine, more white hair. Rain and muddy
parking lot. Kids fly out tomorrow.
Dave
Mark Bowen
"Giles" <g_go...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:97901200-86de-4913...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
Witha headache and I didn't drink a thing beyond Pepsi last night?
Op
Mike
year is our turn to do something dinner and a drive maybe........Happy
New Year all
jeff
freed me from other obligations and allowed for new adventures or sloth.
doing a lot more of the sloth stuff nowadays...but, this new year's
festivity was spent mainly basking in the warmth of my life-mate's
giggles and conversation, watching ken burns' national parks documentary
again(a xmas gift from my son), and receiving more lessons about the
human condition from my four-legged professor, gia.
glad to be around for the start of another year, with the promise of
more time wandering about in remote places chasing the great mystery.
jeff (it's a chilly 52 here just now...damn rain clouds obscure the sun
and chill the air unbearably! <G>)
Mark Bowen
"Mike" <handy...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:38b9d354-88e6-474e...@a15g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
> With the grandkids as we have done for the past 5 years wife says next
> year is our turn to do something dinner and a drive maybe........Happy
> New Year all
Happy New Year to you and yours as well Mike!
Op
Bill McKee
"Giles" <g_go...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:97901200-86de-4913...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
>
We went to a movie. Blindside. Good movie. Even better that it is based
on a true story. Then ended up at Macaroni Grill as the 2 other places we
were going to have dinner at were closed early for New Years. Watched the
ball drop and then went to bed. Nice evening. Oh I had Mama's Trio. Wife
had pizza. We were discussing how life changes. In our 20's, we as a group
hired a hall and a band and had large New Years Celebrations.
Frank Reid © 2008
> With the grandkids as we have done for the past 5 years wife says next
> year is our turn to do something dinner and a drive maybe........Happy
Hey, Mike. How you feeling? Hope all is well. Happy New Year. Go
Bruins!
Frank Reid
Frank Reid © 2008
> jeff (it's a chilly 52 here just now...damn rain clouds obscure the sun
> and chill the air unbearably! <G>)
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around -14. Wind chill values as low
as -26. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow after noon. Increasing clouds
and cold, with a high near 7. Wind chill values as low as -26. North
wind between 3 and 6 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 2. Wind chill
values as low as -11. East southeast wind between 6 and 8 mph. Chance
of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches
possible.
Yeh, bet 52 degrees is awful.
Frank Reid
(who laughs at those folks who say its too cold to snow)
Fred
We had our grand kids (they only live across our property) and friends
(another couple).
We rang out the old yr w my 12 yr old granddaughter on piano backed up by me
on mandolin - Lover's Waltz by Jay Ungar
We rang in the new year w Beethovn's Fur Elise followed by Ode To Joy -
where I switched to violin
A near perfect duet.
Sure was better than driving somewhere.
Playing music together - It may be more fun than fishing
Someday we may be touring together playing only in places where we can also
fish.
Fred.
Ken Fortenberry
> Giles wrote:
>> So, how are YOU celebrating New Year's Eve?
>
> Drinking a Leinies and keeping a slug of Caol Ila scotch on deck for
> the 12 strokes of midnight. And then to bed.
We're in San Francisco. We rang in 2010 at a Furthur
(ex-Grateful Dead) concert here. Nothin' like the
good old Grateful Dead to keep you young at heart.
--
Ken Fortenberry
Robert from Oz
"Giles" <g_go...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:97901200-86de-4913...@c3g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
My sister-in-law popped over with the kids, nice dinner, good company,
watched the fire works from the veranda (during a thunder storm), watched
fruit bats coming in from the Botanic Gardens, and watched the odd private
fire work display (not legal so they go off in intermittent short bursts
which adds to the excitement). A great night.
Enjoy the coming year.
Rob.
jeff
Frank...um...i'm beginning to think you were sentenced to time in
Nebraska. What on earth keeps a sensible soul in such a place?
and, ...i knew i should have kept quiet...it's down to a miserable 38
now, but at least the clouds are gone and we have some sunshine. we'll
be getting your chilly winds and cold through the next week as temps are
predicted to be in the mid 30s to low 40s during the day and teens to
20s overnight...BRRR. they'll be closing schools and hording firewood
soon!! ...2 months til the shad start running and another fishing year
begins for me. til then, when weather allows, might be able to catch a
few speckled trout in the creeks...but time best spent tuning gear and
maybe learning how to tie a few saltwater flies.
stay warm...
jeff
Frank Reid © 2008
> Frank Reid © 2008 wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >> jeff (it's a chilly 52 here just now...damn rain clouds obscure the sun
> >> and chill the air unbearably! <G>)
>
> > Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around -14. Wind chill values as low
> > as -26. North northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
>
> > Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow after noon. Increasing clouds
> > and cold, with a high near 7. Wind chill values as low as -26. North
> > wind between 3 and 6 mph. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
>
> > Saturday Night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 2. Wind chill
> > values as low as -11. East southeast wind between 6 and 8 mph. Chance
> > of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches
> > possible.
>
> > Yeh, bet 52 degrees is awful.
> > Frank Reid
> > (who laughs at those folks who say its too cold to snow)
>
> Frank...um...i'm beginning to think you were sentenced to time in
> Nebraska. What on earth keeps a sensible soul in such a place?
I've got a really cool job, just been tapped to head up the coolest
geek ever (on a global scale), cost of living is cheap, driving
distance to everywhere in the lower 48, Bass Pro 10 miles one way,
Cabelas 10 miles the other way, and all the emergency rooms know me on
a first name basis. Most of all, my bride likes it.
> and, ...i knew i should have kept quiet...it's down to a miserable 38
> now, but at least the clouds are gone and we have some sunshine. we'll
> be getting your chilly winds and cold through the next week as temps are
> predicted to be in the mid 30s to low 40s during the day and teens to
> 20s overnight...BRRR. they'll be closing schools and hording firewood
> soon!! ...2 months til the shad start running and another fishing year
> begins for me. til then, when weather allows, might be able to catch a
> few speckled trout in the creeks...but time best spent tuning gear and
> maybe learning how to tie a few saltwater flies.
Have you been to the "Streamer List?" http://streamerlist.ning.com/
Some great ideas there.
Frank
Frank Reid © 2008
Frank Reid
Family-Outdoors
> BTW, its minus 6 with snow heading in.
> Frank Reid
3 this morning in Missouri. Son woke up wanting to go ice
fishing...held him off until it got up to 10. BTW...our version of
ice fishing is off a dock after we cut thru ice...a little leery of
ice here as it rarely stays cold long enough to be truly stable.
Caught 3 rainbows in about 30 minutes and that was enough (stocked
lake).
Paul
Giles
Thanks to all who responded. We already knew it, of course, but it's
good to see confirmation that not everyone opts for the "traditional"
hearty party on the eve of the new year.
For myself, I was surprised to discover that I was wrong. Turns out I
did have another wakeful hour left in me, even if barely.....made it
to 12:05. Got to leafing through the USDA's 1949 Yearbook of
Agriculture: Trees, and got interested enough to keep me more or less
vertical (horizontal is instant sleep mode) for another hour or so.
Becky and Tim and Bear arrived late the next morning, after I had once
again spent several hours in hauling wood (STILL an unrelieved joy
after all these years) and just started a fresh pot of coffee. Larry
and Gisela and Angel arrived about an hour later. The rest of January
oneth was spent is dissipation, ala overindulgence in food, drink,
conversation, photographic digitalization, weather lore, silvicutural
ruminations, dish-washing after yet another bout of random ingestion,
and keeping Becky ever so busy in her new role as reference librarian,
e.g., googlemeister.
Yesterday dawned a sparkling -10 (F.) and it was determined by tacit
acclamation that no work would be done in the woods......well, sort
of. In fact, we completely rehabed the woodpile and worked on
reassembling Friday night's bonfire, which had languished early due to
lack of interest (presumably sparked by falling temperatures). The
day was spent mostly indoors, reprising Thursday's performace.
Today, a first look at the thermomter around 6:30 a.m. revealed a very
interesing -16. Smirks emanating from the plains states
notwithstanding, that's approaching pretty damned cold. Cars and
trucks were test fired in anticipation of the homeward trip scheduled
for later in the day. All passed the test. Alas, the John Deere did
not. Many large blocks of wood destined for the bonfire and strewn
about in the general vicinity in anticipation had to be restacked by
hand to await a more clement season. No one was actually frostbitten
in the process, to the best of my knowledge, but it was a near thing.
Altogether, a most gratifying way to begin yet another year. :)
giles.
but, DAMN!, it was cold. :(