Camminando | Sun Farm: Coyotes, while Snow Becomes Ice

A quite memorable weekend.
For several reasons --- the initial financial crunch turned into environmental concern and enjoyment of the beauty of wilderness combined with the cardiovascular fitness in the hike in the snow--- we did not have the driveway plowed throughout this very snowy winter season.
And a 800 feet long hike in deep snow has been the "walking meditation" of the most recent weekends.
But last night the hike became almost an adventure: the snow changed into ice made the walk extremely slow. While the day was turning into darkness and there were still several hundred feet to go in the single digit temperature, I started hearing the howling sound of coyotes. Finally the house appeared and the adventure ended.
Unfortunately I was not prompt enough to record the frightening sound ---in spite of my video camera and phone--- before it disappeared in the moonless night.

It was a very similar sound to what you hear now, courtesy of http://www.mscustomcalls.com

The First Sun Settings in 2011: Central Park

The Last Setting of the 2010 Sun on the Hudson River

I witnessed the last 2010 sunset in Hudson and it felt like being in a Thomas Cole's painting. The temperature rose and the ice started melting: the majestic Hudson resumed its flow ---which seemed to have stopped for a few days. The low sunlight started reflecting again in the water constellated by myriads of ice island, creating a shimmering kaleidoscope.

Last Settings of the 2010 Sun on the Hudson

One of my favorite sun observation points is the majestic Hudson shore.

The river usually reflects the low sun light in a shimmering kaleidoscope; you can witness two suns, in the water reflecting the sky.

Yesterday evening only one sun reigns sovereign over the stillness of the frozen water; the majestic silence is broken only by the cracking of the ice.

This evening, the last setting sun of 2010, offered another spectacle: today higher temperature make melt the some of the ice of the frozen river. The Hudson resumes his flowing movement, offering to the ocean some of the remaining ice. Colors dance in the sky and the reflecting water: blue, green, orange yellow and white say goodbye to a dark 2010