hoar frost

January 1, 2002

Today's Bird Sightings
Plum Island
northern harrier (1)
American black duck (108)
Canada goose (207)
herring gull (24)
snow goose (42)
common eider (250)
great black back gull (2)

This Year's Bird Sightings
Plum Island Bird List

Today's Reading
The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes by Peter Matthiessen

Last Year's Reading
2001 Book List
(Haven't started this year's list yet.)

Photo

Oak leaves with hoar frost at Plum Island

It's cold and windy at Plum Island. The wind goes through my jacket and I shiver as I count the snow geese. I had grand visions of starting the year list with all those fabulous winter birds I saw a couple of days ago, but there's no sign of snowy owl, short-eared owl or snow buntings today. There is, however, hoar frost on the fallen leaves and the grass, outlining every vein in them with thick white lines. And the snow geese are really pretty waddling through the marsh grass and splashing when they find open water.

We had a farewell coffee and lentil soup in a bread bowl at Fowle's and bought a pound of French roast ground for flat for the last time. Next week, same coffee, different name, different location, no lentil soup. Farewell Fowle's Newburyport Coffeehouse.