RhinebeckFarm.com

Whatever picaresque charm this mobile home ever possessed is fading.

It is very cold, even by February, upstateish New York standards.

I mean really cold.

Not everyone seems to mind.

Here’s Jen out in the woods, stalking the elusive Barred Owl.

We had a glimpse of the owl, but we got a much closer look at these ferocious creatures of the forest, who appear to have wandered over from the Vlei Marsh trail.

We had a quiet Christmas holiday, with just the three of us and Jen’s parents. Sarah ably performed her elfly duties, and Daisy found a soup bone in her stocking.

Sarah gave Jen these beautiful pressed ginkgo leaves from Strasbourg.

She gave her grandfather a pen and notebook, where he can record his inner thoughts.

Rinda received an Aerogarden from her Secret Santa.

And Sarah, exempt from Secret Santa limitations, was showered with an array of gifts.

Friday night brought a big snowstorm. Lew, for reasons best known to himself, decided to park here.

On Saturday we pursued winter sports. Jen went cross-country skiing.

And I went snowshoeing. Merry Christmas to all!

We had a happy Thanksgiving dinner with the family.

Geoff brought his strong pie game, with sour cherry (center), blueberry (left) and cranberry (right).

Jen’s hickory pie will always be my favorite, though.

Julie & Stacey

Erica

Geoff

Lew

Rinda

Jen

Sarah

Daisy

Here are Jen and Daisy planning for the coming Thanksgiving holiday. Just off camera is Sarah, knitting companionably.

There are many chores to be completed, including the annual Storage of the Tubers. Jen has collected about 250 dahlia tubers, so next year should be a colorful one.

Sarah, visiting home for the weekend, surreptitiously took this photo when we visited Vlei Marsh this afternoon. We saw a Bald Eagle but it didn’t stick around for long.

Here is a moody portrait of our little cottage. This angle provides a good view of its bizarre roofline.

Our fields remain unmowed, even at this late date. Herb Stickle dropped off this tractor yesterday, presumably to get me to stop calling him to ask when he plans to mow our fields.

After a relatively brief visit to the farm this weekend, Jen collected a large number (but a small percentage) of her dahlias to bring back to New York.

On Friday, we traveled to Colgate to have dinner with Sarah and, on Saturday, to watch her race against Hamilton College at the Head of the Moraine, a rare home event for the Colgate Women’s Rowing Team. We had a great visit with Sarah, and her boat bested all but one of the Hamilton crews.