Dec. 24, Christmas Eve
“Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer, and Vixen,
“On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Dunder and Blixem;
“To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
“Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
— Clement Moore/Henry Livingston ?
The dog and I were at Dancer Park today, apropos of Christmas season. There was no dunder nor blixem (Dutch for thunder and lightning) but there was sturm and ice. Tiny kernels of ice fell from the low, blanketing clouds. Each bit would bounce off my hat or Nora’s coat, fall to the earth and instantly liquify. True colonels of ice would have been much larger and make a violent impact.
The air temperature was near freezing, 33 or 34 degrees depending on which thermometer I choose to believe. It will warm later in the day, perhaps climb all the way to 36.
The heavy weather has the wintering gulls in a dither. Two fly over the playgrounds. Later I see ten over downtown McMinnville. Also at Dancer there are nine Dusky Canada Geese on the playing fields.
A birding friend reported a score Sandhill Cranes flying over Dancer yesterday morning. He also has two Varied Thrush at his feeders along Doral which runs into the McMinnville Country Club from Baker Creek Road.
In our garden all the birds arrive between 8 and 9 AM and the starling gang now number thirty at least.
Towheeblog 
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