In winter black locust trees are stark – black, with sharply twisted branches, almost creepy. When flowering, as they are now, they are completely covered with gently drooping, beautiful flowers that almost cover a background of delicate leaves.

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According to many sources, today is roughly the middle of the heating season, although there’s the more pessimistic old adage that says you need to still have half your wood and half your hay on Candlemas Day, which is February 2nd.

Maybe it’s the heat. All things green seem to be extra large this year, despite it being droughty. Wild raspberries are also plumper than in years past

Virginia creeper and grapes are foodplants for Abbott’s sphinx moth caterpillars. Large green spots – much like the immature grapes nearby – cover the back of this striking insect. They will pupate soon, so check for them now.

If you’re working outdoors in the heat of the day, consider taking some switchel with you: roughly three cups of cider vinegar in ¾ of a gallon of water, plus some honey and some ginger. Cider vinegar supplies potassium and the ginger helps potassium absorption. Honey both revives your energy and reduces the tartness. Variations of this concoction have been used by farm workers since before the Civil War.

A robin was singing shortly after 4 am this morning, followed soon after by a veery. I’ve read that the timing of bird awakening is correlated to the size of its eye. Big eyed birds are the earliest risers.

As of 11 a.m. this morning, the storm has dumped 26 inches of snow in Dorset.

Jupiter and Saturn are getting closer to one another (from our vantage point). They’ll be at their closest on December 21st, so stay tuned.

When woodpeckers feed their fledglings there’s a big racket, including relentless shrieking.