The Albany Glacier

Another ugly, lingering bit of winter.  This sheet of ice near one of the Albany Medical Center parking garages was several inches thick in places and today's rains only did little to thin it.

It's Spring

No, not THAT sort of Spring.  Not yet!

Cold Cattails

A pair of cattails alongside the frozen lake in Washington Park.

The Snow Arrives

After last year's almost snow-free winter, this storm has an almost surreal feel to it.  This photo, on Madison Avenue looking towards Delaware Avenue, was taken just as the flakes started falling.  This morning, it doesn't look quite as nice with a dull gray sky and snow already getting dirty.

Jazzy Santa

Santa Claus with a saxophone on Lark Street.

Lurking Tower

Though it's several blocks away, the Corning Tower seems to be lurking just past the snow-weighted trees and empty picnic benches of Washington Park.

Snow More

Looking up at my maple tree along Madison Avenue at the height of today's storm.

The Cold Seat

A snow-laden bench in Washington Park.

A Friendly Snowman

A snowman with (with a little mohawk) waves to passersby in Washington Park.

Ice Falls

With the recent storm and subsequent warmer days, a frozen cascade and a fringe of icicles has formed on the Willett Street side of the First Presbyterian Church.

Snowy Day

Trees, shadows, and snow next to the New York State Museum on a very cold afternoon.

Winter Wonderland

As I said on Facebook earlier this morning, you just know it's a bad storm when they use such highly technical terms as "wallop" on the local news. A post-Christmas blizzard has hit Albany - and the Northeast in general - with a lot of wind and a lot of snow. So, I'm going to bundle up and go out to play.

The Groundhog was right...

The view from my window yesterday. More wintery weather on its way, too.

The Weather Report

It's snowing right now. It started early yesterday afternoon with some of largest, fluffiest flakes I've ever seen. Like feathers, really. By dinner last evening, my backyard was buried and my Pomeranian was loving it. It changed to a finer, steadier snowfall overnight...and it's still coming down. The skylight above my desk is completely covered and it's making my room quite dark this morning.

Of course, two days ago, I was sitting in the park behind City Hall and admiring those fuzzy white buds on the trees...

Closed For The Winter

Or so the sign says. But I walked across yesterday...and the day before. Of course, the sign is a needed warning. The marble platform of the Empire State Plaza can be quite slippery when covered with winter's snow and ice.

Red

I'm not one to complain too much about the weather or seasons. I find a lot to like in all the seasons and weather has its purpose.

That said, sometimes winter seems terribly colorless. White snow, gray days, salt-bleached streets.

Any splash of color is welcome. Such as the berries on this tree growing in the below-street-level courtyard of an apartment for senior citizens on Central Avenue.

Winter In The Beaverkill Ravine

For the past several months, I've been blogging about the gully in Lincoln Park and the underground Beaverkill which can be glimpsed through a grating within the gully. I'm not quite sure why this spot fascinates me so, but it simply does.

So, of course, when I passed the gully on the way to Walgreens recently, I just had to venture inside and see how it looks in the winter. I didn't go too far into the ravine this time, only because I wasn't wearing boots and the snow looked rather damp towards the middle. But I could still hear the rushing of water from the Beaverkill tumbling through the culverts under that mundane-looking metal grate...and, as always, there was a subtle haunting feeling to the place.

Click below for my posts about the Beaverkill...I will be writing more soon. And, despite the cold, Sunday's peek inside probably won't be the last this winter.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

End of Season

Well, this is it...the end of autumn. Not officially, of course. Winter is still a few weeks away. And we've been spoiled by some very nice warm days this November. But now it's getting colder and a little gloomier.

This is one of the pools forming part of the World War II Memorial located between the New York State Museum and the Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception. The pools have been drained for the winter. The pipes which, in warmer weather, create turbulent waters symbolizing the chaos of war, are bare and exposed. And these leaves have settled neatly in one corner.

This photo was taken yesterday afternoon. This morning, I saw the first snowflakes. Just the lightest dusting, but as I said on Facebook...snow is snow.