#69 Our feet are getting cold!

Mama Goose, her sister Auntie Goose, and her Chanticleer are complaining: "Our feet are getting cold!"

It's the last day of the year (only if you follow the Gregorian calendar, of course). Let's see if we can keep the daily photos coming during all of 2009. A happy new year to all our readers! If you are based in Ithaca and still looking for a place to spend midnight today, why not go to the first annual Fall Creek ball drop?

#68 White Tree

I took a photo of this tree because it is white. The only tree with white rind I know of is the birch. This is not a birch, yet it looks distinctly white compared to all the other trees around. So what is it?

#67 Ithaca - THE place to eat in America

Let's remind you of where we blog from. Ithaca is the place to be, especially if you like restaurants. Ithaca has the highest ratio of restaurants per inhabitant all over the US - yummy!

#66 First in Flight

Mama Goose first in flight (other family members follow).

#65 The shadow at work

Here you see my co-blogger trying to get the best shot on this sunny day but he himself was a good motive!

#64 Snow and Sun

Simply Beautiful!

#63 They can fly!

And here we go, the official end of the sit-in!
Enjoy Christmas and if you are in Ithaca or around town, take a walk and enjoy the beautiful nature. It's definitely worth it!

#62 Merry Christmas!

W is for White Christmas!
In the past days we had a lot of snow-pictures, so Christmas is truly white here in Ithaca. For the 24th we want to show you the Christmas Tree from the Biotechnology building, decorated by the lovely elf from the loading dock. It's smaller brother is standing on top (!) of the revolving door to greet everyone right away.
Merry Christmas!

#61 Winter in Ithaca is tough. Sit it out!

The ducks have had enough! They have decided sit until the winter is over! Well ok, maybe only until tomorrow.
In Germany Santa Claus is coming in the evening of the 24th, not during the night to the 25th as it is tradition here. Maybe he'll make an exception for the ducks in Ithaca to come a little early, so that they can end their sit-in.

#60 Feed Ithaca's birds

I have seen a lot of "birdhouses" in Ithaca, however this is definitely the most futuristic one. I guess it is also a challenge to some of the birds, because it can swing in any direction.
So feed the birds! Also in winter!

#59 Christmas at DeWitt Mall

Talking about DeWitt... This is the DeWitt Mall surrounded by lights and other Christmas decoration. The lights are even brighter than the street lights and especially together with the snow it just looks great!

#58 Ithaca Farmer's Market

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe today is the last day of Farmer's market for 2008. During January the market is held somewhere else (the people working at the market will be thankful).

For our readers not in the know: The Farmer's Market in Ithaca is a major event. It takes place every weekend and during the warmer season also on Tuesdays (in DeWitt Park - not named after the Mayor of New York City who authorized plans for a revolutionary road layout in Manhattan back in the days when Manhattan was still wild countryside). Farmers from around Ithaca come to sell their products - during winters there is not much to see though: apples, honey and lots and lots of cake! And not to forget: Apple cider doughnuts! Yammy.

#57 Directions please!

This poor duck was clearly lost.

#56 Sonne Mond und Sterne

Another ice-sculpture in the Ithaca commons, this time depicting the sun, moon and stars. Wondering about the title? Yeah its German, there exists a children's song that is sung at St.Martings when the kids carry their self-made lanterns through the streets: "Laterne Laterne, Sonne Mond und Sterne! Brenne auf mein Licht, brenne auf mein Licht! Aber nur meine Liebe Laterne nicht!"

#55 Campus Road - Very wrong google map

V is for Very wrong google map.
Thanks to modern days camera technology this photo features snow flakes in magenta, yellow and cyan. On the topic of campus road: If you zoom into Cornell campus on Google Maps and know your way around here, you will notice that Campus Road is wrongly geocoded to turn right (coming from east) just before the baseball field. In truth it keeps going straight and the road turning right is called Hoy Road.

#54 Elvis in Ice

The day before yesterday we walked through the Commons on the way home to check out Ithaca's Christmas decorations. Apart from the usual colorful lights saying "Happy Holidays" (because apparently every mention of Christmas upsets all us non-Christians) we were surprised by a different ice sculpture in front of every single shop along the Commons. How cool is that? I wonder how long it took to make them all - they were really quite delicate. I tried making one once (it was supposed to be a giraffe) but the result was poor. Apart from all the smaller ones (pictures to follow over the next days), the biggest one was Father Christmas Elvis.

#53 The red tree again

And again the red tree from the "Ithaca by night" shot, however now with several inches of snow. Next to the grey sky and the white snow this is a colorful spot on this street.

#52 Snowman with accessories

Last night it has been snowing and snowing. And today it has been snowing and snowing .. so it was just the right time to build the first snowman!
This is a particular interesting species, the lab snowman. With gloves and labcoat he is perfectly equipped to work on DNA or any other sample that needs to be kept cool right away. Also note the additional screw caps he carries with him, in case of a "tube" emergency!

#51 Snowed in

Whenever you go to the Commons (Ithacas superbly splendid downtown pedestrianized shopping area), she's already there. Be it hot in summers or snowy in winters, she enjoys her coffee, presumably a cup from Gimme!

By the way: Someone came to our site (this one) googling for Naked Ithaca. If you go out naked in Ithaca these days, dear Sir or Madam who is googling for that, you will be rather cold.

#50 Portrait

Portrait of my co-blogger becoming a snow-woman. Note also the TCAT bus number 92 behind her on the left and the apparent stretch limo on the right. It's just a normal car that became stretched by the long exposure time. Also note what looks like rain but is snow - it started falling yesterday at lunchtime and hasn't stopped since.

#49 Ithaca's Hunted Castle

This is where the witches of Ithaca live. Rumor has it that every night at midnight this door opens as moved by magic hands and organ music plays.

Dislcaimer: I am making this up. The light just makes it very gloomy.

#48 Ithaca by night

This tree actually does not carry leaves anymore but little red balls. In the grey Ithaca winter (unfortunately not white yet) this is an uncommon sight. Especially against the white house and the dark sky it stands out even more.

#47 Bear Trail

This is kinda weird. Wouldn't you think a bear trail was for bears only?

#46 New people found!

A completely new breed of people were found behind the parking garage on Green St yesterday. They are pretty flat and monochrome. It appears the male ones are black while the females of the species are mostly white. Also some of them float while others simply walk. We tried to have a chat with them but could not get a response. We will most certainly investigate the matter further.

#45 No Swimming

Relating to yesterdays post we want to show you this picture today. No Jumping or No Swimming signs are all over the place, even though they are sometimes less usseful, like in this case. The water is far down below so to put the warning here is, lets put it mildly, a waste. Even if the water rises in summer...
But at least they have conveyed the message.

#44 No Jumping - Buttermilk falls

It's weekend and we have time again to explore Ithaca's surroundings! This time we went to look at the Buttermilk Falls. Although it is clearly stated that one should not jump! my co-blogger was very determined to try it. In the end the temperatures persuaded him not to do so. Thank god!

#43 A new home for my squirrels

People in Ithaca love squirrels. They feed them on their porches, they love watching them climb the trees and run around in the bushes but also when they have races on the powerlines. So in a next step the undergrad inhabitants of "Collegetown" wanted to provide a new living environment for the beloved animals it seems. They put up a bunch of shoes on the powerlines, even the size was carefully selected, siz 12, to fit the average Ithaca squirrel.
In the name of all Ithaca squirrels: Thank You!

#42 Dead end - The Cornell Gate

This used to by the main entrance to Cornell - apparently centuries ago, now its just a Dead End.
Cornell used to be accessed through this gate, overlooked by he portrait of Ezra Cornell, that lead to the main road of campus. During some re-development this was changed and the road through Collegetown, crossing the Gorge became the main road, without a new gate. The old one was abandoned and the story tell that the road has seen several signs like "Dead End", "No through traffic" and the best one "Do not enter" since then, nevertheless the students always found their way in.

#41 Trees and scary snow

T is for trees.
Apart from looking beautiful in the summer and spring and helping to establish the Christmas atmosphere during winter trees can also be gloomy.

When I looked at this picture for the first time I thought "Wow, what a gloomy moon!" Only on second view it occurred to me that it was actually a street lamp. Nevertheless it looks very gloomy and the snow looks like rain, making it a little depressing. Still I like it.

#40 Cayuga lake

What's going on with digital camera technology these days? We took this photo a few weeks ago in the pitch dark. Somehow the camera managed to make it look like bright daylight. Don't trust your camera!

(By the way: No tripod was involved.)

#39 Left, right

Usually Germany is known for its "Sign-forest" (freely translated from Schilderwald) but I have seen some good ones in the US already. Like this one! The important message is: something left or right. Intriguing...