Spring? Please...

 Is it spring yet?

Snow is still a possibility but encouraging signs of rebirth are appearing.

Whenever possible I go walk outside (instead of in-between the library stacks when the weather in inclement).

Yanick and Br. Aidan have decided to try to keep a couple of colonies of bees this year. They are moving the beeyard to a more wind-protected location. I will consult and help when they ask. This past weekend, they have been going through the beekeeping storage room to spruce up what they need to care for a couple colonies.

From top, clockwise: a crescent moonrise over the river with a few lights from the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site; a view to the South over the Hudson on one of our trails; a sunrise over the Hudson; blooming croci in the Guesthouse lawn; Yanick Savain after preparing beekeeping supplies for the coming bee colonies; a forced hyacinth in a brother's cell.

Br. Aidan is also trying to get in 10,000 daily steps so we often join for a walk outside. Recently, we went to the Walkway Over the Hudson in Highland. It was beautiful. The river is now mostly free of ice. We no longer see the Coast Guard vessels keeping a channel open in the ice a couple of times a day.

On our walk, I got to take a few pictures of a super bulker ship passing by. By the time, we got home, the bulk carrier had parked itself on the river near the monastery. They are impressive ships especially when you get an eagle's view of them.

From top left, clockwise: Br. Aidan and I, properly masked on the Walkway Over the Hudson; looking South to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge; in my cell, reading a good book on the Camino de Santiago; Br. Bede (right corner) bowing to the altar as he arrives for the office of Diurnum on Sunday (you can see the shafts of sunlight through the remaining incense smoke for the earlier mass).

The vessel we saw is a Cypriot ship, registered in the Marshall Islands. At 600 feet long, it is nearly the length of two American football fields. It was on its way to the port of Albany and only stayed by the monastery overnight. Some of those ships stay parked by us for several days at a time.

LMZ Vega bulk carrier. From top left, clockwise: approaching the Walkway over the Hudson in Highland, from the South; about to slip under the Walkway; heading North towards the monastery; parked between the monastery and the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site (2 pictures).

Wishing us all patience in getting the upper hand on the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Stay safe. Wear a mask when out and about. Get a vaccine when you can. You're saving lives. Thank you.