This is the sky early Monday morning at the bottom of Stratton Mountain in Vermont. At the top, it was about -30°F – frigid, frost-bite weather.
Here you can see some of the Stratton Mountain condos.
In the top photo, do you see the large, black bird swooping by? The bird (is it a hawk?) swooped and swooped all around, but I only managed to capture him in that one photo before he flew away. I wonder why this bird chose to stay in cold Vermont?
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I like both photos, but especially like the varied roof tops covered with snow, in the second one.
It probably is a hawk. They don’t migrate to the south, and maybe due to the frigid temperatures, is hoping to find a meal.
Thanks for the info about the hawk, Lorri. Why they don’t choose to go to Florida is beyond me.
LOL, I understand.
These are wonderful shots Leora. I love the amber/reddish tones of the hill.
Oh my does that sound cold!
Love the light in the second image.
In regard to the bird, given it was black and swooping I would guess it to be a vulture rather than a hawk. Vultures fly in circles and swoop looking for dead prey. They live year round in all of America.
I did a quick search having never heard of a black hawk and it says they are in the Southwest.
I still think it is a hawk, as it looked like one. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a vulture.
I think it is a hawk, also. They are common in North Eastern America, and some do have black feathers/plumage. They are swooping and preying. They like mountainous areas, and that is where they are often seen swooping and circling.
Lovely scenery Leora.. not sure about the bird. It could be a hawk as they don’t all migrate ….Michelle
Beautiful scenes! Those condos look like they’d be cozy inside. 🙂
Nice shots…looks soooo cold.
Hi Leora
I really really like the light you’ve captured in your sky photos, especially the glow in the lower. The bird was the first thing I noticed. It may be small but it’s a major part of the photo. It’s foolish like the rest of us living in northern climes! And -30 is colder than here in Wisconsin, but I’m hoping for an early spring. Ha! Happy SWF!
I love the light on the condos! Looks like a beautiful, COLD place to ski. We have lots of Turkey Vultures here. Like hawks, they ride the wind currents looking for a meal. I have posted photos of these birds last last March and November 2009.
The architecture in the second photo is very similar to that of the French winter resorts. That’s interesting.
I like the warm reddish hues too.
Looks almost like a small European village. Well done.
Cold indeed! Just as in the photos in the post below!
What “global warming”?
The ski industry is quite happy this year – bye, bye, global warming talk.
I’m sorry, did you say MINUS 30?????? I used to head for the lodge when it dropped to 10 above. You guys are a lot braver than me!
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Maybe it was just -22 at the top? And maybe that was at 3 am? The sun was shining on the bunny slope at 10 am, so that helped my daughter (finally) learn to ski.
Oh wow. You have to wonder how birds survive cold like that. Lovely light in those photos.
Brrrrrrr. Glad I’m not there!!!
With all those beautiful warm tones it doesn’t look -30°F. Burrrrr!