More wildlife photos from Cape Cod

Not to be upstaged by snowy owls, right whales have been paying a visit to Cape Cod Bay this week, swimming near the shore. Tish took these photos from the beach at East Dennis on Tuesday.

Tish writes: "Today was the first warm day we have had and I took full advantage of it - spending much of the day at the Northside beaches. The whales were an amazing sight and sound!"

According to Cape Cod Today, "Right whales head to Cape Cod Bay each year around this time to feast on zooplankton. About half of the world population of right whales--about 250 of them--head to the bay each December through May."

Nanette and Courtney attend Palm Beach benefit

Nanette was back in Florida this weekend visiting her daughter, Courtney.

Courtney writes: "We went to an event at James Clark's house on Palm Beach for the Perlman Music Program. Fabulous!"

That would be James Clark, the founder of Netscape and other internet companies, who is a big backer of the Perlman Music Program for gifted young violinists.

The program is headquartered in Shelter Island, N.Y., where Nanette is executive director of the town Historical Society. Clark hosts an annual benefit concert and dinner at his Palm Beach home for the program.

Sting, Paul Simon team up at Garden

Associated Press

Two fine songwriters and musicians brought their talents and their bands together at Madison Square Garden this week - and Dan and Julie were in the audience for their second show on Thursday night.

Both said afterward that it was one of the best concerts they've seen. The two artists performed several songs together and others separately, backed by a combined band of 14 musicians.

Robert Altman/consequenceofsound.net

They finished the show with a version of Simon's "Late In the Evening" that Julie said she could have listened to for another hour, followed by a brief duet - with just their acoustic guitars and a single microphone - on Phil Everly's "When Will I Be Loved."

Rebecca and teammates proud of tournament play

Back home in Rochester after taking part in the 2014 USA Curling Nationals, Rebecca says her team is proud of its performance.

Competing with the best women's teams in the nation, the foursome from the Rochester Curling Club finished with a 3-6 record.

"We had a good week and learned a lot," writes Rebecca. "You have to lose a lot in order to learn how to win in this game, so we're just paying our dues now. It was a great experience and I think we got some good exposure."

Judging from the commentary heard during game webcasts, the team made a strong impression in its first appearance at a national tournament.

Rebecca competing in USA Curling Nationals (Updated)

The 2014 USA Curling National Championship tournament is under way near Philadelphia. Rebecca is competing as a member of Team Maroldo, based at the Rochester Curling Club.
  The team won its first game in the round-robin portion of the tournament on March 1. It was a see-saw battle that went into overtime, with the Maroldo rink taking two in the 11th end to win 10-8. Its second game Sunday morning was another close, back-and-forth contest that ended in a 9-8 loss.

We found these photos in an album of pictures from the first day's action, taken by a spectator and posted on the web.

You can follow the team's progress here - and we'll be posting updates now and then, too.

Two of Rebecca's games -- at 4 p.m. on Sunday March 2 and at noon on Wednesday March 5 -- are scheduled to be shown on USA Curling's live video stream.

Stephanie makes her stage debut

Stephanie is performing this weekend in the Hilliard Heritage Middle School's production of "Mystery at Shady Acres."

It's a who-done-it about the theft of a million-dollar necklace at a small English hotel.

Stephanie plays one of the police detectives investigating the case.

Andy drums at school jazz festival

Andy performed with one of his school's many music ensembles during a Jazz Festival this week. He played drums on the Gershwin classic "Summertime" and congas on a tune called "Mucho Loco."

Snow melts, Snowy Owl still at home on Cape

Tish writes:
Owen and I took advantage of the warm spell in the 40's today!

We went for a walk at West Dennis Beach and came upon the Snowy Owl.

She was most cooperative for her photos today.

See previous stories:
Snowy Owl on snowy Cape
Tish meets a Snowy Owl

Snow reaches us, both north and south

After missing the heavy snowfall at midweek, our Cape Cod family members got their share on Saturday. Tish reports about 10-12 inches of new snowfall, with a topping of ice. Sunday brought bright sunshine, creating views like these of the white-coated trees.

Tish and Owen's daughter, Lizzie, hasn't missed out on this snowy winter despite being down in North Carolina at Elon University. This was the scene there on Wednesday, as the South had its second big snowstorm of the winter.

More scenes of the Winter of '14

Hugh and Dolores are spending some time at their place on Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, Md., where pretty much every winter is a snowy winter. But like most of the Eastern U.S. this year, it seems especially snowy this year.

Hugh writes that Thursday's coastal storm - which wasn't expected to reach that far inland - nonetheless dumped a reported 23 inches on parts of the county.

"When we cleaned off the car, it looked more like 18 inches here at Arrowhead," Hugh writes. "However, another storm, this one from the west, brought another six inches or so over Friday night and into Saturday.

"Schools in Garrett County have been open less than 5 days since the first of the year!"

Relentless winter piles it on

The latest storm of the Relentless Winter of '14 brought the heaviest snow yet to the Mid-Atlantic region on Wednesday night and Thursday.

In Virginia, train service on the VRE was canceled for the day, giving conductor Brian a snow day. He took the opportunity to create the giant snowman above.

Xander and Marie helped out, but "it's mostly Brian's creation," Marie said.

In Maryland, the patio table at Doug & Lisa's house gave a good view of the depth of snow Thursday afternoon.

Below, Andy helped dig out at Birch Street headquarters. Dan and Julie were both able to work from home, but it seemed wise to shovel some of the snow aside before another round that was expected to fall Thursday night.

Rebecca featured in Rochester TV curling reports (Updated)

Twice this week, Rochester television stations looking for a local angle on the Winter Olympics interviewed Rebecca at the Rochester Curling Club.

Click here to see a WROC-TV report featuring Rebecca and a fellow club member. You can also read a text version of the story.

Then click here to see Rebecca give a reporter from WHEC-TV a brief lesson in the essentials of curling.

Snowy Owl on snowy Cape

Tish photographed this Snowy Owl in a snowy marsh near the beach in snowy Cape Cod this weekend.

As previously reported, the arctic birds have appeared on the Cape in extraordinary numbers this winter. It's part of a broad invasion of East Coast and Midwest states that has ornithologists wondering if it's a freak event or the beginning of a new pattern.

Tish & Owen help kick off Rally Against Cancer

Owen and Tish were invited to the kick-off event for the Jimmy Fund Rally Against Cancer, held Tuesday at Boston's Fenway Park. The Jimmy Fund, which supports adult and pediatric cancer care research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is an official charity of the Red Sox.

Tish in front of the snow-on-tarp-covered field at Fenway

Tish has been spreading the word about the current fund-raiser, which will culminate on Opening Day at Fenway on April 4. Tish's Team has already raised nearly $2,000 for the cause thanks to the support of many friends and family members.

See the Boston Herald article about the kick-off event. Be sure to read to the end!

Visit Tish's Team page

More scenes of the wild winter of '14

Lisa shares this Wednesday-morning scene from her home in Maryland, and adds that she's thankful the ice storm didn't knock out power there.

From Ohio, Cathy reports: "Kids didn't have school yet again today. This is the 6th day this year so they have surpassed their allotted 'calamity days.' The governor granted an exception so that teachers can provide assignments on-line for students to do in lieu of having to make up days in the summer. They are calling these assignments 'Blizzard Bags.'

"While the kids do their work, I get to stay home & work as well. Here is our unofficial snowfall measurement."

Back on Monday, Courtney relayed this photo taken by her mom, Nanette, on Shelter Island - marked #mamaswinterwonderlandNY.

Relentless winter takes a spectacular turn

Dan writes: As I said before, this winter's weather has been both wearying and beautiful. On Monday, after another 8 inches of snow fell in our part of New Jersey, beauty won out.

I came home from work and found our neighborhood transformed into a fantastical realm, with every tree branch, bush leaf and utility wire coated in glistening white.

After dinner I just had to take a walk with my camera and see if I could manage to get any pictures in the dark.

What I discovered was that the mix of different streetlights in our part of town created amazing scenes by painting the snow in contrasting colors.Tuesday morning, the colors turned to pure white in the daylight. Everywhere I looked was another spectacular view.

Typically a coating of snow on all the trees doesn't last very long after a storm, but the cold kept it in place all day Tuesday.

Wednesday morning's storm promises to be sloppy and disruptive, but for all the trouble the weather is causing this winter, I'm glad for the chance to see these spectacular sights, right in my own neighborhood.

Tish's Team is rallying against cancer

Tish's Team in the Rally Against Cancer fund-raiser is off to a great start.

Tish writes: "I had a good check-up and chemo infusion Friday at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I have a favor to ask all of you that have been so supportive. I would love it if you would join Tish's Team in the Rally Against Cancer.

"All you have to do is sign up, make a donation if you want to, and that's it - no walk or run involved! Just click on this link to Tish's Team page.

As of midday Sunday, Tish's Team has 33 members and has raised $1,585. "Each and every one of you is amazing!"

Andy on drums in HS shows

It was a busy musical week for Andy and his bandmates at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. The annual Winter Pops Concert was held Tuesday night.

Andy, a senior, played drum set with the Rhythmsense percussion group (above) and handled other percussion backing the Wind Ensemble (right).

And on Saturday the school hosted a "Day of Percussion," a day-long series of performances by ensembles from several schools plus educational clinics featuring professional performers.

At Saturday's event, Dan was able to get backstage for a different view (below).