[Bill Menke's Journal Entry for the afternoon of December 9, 2005] I wake up to find that a snowstorm is in progress. About six inches of snow is on the ground at daybreak, and heavy show continues to fall. I cross-country ski in Tallman Mountain Park in the morning, for about three hours. The snow slowly tapers off, the sky clears, and the afternoon turns bright and sunny. The landscape, covered with the new-fallen snow, is very beautiful. I decide to return to the Park, this time on snowshoes, to take photographs. I park in the south lot, at the terminus of the Bike Path, and head toward the north Picnic area, which is about a mile and a half away. I take many side trips to visit photogenic spots. I head down the Long Trail, as far as the pond. The bushes along the marshy borders of the pond, now with every arching twig thickened by a sleeve of snow, are very beautiful. Small birds flutter around them. The damp areas along the old levy that the trail follows sport many snow hummock, each a brilliant white against the dark brown hues of fallen leaves that cover the floor of the swamp. I walk down the crest of an old levy, past the pond, and out onto the cliff edge, I photograph some of the gullies that lead down the Palisades to the Hudson River, below. The Piermont Pier and the surrounding salt marsh, stand out well against the Hudson, because of their snow cover, the bright sun and the especially clear air. I then rejoin the Bike Path, because travel is easier there, and I am getting pretty tired. I hike up on top of the hill of the North Picnic area. The view to Hook Mountain, and the Hudson Highlands beyond it, is less vivid, more pastel. As I start to head back, the wind picks up, and the low sun lights up the blowing snow spectacularly. The sun is just setting as I return to the car. One hour fifty minutes.