Cold front

Don’t want to go out much when it’s this cold. To be an equal opportunity picture-taker, I opened our front door, too, when I discovered it was -3F at 7 a.m. where we live. Yup. Central New York, not anything with arctic in the title.

Brrrrrrraving the open door

Pure cold. It’s not often that your trusted weather app tells you that it was -3 F when you got up at 7 a.m. That’s what pure cold looked like out our back door. Not wind chill. Temperature. Not overnight. 7 a.m. Yikes, is what I say about winter 2026.

Still there

Circling back. The corkscrew evergreen looked even more stately with our flag poking over its shoulder as I wound my way past the Onondaga County Parks and Recreation offices and toward the Village of Liverpool. I was glad I braved the snow and cold to take in a stroll at Onondaga Lake Park, for sure.

There’s the sun

Bright spot. My winter weather stroll diligence at Onondaga Lake Park was rewarded when the sun worked its way through the morning gray. No, it did not feel any warmer.

The other way

Why the fence? As I cold-strolled at our Onondaga Lake Park, I noticed that a lot of my most familiar stops were blocked by a chair link fence. You can see it blocking my path down yonder toward the marina. There were construction vehicles inside the fencing. Maybe I’ll see some changes next visit …

Far side in the cold

Trying. I could see more of the far shore, I thought as I reached a clearing in my so-cold walk at Onondaga Lake Park. And is that the sun trying to announce itself over there to the left?

Two proud trees

No takers. I could have worked my way to the two benches sitting beneath the two winter-stately trees. But, too cold. Had to keep going.

Still a path

Walk that way. Some worker had been up early to clear a path from the big snow at our Onondaga Lake Park. I showed up just a few hours into daylight and more snow had gathered. I forged through in solitude.

Salty still

Leaning to the wind? Our Salt Museum stand proudly through the winter’s snow and wind I note during my morning walk at Onondaga Lake Park.

Way out there

Breakin’ on through to the other side. The observation deck still looks out to the far side of our lake, even though snow covers everything this frosty winter. It will be a while before boats venture out there, I think, watching smoke come from the far stacks.