Head in the Clouds Amherst: December 2025

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Worth the Wait

Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge, Hadley MA
Photo by Jennifer Murphy

December’s featured photo in the 2025 Head in the Clouds Amherst wall calendar comes from Jennifer Murphy, who captured this glowing sunrise at the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge in Hadley.

Jennifer shared:

I love getting up and out early to explore - especially when I’m rewarded with a sunrise like this. Our valley produces the best art!

This image feels like December distilled: the wooden boardwalk leading us forward, frost-muted fields resting on either side, and a sky briefly ablaze before the day fully wakes. It’s a reminder that even in the shortest, coldest days, beauty still arrives right on time.

(And yes… I may be a bit late sharing this one, but some skies are worth waiting for.)

On Puffer's Pond

Saturday, February 4, 2023, 3:35 pm: The past two days have seen record-breaking cold in the area, with the temperature dipping to -14F overnight, Friday into Saturday. To make matters worse, the wind was unyielding, whipping through the trees and driving wind chill readings down to -40F. In a season that had been unusually mild up until that point, it was something of a shock. Local residents were suddenly forced to think about warming up their cars, preventing pipes from freezing, and dressing in multiple layers to walk their dogs. By Saturday, while many were happy to hunker down and wait for temperatures to stop breaking low records, this was the moment that ice fishers and skaters had been waiting for all winter. With temps hovering around 12F (albeit above zero) by Saturday afternoon, Puffer's Pond was the place to be for about 30 people, many of whom were spread out over the ice, either ice fishing or playing hockey. While this is a fairly typical sight at Puffer's in the coldest winter months, our current lack of snow made it unique. No one had to contend with snowpack - the skaters didn't even have to clear a "field" for their game. And with all the hiking paths snow and ice-free, photographers had no trouble capturing water flowing through, under, and around layers of ice on the water. And, still, at 12F, without hand and foot warmers, I did not linger long. The temps will be rising quickly in the coming week, climbing well above freezing, even to 50F in the days to come. So, I'm guessing the skaters and ice fishers also won't be here much longer.

(Read past entries here.)

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Thursday, December 25, 2025

Worth the Wait