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Shifting Gears

Shifting Gears

Tag Archives: winter weather

Weather

17 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by judithar321 in environment, pets

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

nature, snow, winter weather

icing

Yes, it is beautiful after the first snowfall. And so quiet you can almost hear a feather being ruffled by the wind.

feather

And I finally got a clear shot of this hornet’s nest that I picked out through the trees last summer.

hornet's nest

But it’s cold, too. This morning when I walked into the kitchen the thermometer read 1 degree Fahrenheit. “It’s dangerously cold,” Paul said. Karina and I waited for the temperature to rise into the double digits.

When it hit 10 degrees, I began layering on the thick socks, long underwear, heavy jeans, sweater with turtleneck to pull over my nose, down coat, hat, boots, gloves — and then I took a step and felt something sticking into my foot.  Oy….

It wasn’t so bad once we got out. No wind, and our neighbors John and Marie, assisted by their big, jolly lab, Yankee, had tramped out a short loop in the woods with their snow shoes.

It’s the time of year when I look longingly ahead to striding down clear pathways in a pair of my favorite shoes instead of trudging through snow and ice in my clumsy-but-warm winter boots.

For now though, I’m taking a page from AA: One day at a time.

needlescreen

(Good thing, too, because when I lifted my head to look outside after hitting “publish,” more snow was starting to fall.)

An Icy Pause

21 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by judithar321 in environment, health, inspiration, meditation, pets

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

dogwood trees, ice, lady's mantle, lavender, nature, pine trees, Walden woods, winter weather

We woke up earlier this week to an ice-covered world. The dogwood tree outside the bedroom window greeted me looking like a cocktail hostess wrapped in a silvery sheath.

out the window

The glittery theme continued in the garden, where the lady’s mantle posed as a crystal chandelier resting on its side, and the lavender wore translucent stockings.

ladysmantle Lavender on ice

The driveway had a coating that was treacherous, but easily shattered like the best stained glass candy.

Driveway

In the woods, it took us a while to negotiate the trail — why didn’t we remember to dig out our ice cleats?

mananddog1

Still, we walked. We saw tree branches, wrapped in ice, reaching across the path with ET-like fingers.

Fingers1

There was evidence of fairies messing with trees during the night.

tree sculpture tree sculpture2

And shades of Dr. Seuss.

DrSeuss

Pine needles turned into elongated jewels.

holiday best

needles2

It was as if the ice, in coating the plants, the trees, the driveway, and the trail, had also frozen time, and encased us in a cold but protective cocoon. A magic trick.

All too soon the trick was over, and time resumed its normal pace, as the ice quickly melted away.

Next week, I hope to replicate that magic by slowing down and savoring every quiet and not-so-quiet moment with loved ones. I hope you can do the same: take a breath and reflect, before we all gear up for 2013.

I wish all of you safe, happy, holidays, and health and joy in the coming year.

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