I've been dreaming of spring flowers, looking at ground that is still wearing a strong cover of snow, hoping for color.
My photo galleries from the last two years show flowers in late March. If this year's spring follows that pattern it will probably be another 3 to 4 weeks before I see outside color. In the meantime I'll make do with photos from previous years and with visits to conservatories.
A splash of yellow from last spring...
As soon as the car doors were opened we could hear the wind howling. The tide was inbound, the wind blowing, a somewhat warm winter's day turned chill as we walked onto the beach.
I loved this sweep of icy blue as I walked onto Popham Beach. The beach in winter can be a magic place.
Ah... we're three weeks into February and the weather wizard brought us a little bit of (relative) warmth.
It was a bit messy in inland locations but a walk on Popham Beach (Phippsburg, Maine) as the tide was rolling in was a good Saturday afternoon activity. The wind was howling and the crossing waves were fun to watch. There was snow covering the dunes and ice on the sections of the beach close to the dunes.
We're three weeks into February and I am itching for spring!
The weather wizard wasn't quite finished with us after Tuesday's snow storm; yesterday afternoon brought another inch and a half of the white stuff. Today brought change with temperatures edging into the 40s and rain is expected tomorrow with a helping of warm air. Hmm... I think it's going to be a bit messy with the combination of rain and melting snow.
I'll be happy to have a warm air interlude for a few days.
The weather wizard appears to be making up for years when we had sparse snowfall. This certainly isn't one of those years!
The snow didn't start here until late morning. There wasn't an ease in, the white stuff was heavy and steady from the beginning. And yes, it's still snowing.
Today's impending snow storm changed my plans for today. Instead of heading up the coast of Maine to visit with a friend I stayed closer to home. The Butterfly Place in Westford opened for the year yesterday; that seemed like a good spot for a visit this morning. It's much smaller than Magic Wings but it's also closer to home, a very reasonable drive for a short visit with butterflies and birds.
Butterflies were flitting, occasionally lighting on a surface to pose for photos. The butterflies are beautiful but it was the birds that really made me smile today. I asked what name this beautiful bird (below) wears and was told that it was a finch. It took a bit of searching to discover that the bird is a zebra finch.
I walked this afternoon in snow and freezing fog, feeling the tiny pieces of very cold water droplets freeze as they hit my face.
The weather forecast yesterday reminded me that we are still in the grasp of winter. The temperature outside was really enough of a reminder; I could have skipped the snow!
Yesterday afternoon the National Weather Service posted a map that usually shows predicted snowfall amounts. This time it was simply a map overlaid with words:
Low tide, clouds, patterns on wet sand, a perfect time for a walk on the beach...
I wonder what these are. Somehow in my conservatory wander on Saturday I neglected to look for a sign identifying these small, bright, fuzzy flowers. No matter, the bright color in these tiny shapes made me smile.
Last week I visited the coast at high tide, catching reflections in inland waters. Today I visited at low tide, enjoying reflections in the wet sand.
I was delighted to see two snow people standing on the sidewalk at Whole Foods this morning.
Brr... the temperatures this morning were in the teens, good for a brisk (exercise) walk but not so good for camera play. I was feeling the need for some color. I thought a bit, then headed to Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA. Two small conservatory spaces serve as the home for some very out-of-season flowers.
Flowers in winter are wonderful, aren't they? Happy...
It was a day with white in the air, a day of cold air, of snow and freezing fog. I walked on cleared surfaces and through deep snow, happy to be wandering in daylight.
I was curious enough to look on the National Weather Service site for a definition.
It's so good to be able to work from home on days like today; I can avoid driving on slippery roads, and I can arrange my working hours to support walking outside during daylight hours.
Freezing fog occurs when the water droplets that the fog is composed of are "supercooled". Supercooled water droplets remain in the liquid state until they come into contact with a surface upon which they can freeze. As a result, any object the freezing fog comes into contact with will become coated with ice.
As I walked through the butterfly conservatory last weekend I kept seeing butterflies wearing bright blue wings. It seemed a bit odd that I didn't see any blue-winged creatures at rest.
It turns out that the blue morpho butterfly has wings that are bright blue on the top and brown decorated with very interesting spots and patterns on the bottom. When they light to rest they close their wings, showing the bottom colors.
It was pure luck that I managed a bit of wandering along the New Hampshire coast before rain started falling this afternoon. It was close to high tide, a good time to search for reflections.
With temperatures in the low 40s it felt like a good time for a somewhat warm walk on the beach. I headed to Crane Beach in Ipswich, arriving in mid-afternoon. There were many cars in the parking lot, many people walking on the beach and on the trails through the dunes.
There was enough open (beach) space for a solitary, peaceful walk.
