The calendar says spring but the weather headed backwards today with late season snow.
It snowed much of the day with little accumulation with accumulating snow arriving overnight. The current forecast calls for 5 to 9 inches of snow overnight with another 3 to 7 inches possible tomorrow. Here's hoping that the snow depth is on the lower side of the prediction.
I hate what the president and the head of the EPA are doing to climate change rules.
On the other hand, I love the news release that was initially sent out yesterday.
| "With this Executive Order, President Trump has chosen to recklessly bury his head in the sand," read a statement in the release attributed to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. "Today’s executive order calls into question America’s credibility and our commitment to tackling the greatest environmental challenge of our lifetime," it read. "With the world watching, President Trump and Administrator Pruitt have chosen to shirk our responsibility, disregard clear science and undo the significant progress our country has made to ensure we leave a better, more sustainable planet for generations to come." An honest mistake, or a deliberate act of sabotage from a rogue operator in the EPA press office? EPA tries to praise Trump, ends up criticizing him instead |
As I walked on the beach my eyes were pulled by the curves of an empty shell. The beauty created by nature is amazing, isn't it?
I was delighted with the orchids, the blue poppies, and other varieties of flowers that were on display at Longwood Gardens last week. It's nice to have a large indoor space to house bright flowers when the air outside is cool.
I'm always amazed by the sheer variety of orchids.
I headed to my volunteer stint today early enough to allow time for a calming walk on the beach. The sights and sounds of the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge are wonderful.
There was no snow in the forecast, a good time for a visit with two important-to-me women in King of Prussia, PA. I drove down on Monday, heading home again today. The first time I drove from home I followed directions (and GPS) on my phone. That took me through Connecticut into the edge of New York and across the George Washington Bridge. I am not a city gal, and I didn't like that route. I've never repeated it, finding better but longer roads.
I've been fine-tuning the route. I discovered I-287 connecting the NJ Turnpike and the NY Thruway on my first return trip. That works nicely. Since then I've been fine-tuning my route between the northwestern corner of Suffern, NY and Sturbridge, MA.
The shorter of two routes that I've used travels on I-84 from Sturbridge to the NY Thruway. That's a bit of an odd road though. The piece from Sturbridge to Hartford behaves like a limited access road, but beyond there it isn't as nice. It's a main road through several cities, and worse than that there are sections where roads come in from the right and then split off to the left.
The longer route from a distance standpoint only takes a little more time. Today I stayed on I-87 until it intersected with I-90 eastbound. From monkeying with mapping software it appears this route is 50+ miles longer - but it only took about 10 minutes more to travel between Suffern and Sturbridge today than it did on my trip down. While the two roads are only two lanes in each direction, it's a much more comfortable drive. The speed was consistent and faster than the shorter road.
I think I'll stick to the longer route in the future unless snow convinces me to go with the southern route.
As I walked along River Trail in the Valley Forge National Historic Park I was delighted to see daffodils in the woods.
With temperatures in the 30s accompanied by howling winds, indoor activity won the day. We headed to Longwood Gardens to wander among the flowers. The annual Orchid Extravaganza is still running, and there were blue poppies in bloom too.
The number of varieties of orchids is just amazing.
It felt like spring today, a welcome change with warming air.
While native flowers aren't in bloom yet I'm getting my flower "fix" from greenhouse visits. A camellia in pink jumped into my camera as I wandered last weekend.
I was focused on capturing these tiny flowers but I totally missed the many-legged bug until I was home and looking at the photos on my computer. The flowers are quite small, the bug is even smaller!
The ground is still wearing a layer of snow although the temperature is starting to edge up.
Feeling a need for color and flowers, I headed to the greenhouses of Lyman Estate this morning. I never know which flowers will be blooming when I visit but I've never been disappointed.
Here's a splash of color from today's visit.
An ice-covered pond is starting to show large patches of open water. It's good to see the water reflecting the bright blue of the sky.
The temperature has dropped once again into winter.
The spring equinox is just 4 days away; I'm waiting for the welcome warming and new flowers.
I hoped to walk outside today but the inability to clearly see through the weather conditions kept me inside.
I managed to go far enough to grab a (phone) photo of what is normally a busy Route 125 so I could share the conditions with you. Amazing...
Today's weather was quiet, a calm before coming storm. It was quite cold this morning continuing the trend from the last couple of days.
Ponds were mostly covered in ice; the ice wore reflections.
Yesterday I had a much needed exercise rest day; that meant I was ready to move today in spite of the frigid air. When I headed out to walk it was 15 windy degrees with the wind chill pushing the temperature to just below 0. Luckily it's late in the winter - with practice behind me I'm pretty good at judging the right layers to wear.
I was toasty for my entire 4-mile walk.
This afternoon it was back to winter as snow squalls passed through the area.
Temperatures are predicted to drop to single digits overnight. The weather wizard promises a cold weekend and the potential of a nor'easter on Tuesday.
Last week's warmth sent me looking for early flowers. Snowdrops were blooming in a spot protected by trees and bushes. It was well worth crawling into the space to get closer to these beautiful early spring blossoms.
The title of an article in yesterday's Boston Globe jumped off the page at me. The article, Trump’s journey down the crazy tree by Michael A. Cohen, is well worth a read. I've included the first and last words below as a teaser.
The events of the weekend clearly caught the eyes of many. I stumbled on words posted by Stephen King on Twitter - little about this president (or perhaps I should call him a non-president) makes me smile, but King's tweets were smile-provoking.
This weekend Donald Trump fell off the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down.
------------ But even if not true, the president’s weekend tweetstorm speaks to something even more worrisome — Donald Trump is an unhinged conspiracy troll who is temperamentally and psychologically unsuited to be president of the United States. Whatever the results of the Russia investigations, Trump’s inability to discharge the powers and duties of his office has become impossible to ignore.
credit: Michael A. Cohen, Boston Globe
This brightly colored piece of clothing draped on a tree caught my eye as I was out walking. The tree is next to a playing field that was empty, no people.
I wonder... is it lost, misplaced, or a deliberate decorative splash of color?
I think I was lucky to stumble across the essay "Painting as a Pastime" written by Winston Churchill in 1948. His focus was on using art as a way to deal with
"worry and mental overstrain by persons who, over prolonged periods, have to bear exceptional responsibilities and discharge duties upon a very large scale".Churchill's fascination was with oil painting, but I can see how other art forms could create a similar feeling. I have a similar feeling about photography, about focusing on seeing small things in the context of a big picture.
You can read Churchill's words and see some of his paintings in the Project Gutenberg Canada Ebook by clicking here.
Happy are the painters, for they shall not be lonely. Light and colour, peace and hope, will keep them company to the end, or almost to the end, of the day.
------------ The whole world is open with all its treasures. The simplest objects have their beauty. Every garden presents innumerable fascinating problems. Every land, every parish, has its own tale to tell. And there are many lands differing from each other in countless ways, and each presenting delicious variants of colour, light, form, and definition. Obviously, then, armed with a paint-box, one cannot be bored, one cannot be left at a loose end, one cannot 'have several days on one's hands.' Good gracious! what there is to admire and how little time there is to see it in! For the first time one begins to envy Methuselah. No doubt he made a very indifferent use of his opportunities.
Winston Churchill, 1948
While the vernal equinox is still two and a half weeks away signs of the season are beginning to emerge. I know we may very well see more snow before spring really emerges but I was very happy to see flowers today.
Sometimes simple things grab my eyes, bringing a peaceful feeling.
As the fog started to lift, closer objects were perfectly framed by the misty air.
While the temperature has been spring-like for a few days now, it's not yet growing season. My color longings were satisfied yesterday with a visit to the greenhouses of Lyman Estate.
It's wonderful to have indoor flower spaces that I can visit when I feel a need for color.
