The weather wizards correctly forecast a messy day for today, from rain and freezing rain to snow and sleet.
I walked this morning on a messy surface wearing waterproof winter walking shoes. When I arrived home my outside layers were dripping but I was warm and dry beneath the wet.
The sun was setting as I left the visitor center at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon. The water was quiet, the light dimming.
A splash of red is highlighted by sharp thorns.
I think this plant is sending a clear message of "look, don't touch"!
A sheet of ice topped with a bit of water painted a reflection of the clouds above.
It was a good day for a walk by the sea.
I started down the beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge about an hour after high tide. The tide was heading out but I found that I needed to pay attention to the waves; the air wasn't warm to risk wet feet.
As the calendar fades to the end of the year it's time for me to wander through the photos that I've published in 2019 to find my favorites. It's always an interesting exercise, one that takes time, one that changes day-to-day until I have made my final choices.
From the beginning of the year, here are my selections.
wild ocean
Today was a gift from the weather wizard, a day with temperatures rising to the low 50s.
I thought about heading to a park for a walk in the woods but ruled that out after thinking about the melting snow, ice, and mud that I was likely to encounter. Instead I chose a long exercise walk, dressing in light layers for a 7-mile walk on pavement.
It was a good day for a long walk!
I saw a reference to an article titled The Patterns of High-Conflict People today.
The article was (to me) a good description of the current inhabitant of the White House, an individual who doesn't behave in a manner that fits with the office of president of the United States.
Does the introductory paragraph from the article drawn you in as it did me?
Did you ever meet someone who seemed pleasant enough, until one day they suddenly turned on you and started raging at you for some minor disagreement, blaming you for things you didn’t do, threatening you with public humiliation or demanding that you assist them in criticizing someone else? Such people are often considered to have “high-conflict personalities.”I encourage you to read the article published on the Thrive-Global web site on February 6, 2018.
The petals of this pink camellia show a tight pattern, looking like they are folded into a small amount of space.
I saw an announcement about the impending release of a new apple earlier this year. I've been keeping an eye out for Cosmic Crisp apples; today I saw them for the first time.
Yes, of course I bought some!
The Cosmic Crisp web site opens with the following statement:
The Cosmic Crisp® is a classically bred apple grown in Washington State. |
I find that I need regular exposure to color. This time of year that often means seeking color in greenhouses. Yesterday I visited the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate to look for flowers in bloom; my need for color was satisfied.
Yesterday's snow was much less than predicted, somewhere between 1 & 2 inches of the white stuff. When I looked outside this morning I saw just a light coating on the bushes outside.
I was amazed that these seagulls didn't move when I popped out of my car. I had no intention of getting close but I thought the sound of the car door closing would cause a mass flight.
Hey seagulls, thank you for sharing your space!
It was a good day for a quick wander in coastal New Hampshire.
For the past several weeks I've been wondering why the level of the water in Field Pond was much lower than normal. As I walked today I met some folks who knew the answer. Apparently the state has started the process of repairing the nine dams and spillways in Harold Parker State Forest; the dam at Field Pond is currently under construction.
The dams were constructed 100 years ago to create man-made ponds.
While I prefer to see the ponds filled with water I have to admit the lower water level creates some interesting views. I walked today on land that is normally well below the water's surface.
The subtitle of an article in Slate caught my eye today: One used to speak truth to power. Now, one speaks truth to nonsense.
I found the article "The Women Who Still Speak Up" to be very interesting. It features women who are standing up (and speaking up) to the craziness spawned by the current resident of the White House. Perhaps the introductory paragraph from the article will drawn you in as it did me.
Speak “truth to power”—this is how most people standing up to the constant disinformation and bullying of the Trump administration may have once reasonably described their task. Increasingly, though, that work is being honed and refined into something a bit more complicated: speaking truth to nonsense. It’s not so much holding up a mirror so that power can see what it’s become; it’s simply the job of creating a record, for history if nothing else, of what is actually happening.I encourage you to read the article published in Slate on December 6, 2019.
It always feels good to reach back to flowers on a cold winter day. A camellia in pink (from my early November visit to the greenhouses at Smith College) celebrates the day with bright color.
Cold air was replaced by almost warmth today as afternoon temperatures edged into the low 40s. Interesting clouds replaced the clear sky of the morning; it was a good time to walk in Harold Parker State Forest.
Snow was still falling when I opened my eyes this morning, and light snow is still falling now.
I think we were lucky. I've seen snowfall total reports for the overall storm showing about 15 inches on the ground here; further west in the state there are places that received up to 24 inches.
No snow yet, but the forecast currently calls for between 8 and 14 inches of the white stuff between tonight and Tuesday with some ice accumulations thrown in to keep things interesting. Yikes!
While astronomical winter doesn't start for another three weeks, meteorological winter starts today. The temperature over the past days made it feel like winter, and the forecast for significant snow just adds to the feeling that the season is changing.
Meteorological Versus Astronomical SeasonsAs I walked in Harold Parker State Forest this afternoon I found that the ponds have started to wear a skim coat of ice. It's not thick enough for walking but the open water is gone.
On this cold (before) winter day an orchid in a greenhouse shares intricate beauty.
Walking by the ocean at high tide is interesting. I was very surprised that I didn't get my feet wet!
Yesterday's walk was accompanied by the sound of the ocean. The view was enhanced by patterned clouds.
Morning rain came to an end, replaced by a sky full of interesting clouds. It was a good afternoon for a walk by the sea in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
Utility boxes can be boring but when they are decorated with mini-murals I often find them to be interesting. This one stands in front of an old mill building in Lawrence, MA.
What a beautiful day!
The air was cool this morning but by afternoon the thermometer hit 60 degrees. It was wonderful walking weather, no jacket needed!
After yesterday's all day torrential downpour the weather wizard delivered clear skies this morning.
A walk at Harold Parker State Forest provided this view of trees reflecting in Collins Pond.
Layered colors lined the road, moving from blue sky to the green of evergreens, the red of autumn-colored lowbush blueberry, and finally to the gray of granite.
Gray skies and rain sent me looking for color inside today. I found these orchids in the Lyman Estate Greenhouses.
It's another gray day today, moving from rain to drizzle. Luckily I found some fading color to brighten the day.
It was a gray day, decorated by occasional flakes of white.
When I drove to Parker River this afternoon I noticed snow flurries; when I headed home there were some light patches of white on the ground.
As I wandered through the greenhouse at Smith College this plant caught my eye. Leaves of bright pink sit in the background as new growth emerges.
While I'm sure some would say that today's temperature was chilly, it felt much warmer than yesterday.
It was a good day for a walk in Valley Forge National Historical Park. I chose to walk a good part of the Joseph Plumb Martin Trail, walking the loop section without adding any of the out-and-back sections.
This morning's chilly air allowed me to practice winter layering. When I headed out to walk the temperature was hovering in the mid-20s. Luckily the right set of light layers kept me warm.
It felt like winter today.
On Tuesday I visited the Fall Chrysanthemum Show in the Lyman Conservatory at Smith College. I've been to their Spring Bulb Show before but somehow I kept missing the chrysanthemums. I'm very glad I spent some time among the bright and varied flowers.
It's amazing how many different flowers wear the name chrysanthemum. According to the National Chrysanthemum Society there are 13 different classes of these flowers.
