Red face, blue feet, snow...

Sunday's glimpse of warmth is in the past, and winter has joined us once again.

The forecast was for heavy snow. I'm doing well on the re-training Denise front, so I planned to work at home. Funny, I used to always head in to the office, but I've finally come to the realization that it is silly to spend extra time driving (or stuck) in the snow when I have full access to my work environment anywhere, anywhen. (Well, as long as I have my computer with me, that is. But bringing it home just in case is part of my re-training effort.)

I took advantage of being home and headed out for a mid-day walk. Daylight instead of dark... The ground was slippery underfoot. Somehow, even though the snow fell on dry pavement, it seemed that there was an icy glare under the white stuff. It was a day made for careful walking, feet clad in blue, encased in warm but walkable boots.

The only reasonable place to walk was in the road, keeping an eye out for passing plows and cars.

Walking, watching, walking, jumping into snowbanks temporarily, walking, bundled up against the cold, absorbing the quiet beauty, walking...

Plum Island afternoon

I was hoping for a good weather day today. I woke to find wet ground and very gloomy skies, coupled with non-December warmth. It looked like a good day to visit Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island.

Warmth and wind... the temperature was just edging 60 degrees when I headed out, and the wind was absolutely howling. At one point I was standing on top of an observation tower, keeping my camera still by leaning on the railing surrounding the platform. There were times when I needed to stop walking, to take a solid stance in an attempt not to get blown away.

The skies cleared as I walked, moving from a deep gray patterned with clouds, occasional spots of blue peeking out, to a wonderful blue background decorated with wisps of white. There were people walking quietly, others running, children splashing in long puddles on the beach. It was a good place to spend the afternoon, relaxing, beautiful.

Four days

It wasn't until last Sunday that I realized I had both Thursday and Friday off this week. Thursday was a given, but I assumed that Friday was a work day. I even questioned my Notes calendar when it popped up showing Friday as a day off, checking with one of my co-workers (as opposed to believing my computer). How wonderful. I was wrong, and Friday was an official day off.

I can't remember the last time I had a 4-day weekend with absolutely no plans. And what a wonderful gift that was!

What did I do with my 4 days? I felt no pressure to go anywhere, to do anything. I relaxed, I rested, I walked, I read, I played with my camera, I visited the birds along the shore, I wandered in two very different places along the Atlantic Coast. And I feel like a new person.

I usually take chunks of days and use them to travel. But I think I'm going to need to remind myself to take some days to do nothing every once in a while.

Snow prints

I wonder what kind of creature left these tracks in the snow.

The pattern seems too regular to be footsteps. Not people, not animals... I suppose the tracks were created by some kind of heavy treaded machinery, but I think I'd prefer to imagine snow people leaving footprints.

Sunshine, howling winds, ocean, birds

Sunshine, blue skies, and mild temperatures happily greeting me this morning. It wasn't a quiet day though; I could hear the wind howling, and once I started walking, I could feel it too.

The coast has been calling to me the last couple of weeks, but winter weather has kept me off of the roads. No more! Today was a perfect day for walking, for watching a quiet ocean, for laughing at the antics of the birds.

Gray day

It was a gray day today, a day of warmer (but not really warm) temperatures, a day of drizzle (but not out and out rain). It was a work-at-home day, which allowed me to walk in the (somewhat dim) daylight, no blinking lights needed to make sure that I was seen. It was a gray winter day, but a good day for a long walk.

And look - I even "met" a tree that likes to wear gloves!

Dances with plows

Today is the day of the winter solstice. The weather wizard presented a snowy day to celebrate with snow, limited visibility, and according to the National Weather Service, a bit of freezing fog too.

It was a good day for a long walk, quiet. No sidewalks were cleared so it was a day of walking in the road, of dancing with plows. They were active, trying to keep the accumulating snow to a drivable depth. I was happy to step off the road and into the snow when the plows approached; after all, they are much bigger than I am!

I saw very few people outside as I wandered, but all of the people I saw were smiling at the quiet snowy day...

White, all white

The snow started with flurries early yesterday afternoon. It picked up, a slow, steady fall, diminishing visibility, coating everything in white. Today, I woke up to see a thick coat of white, snow, snow everywhere. The sky wore a stole of gray occasionally decorated with flurries. The air? Brrr... cold!

"A return to death" journal? Finished!

Phew! I've finally finished uploading photos to my A return to death journal. The writing was complete almost as soon as I returned home, and my photo galleries have been available for viewing since the end of November. But somehow...

If you're someone who likes to see photos along with words, you might want to jump over to my completed journal. There is some overlap between the photos in my galleries and those in my journal, but there are some unique photos in both places. Curious? Click to jump to my journal A return to death. If you have any reactions you'd like to share with me, feel free to leave a message in my journal guestbook.

A traveling home...

...for my computer

Does your computer ever insist that you buy presents for it? Mine does! As winter is descending on us I decided that I needed the safety of a bag that I can carry on my back. My computer is coming home with me even when I don't plan to work at night, just in case bad weather in the morning keeps me away from the office. And I just know there will be some slippery sliding days...

I went looking for a backpack from my laptop; a Google search for laptop backpack delivered links and links and links. I started perusing options, looking, looking a bit further. And then, I clicked on a link that took me to Spire. Their smallest bag, the Volt, jumped out at me. I clicked buy, and my computer had its new home in just a couple of days. The Volt is well-designed, with plenty of space plus the ability to cinch everything into a non-moving state. And, it's comfortable. It feels as if it is floating on my back.

My computer is happy with its traveling home.