The early morning temperature was quite cold, cold enough to convince me that a visit to the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate would be a good way to start my day. The camellias were just starting to bloom when I was there three weeks ago; more were showing color today.
I wandered from greenhouse to greenhouse, stopping as flowers large and small caught my eye, absorbing color and beauty.
Reflections in nature, reflections in thought...
As I look back over the past month I see a quiet existence and I see a lot of snow. My wandering with a camera has been focused more on indoor spaces, and my (almost) daily outside walking has been limited at times by the conditions under my feet.
It remains cold, and we've made it through two predicted snowfalls that were less then expected, almost minimal. It seems that the snow depth is less. I thought that was my imagination until I read David Epstein's article When Will We See Bare Ground And Have We Really Had 100 Inches Of Snow? earlier this week. He presented sublimation as part of the reason for the shrinking snow depth.
I hope that as we move closer to spring that new snow comes less often and with less depth. I look forward to more comfortable walking outside, walking without the worry of ice underfoot.
"You might not realize it but snow, which is a solid, can change phases and become a gas, or disappear without ever becoming a liquid. The process, called sublimation, occurs when any solid object goes directly into a gas. Things like mothballs and dry ice can also sublimate over time. The ice cubes in your freezer sublimate, this is why they shrink in the tray. The snow on the ground is sublimating and therefore the depth is decreasing."
quote courtesy of David Epstein's article in the Boston Globe
The ground outside is covered with white, snow sticking around as the temperature continues to dip low.
I think it will be a while before spring's color emerges this year. Last year my first crocus photo was taken on April 1st; I hope that this year's flowers aren't much later than that. For now I'll need to continue to visit indoor gardens for a splash of color.
A front door is often the welcoming point to a house.
In this season of deep and drifted snow the path to many front doors is obstructed with waves of white replacing the walkway.
An open letter to the weather wizard...
First, let me say thank you for only dropping a couple of inches of snow on us last night.
You have gifted us with a number of storms over the last several weeks, several dropping large amounts of snow. This all started with a storm tagged as a blizzard on January 27th, and it continued with major snowstorms on at least a weekly basis. Boston is approaching its snowiest winter on record; the record of 107.6 inches was set in the winter of 1995-1996, and so far this year the snow in Boston has been measured at 99.9 inches.
There is a lot of snow on the ground now - don't you think it's enough? Oh, you're right, perhaps one more smallish storm is in order to help Boston tag this season as snowiest ever.
Really, it's OK to stop now. I know spring is still weeks away and I'm not asking for warmth. A little bit of melting and a lot less snow would make me very happy.
What do you think weather wizard? Can you stop now?
The thermometer read zero when I got up this morning, brr! Luckily after dropping another degree to -1 it changed directions and warmed up into the 20s, supporting a long afternoon walk.
As I finished my walk snow started.
What types of apples do you like? While I have a tendency to stick with varieties I know please my taste buds, sometimes the selection available leads me to experiment.
The latest "new to me" apples that have joined those that I'll happily eat again are Kiku and Opal. Kiku has quickly turned into a new favorite, crispy and sweet. The Opal surprised me since it is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Topaz. I tend not to like Delicious apples but this variety is good.
Different apples, different tastes...
I'm waiting for this morning's cold temperatures to rise.
I'm waiting for today's predicted snow.
I'm waiting for tomorrow's warmer weather before cold returns.
I'm waiting for spring!
