March Madness

No, I'm not talking about college basketball here, but rather the crazy weather that has characterized this winter and launched us into March. We finally got some of the long-absent heavier snows that we should have seen during December, January, and much of February. It waited until the end of the month - to the eve of Leap Day (February 29) - before rolling in here to blanket the landscape.

The good news is that it wasn't all that much snow - maybe 6 inches or so, it didn't come down incessantly - maybe 18 hours, off and on, and it's already melting rapidly under 50 degree air temperatures and a blazing sun that I'm sure is having its impact. All of those factors make me much happier than I might otherwise be with a "heavy" snowfall. And they are nothing compared to the devastation that has befallen some communities in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky from the spate of tornadoes that slammed into them in the past few days. I send them prayers for recovery, and count my blessings for the relatively minor effects the snow has had on life here.

Just before the snows started to fall on Tuesday, I was up very early (as usual) and found, as I looked out the window, that I was not alone. A small herd of deer were making their way up the hill to the lawn, as they have been inclined to do fairly regularly this winter, for their morning graze. There were a couple of fairly small ones lagging at the back of the group - fawns that are probably six months to a year old, I'd guess. What made this little group a bit unusual was how close to the house they came that morning. Usually they're a good 50-75 feet from the structure...far enough that they can dart quickly to the adjacent woods, but Tuesday one of the ringleaders showed no real reluctance to stroll just beyond the windows. So, of course, I grabbed my camera and tried to snap a few shots as quickly as I could before I spooked him (or her...).

It was fun to see them out there, finding plenty of room to roam and graze, along with the shelter of the woods. It struck me as I observed them that they really are well designed by Mother Nature to blend fairly invisibly into the landscape with their light brown coats matching the grey/putty color of the terrain.

The other neat thing about this time of year is the ongoing display I've been enjoying from my amaryllis bulbs. My previous post displayed the brilliant Valentine red blooms of my largest flower, but those blossoms have faded. I'm now admiring the salmon pink of my second and third bulbs, which have provided a bit of cheer in an otherwise bleak view of the outdoors.

My pink geraniums, wintered over from last summer, also are in bloom and continue to thrive in the south-facing windows and sunny warmth of this partially passive solar house. They've been wonderful reminders that Spring, and cute bunnies and pastel colored things are not far in the future...along with shamrocks and corned beef. I'm more than ready for all of them!

On to February...or is it really early April?

I seem to be on a monthly posting plan here at CC, so I'm going with it.

Unlike the snow-laden image in last month's post, this winter has continued to confound the weather prognosticators - and utterly delight folks like me who don't warmly embrace most of winter's frosty cold and snowy characteristics.

I could not be more pleased that since the aberrational late October snowstorm, we have had barely any of that nice-then-nasty white stuff this season at all, save the occasional dusting, maybe an inch or two from time to time. Just when I fear we might not see the ground for weeks, if not months, Mother Nature does a fast and wonderful 180 and quickly melts it all away. Bliss! Heaven! Joy!

As I sat in front of the trusty laptop, tapping out the latest updates here, I was momentarily distracted by some unexpected motion in the yard just outside my window. Usually, when I catch something in my peripheral vision while typing, it's one of the kitties, doing their usual "perimeter patrol," following the tree and fence lines that define the property, but not so this time. No, it was a small herd of deer - actually a small herd of relatively small deer - eight of them! - strolling across the lawn, nibbling along the way.

I grabbed the camera that sits next to my work table for just such occasions, and managed to snap a couple of shots. Alas, only one was worthy of posting - and just barely that - but at least it captured the whole gang...or is it gaggle? Either way, I was cheered to see them, late on this Super Bowl Sunday afternoon, and glad the snows of this weird weather winter remained at bay so they could easily find some fine February snacks and chow down like the rest of us on this annual football-and-food festival day.


Oh, and by the way, I'm not taking sides on this one. While I live in upstate New York, I'm quite near the border with Massachusetts, so, as it happens, home is essentially equidistant from the home stadiums of both the Giants and Patriots. That makes it a bit risky to lean one way or the other around these parts, so I won't be cheering more loudly for either. In fact, I'm reminded of lyrics to that fun song by the Scottish folk/rock band Stealers Wheel (no reference to the Pittsburgh football team) that hit the charts way back in 1973, "Stuck in the Middle with You". Forgive the artistic license, but I feel like singing (instead of "clowns" and "jokers" in the original lyrics) "Giants to the left of me, Patriots to the right..." If you're of a certain age, you surely get the drift and will start hearing the tune in your head, I'm sure. Anyway, enjoy the game if you care about it all. May the best team win and I hope no one gets hurt.

For my part, I'll be among those intently watching the magnificent new PBS series, Downton Abbey...that's Downton, not touchdown!

Cheers!

Midsummer Merriment

I might have the best of intentions, but it truly is a challenge to get over here to the blog to update. It's embarrassing, particularly because I, too, follow the blogs of others, and find myself disappointed when I check in at theirs, only to find nothing has changed in the past week or so. The nerve of them! I want to be entertained regularly and I so enjoy seeing what folks have been up to, whether they're well known in their professions or just recreational bloggers as I clearly am.

So, it has been nearly a whole month and I don't have a lot to show and tell here in the blog. If you've been conscious at any point in the past two weeks, you'll know that a very humid high heat wave has affected much of the central, south and eastern US. We were not immune here in the Northeast. The only saving grace is that, while it lasted several days here, this kind of weather front (or at least its very high temperatures in the 90s and, in some cases, 100+s) is usually fairly short-lived. In due course (about 4 days), the temperature broke and we were back to normal (70s and 80s during the day, low 60s at night - truly heavenly weather). We got some rain, the typical thunderstorms blew through periodically in the course of a given day, and it just felt like the usual summer story here.

I won't dwell on how it was pretty much pointless to do anything. My home, unfortunately, does not have central air, or the capacity for window A/C units (although I do have one in storage), so I toughed it out. The good news is that, unlike many homes in the mid-south and south, we have basements and that's usually - and, in my case, was - the best place to go. It was a good 10 degrees cooler down there and I have plenty I can do there during the hottest part of the day (late afternoon) in this house.

The house here, if I hadn't mentioned it, is passive solar design from the late 1980s, so, while that's grand during the cold weather months, it becomes a literal blast furnace during a very hot, humid midsummer day...can we say "sweat box"? Oh, yeah. Yes, of course, I've put drapes over the windows, but I cannot reach all of them (some are big expanses of glass on the second story of a cathedral-ceilinged space - on the west side, of course, where the late afternoon sun literally blazes through the window - and, alas, I don't have my great big, honking extension ladder available to reach them and cover them with a shade or drape. Ugh!

The kitties are also clever enough to find their way into the cooling shade of the woods adjacent to the side yard. They come back to the house for water, but they only nibble modestly at their evening food. Seems the heat puts them off their feed, too...just as it does me. Can't blame them.

So, stay cool if it's very warm where you are, and just remind yourself, if you live in an area where it gets very cold and snowy in the winter, as I do: summer is good. It's not freezing cold and there's no ice or snow to impede your travels. These are good things.

My summertime southern view:


Happy August!

Memorial Day Weekend!

Well, there is literally no excuse...and many explanations. It has been a crazy few months and the relentless winter here in the Northeast just about did. me. in. Seriously. I'm not a huge fan of the frigid months, and, while snow is pretty, to be honest, it is not my favorite thing. I like my lawns and my trees green. So Spring was a very welcome sight here, when it finally arrived. We had one wonderful week of perfection in May, then a week of nothing but rain. It's one extreme or the other this year.

That said, I found myself saying more than once that while Spring was rather late in getting here, every blissfully mild day of May was one to relish because the hot days of Summer are not far behind. Apparently, we're getting a taste of Summer's best on this Memorial Day weekend, this "unofficial" start of the summer season. I've barely put away the snow shovel and my winter boots and I've turned on the fans and am batting at flies and other flying insects! Still, no complaints - I'm truly appreciative of every lovely, sunny day we get.

We have had our fair share of flooding here in the Northeast - not uncommon after a heavy-snow winter and spring rains - but what we see routinely up here is really relatively minor compared to the floods and staggering tornado damage in the midwest and south. My heart goes out to all those whose homes and lives were devastated by Mother Nature's ravages, and my prayers go to them, too. It's shocking to lose a loved one to a powerful storm, and a daunting task to rebuild one's life when everything you worked for decades to establish is blown to bits and scattered to the four winds. It seems to be a pattern lately - if it's not the economy and people losing jobs, livelihoods, and their roofs overhead, it's the winds blowing everything they have apart. If you've lived long enough, you know it doesn't get easier to deal with such upheaval, but hopefully the years have brought some wisdom and some consolation to those directly impacted by these forces and they will recover and forge ahead again.

I'll close with my apology, again, for the long gap between posts, and with a reminder that today is the day we honor those who have served our country over the generations to help ensure that we have choices in our lives and to help protect us from those who would have things otherwise in this world. Like so many, my dad served in the military - he enlisted, wasn't drafted - and went to England during World War II, and my mom worked for the Army as a civilian, too, before my parents met. It was life changing for Dad, for sure, and, dare I say, the efforts of all of our soldiers at home and abroad changed the course of history, and our lives as we enjoy them today, as a result. I am and always will be grateful for their service. Job well done.

Have a safe and pleasant Memorial Day.