Welcome to the Winter Solstice edition of the weekly smile! And today is even more special since Jupiter and Saturn will be aligning in the sky! I took some photos of Jupiter a few weeks ago and was able to clearly see the 4 Galilean moon (see below). I hope to get some photos tonight as well!
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Hello and Welcome! Come on in (this is virtual, so no Covid-19 fears). I know, I usually have you sit outside, but the table has a bit of snow on it and it is about 5 F/-15 C outside, so a little on the chilly side (yes, still, at 8:30). I’ll get you a nice large mug of super-strong dark roast, a piping hot cuppa tea or some steaming hot cocoa. Oh, were are we? Some of you may recognize the photo at the top as being from New Hampshire (it did not get below freezing on Cape Cod last night!).
OK, the big thing is about the weather. It has been cold. The last time it was above freezing was Monday and the next time it will be above freezing is tomorrow (possibility today). That is a week below freezing. We will often have one week in January like that, never in December. And after our warmer than usual November – brrrr. We had a storm on Thursday. It was a cold snow since it didn’t get above 15 F/-9 C all day. We got a little over a foot, perhaps 15 inches/38 cm, but some places not too far away got up to 4 feet (48 inches)/122 cm of snow! (7 NH towns > 40 inches, 20 > 30 inches!). Yep, Thursday afternoon, after work, was all about shoveling snow ;) It is winter, even if the calendar gives us something like2 or 3 more days….
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Over the weekend, being stuck inside due to ill health, I finally looked at the photos I took earlier in the month. It was amazing to see that despite the late spring-like temperatures of February 24, how bad the weather was just 11 days before that, on February 13. We had snow on average of every other day for the first two weeks of February, including a couple of decent size storms. We also had some very cold temperatures to go with all of that snow. And then, two weeks later and it is 74 F/23 C! Almost all of the snow is gone! But then, I see in the long range forecast that they are predicting a large snow storm in about week. Winter may be back. Continue reading
Sunlight on deep snow
Bright red cardinal on the branch
Thaws the frozen heart
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Each one unique
No two alike
From a single mold
Comes infinite variety
When seen up close
They sparkle like a rainbow
But it is never one alone
The sky is full
There are piles and drifts
Everywhere filling world
And yet
The truth is still there
Each a masterpiece of nature
Intricate and beautiful
Each one unique
And if you raise your eyes from the people around us
You may notice
That the same can be said
Of snow and a single flake
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Last Friday we had our first big snow of the year. Actually it wasn’t very big. We had several very warm days before the snow so it fell onto ground that wasn’t frozen. Then we had perhaps 5 inches (13 cm). It was warm on Saturday and Sunday so a lot of the snow went away. Oh well. But we may get another 5 inches today, so stay tuned for more snow pictures later.
Here is my back yard from a second floor balcony. This is from just a day before the storm. My back yard is almost vertical and you can see that the dogs playing have made it into a mud slide.
And here it is during the snow. Continue reading
The view of Swan Pond from the Foss-McDonald Glacier
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The whitewashed world of winter
The freshly fallen snow
Frozen whispers of window frost
Whistling wind whorls the flakes
Forgotten world ‘neath fields of white
The heating bill is due tonight Continue reading
You can imagine our delight when we heard a new glacier had been discovered in Dennis Port, Massachusetts, of all places. The exciting part of the find was that a glacier could exist at only 2 meters above sea level so far south. Of course we immediately mounted an expedition to study the Foss-McDonald Glacier.
When we reached the remote location of Dennis Port we asked around for any information. It took us quite a while to locate anyone who had heard of the phenomena. He told us the glacier grew in the middle of the driveway of a local cottage. The cottage was at the south end of Swan Pond and was the first obstruction to the wind for several kilometers. Of course the native, in his backwards, quaint way, said “a couple of miles” instead of “several kilometers.” Continue reading
The snow crunches
Beneath my boots
It squeaks and squeals
Grumbling with each step
The dry thin air
Turns white with wind
In seconds my face goes cold
My face hurts
My face is numb
The snow settles
The shrieking
Becomes a low whistle
I can again hear the snow
Complaining against my weight
I stop
Blocked by the barn
It is still
But I can hear the train-rush
Roaring through the trees
Across the valley
I start again for the house
The roar approaches
I shut the door
As snow swirls then settles
On the warm floor
Windows rattling
House shaking
I am home
Life brings many questions. In fact, you can say life is a quest to answer all of the questions, from the easy, day to day to the unanswerable. For as we age we find more and more of the big questions really are unanswerable. We’re left to ponder the imponderable. It is part of the mystery of life. Or, perhaps, the mystery of life, death, the universe and everything (Sorry Douglas Adams, I had to add one).
This year has been such a year for the really deep questions. In fact, I spent much of today pondering one of life’s unanswerable questions. A deep question full of ramifications. Oh, how I wished I needn’t have asked such a question, but I was facing a major decision. Continue reading
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