Tag Archives: winter

If We Were Having Coffee on the 19th of December, 2020

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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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If We Were Having Coffee on the 21st of December, 2019

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coffee-in-the-snow

Hello and Welcome!  Come on in out of the cold and I’ll get you a nice large mug of a very strong dark roast, a cuppa tea, some hot cocoa or other warm beverage – you’ll need it!  It got down close to 0 F (-18 C) last night!  It isn’t as windy as it has been, so actually feels “warm” and it will get above freezing for the first time in a few days.  This coming week will be warmer than last.  Good :)  Oh, and were is it so cold?  By the photo at the top you may be able to tell that we are in New Hampshire this week.

Happy Winter Solstice!  OK, the solstice officially arrives a little before midnight tonight, but who’s counting?  Next week the days will begin to get longer again.  And there was much rejoicing – no more dark by 5 PM.  Off course we still have winter to look forward to.

Winter part 1 – We had snow again this week.  Not as much as a few weeks ago!  It is pretty.  I walk around without a phone or camera so don’t get many snow photos, but I did take my phone on one walk and took this: Continue reading →

The Weekly Smile 1/21/2019 #weeklysmile

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weeklysmile2a

If you follow my blog you have most likely seen quite a few photos from Cape Cod, though I have been awful about them lately – I have several thousand photos going back to June that I haven’t even looked at!  I don’t however, post many photos of the natural beauty of New Hampshire.

On Saturday I decided to get out of the house for more than just a long dog walk.  There is a trail close to my house that goes by three waterfalls.  the trailhead is a five minute drive, and the closest fall, Lower Purgatory Falls, is about a 10 minute easy hike from the trailhead.  I have written about the falls a few times  – my favorite is here (click if you want to see some of my best waterfall photos ;) ).  Saturday was cold and a storm was threatening, but it was worth it!  I only went about 15 or 20 minutes beyond the Lower Falls, but it was still a nice small hike (between 30 and 45 minutes). Continue reading →

It Will Come, It Will Come… – #haibun #haiku

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crocus-02

It Will Come

The wind bites my face.  I shuffle on, glancing up when the weather allows.  A blanket of white is drowning the land.  The calendar is playing tricks, mocking us with one blizzard after another while my Facebook shows me reminders of the flowers I saw on this day in the past.  I know, I need a little self-control and wait it out.  The lush plant life will return, recreating the landscape around me.  A strong gust makes me duck my head again.  I am not sure if I will preserver.

The world born again
Endurance over winter
Bloom to emerald

— —

This was written for Colleen’s Weekly Poetry Challenge.  The key words today were “Patience” and “Green”.  Following her suggestion, I didn’t use the words, I used only synonyms.

We are having our third Nor’easter in two weeks.  This one will be the biggest, with well over a foot for snow.  The weather forecast shows some of the coldest weather of the year coming later this week and another snow storm next week.  Every day for the last week there have been pictures coming up on Facebook reminding me that by this time every other year we’ve had flowers.  I want winter to be over!

The End of a Streak

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In March of 2015 I took my kayak out for the first time for the year.  I kayaked at least once a month every month through the rest of 2015.  I was bale to get out in the water in January and February of 2016, so I ended up kayaking at least once a month through all of 2016.  And then I was able to get onto the water in January and February of 2017 as well.  I figured I had it made.

Mother Nature had different ideas.

See the photo at the top of the page?  This is where I kayak.  Do you see water?  Neither do I.  I see only snow and ice.

It is cold.  It is very cold.  We occasionally have cold snaps like this in late January.  We never have cold snaps like this in December!

So I did not kayak in December.  I was here a couple of weeks ago, but there were gale force winds the entire time – kayaking in those winds is not the smartest thing to do when the temperature was hanging just slightly above freezing.  I decided to wait.

Oh well, I almost made it.  I don’t think I’ll get every month in 2018, either.   Oh well….

On the Water

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Kayak

New England has a funny thing that Midwest states don’t, or at least didn’t when I was a kid: Winter Break.  Winter Break, aka February Vacation, is a week without school.  There is also a Spring/April break.  The typical activity for Winter Break is going skiing.  The end of February is still the heart of winter here.  We’ll, it is most years.

I took two days off of work to spend my Winter Break on Cape Cod.  I arrived in the pouring rain, but it was a warm rain.  This afternoon the sun came out.  The temperature has dropped a little and it is very windy, but I decided to take the kayak out.  Amazingly this isn’t the first time this year.  I was on the water on New years Day! Continue reading →

Window Wrapping for Winter

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Back Window

It’s cold and wet with slate grey skies.  The trees are all bare.  It is November.  I have a November job that I dread and have been putting off for weeks, but I have to start.  I have to winterize the windows.

We live in an old house with a lot of windows.  The windows are pretty new, but cheap and they weren’t really installed very well.  Heating bills are astronomical.  So I have to take care of the windows, there’s no alternative except to go deeply in dept every winter. Continue reading →