We have finally turned enough for more sun and less snow. It’s downhill now to spring.
For those of you who found Friday’s winter road photo interesting, here’s another part of the same lake, without road.
I hope that wherever you are, you are having a pleasant, sunny day (especially Texas).
Happy week. 🙂
Yes, my heart has been folded, but it still retains its shape.
I hope yours has, too.
Have a heart-ful day. ❤️💚💜 💙 🧡 💛 🤎 💖
Last week, an interesting thing happened. I came home from work, dropped off my bag and proceeded to clear the latest snow deposits from my steps. For good measure, I added some salt, as there were a few small ice patches here and there.
I was looking forward to a lovely meal from my wonderful M. He was making chicken pasta with mushrooms, and the aroma, particularly upon entering from the frigid outside environs, was especially enticing.
I went inside again, dropped off the shovel and picked up the garbage to take it outside.
As I turned to go down the steps, I managed to find and slip on the only bit of unsalted ice at the head of the stairs, and slammed my teeth together as both feet went out from under me and I whacked the edge of the first step on my way down.
Sliding and banging, I managed to hit the edge of all seven of them with my back and ribs, accompanied by glancing butt hits on the stair treads.
When I came to a stop, I could tell there was some damage, but I wasn’t sure which part I should moan about first.
My M came bursting through the door, as he had heard me fall.
Back inside, I started to note the injury: bruised ribs and spine and an overall sense of having been jarred, hard, especially my teeth. And later, I discovered a broken tail bone. All things considered, it could have been worse. But the thing that sticks out the most is how I tried to grab the doorbell to save myself. What the hell was I going to do with that??
All’s well that ends well, I suppose, especially on the part that ends with my rear. I’ve always been a bit of a pain in the ass, so I guess it’s only fair that the sentiment has been returned, literally.
How karmic.
Happy weekend, and may you always land on your feet. 🙂
We are deep inside a real big frosty.
With temperatures of -42C and wind chills of -52C, it has been interesting. And I understand that a lot of North America has been whacked by a polar vortex, so apparently there’s lots of cold to go around. Polar vortex – doesn’t that sound vicious? But here, cold in February? That’s normal.
I’m used to dressing warmly – a heavy, long parka – and walking to work, but the windy conditions the last couple of mornings – with gusts up 70K – have been, well, glacial.
My eyelashes have been frosting up within seconds.
I dare not expose my cheeks, chin or nose. They might freeze and break off.
Taking a deep, unprotected breath might sear my lungs. That actually happens, by the way. If I breathe in too much cold air without some sort of scarf buffer, I will start to cough.
Going bare-handed, even for a few seconds, produces instant skin cracks. Ouch!
But, there are good things. My coffee thermos keeps my homemade mocha really hot, even though the outside of it gets really cold during my walk.
My parka is stellar.
The winter sky is a crystalline arch.
And, this weather makes me totally appreciate spring, summer and autumn. 🌸
What’s the best and worst of your winter?
This is a famous rock formation off the northwestern coast of Iceland called Hvitserkur, which means “long white shirt.” It’s covered in a lot of white bird guano, hence the name. When I visited, the sea was much rougher and the wind was fierce. This is an unusually calm day.
The result of ancient volcanic magma, in Icelandic folklore this rock was thought to be a petrified troll. Too bad the same doesn’t happen to internet trolls. 😉
Happy week. 🙂
‘I have two doctors, my left leg and my right leg.’ George Macauley Trevelyan With the daily shot from my local forest walks, I’m including …
Today’s Pictures: 5 Feb 21
Great quote! If we’re cautious, most of us can safely walk through this pretty bit of snow. 🙂
I grew up next to the Atlantic Ocean. Its profoundly salty tone and scent suffuses all aspects of life within and nearby with an overarching awareness of the primordial melting pot that connects all of us.
For me, this picture from photographer Vincenzo Mazza activated a strong sense of home, which is unusual as I’ve never felt much homesickness. I left “home” at a very young age and have spent the vast majority of my life in many other places. Home became more about my life’s people than about a place. But the ocean has a way of imbuing your blood, I think.
I have visited Iceland a number of times, and its ocean geography does remind me of “home.”
Do you feel homesick from time to time?
Happy Friday. 🙂
This is a very familiar sight to me. Deep, serious winter snow. Blowing, swirling, wheeling, billowing wildly, settling uncomfortably only to be on the move again.
I find that this photo, by photographer Arthur Stanisz, captures the disquiet and restlessness of a winter storm. The mountain acts as a sort of monochromatic canvas, a supporting frame amid the curtain of darkening, louring skies.
This storm should be respected: stay inside with a good blanket and some hot chocolate.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/04/your-shot-unbelievable-landscapes/
Happy week, everyone. 🙂
It really looks as if the federal government is going to tighten our pandemic travel rules, a lot. The prime minister is being pushed that way, and, I think, is leaning that way. That means no travelling at all, either nationally or internationally.
Although I’ve hit a bit of a patience wall, I’m in favour of it. I want to do what’s in the best interests of the vulnerable. And the sooner we hunker down, the more we can control this wretched virus, and together with the vaccines, that means …
… going to a restaurant! Inside!
What else?
Meeting with family and friends! And being able to hug!
No masks! Hot, soggy, fogging-up-the-glasses uncomfortable. If I never have to wear a mask again, I’ll be very thankful.
And lastly, but definitely not leastly, just being able to live without covid. Without worrying about loved ones, without thinking of all the safeties you have to do to go to the grocery store, … without worrying about my son, the paramedic.
I was lately reminded that nothing lasts forever, including a pandemic. So yes, this, too, shall pass.
We have to continue to be patient. And safety conscious. And thankful for essential workers of all kinds.
It will end.
What do you look forward to the most?
Although I work under the Northern Lights, I have resisted publishing photos of them …
… but this one, with its starry and reflective accompaniment, is a stunner and much too good to ignore.
Taken by photographer Beckey Lee and first published by National Geographic (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/04/your-shot-unbelievable-landscapes/), it embodies all the romanticism of that luminescent northern glow. In fact, many people believe that conceiving under the Aurora Borealis will imbue the child with wisdom.
If you’re interested in seeing them for yourself, there are many choices. Here’s the site for Yellowknife, NWT tourism: https://extraordinaryyk.com/
Thinking about travelling somewhere makes me wistful. Not that I need to (or want to) travel right now, but the idea of that freedom … I hope that we will soon have this pandemic under control, and such things as seeing the northern lights will become possible again. This weird perception that I’m “unfree” is strange. I’m not, not at all, but I feel an illogical and strong sense of entrapment. This must be my limbic brain kicking in. New normal? Hah! New abnormal is more like it.
How about you? Are you feeling trapped?
Happy week. 🙂
In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life 