Sorry for the absence. The holidays, while welcome, are an
interesting interruption of routine and cause irregularities in the flow of
life. I have been off of work since the Saturday before Christmas and will be
going back tomorrow. I had to use up a certain amount of time in order to not
lose it. I am only allowed to carry about 5 weeks over from year to year. One
of my ‘resolutions’, such as it is, is to use more vacation time. It is
difficult between June and November to take time away as we are very busy at
work during that time. Of course, that is one of the best times to go somewhere
in this hemisphere because of the warmer and usually more pleasant weather.
This is the first day of the new year for those of us following the Gregorian calendar, so Happy New Year to most of us!
I have taken a few pictures and have gone for walks when the
weather isn’t too severe. I will show you some of what I see, mostly around the
neighborhood.
Here is what I see and where I go.
Here is my friend’s little 8’x14’ tiny house that sits in my
middle pasture. With my back to the bunk it is a cozy warm place.
Here is her front yard. The footprints going to and from are
not human. The only human tracks are right around the house.
This was in town by the harbor.
We had some snow the other day. About 15 inches or more, but the wind blew a lot of it away.
This morning was chilly, about -12F (-24C), but the overnight wind had died down and left us with a crisp look at the moon and Venus in the pre-dawn light.
Otto--Taking time off and being able to see scenery like that? I hope you stick to your resolution and take more time for yourself.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to something you might want to do. It's a informal contest, run by an editor who is incredibly talented. (She took my $hitty manuscript, gave me some feedback, and now it's much improved.) I know you have some humorous "confessions" as a parent. Zip off 500 words (or less) and send by January 5. (You can read my post to see a couple of my confessions...
Here is the link to Margo's post. Please feel free to share.
https://margoldill.com/share-your-parenting-and-grandparenting-true-confessions-to-win-a-prize/
I have really only been a parent to critters, but have had a few barn kids over the years. I'll mull it over for a day or so. Thanks!
Delete-12F????? OY!
ReplyDeletehere it is windy and 61F at 12:20p. HNY to you and your family!
Yeah, it's a bit nippy, but we have seen much colder. Back in the day, anyway. Keep the home fires burning!
DeleteNice !
ReplyDeleteWe all need to take time
For New Year Day we had snow at the home. I live in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains so I am right where if the snow drops down I can be in it. Usually I can see the snow higher up but once every 7 to 10 years we get a hard freeze (tonight), The last one wiped out eight citrus trees in my small grove.
The trees were 75 to 100 years old. I miss them. The 5 left might not make it tonight.
Happy Year of the Boar !
cheers, gayle
Forgot to ask, who's Footprints ?
DeleteYeah, I have dreams of that kind of climate, but I don't do well with excessive heat. The footprints belong to deer, foxes, and coyotes. Haven't seen any wolf tracks for some time now.
DeleteIt's always nice to have time off work. Enjoy life! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debra!. I am getting better at enjoying life all the time. There's only so much left, eh?
DeleteA very, very Happy New Year to you and yours. And thank you for the beauty you share. A little before dawn it is already too hot for me here, and the cool serenity of your photos is more than welcome.
ReplyDeleteCool serenity. I'll remember that when I lose the feeling in my toes! Just kidding, sort of. I do know how to dress for this stuff.
DeleteYou'll just have to get creative in your vacation planning, Jono. A ski trip? A sledding trip? A week of decluttering? Just threw that in to see if you were paying attention!
ReplyDeleteMinus 24C is cold indeed. We used to have two to three solid weeks of roughly the same, in late January or early February. Haven't had it since our kids were small, so, say about thirty years. It kind of amazes me that you are so much further south than we are here, yet your weather is so much colder. If I had paid more attention in geography class it might be less amazing. I know our weather is moderated by the Atlantic, but shouldn't yours be moderated by the lakes? or are you at a higher elevation? I'm sure you've mentioned this but I can't remember off the top of my head.
Anyway, Happy New Year to you and your family, both human and feline and otherwise. May it be a good one.
Well, the weather looks great for skiing this weekend, so I will go. I'm not that much further south. Pretty close to Thunder Bay, but being here in the middle of the continent there is no ocean to temper the climate. Lake Superior does it to a point, as long as you are within a handful of miles from it. The Lake is only at 600 feet above sea level and I am at 1200 and two miles in. I used to live about 30 miles from it and the difference was amazing! Like you say, that was thirty years ago and things have definitely warmed up. We still get our little cold snaps, but not 2 or 3 weeks of sub zero (-17C). That could be brutal, but I was younger then. Best wishes to you and your family, however many legs they have.
DeleteOh, okay - now I'm oriented better as to your location. You're right, not much difference in latitude :)
DeleteIt's those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
DeleteNothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.
Jimmy Buffett 😀
Beautiful shots, especially that last one! Happy 2019!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you like them. Sometimes I get lucky, but I love the light this time of year. Have a terrific new year!
DeleteHappy new year! I'm enjoying your snow photos from afar - nice to look at, but I don't have much desire to be out in it (although I do miss cross-country skiing). We haven't had snow yet this year - maybe we'll actually avoid it entirely for the first time ever...? :-)
ReplyDeleteA "winter" without snow? Difficult for me to even imagine, but I will give it a try!
DeleteIt didn't seem very "Christmassy" without snow, but I can deal with it... ;-)
DeleteGregorian Happy New calendar year to you too!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful place and pictures! I remember -24C and lower, the crisp sound of snow especially, it is lovely. Here it is +6C and good dry running weather.
Enjoy the time off!
Your climate is so mild!
DeleteLove your photos and your philosophy. Happy New Year, Jono.
ReplyDeleteThanks, BF! Glad you are back at it, too!
DeletePeaceful photos. Have a great New Year
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
Thanks, OB! Happy New Year to you!
DeleteI love your pictures! It was 82º here today. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI was in the same pickle, had to use up some vacation days at the end of the year. Trouble is that we are busy between January 1 and December 31, so it's always difficult to find the time... Glad you got to enjoy your time off and take some beautiful pictures!
Any time off is good time now that I know what to do with it. 82? It gets that warm a few times during the summer, but if I stay put I won't see those temperatures until July!
ReplyDelete