...it sure can be beautiful.
Photos by Mr. D.
Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winter. Show all posts
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Rants from a too-long too-cold week
* Okay, I'm done with winter. A ubiquitous opinion, I know, and I am stating the obvious. At least the sun was out today.
* Gov. Blago is now ex-governor. Thankfully. As a native of the great state that bills itself as the "Land of Lincoln," I would like our local newsreaders on both radio and television to make note of the following: it is pronounced ILL-inois, NOT ELL-inois. (And I do love to hear you try to say "Blagojevich.")
* I'm sick to death of egos. I witnessed - and was unable to do anything about - a pissing contest today between two people whose egos were in overdrive. There was a third person involved - the one caught in the rainfall of urea. These two so-called adults were really pissing on each other, but from a distance, with #3 in a position of trying to accomodate both and catching the spray. Some people really need to get over themselves.
* On the other hand, I'm feeling really good about the goings-on in Washington. Well, not in Washington as a whole - just in the White H0use. (Congress - at least on the House side - continues to act like children - Democrats and Republicans alike. We'll see how the Senate behaves on the economic stimulus bill.)
I know it's fashionable to be cynical; disdainful is cool. (I've often been both myself - and probably will be again.) But I've been reading a lot of history lately about the start of this messed-up country in which we reside - biographies of Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton the two latest - and it's amazing we survived. (The Articles of Confederation almost did us in long before the Civil War.) It's been a dysfunctional journey, to be sure, but look at those 200+ years of (often painfully slow) progress, then look around at the rest of the world, and you realize the truth of Winston Churchill's words:
It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government
(pause)
except all the others that have been tried.
So to those of you who looked down your nose at those of us misting up at the Obama inauguration: up yours.
* Gov. Blago is now ex-governor. Thankfully. As a native of the great state that bills itself as the "Land of Lincoln," I would like our local newsreaders on both radio and television to make note of the following: it is pronounced ILL-inois, NOT ELL-inois. (And I do love to hear you try to say "Blagojevich.")
* I'm sick to death of egos. I witnessed - and was unable to do anything about - a pissing contest today between two people whose egos were in overdrive. There was a third person involved - the one caught in the rainfall of urea. These two so-called adults were really pissing on each other, but from a distance, with #3 in a position of trying to accomodate both and catching the spray. Some people really need to get over themselves.
* On the other hand, I'm feeling really good about the goings-on in Washington. Well, not in Washington as a whole - just in the White H0use. (Congress - at least on the House side - continues to act like children - Democrats and Republicans alike. We'll see how the Senate behaves on the economic stimulus bill.)
I know it's fashionable to be cynical; disdainful is cool. (I've often been both myself - and probably will be again.) But I've been reading a lot of history lately about the start of this messed-up country in which we reside - biographies of Ben Franklin and Alexander Hamilton the two latest - and it's amazing we survived. (The Articles of Confederation almost did us in long before the Civil War.) It's been a dysfunctional journey, to be sure, but look at those 200+ years of (often painfully slow) progress, then look around at the rest of the world, and you realize the truth of Winston Churchill's words:
It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government
(pause)
except all the others that have been tried.
So to those of you who looked down your nose at those of us misting up at the Obama inauguration: up yours.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Outer Darkness
I ask myself every year about this time: why don't I live in San Diego?
Winter can be fun for awhile: it's new and it's the holidays. You don't so much mind the snow (though the traffic is often a bitch) because everything looks like a Currier & Ives.
Once New Year's is over, however, reality returns: cold, dark, snow, ice, and wind that cuts to the proverbial bone.
One of my favorite meditation books is based on the seasons of nature. A phrase I particularly like: "Outer darkness calls for nourishment within."
A time to take our cue from the world around us. A time to slow down and hunker down. A time to reflect, to go within.
But I think I'm also gonna go to Florida.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Relative warmth
Left church and didn't bother putting my coat on. Checked the thermometer when I got home: 43 degrees. A veritable heat wave!
What would bring out the winter coats and gloves in September feels like spring after the cold spell we've just had. It's all relative...
Driving home, I listened to "A Prairie Home Companion" and heard Garrison Keillor express a thought I've often had about winter: "Mother Nature is telling you that you don't belong here."
Instead of acting like the nomads we are and moving our tents south for the winter, he said, we've built these permanent structures (infrastructure if you will) that Mother Nature does her best to destroy. (Anyone who's lived without electricity for days in the cold, dark depths of winter knows what I'm talking about.)
Granted, Keillor is talking about a fictional town in frozen-for-months Minnesota. It's not as bad here - we get the (relatively) balmy breaks now and then, like the one we're experiencing today.
But if I ruled the world, nobody would have to venture out when Mother Nature turned on us. (Unless, of course, you were essential - firefighters, medics, snowplow operators, etc.) The rest of us would stay inside our permanent tents and watch the weather channel.
What would bring out the winter coats and gloves in September feels like spring after the cold spell we've just had. It's all relative...
Driving home, I listened to "A Prairie Home Companion" and heard Garrison Keillor express a thought I've often had about winter: "Mother Nature is telling you that you don't belong here."
Instead of acting like the nomads we are and moving our tents south for the winter, he said, we've built these permanent structures (infrastructure if you will) that Mother Nature does her best to destroy. (Anyone who's lived without electricity for days in the cold, dark depths of winter knows what I'm talking about.)
Granted, Keillor is talking about a fictional town in frozen-for-months Minnesota. It's not as bad here - we get the (relatively) balmy breaks now and then, like the one we're experiencing today.
But if I ruled the world, nobody would have to venture out when Mother Nature turned on us. (Unless, of course, you were essential - firefighters, medics, snowplow operators, etc.) The rest of us would stay inside our permanent tents and watch the weather channel.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Bird Buffet
Picked a good day to work from home. I knew I'd be suffering from round 2 of a root canal (think punch in the mouth) and this morning turned out to be one in which to avoid driving. Especially on I-35, thanks to a 10-car pile-up that shut the interstate down completely.
Driving on slickness scares the bejeesus out of me (think white knuckles and sick to the stomach). Thank God and the Internet for telecommuting.
The snowfall brought out the birds - finches, juncoes, titmice, and a flock of cardinals, bright spots of red, the only color in the landscape. The feeders were busy - easier than foraging in this weather. It was an all-day show...
We've set up a buffet for the birds: thistle for the finches and chickadees; suet for the woodpeckers; sunflower seeds for the cardinals. And today the cardinals were out in force.
Though territorial during mating season, they tend to flock together in winter. They especially love sunflower seeds and peanuts, and prefer a "hopper" style feeder, as shown above. It's apparently easier on their little feet.
The experts say cardinals are monogamous during breeding season, but, from my observation, they seem to be paired up year-round. Mating behavior involves the male feeding the female.
My kind of guy: faithful, and he feeds you.
Driving on slickness scares the bejeesus out of me (think white knuckles and sick to the stomach). Thank God and the Internet for telecommuting.
The snowfall brought out the birds - finches, juncoes, titmice, and a flock of cardinals, bright spots of red, the only color in the landscape. The feeders were busy - easier than foraging in this weather. It was an all-day show...
We've set up a buffet for the birds: thistle for the finches and chickadees; suet for the woodpeckers; sunflower seeds for the cardinals. And today the cardinals were out in force.
Though territorial during mating season, they tend to flock together in winter. They especially love sunflower seeds and peanuts, and prefer a "hopper" style feeder, as shown above. It's apparently easier on their little feet.
The experts say cardinals are monogamous during breeding season, but, from my observation, they seem to be paired up year-round. Mating behavior involves the male feeding the female.
My kind of guy: faithful, and he feeds you.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Winter
It's 14 degrees and the thermometer is dropping fast. Winds are gusty and from the northwest. The weather service is predicting wind chills of -15 overnight.
Good to be safe and warm inside my house; good to have heat and electricity; good to have a pot of chili simmering on the stove.
And good to have a job to help pay for it all.
I'm counting my blessings tonight.
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