Photos of the Day: Fragile Hope

 First REAL signs of spring: Friday morning at work.

SNOWDROPS!

Granted, it was about 70 degrees. In February. IN NEW YORK!

~ photos by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Winter Casts a Long Shadow

Sunset, Friday, February 17, 2017

Waiting to leave

~ photo by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Bumped Off

The day after the war - er, storm, you start to catalog the injuries to your soldiers.

Someone didn't fend off Old Man Winter, left pieces behind on the field of battle.

~ photo by iPhone.

Photo of the Day: Initiative on Ice

Shot this morning, February 9, 2017

Me this morning: Yeah, I am not leaving the Attic anytime soon.

Me looking out at the end of the day to see evidence of clear skies, a jogger running down the middle of the road, and all the folks who have to clear their cards out by tomorrow's alternate side street cleaning. Better start shoveling.

~ photo by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Calm before the Storm

Sunset tonight. Evidence that the days ARE getting longer. 

There was at least one bit of blue before the next storm and socked in series of gray days.

~ photo by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Looking the Season Straight in the Eye

Eyeing the Eve of the Solstice

~4:20pm

Sunset is on the Fence about it turning into Winter

~ photo by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Fly Me to the Moon

It's a very narrow flight path to the full setting moon.

~7:20a.m.

~photo by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Framing Fiery Fronds

When you are running around, from one building to another, before the snows fall and the hues bleach to grey, sometimes you see things in an ochre light and just the right frame of mind.

~ photo by iPhone

Photo of the Day: Spot the Color

These daisies: "Never give up! Never surrender!" "We don't care if it's December. We are going to brighten up this flower bed, even if everything else has died!" "Oh hey! Did you notice over here in the corner?"


Me: "Yes, I did!"

Moral of the story: Spot the little things. And share them.

You: "THANK YOU!"

~photo by iPhone

Photos of the Day: Snow Cap'd - January 30, 2015

Caramoor's Greenhouses

January 30, 2015

~photos by iTouch

Photos of the Day: Not the Hot Seat - January 29, 2015

 What a difference a season

and a snowstorm makes

Usually these seats are hot property

The Spanish Courtyard

Rosen House

Caramoor

January 29, 2015

~photos by iTouch

Do You Wanna build a Snowman? Jonas Edition

So, the kids in Idaho have been already having fun this winter, playing out in the snow, building snowmen, and monkeying about.

Yesterday's Winter Storm Jonas was the first one for New York, and the weather forecasting models kept changing the ETA and estimated snowfall totals.

This was my view for most of the day (snowflakes by the Idaho kids),

 and then later in the afternoon as it really started to show it wasn't going to be "just" 6 inches,

by nightfall, it was obvious it was feet of snow, plus drifting, and then the "blow back" plows and blowers.

 What you can't see on the streetlight above, is the foot-long icicles that are hanging off the light.

What you also can't see in the last few photos, is the mesh from the screen window. In trying to "throw up the stash," something happened, and it came off in my hand and almost blew away. Have you tried to hold a phone and wrangle a screen window in during blizzard force winds? I do not recommend it. I also don't recommend looking at all the black gunk that I washed off the screen. Yuck.

This morning I ventured out and across the street to get the Sunday papers, but, despite our street being relatively clear by 9a.m., there were no papers. (We also didn't get mail yesterday.)

I am VERY grateful I didn't have to undig a car today, or fight for parking the rest of the winter. I did wish I had a shovel to start working on the 3ft radius around this hydrant--for about a hot second and then I laughed at myself. Undigging these STAT is ingrained into me - and then this morning the need for snow removal in front of hydrants was made evident when a major fire ripped through a building in Hell's Kitchen. Hopefully someone undug this hydrant on my street.

All in all, storm was ... uneventful for me, thankfully. I read 2 books, talked on the phone, hung around, wrote notes, ate, and stayed warm. Kind of wished it happened on a weekday so I could have "worked from home," but the season is still young. Whoops. Maybe I shouldn't jinx it.

At least SOME people had fun with "storm/snow zilla"

Stay home today. If you can't, drive carefully. #Snowzilla pic.twitter.com/LDS5NIXFOJ

— Warren Whitlock (@WarrenWhitlock) January 24, 2016

2 Feet of Snow in NYC #jonasblizzard pic.twitter.com/eKvgEUmg9c

— FilmmakerIQ.com (@FilmmakerIQ) January 24, 2016

Here We Go Again: Snowstorm Prep 2016

Prepare! Don't Let a #WinterStorm Take You by Surprise. https://t.co/1JnO1HYp5Y | https://t.co/Kr39xluFVE pic.twitter.com/dJQb3I4F9I

— NWS (@NWS) January 22, 2016

Things your bookseller might have in their bag. pic.twitter.com/mPHUQxEB0s

— Strand Book Store (@strandbookstore) January 22, 2016

Now, besides all of the things pictured above - which I have - and  the latter of which could be true for a bibliophile/librarian/ME, I also feel prepared for the IMPENDING SNOWSTORM JONAS OF DOOM 2016. 

I'm good.

As long as the power stays on and pipes don't burst that is, but the major feet of snow is going to end up south of us, at least "write now."

I'm really, really good. My fridge is full for the first time in MONTHS.

Because of the off-site work retreat in CT yesterday, I rented a car for 48hrs to get there, pop up to see friend Jane for dinner, head to my favorite Trader Joe's, and then do some errands today.

I could have done more errands but was doing a neighbor a favor, and due to the storm, the urgency was for groceries and beverages.

Here's my cart full at Trader Joe's, which somehow only ended up being 4 full brown-paper bags,and yet, the exact correct amount for my freezer, minus the packaging for some of the frozen brown rice. GO ME! 

(Dad, apparently I DO have some packing spatial relations after all, thank you very much! AND, despite people being jerks and cutting me off, driving with their hazards in the wrong lanes and not driving some of these CT routes in over 10 years, the car was returned fine, no worries, Susan.)

Not pictured in the stockup:

• the 3 flats of Diet Coke bottles and cans residing at the office (the office is Pepsi-stocked); 
• the stash of bags from Target with staples like chunky peanut butter and more soda for the house; 
• the 3 bags/boxes and easels and whiteboards and materials moved for the retreat; 
• and the trashed hauled.

I'm good for groceries and snow activities.  I've got:

• 20 books in a to-be-read pile,
• a bag full of work from the office, not to mention the remote connection to the office, 
• 2 unfinished baby blankets that I could work on, 
• 15 letters I have to write, 
• blog posts to "retroblog,"
• a pile of personal archiving,
• laundry/cleaning,
• filing/bill paying,
• baking/cooking, and oh yes, vegging.

I think I'm actually running a fever, so I'm off to pop NyQuil, get in my pjs, and crash. I'll wake up to a Winter Wonderland of some sort of storm.

Hunker down, ya'll.

What Season Is It Anyway?

 This morning from the train...

 is it March?

 It feels like March.
 

Wasn't the WINTER Solstice yesterday?

Note:

 

December 23, 2015 NY metro area. 

11:30pm, 61 degrees + 100% humidity 

I had to turn the air-conditioning on. 

~ photos by iPhone

Fields of Mist

Sometimes the ghosts of the forest and of the past are closer than you think.

The seasons March on.

~ photos by iTouch

Grey Days

The calendar may say spring, but it just keeps on raining, snowing, and being cold, foggy, and miserable. It's really starting to wear on a person. Everything is just monochrome. 

Even an amber lantern doesn't help make the concrete and snow seem any better.

I need spring.

I need more blue skies.

Thank goodness for fun mail from friends.

~photos by iTouch

It's the Spring Equinox? Really?

I can't wait to complain about sitting in the Hot Seat!

It's the Spring Equinox and the snow - 

large, flakey, perfectly pointed, perfectly crystalline pointed - 

snow is coating everything 

again.

Honestly? While it was beautiful? 

I'm just over it.

Go home winter. You are not welcome anymore!

~photos by iTouch

Storm Skyviews

Just as a record, THIS is what the East Coast looked like the last few days:

Widespread winter storm as seen from space http://t.co/PJzwivTGl3 pic.twitter.com/MYqDjAMyhW
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) March 5, 2015

Winter storm sweeps over US East Coast, bringing snow, sleet & freezing rain: http://t.co/kk7jE8XYpg @NOAASatellites pic.twitter.com/ULUiawiQrC
— NASA (@NASA) March 5, 2015

THIS pretty much sums it up. And probably the best way to deal with it.

@News12WC my budda is buried pic.twitter.com/h0DZdVn3ma
— Harmonay (@Harmonay1) March 5, 2015

4 Out of 5 March Days = Snow

This March Madness is a "hare" crazy. This latest storm is pretty, at least, but out of the last 5 days? It's snowed, sleeted, and/or rained 4 of them. On top of what we already have on the ground or in piles? It's making everyone a bit ... GRRRRR.

Caramoor is a winter wonderland, and I'm sure the back woods are gorgeous. It's unfortunately over waist-high in some spots though, and I don't have enough winter-gear to break paths just to go exploring.

 Fifty shades of grey on the north commute

 Even the Caramoor gargoyles are saying:

NOOOOOOOOOO MOOOOOOOOOORE SNOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW! 

This storm did add a pretty outline to everything though -- and future rust.

 You have to look for the pops of color:

 

  Yo Mother Nature? Saints perserve us! Don't ice us out!

 The poor gardens are just completely buried.

All of our stucco is buckling and concrete finials are really suffering. This one looks okay, but other are starting to erode. (As is our patience....)

At least this mural is holding up - and reminds us of what spring/summer is like.

   But ENOUGH already. I want to walk away.

 ~photos by iTouch