Musings

Believe it or not, this is in intown Atlanta. The train. The rustic setting. And I’m sure lots adjacent to the tracks don’t get much of a tax break, either.

And, remember, ATL’s name used to be Terminus.

Posted at 10:43 PM | Comments Off on Train town

Turning cold! Can’t seem to get warm, and it’s not just hormones.

Or something!

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Winter weather?

…and socks!

We took advantage of the January sale at REI and got a new pair of shoozies for each of us and some lux socks to go with (observing with glee this leetle sign on the test fake-rock in the shoe department there).

Happy feet deserve a nice little day hike, so the next step is to check the maps for, well, the GA or NC mountains, probably. We had a grand trek on near the north shore of Lake Fontana last year, and would love to repeat, as that area, basically along the southern flank of Clingman’s Dome, was just delightful. Closer to home, there are some great spots north of Helen and Clayton.

Hmmmm….

Posted at 5:20 PM | 2 Comments »

I’m keep looking for the bicycle-riding dogs, advertised here as regulars at the new track at Piedmont Park, but I keep seeing just the normal ones, mostly reasonably well-behaved, and mostly doing a good job of their primary role lending their owners and those who want to meet them a conversational opening. It’s better than the bar scene, after all!

Posted at 6:17 PM | 1 Comment »

I thought it was too cold to be foggy this morning, but I was wrong, and eventually the sun burned through enough to make it, dare I say?, actually a bit scenic!

Posted at 5:19 PM | 1 Comment »

Every once in a while, I fly in or out of Atlanta and get decent views of the city. Success depends on many variables: weather, flight pattern, time of flight, seat location, quantity of window scratches—in this case, the latter almost confounded me, but the plane turned and I was on the shadowy north side, and they pretty much were out of play.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Downtown Atlanta

A pre-dawn flight brought me back (temporarily) to the Midwest. First Pond has shrugged off its mantle of ice, and the warm winter sun set it aglow this afternoon.

Posted at 9:18 PM | 2 Comments »

Those of you residing elsewhere, especially in the upper Midwest, here’s a hallmark of winter in the sunny South: outdoor drinking fountains that are still on-line in mid-December.

Temp unseasonably up around 70°F today….

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

Balmy and overcast, and I saw the twitching tails of two deer and this little guy (gal? critter?), which I almost stepped on, since s/he was stretched out in the mowed path and resembled a weed stalk or dried grass stem.

Posted at 8:02 PM | Comments Off on No shoulders

Our view across First Pond included a lovely sundog, and we reveled in the near-tropical temperatures (well into the 40s!); what a great Sunday!

Posted at 8:19 PM | Comments Off on Sun-doggies!