Musings

Here are assorted photos from our Piedmont Park and BotGarden wander today. Lake Clara Meer is in flood; our favorite water’s-edge stroll is under about 15 cm of lake.

These 2016 daffodils are here a year early. Those are brilliant red camellias in the background, but this is their regular time to bloom, or only a bit early.

I love this aggressive moss garden on the shake roof at the Japanese garden.

In one of the “hot houses,” I arrived just after the foggers shut off. Ethereal.

I was a bit surprised to find the honey bees are also around, not just the untimely early flowers.

Posted at 6:52 PM | Comments Off on Photo day

My, was it ever raining hard. We had lake-puddles in the yard. Until the rain faded and the puddles drained away.

And when there was a break in the precip, I headed out to get some active minutes and fresh air. Maybe in the opposite order.

Poaching in the neighbors’ koi pond, I found a great blue heron. Who decided that I was too close, or perhaps too threatening. And took off. Whatta wingspan!

Great extended family XmasEve event this evening…over in Cabbagetown. Such fun with leeeeetle kids around….

Posted at 9:38 PM | Comments Off on Adventure close to home

Lots of rain last night during the dark hours. Still quite moist when I walked mid-day. Sun peeked out late in the afternoon; uplifting even to look out through the windows although I didn’t really get out and make Vitamin D.

Posted at 4:31 PM | Comments Off on Changing weather

I had to watch my feet—rain again plus some leaves and lots of non-leafy plant-like growths…equals slick underfoot. Like these stones. For a teeny-tiny moment I lost my balance…then regained it. Whew.

So much rain-weight that limbs are coming down…rotten wood, festooned with fungi and lichen—loss of habitat in the making. A quiet precipitation story….

Also, reflections.

Posted at 10:22 PM | 1 Comment »

Overcast this morning without the rain we’ve been having transformed into REAL sunshine in the afternoon. And many people were out raking leaves as they dried enough to do so! Other yards showed the (usually Hispanic) maintenance crews had come by…after many days too rainy to work.

Do I seem elated?

Posted at 7:05 PM | Comments Off on Sooooo fine

Here’s a newish park that is designed to catch some of the rain and make this puddle to reduce runoff. Impressive.

We’re darned soggy in this town, although I hear the skies may clear (or the rain will back off) tomorrow afternoon (TA). I’m so excited!

Posted at 7:38 PM | Comments Off on I will dance TA

Heavy white frost this morning, abetted by the droplets remaining from yesterday’s rain. The grass crunched underfoot. The wind the last few days has brought down many of the leaves, and we can see the dawn breaking relatively easily.

There was even a skim of ice on the rain barrel. Thin, but still.

More evidence that it’s time to think about leaving. Sigh.

Posted at 5:46 PM | 2 Comments »

The orange layer this morning was squeezed by the clouds, and more golden that previous mornings. Still pretty, though.

Another light frost, spotty. These leaves were wet when the temps dropped, and became rimed…

…as did this mushroom. However, its high-moisture tissues mean that it will not survive much longer.

Focus!

On the other hand, I also found a dandelion bloom!

Posted at 6:16 PM | Comments Off on Frost-morn

Rainy this morning, then overcast. I futzed around the house and then couldn’t stand it any longer, and went out to check out the property. Windy…I wore a raincoat, but no drops.

This spot in the foreground used to have a smokehouse, a wooden structure the size of a smallish shed, as I recall. I don’t remember it smelling smokey, so I don’t think it was used to smoke meat during that time. I’m not sure when it disappeared, but it was over a generation ago. I think if the leaves weren’t down, I’d be able to find at least one or two of stone corner-supports. In the spring, there are so many species of the earliest bloomers here.

I also got down to the lake. Small waves. Past the opposite shore, it looked like it was lighter far away, but maybe it really was overcast all over the world. After I was back at the cottage, though, out the window I saw SUNshine! Shadows! I almost went out again….

Then, a few minutes ago, I was on the back porch and heard a few drops of precip.

Posted at 5:51 PM | Comments Off on Changeable day

I did get out for a neighborhood stroll-adventure, and about half-way along, I walked into spitty, light rain that came and went. Fine, I thought, I can deal.

Then it got just a bit more rain-like, and I sent a text…raising my rescue crew. Nice. I wrote, not bad enough yet, but thanks for standing by. I kept going. The rain level returned to almost nothing…then spitty again.

With a minimum of ten minutes to go (tyranny of the Fitbit), I thought, yippee! I can make it, and I did, scooting in the door just before the rain commenced. It must have been a victory lap (anthropomorphizing here), as a minute later it went back to spitting.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on Fiction based on fact