Centennial Park on a Cold Day

A few days ago, it was sunny but in the 40s and I thought I’d take a short walk at the park – bundled up in my coat and hat. I underestimated the effect of the wind! It was unbearably cold so I took a quick look around for anything worthy of a photograph….and spotted a Great Blue Heron on the other side of the lake. At first I was seeing only the back of its head (I think it was investigating some trash as the edge of the lake); it was about ready to give up when the bird turned so I could get a profile shot.

The water was not a pretty color because the wind was stirring up the water. But I experimented with bordering the picture with the red railing from the fishing pier. I liked the texture of the water in motion. The ducks, geese and seagulls were off the water. I saw some gulls in a tree and two geese eating grass along the road side as I left. There were daffodils bloom in the woods (not sure why someone planted them there) and there were a couple of robins looking for worms in the grass.

It was a much shorter outing than I’d planned but I was glad to be out and about.

February Mornings

I general have at least one snow post in February – but we have had no significant snow at all this winter (so far). We have had some wonderful early morning color. Here is what the sunrise looked like from my front door on February 10^th.

The color was transferred to the trees behind my house on Valentine’s Day. The color only lasts a very short period of time when it is reflected like this….I was pleased to catch it!

On the 17^th, I photographed the sunrise from the front door again. It was a little further along than on the 10^th since it was more orange than pink.

Finally – yesterday I looked out my office window and noticed a bird I had not seen since early fall – a robin in the morning sunlight that was making the tallest branches of the tulip poplar behind our house glow. Is it spring already?

Morning Sun

I like to photograph in morning light…particularly when I manage to capture the glow it creates on ordinary places. This is the view from my office window every sunny morning – the sun coming down the trees as it rises over the roof of the house. It puts a lot of color in the bare branches of winter trees!

Of course, there are the sunrise pictures. The edges of the clouds caught the blaze although the bulk of the clouds were thick enough still look very gray. The vegetation in front of our house was in silhouette with the light of the morning not quite bright enough yet. The tree in the foreground is an oak and some of the buds are large enough to be seen – even though it’s only January and a long time before it will leaf out.

January is a good month for this type of photography – the sunrise is still late enough to not require getting up early!

Hiking at Belmont

I took a winter hike at Belmont yesterday. The trek went from the Carriage House at Belmont onto the Patapsco Valley State Park’s Ridge Trail – making a big loop. It was a lot of up and down hiking through the winter forest. I had limited time to take pictures….it was a hike not a photo shoot. I liked the very green moss on this fallen tree – that has been cut up after it fell across the trail.

Sometimes the white of shelf fungus catches attention too.

This log had a mixture of shelf fungus, lichen and moss…quite a variety. There are little plants coming up through the leaves as well; we’ve been having some warmer days than usual this January.

Here we were on the trail. The trees with brown leaves still clinging are probably young beech trees.

As we came out of the forest there was a great view of the Belmont Manor House from over the rolling hills.

By the time we got back to the Carriage House, we were all ready for a snack!

Rhythm of my Seasons

The Rhythm of my Days and Weeks were posted a few days ago. This post is about seasonal rhythms.

Clothes. I still move things from closet to storage and back twice a year (usually spring and fall…whenever the temperature changes enough). I don’t wear corduroy pants and sweaters when the weather is warm just as I don’t wear shorts, skirts and capri pants when it is very cold. Some things stay in my closet all the time – and they wear out the fastest.

Volunteering. Spring and Fall are when I spend the most time volunteering. Those are the seasons that the schools have most of their field trips and stream assessments.

Travel. My husband likes to do traveling in the spring and fall – and that is probably the time for most our travel…but it happens in the other fall and summer too so there might not be a season for travel.

Classes. There is more time for classes in the winter and summer. I’m always a little surprised that I enjoy them more in winter although I am not sure why.

Outdoor work around the house. There are chores that dominate in every season. Cleaning out and planting in spring. Watering and mowing in summer. Raking leaves in the fall. Shoveling snow in the winter.

Food. Pomegranates in December. Orange squashes and apples and pears and cranberries in the fall. Tomatoes and melons at the height of summer. Garlic scapes and strawberries in late spring/early summer. Yum (even though sometimes I buy them out of season because, these days, many are in season someplace in the world).

I still have not come up with any of my rhythmic habits that I want to change in 2017….but writing these posts has heightened my awareness of the rhythms…and confirming to myself that they are what I want them to be.