This blog is mostly words and thoughts, but perhaps you’d like to see what I’m seeing around here at this time of year?
It’s not the brightest time of year but there is weak light that makes for some interesting photos.
However, mostly it’s gray outside with not much snow.
Of course, with the leaves off the trees it’s possible to see from afar what’s ahead of you on the path.
And despite the gloom there are bridges to cross just for the heck of it.
But in the end, it’s not the most cheerful time of year outside, she says stating the obvious while counting the days until spring.
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GOT ANY SUNSHINE WHERE YOU ARE? DO TELL
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Our ground had been bare for quite a while but the last 5 days have been an awful combination of ice, sleet, rain and snow. Hoping for some sun soon.
Nice pics!
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Rivergirl, today the awful combo is starting here. Not a fan of ice and sleet, but it is winter so I’ll try not to complain about it.
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Our driveway is a skating rink. Not a fan!
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Oh, that’s lousy. Be safe.
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I’m anxious for spring, A-Bean. We can’t seem to dry out. Commuting to work in the dark on wet roads makes for a cranky Jill. 🥴 The dusting of snow looks pretty.
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Jill, I understand your crankiness. I worry about driving on wet roads, especially ones that turn to ice. Spring will be welcome when she arrives.
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Thanks for taking us on this stroll, Ally. The shot of the pond (lake?) is particularly lovely. We even had snow here in the high desert last week. Happily it melts fast! Hugs.
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Teagan, you had snow in the high desert last week? Huh. Sadly our smattering of snow probably will be around, looking drab, for weeks to come. That’s how it is this time of year.
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We remember seeing sunlight a while ago. We’re having DAYS of rain, entering our second period of flood watch. Luckily, we won’t cross any bridges on our way to town to do soggy errands.
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Anne, there was sunshine at one point, right? We’ll see it again, right? At this time of year I sometimes wonder. I don’t envy you your soggy world, though. Ugh.
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We have photos taken in sunlight to remind us of pretty weather. Surely we’ll see the sun again. Meanwhile, I’d like to make some tiny paper boats to float on the deck when the rain lets up.
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I like your attitude. Remember the light while making your boats. Gotta deal with what is, eh?
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I enjoyed your photos. They are season-appropriate.
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Monochrome is “in” nowadays. Brooding – a certifiable mood, especially in literary circles. Great photos which verify you got outside and getting exercise.
I live in Florida, the Sunshine state, and I will not rub it in, Ally Bean!
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Ditto what Marian said.
And I’ll add: I love to cross bridges just for the heck of it!
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Nancy, I agree with Marian, too. Like you, I thought it was fun to be the first person across a snowy bridge. I takes me joy where I can find it!
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Marian, yes, yes, I’m brooding in a literary way, showing my depth of character to those who’ll pay attention to me. I like your thinking. It’s probably so clear because you’re seeing sunshine that makes your brain sharp.
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Plenty of sunshine here in Barbados, Ally. 🌴🌞🌴
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Uh huh. And I’m happy for you, Deb. Living the life, aren’t you? 😎
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For the next couple of weeks I am!
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I’ll enjoy your photos on IG because I do like to see how the other half lives.
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Gray and wet here. Thanks Ally, for sharing a little white. At this point, I’d actually like to see some snow. Apologies to everyone else in the northeast if…
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Dan, if nothing else a smattering of white adds some interest/contrast to the gray scenery. I understand your point of view.
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This looks like my neck of the woods in the Midwest.
Although, our winter has been milder than in the past so I don’t want to complain.
Yet.
🙂
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Writer McWriterson, I suspect that February gloom looks the same no matter where you are. We’ve had a milder than usual winter, too. But the gray has been like it usually is– drab.
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Two days worth of sunshine here and yesterday I even walked without a coat. It was wonderful!
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Deb, that sounds wonderful. No coat! I know that time will be here soon, but in the meantime, hello gloom.
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We are struggling here in Tulum, Mexico. It’s just awful ;-).
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Yes, Pam, I see your photos on IG and I feel your pain. As if. 🙄 What a beautiful place to visit. You are lucky.
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It’s raining again, which means everything will be ice again. Sigh. This is the hardest part of winter, those sunny days were such a tease. I guess I’ll go cook something…
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Dorothy, I agree that this is a difficult time of year. I understand how and why it’s so gloomy outside, but it makes me grumble. And, like you, cook more.
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Last week lovely…this week rain…
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LA, so no sun for you this week either. Bummer.
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Gorgeous photos Ally Bean, enough to light up grey-ness. Where I am right now is cooler than yesterday and the sun is on holiday. A nice respite from hot and humid days.
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Susan, I’m glad the photos turned out as well as they did considering the monotone color scheme out there in the park. Hot and humid can be as difficult to deal with as gray and gloomy. But we survive, don’t we?
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That red chair? A stroke of sheer genius …
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Sorry not red chair, red walk way 🙃
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I knew what you meant. I just went with it but it did make me laugh. 😊
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We’ve got plenty of green in Houston, although Austin and other areas north of here had some snow last week. It was gone in about five minutes, of course, but still: there it was. We’re just gray, damp, foggy, and cloudy. Oh, and drizzly. I am not a happy camper, since I work outdoors and need decent weather. I’ve been trying for two weeks to finish up a job. I am not pleased.
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shoreacres, so your weather is thwarting you! How rude of it to not let you finish your job. It’s almost like the weather doesn’t care what we human beings want. Imagine. 🤨
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It looks much the same here. There was no snow in the forecast. Where did this come from? It is supposed to be 42 later so it should all go away. I hope. Your photos are kind of moody. Any one of them would make good cover art for a crime thriller. Spring will be here soon. I hope.
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Zazzy, I’d like to see a high of 42º today, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. Snow just kind of shows up on its own schedule, leaving the weather forecasters perplexed, doesn’t it? I hadn’t thought of the photos as cover art, but you’ve got a point. Moody, for sure.
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No squirrels at the park? I have it on good authority they will brighten up even the gloomiest and ickiest mid-winter photo. I’ll have to take a closer look in those trees…
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Not one squirrel. It was desolate, but because it was a city park it didn’t seem threatening. Just bleak.
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I hate to do this to you all, but we have a blue sky and sunshine right now 🙂 The ground is still wet from Storm Ciara, and we’re anticipating the joys of Storm Dennis, but what a mood lift a person can get from a quick bit of fresh air & sunshine. The knee is preventing me going any distance, so the camera remains at home, but I’m really itching to get going again. Not long now … In other news, my surgeon believes a less invasive procedure will do the job, so 2 weeks today, I’ll be coming home for a couple of weeks rather than months of recovery & oh am I ever pleased 😃 BTW, nice photos – especially the reflections in the first pic & the bridge.
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Deb, I’m pleased to know your good news about your knee and about your weather. Less is definitely more when in it comes to surgery– and gray skies. I’ve been seeing video of Ciara and it looks like it was something to behold. Hoping you survive Dennis is fine form too. Glad you liked the photos. Sometimes in the most unexpected places I get some good shots. Thanks for noticing.
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My view looks pretty similar to yours, so I can’t really help much in the sunshine department these days.
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Swinged Cat, I’m getting the feeling that many of us are looking out into gray skies today. Nothing wrong with it considering the time of year, of course.
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‘Tis the season!
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😊
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Hi, Ally – Your photography brilliantly captures mid-winter for me. So peaceful!
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Donna, yes it’s peaceful around here. Hardly another soul was at the park when I was there– which is unusual, but made for some interesting photo opts.
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I enjoyed tagging along virtually on your walk. February, for those of us in the more wintery climes, certainly brings on, at least for me, that rather uncomfortable state of cabin-fever alternating with a great need for actual hibernation. Tends to make me twitchy. While it’s nice to notice that daylight hours are increasing, it’d be nicer if the sun was actually shining during those hours. I’m definitely looking forward to Spring.
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Deborah, you’ve described my exact feeling right about now– twitchy. I feel stuck between doing and just being. Neither fish nor fowl, as they say. Still going out for a walk was nice in its own way and the sunshine will be here soon enough. We learn to adapt, don’t we?
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It actually looks quite lovely to me. I miss seasons and clouds and cold and snow.
Yes, my life in SoCal is hard, what with putting the cushions on the patio in February and contemplating buying ice-cream in February because the sunshine is so warm.
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AutumnAshbough, I like the seasons, but the grayness at this time of year can be a bit much. SoCal life sounds delightful right now but I know that come spring I’ll be tossing those cushions on the outside furniture and contemplating ice cream flavors just like you. You just wait and see.
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I saw the sun! Just the other day! Not since Sun-day, however. Unfortunately, our cold and gray brings only rain. I think if it’s cold and gray it should at least be snow, because snow leaves everything looking so pretty, like your photos from the park. Thanks for sharing. Yours may be the only snow I see this year!
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Tara, we haven’t had much snow here this year. I took these photos because if nothing else the sparkle in the snow contrasts nicely with the gray. It’s been wetter today, like Mother Nature has found the effort to snow too much bother. Instead it’s just blah outside.
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We’ve had plenty of blah. Today, though, the sun broke through for a few minutes close to sunset. YAY!
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You are a lucky duck. I see that our forecast says there’ll be sunshine this weekend. I could enjoy that.
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Definitely grayscale these days, isn’t it? The weather, the scenery and the mood. We do have our evergreens here, but are back to gray sky, which feels oppressive.
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Margaret, yes many of us are living in a gray world right about now. I like gray skies once in a while but this has been days on end and that wears on my last nerve. Still, spring will be here soon enough so that gives me hope.
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It’s cold, windy, and wet here in Dublin … but the pubs are warm and welcoming ☘️😁
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Joanne, Irish pubs, I’m sure I’d like them regardless of the weather. Enjoy your vacation. It sounds like you’re making the best of it.
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I can’t think of anywhere else in the world that I’ve visited and enjoyed each rainy, cold day as much I as did Ireland 💕
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I visited Ireland when I was a college student studying in England. Loved the rainy Irish vibe, too. Must get back there as an adult. You inspire me to do so.
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You studied in England? Have you ever written about it?
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No, Joanne, I’ve never written about it. It was a long time ago, but it was a significant part of my undergrad college education. I majored in English Lit and much of how I came to understand literature [and humor] is a result of that study abroad.
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You have done something I’ve always dreamed to do!
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Maybe someday you’ll do it yet. 🤓
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Stranger things have been known to happen …
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Remember what they sing…Gray skies are gonna clear up…
I am also ready for the end of a black and white world outside. The view from my window closely resembles yours. The flat light can be an interesting photographic tool, but I am ready for Spring as well. That red stairway is a nice splash of color 🙂
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oneletterup, I remember that song. Good selection for this situation. Interesting how one spot of color can stand out so much in this light, isn’t it?
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It sure is – and it is a most welcome sight. It’s funny how a song lyric can get triggered by a photo or a phrase. Those kind of memories must get imprinted early on with extra staying power!
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I think you’re right. I learned that song in kindergarten, programmed into me by a well-meaning teacher. 🎵
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Kudos to your teacher 🙂
I seem to remember it from a television show or movie, but it could have been at school as well.
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Love the photo with the red bridge.
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jean, thanks. The color really stands out doesn’t it?
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Nice sunny day here but we really need the rain! At least you caught a bit of color in the gloom. Hope you get a nice sunny day soon!
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Jan, I’m glad you’re seeing some sunshine where you are. I’ll trade you a bit of precipitation for a few rays of light! 😊
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Love your gorgeous photos, Ally! So well framed. I tend to accidentally take my finger or the sidewalk. Sigh. But what lovely photos you took.
We haven’t had much sunshine. Today, we had sun. But it quickly disappeared. We’re due for more snow soon.
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L. Marie, thank you. I understand you problem. I often get my finger in a photo or blur the image with my shaky hands, but when I do manage to snap a few photos I feel like I should share them here.
No sun at all here today with none predicted until the weekend. So it goes in winter…
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Ally, You remind me how I have read that the best and most interesting photos are not necessarily in the sunshine. Your photos look pretty from my end. I have lived in areas where we have had too much pretty. Cabin fever set in and we were more than ready Spring to appear. I can see Spring just around the corner in your photos, Ally!
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Erica/Erika, I didn’t know that about photography and sunshine. I assumed the best photos were taken with lots of light. Huh. I’m on the verge of cabin fever here. I enjoyed getting outside for a walk in nature, but it was dreary. Supposedly we’ll see some sunlight this weekend– and I’ll be out the door in a flash.
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We have a little more snow, but the same gray and gloomy skies. The reflections on the water are pretty and you wonder how there can be that much reflection with no sun. We are getting 3-6 inches of snow tomorrow night, so our landscape is going to change dramatically since our Sunday snow fizzled into rain and all the roads/sidewalks are clear again.
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Linda, I realize that the February gloom is just how it is and I try not to complain about it. I found that getting out into nature for this walk, dreary as it was, did a lot to make me feel whole again. Snow isn’t predicted for us, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get some. When is spring again? 🤔
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I’m no fan of snow Ally, but it does brighten things up a bit. Most of January was gray and we went the entire month of November here in SE Michigan without a single ray of sunshine. This morning it is beautiful – sunny, clear as a bell, all before the big storm tonight. Unfortunately I could not enjoy a walk because I had to stay home as my landline went dead and the ATT tech has been here for several hours trying to figure out what is wrong. Hopefully, I’ll get another clear and sunny day before Spring which is now 36 long days away.
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36 days is a long time when you want to see some color outside your window. On the other hand 36 days will probably go by faster than I think they will because time flies when you get older! ‘Tis a fact.
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Yes, it is and especially true when many UK bloggers are already showing their bloomy yards and emerald green grass since Spring has arrived for them already. P.S. – Yes, I’ll vouch for time flyin’ by fast!
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We’ve been lucky so far. Not too cold and not much snow. It’s almost the middle of February so I’m hopeful we won’t get any seriously bad weather. I think of winter as bleak and dreary but it has it’s own solitary beauty. I prefer the lushness of the other seasons.
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Kate, I like the solitary beauty of winter, too. For a while. Then I’m ready for the flower show to get on the road. It’s not that I dislike grayness, it’s that I like it in balance with sunshine. Fussy, aren’t I?
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Not at all. I need a pop of color right about now. Maybe that’s why all the spring bulbs are such bright gaudy colors.
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Excellent point. You could be onto something there with that idea.
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Gray and gloomy here too….but I try and get out for a half hour walk and that cheers me up…..or at least makes me feel better that I got some exercise. Then I come back inside and bake something…..and that cheers me up too!
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Joni, your approach to the winter gloom is delightful. Walk a little, bake a little– repeat. You could write a best-selling self-improvement book with that very idea as the thesis of it. 😉
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Not all my baking is successful as per last post!
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Can’t wait to read your next post. Success is overrated imho.
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It’s a gloomy old day around here today. I like it. As you say, the light is interesting, and everything looks soft.
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Marian, I like gray days because they don’t tire my eyes, but I do long for a few sunshiny days mixed in-between the gray days. Although you’re right, the soft light makes for some interesting photos, so that’s fun.
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Still dripping, foggy, and dreary around here. (National Umbrella Day yesterday was right on target)
I actually enjoy the monochromatic photos. You see stuff you miss with color and full leaves. Lack of color or with a little accent color suggests mystery and creative thinking.
A couple of these could be fancy-smancy pictures sold at high dollar decorator stores like Restoration Hardware. Nicely done
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philmouse, National Umbrella Day was yesterday? Well isn’t that serendipity. I had no idea such a day existed let alone I’d post something so apropos for it.
You’re right in that monochromatic photos make any spot of color pop. I like that. Thanks for the compliment about the photos. Maybe in my next life I’ll be a photographer with interior design connections. 😉
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Hi. How much snow has your area had this winter so far? My region (greater Philly) has gotten less than one inch.
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Neil, I’d say we’ve had maybe 2″ of snow. Just enough to frost the world out there, but not enough to get out a shovel. As winters go, this one has been easy, but gray.
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Don’t hate me, but it’s very spring-like around here. In fact, I just saw quite a few flowering trees on my neighborhood stroll that are bursting out with buds. We’d actually like some more rain in our area but it’s hard to complain too much
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Janis, I’d never hate anyone for having lovely weather during our winters. I’m happy to know that it’s looking like spring where you are. It gives me hope that soon I’ll be seeing flowering trees here, too.
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My kids are often fooled by the bright sunshine on most days (like today), but that doesn’t mean it’s warm. 60s, brrr! 😉 I don’t miss Ohio, but the photos are nice regardless. I still wouldn’t mind a walk through the trees on a day like that. And a warm mug of something when I got back inside. 🙂
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Betsy, there’s a beauty to this kind of grayness, but after a week or so of it, I’m ready for a day of sunshine. You’re right about a warm mug of something after a walk like this one. I went with peppermint tea as a matter of fact.
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Excellent choice! 🙂
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😊
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Noooo! Ours is gloomy and RAIN. Rain all the time. Rain like we-should-probably-build-an-ark rain. It’s 60 degrees today and — what else — raining. No wonder the daffodils are blooming.
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Laura, at least you’re warm where you are. Like gray gloom, the rain can get tiresome though. I understand that. My inside daffys that I am forcing aren’t even blooming yet, so kind of jealous about yours.
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So, I’m literally the 101st …kinda cool:) Your second capture is dripping with mood – love it! Water reflections are always an asset during a walk! Getting off here, before I’ll become no. 102 (joking)!
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Hello #101! I didn’t try to snap moody photos but that is what happened. I give all the credit to the gray sky and the dim light. It’s fun to try different things with my camera and this time it worked. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
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Yep. We have sun, but it was also so cold today that my school district cancelled for today. (I’m not complaining.) 🙂
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The Travel Architect, that must be very cold for a school district to close for low temps. Hope you had a fun day at home staying warm, grooving on sunshine.
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I did, thank you, but now I’m left wondering why this morning’s exact same forecast is not providing me with another day off. Hmmm… 🤔
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To keep you on your toes, I suppose. Enjoy your *cold* Friday out in the world.
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Your photos are lovely, even if the weather isn’t. Spring is just around the corner.
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Jean, your last sentence is what I’m focused on right about now. I’m not depressed about this weather, just bored with it. *meh*
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I feel the same way. When I saw my first daffodils I was delighted.
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Oh I get that! I love seeing them. I’m attempting to force some inside right now in fact.
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We’ve hit that place in winter where I really don’t want to be out much and I’m tired all the time. Winter blahs happen to even the best, most foremost winter lovers. It will make spring even more exciting. That’s the pattern I craved when I was away from our gray winter clime.
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joey, I’m worn out too. Some winters I find inspiring but this one seems to have dragged on. I took the photos as a way of documenting how gray it gets here, so if I start to whine about sunlight next August I can remind myself of the alternative.
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Absolutely. I agree with all of that!
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Ally, it looks lovely where you live and you’ll have to do a similar post in the midst of summer. I bet the playground is packed! As for sunshine .. pray, do tell me, what is that? It’s been the greyest of winters, not too cold but grey, grey, grey! Yep, I’m counting the days to Spring … or the day I’ll say enough is enough and jump on a plane to the sun! 😀
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Annika, that’s a great idea for a summer post. Thanks. We’ve been gray this winter, too. I’m tired of it and ready for sunshine here, although the idea of jumping on a plane to somewhere sunny is a nice one.
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Happy trails!
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Thanks!
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