Late Winter Weather Keeps Me Guessing

March 3, 2014March 3, 2014 / Ally Bean / 18 Comments

Delightful.

Saturday afternoon was sunny and about 55ºF outside. I wandered around our property and found this green patch of pachysandra juxtaposed against the blah browns of the forest primeval. Isn’t it a pretty reminder that Spring is on its way?

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Invigorating.

Yes, a mere 40 hours ago I was walking down these limestone steps to get to the lower terraced level of our property. In fact, once down there I paused to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

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Inspiring.

And then I spent a few minutes taking photos of what I saw: the blue sky above an evergreen tree surrounded by tall golden grasses, for instance.

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Dangerous.

However, that was then and this is now. Today, Monday morning, there’s white stuff everywhere, even outside the front door. Can you find the step to the stoop, covered in 3″ of snow, that leads to our front door? Look closely now.

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Annoying.

Oddly enough, it’s as if this last Saturday never happened. Sunshine and warmth? There was none that around here, you silly girl. You must have dreamed it all, says the Winter that’ll never end.

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My Own Version Of Lady & The Tramp

February 18, 2014 / Ally Bean / 13 Comments

I almost feel bad about this.

I mean, it’s never my intention for my actions to cause any creature to get upset. I’m not one to stir the pot just for the heck of it. I’m one to glue the puzzle pieces together to make things whole.

However…

Our neighbor’s dog, who looks just like Lady from the Disney movie, Lady and the Tramp, is a pretty cocker spaniel with impeccable manners. She usually sits on her front sidewalk, watchful and quiet; or patrols up and down her driveway, checking out the suburban scene around her house.

With nary a woof-woof.

Sadly, she has not taken this extreme weather in stride. In fact, more than once this winter she has barked her displeasure with me as I trudge diagonally across our snow-covered front yard to get to our mailbox. Granted as I’m doing this I’m wearing a huge parka, hat and scarf, so maybe she thinks that I don’t belong over here.

That I’m a tramp of sorts.

All I know is that she makes it clear to me that she believes that I’m breaking decorum by not using our [currently ice-covered] concrete sidewalk and driveway. This makes her uneasy, I sense. Worried. And in need of telling everyone within a five block radius about my lack of good manners as evidenced by my tramping through the snow.

Who knew that this breed of dog could be so loud?

Photo Source: American Kennel Club

Who Needs The Green Flash When You Can Have The Orange Smudge?

January 30, 2014February 12, 2016 / Ally Bean / 10 Comments

I. Anyone who has ever spent any time in southwest Florida standing on the beach looking at the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, knows that there’s this thing called the green flash. It’s a phenomenon wherein a sharp line of emerald green flashes across the ocean horizon the second that the sun disappears.

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II. For the last few weeks, Ohio has experienced sub-zero temps that have made life [shall we say?] interesting. Since the arrival of this arctic weather, there’s been one aspect of it that has charmed me. Almost every night at sunset when I look out the window across our deck through the trees to the neighbor’s houses, I see a beautiful shade of orange on the horizon.

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III. While not as spectacular and dramatic as the Florida green flash, this delightful Ohio-in-winter sunset phenomenon has a quiet magic of its own that is more in keeping with the low-key vibe of this state. And as such, I believe it deserves a name, too.

So it is with the foregoing in mind that I’ve decided to take it upon myself and name this phenomenon. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Ohio’s answer to the green flash. Around here, it’s all about the orange smudge.

Something Different This Way Comes

August 27, 2013August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 19 Comments

“It looks like the repo man has been here.”

~ Zen-Den, looking at the mess in our home office

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Over the weekend we decided to start the process of updating our home office. It’s where I write this blog and I’ve never been happy with the furniture arrangement and accessories in here. Too dark. Too orange-y. Too blah.

So we ordered a real desk. Then in anticipation of its arrival we dismantled the computer system that sits on/around/near the horizontal surfaces that I’ve spent the last few years pretending are a desk. And finally, we dragged all this old, orange-y, non-desk furniture into the basement.

Bottom line? Cora, my trusty desktop computer that I use to write this blog, is now sitting on a little table that is scrunched into a dusty corner of the deconstructed home office. Consequently, this means that for the next few weeks until the desk is here and the computer system is back in place, I’m going to be away from the my favorite keyboard.

Considering that Late Summer morphing into Autumn is a beautiful and mellow time of year, I’ve decided that while everything is in flux I’m taking a proper blogging hiatus during the month of September. Might even extend it into October. We’ll see.

So with that being said, I’m stepping away from the computer and taking a bit of time off to enjoy my life without the need to write about it. Shocking idea, I know.

I’ll catch up with you later, kids. Be safe. Be happy. Be.