These shells were found on the beach in February a couple of years ago.
These were seen a couple days ago.
Can you tell that they are winter shells?
Does the light look colder?
Does the wind sting your fingertips when you reach down to pick one up?
Does the wave make me look older?
It hasn’t snowed much this winter. But a couple weeks ago I was lucky to be in NYC on a snowy afternoon.
The post office had some cool icicles the other day.
The grasses below collected and reforged their drops.
You could no longer bend with the wind. Yesterday it broke you down, revealing that you weren’t as strong as we thought. You had a weakness that you kept hidden. Was it worms that did this? Or maybe insects or fungi that caused this weariness?
We wept for a moment near you, wished you well, and walked on, past the wasted part of the wood.
Under December clouds
I looked to the west
and saw Lady Liberty​
contemplating the sunset.
Finally this year I was able to visit the beach during winter. I had always wanted to go there during its offseason, just to know what it was like to walk next to the ocean in opposite weather of what I’m used to.
It was as beautiful, windy, and cold as I had guessed it would be.
We got a touch of snow today. Just an inch or two, but it was enough to make me happy. I’m feeling in-between, like the weather is right now. I’m ready for spring to come, but I’m also happy to get one more snow. Just to have a chance to appreciate it and say goodbye.
Once more into the snow boots, dear friends. One more pass on the car with the scraper. A few hundred more tiny flakes on my face, and then I’ll be ready to put it away for the season.
We might even get a dusting on Sunday. Then next week it’s temps in the 60s and 70s, so this feels like the end of the snow.
But, you never know, there’s always a chance of getting one more monster snow storm in March/April that will completely blanket the town in ice crystals. The in-between times can be kind of fun.
Here’s my entry for Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge: Things That Are Rough. Some textured bark on a pine tree.
What was once an inviting, fluffy mountain of snow is now a dirty pile of chopped ice. It melts a little each day but freezes again at night. Try to play on this and you’ll slip, the rough chunks of ice scratching your hand as you brace your fall.
I featured this photo of the catci in a recent post about a trip to a rose garden last summer. Thanks to my friend Maria F., I now know their name: Opuntia humifusa. Thanks, Maria!
Here’s a very happy bee on a pointy thistle.
This is rough on an emotional level. When I read the note that was scratched into the painted-over glass windows on a padlocked door to an abandoned house, I couldn’t help but wonder about the circumstances. More photos and speculation in this post from several months ago.
This image is my entry for Cee’s Black & White Challenge called Weather, from a snowstorm earlier this month.
This week’s topic for Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge is things that are cold.
I see a pattern with my images: they are mostly based on the weather. Snow and ice and cold is all I can think about. The temperatures will drop this weekend to their lowest of the winter so far.
I wonder how I would have done this challenge in the summer time? Maybe images of ice-cold drinks sitting out in the sun?
Speaking of summer, it will be nice to get out to the parks and playgrounds again.
Or go swimming in the lake.
Or go check out the marina near the beach.
Looking at flowers again in warm weather.
Or even just looking at stop signs without being reminded of snow.
But for now, my world is full of things that are cold. And that includes me!
Cynthia M Voss 