The magic of winter...

I’ve taken plenty of cold, windy walks on snow-covered beaches, but I realized when a friend and I stood on the shore at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, watching thick, fluffy flakes fall, that I’d never actually been on a beach during a snowfall.

Boy, have I missed something in all these years of living in the Northeast!

I had my camera. Of course! And there was nothing I wanted more than to capture the beauty of the landscape—the sweep of the ocean and the rise of dunes with the beach between, softened and muted by the falling snow.

But the purpose of our two-hour drive had been to get some shots of one of the several snowy owls that have settled on the Plum Island for the winter. So I'd left my landscape lens in the parked car and had only my long lens on the camera. This lens would give me the focal distance I needed to get the details of a distant owl, but it would show only a narrow slice of landscape, not the snow-filled panorama I wanted at that moment.

Still...I snapped the shutter—it’s what photographers do--and I love what the camera caught. Even a tiny piece of the bigger scene looks magical. And if that had been the way the day had ended, I'd have been happy with just these images.

Continuing the owl search, we started down a boardwalk. Plump birds bartered for space on the bare branches while waiting their turn for the berries on a nearby bush. When we got closer, we saw that they were robins--sort of an unnatural sight in winter--but there were dozens. I snapped away, hoping I caught some birds with berries in their beaks. If this was all we saw for the day, I wouldn't have a complaint in the world.

Then we hit the trifecta when we spotted the snowy owl on a jetty of rocks, slippery from melted snow and sea water. It was a tricky go, maneuvering slowly and carefully so as not to fall. The goal was not to scare the snowy, not to drop camera equipment, and not to fall and get hurt--in that order. We made it! The snowy posed for quite a while before getting bored and flying to the beach.

So just when I thought I was as happy as could be, I got happier still!

A perfect winter day! And more to come!

“Snow flurries began to fall and they swirled around people's legs like house cats. It was magical, this snow globe world.” ~Sarah Addison Allen

One Winter Day in February!

It’s just a week that I have here, doing "farm duty" for friends while they are in Maui avoiding the February weather. Yay them! And yay me too! This is a week of respite...less than half an hour from home and hubby—and cats. I can enjoy the best of both worlds. My “chores” for the week: · Gather the chicken eggs (my favorite part!!) · Feed the chickens and ducks and give them fresh water (It bothers me that they have to stay in their coop while family is away. Makes sense, but I feel bad. Otherwise, this would be a favorite). · Feed three feral cats (my other favorite thing!) · Feed four alpacas and give them water (this is becoming a favorite...) Once done, that leaves plenty of time to... To WHAT, exactly? What DO you do with the free time you’ve always dreamed of having...besides wasting it wondering what you’ll do with all that free time? On day 1, I a

For Alice~ She's home!!!!!!!

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Sometimes it's all about knowing that loved ones and friends stand behind you, knowing that support is there on the down days, the worry days, the days when you feel off-center, out of sync, bedraggled emotionally, and in pain, but knowing all the while that you're not alone. You're not alone... Alice is an online friend--she lives in Hawaii-- who belongs to the writer's workshop that I do. We've only "met" online, but those who have online friendships know that they can be just as strong as those in-person relationships. Alice was hit by a car while walking, and is in the rehab phase of things. She's working to regain mobility after a broken pelvis, a broken arm, and a broken nose. It's scary to realize how, in the blink of an eye, life can lurch and our plans for a time are displaced by survival and healing. We&#

San Antonio and Boston~

I'm in Austin. Two days after Christmas we flew to Texas for another of Worcester State's basketball tournaments. Bruce's motto is, "I didn't miss any of David's games in high school-- and he played three sports-- why start now?" My motto is, "I didn't make all of his games in high school-- nor did I try. The least I can do is go to the ones that require traveling to a place I've never been." David spends his days with the team. When they are not playing or practicing, the coaches take the kids out to see the sights. We have plenty of free time to see the sights and to relax, which is what I'm after, basketball aside. Today we headed 80 miles south to San Antonio and sauntered along the River Walk-- the much corralled and exploited, but nicely so, San Antonio River-- in sun and sixty plus temps. We visited the Alamo, and absorbed a bit of Texas's interesting history and culture. Beautiful! Eye candy! Never ashamed to lug a camera

~Upstream and Down~

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