Wednesday, January 7, 2009

A Belated Happy New Year!

Spent a wonderful New Year's Eve in London Ontario visiting friends - only to return home to be smacked with fever and various symptoms. Glad to say, I'm well and truly on the mend and back catching up with blogging and work. OpRAH will just have to have her Best Life without me today.

I can always tell how sick I am, by my enjoyment level of vast quantities afternoon television. Knew my immune system was making progress at the very moment I saw two perfectly normal looking women in their mid-forties (albeit in need of some general maintenance - hair cut and colour) going through a series of steps that included having their mid-sections magically melted with a rather rude looking object hooked up to a computer, followed by a visit to two doctors who were going to top up all their hormone levels with "safe chemicals made from plants" (can you say turpentine?), and the excitement never ends, a fitting with Cujo who has found all sorts of lovely items from Target. Between Dr. Phil mouthing Robin's cue cards, the lipstick called 'Ageless', I could feel a certain rage starting to boil - ah yes, we must all be eternally youthful, chemically enhanced and provide a perfect visage right up to and including that open coffin moment - and I knew tomorrow, I'd be off the couch and back in action. Thank you Dr. Phil.

We're in the middle of a storm system that has swept up from the Tennessee Valley bringing a wide variety of moisture and another from the west - so it will be a day of dark, snow, rain, freezing rain, sleet, and a little more snow. Saw how pretty the Japanese Maple looked from inside so had to go out to see if I could capture more. A quick run outside, only to come back to retrieve my bumbershoot - these giant snowflakes are absolutely full of water - camera-deadly.

Little did I know my favourite stalker was inside chronicling me, chronicling the plants in the snow.


Can you believe these light levels? Doesn't it just make you want to swallow a bottle of Vitamin D? (Plant-based of course.)

Can't remember the last time I took a photo of new snow and the light was so low mid-morning that it looked just like I'd just photo'd my battered old Grey Card.


The Japanese Maple from the outside.

Echinacea alba....really alba today.

Poor sad little red berry. But while I was strolling around the garden, heard flock of Canada Geese overhead. They looked like white ghosts crossing the sky above the large pines. Alas, no photo, just memory.

So, here I sit and wait - no worse for wear, back at my desk with Papillio close by - photographed wide open at almost half a second - computer screen standing in for tripod.Just waiting and anticipating the return of Monday's sunshine.


What a tonic the winter light is.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely snow pictures. I can see how it could become too much after the novelty has worn off.
How we long for sunlight when the days are grey and depressing!

Anonymous said...

Hi Barbara, so glad you are back and better! That is so funny, or not really about what is shown on daytime tv. And how sad that they keep pushing the magic cures as though that would make one perfect. Don't they know that it is what's on the inside that counts, especially as we get older. Those women would be better off ready some interesting garden blogs or better yet, begin blogging themselves! Talk about self improvement. And your photos are truly wonderful. Except I could not see several of them. This is the second blog I have gone to where all the photos won't load! Yikes! Love the stalker shots of you, hope you didn't get sick from being out there too. :-)
Frances

Anonymous said...

Oh good, they did load, not to worry!
Frances

Anonymous said...

Snowy gray photos are EXACTLY the reason I'm going to try to get through the winter without posting one. I have a wealth of garden photos from my garden and the other gardens I've toured. I'm going to try and post only those. Wish me luck.

Sucks to start off the year sick. Happy New Year!

garden girl said...

Hi Barbara, wow, your photos are fabulous. The Japanese maple was gorgeous on ice.

I'm glad you're feeling better!

Meems said...

Hi Barbara, I'm back to try again... Blogger wouldn't give me a word to verify earlier tonight so I couldn't leave my comment. GRRRR that Blogger sometimes!

So glad to know you are feeling much better... enough to forge through all that icy snow... geez, that's an enormous amount of snow. Of course any snow is an enormous amount for me but in your photos there's no end to the white stuff piled high on every object. I can't even imagine. Funny how you were be stalked as you were stalking. Great shots and a great tour of your winter wonderland.
Meems

Barbarapc said...

e.g. thank you. While the white snow does help the light levels a little - there's absolutely nothing like blue sky and sunshine on the fresh snow.
Frances - I was thinking exactly the same thing - what ever happened to taking university courses, looking for new volunteer opportunities, new career, and with the internet now - blogging provides windows to so many new ideas and opportunities.
Jim - I'll be racking up some serious blogger miles at your site - I appreciate all the green and wonderful travel pix.
gg: thanks for that - that maple is one of my favourites.
Meems - too much snow too soon. I'm going to sign up for some naturalist courses - if you can't beat it, get out and enjoy it! So if you're feeling all together too warm - come back to visit - there's lots more where these photos came from.

Jan said...

Hi Barbara,
I happened to see that episode of Dr Phil and thought many of the same things; at some point I directly questioned myself as to why I was wasting my time:) I usually try not to sit around watching afternoon tv, but, it happens now and then:)
Your lack of sun looks quite depressing. I have no snow and it doesn't stay as dark here for as long, but it still gets dreary and my mood succumbs to that frequently. My lightbox is a big help. Somehow I notice a difference if I sit in front of it.
Hope your sun has come out today:)
Jan