What I saw that made me get out the camera: The glittering snow diamonds!
January 28, 2009
The mood in Madison.
This is something of an optimism/pessimism test:
What I saw that made me get out the camera: The glittering snow diamonds!
What I saw that made me get out the camera: The glittering snow diamonds!
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The positives of very cold weather and snow. I saw the snow diamonds effect at night under streetlights a week or so ago. It was remarkable, glittering no matter which way I moved.
Pure as driven snow. What a wonderful world. No wonder Wisconsin folks miss it.I knew a Wisconsin girl once who told me she much preferred Winter to Summer. She liked to enjoy fires in the fireplace and to snuggle. I hope she's warm and happy somewhere.
Both are nice but it would seem that Madison diamonds bear little resemblance to Cape May diamonds.
Wow, I love the graphic strength of the image. Another great one Althouse!
Of course, I bet it would look even better in black and white. 8)
Trey
Those diamonds are nice, but those striking shadows might portend some kind of disaster. Germs perhaps?
I see dead trees caused by global cooling. Need more greenhouse gas and effects for the poor trees...
Then, I'm in a cynical mood today.
Even on the coldest days
Slim trunks of trees retain some heat
So that the snow around each base
Forms a well in slight retreat.
"I see snow diamonds."
And I see a dollar sign. This could portend a pay raise for you. (Perhaps a weekly check from the NYT. If so, cash it quickly.)
Yeah, I just spent two hours shoveling that stuff. Put me down on the pessimism side until this headache goes away.
On the plus side, since I got a freebie day off, I do have all afternoon to recover on my couch. That's a bonus.
I take a break from shoveling ice and come in to find that pic. Now I can't pretend I got busy and forgot to finish the job! Breaks over.
It makes me realize I'm lucky I can walk out the door right now with only what I have on me right now and bask in the warm sunshine outside.
(hey, someday you're all going to retire-- and when you do I'll put out the welcome mat.)
Get any shots of snowmobile tracks and snarge in the snow?
errrr...is the yard half full or half empty?
What I saw that made me get out the camera: The glittering snow diamonds!
I see an old man with a cane walking towards his favorite chair. He's cold and frail but is anticipating reaching his goal and collapsing into the arms of a familiar old friend.
And I haven't even had my meds yet.
Sorry to go off topic, but I think about the movie Fargo whenever I see these total snowscapes. That was a powerful little film drawing the good/evil distinction in a way that made perfect sense. It was not male/female, not white/black, and not rich/poor, but just good/evil creating the plot of the story.
You are a glittering snow diamond Ms. Althouse.
I am sick of winter.
(hey, someday you're all going to retire-- and when you do I'll put out the welcome mat.)
"All that Arizona needs to flourish is good people and water," implored U.S. Congressman Henry Fountain Ashurst in his maiden speech, shortly after the state acheived statehood in 1912.
"So does hell," replied a New England congressman.
All you needed was good people, water and billions in federal aid.
Nothing like shoveling late to discover just how popular my curbside trees are with the neighborhood canines. The entire area glitters maybe as yellow diamonds might? So count me as pessimistic.
Didn't that other New Englander Daniel Webster in 1848 declare that he wouldn't vote one damn penny to the development of the West because it would never be of any use to anyone? I always liked the timing of that argument.
A parade of lithe shadow figures dancing in gray slow motion between half full and half empty.
I'm sitting here in LA under blue skies and bright sun with a temperature of 71 but believe me I'm not bragging.
Last summer I suffered through four months of suffocating temperatures, hazy sun and white depressing skies.
I read somewhere that the human mind functions best when the outside temperature is 46 degrees. That's why I'm so unproductive half the year out here. It only gets down to 46 degrees for a handful of nights in January and the early part of February.
Winter in Los Angeles is by far the best time of year. The ornamental fruit trees down on Colorado Boulevard have been full of blossoms now for two weeks and there are eight inches of grass interspersed with yellow flowers in my garden.
But six months from now I'll be dying and depressed by heat. What human beings really crave from their environment, I think, is change. In winter you can go from a snowy blast to a cozy fire, doing wonders for your immune system. Here in LA the seasons change so slowly there is none of that exhilaration coupled with melancholy that comes in the hardwood forests of fall back east. Out here, as Orson Wells once said, you just sit down in an easy chair in your twenties and when you get up you're 70 years old.
Lunch was delicious!
It started with a spicy chutney of saffron and mint, and then a wonderful beet and grapefruit salad that came with fresh cracked pepper, greens, and vinaigrette.
It was served in a huge wooden bowl as if it was a delicious entrée with black bean pure and a chili paste.
However, The complimentary amuse bouche was in my opinion not too exciting. A little container the size of a demi tasse had some ice and three pieces of radish. It came on a little tray with a flat rectangular tray of honey butter with sea salt. Yes, radishes combine well with salted butter, but they are not the most exciting things to have. They don't exactly leap off the plate and talk to you. The cold corn soup was much better.
Anyway, I'm just going along, partaking of my meal, when...
...all of a sudden I hear an exchange of tough words between a boy and a girl, yutes, full of emotion.
I might get censored if I repeat the dialogue, but there was almost some violence between them and the guy took off. The girl sat in the banquette behind me, and I checked to see if my wallet was still in my purse, just in case.
Security came and tried to console the girl who seemed to be crying.
The guy came back a while after security left, and started accusing the girl of having given him.....emotional distress (polite way of saying it).
I pretended to ignore them, and did not get a good look of them, but had my ears wide open, and was ready to run should that be the best option.
The guy left again after some strong language on both parts. The girl just sat at the banquette, and ten minutes later left quietly.
Even after being exposed to this horrible incident, I still feel it was a really lovely restaurant.
Charming decor and delightful cuisine. I guess if I have to suffer sleaze, best to do it at a place like that !
Is winter half over or are we only half-way through winter?
"Is winter half over or are we only half-way through winter?"
Your cup of winter is half-full.
I looked it up, and the Spring equinox is only 7 weeks and 4 days away. Get ready, get ready, for azaleas and dogwoods in bloom in Augusta. That's a good way to end the snow bound blues.
To Eli Blake and all the others who live in warmer climes:
In the Twin Cities, we have had snow cover since the first week in December. It has yet to rise above freezing this January. We've had a couple cold snaps that pushed the low temps well below zero for several days.
And winter isn't over. We can get very cold temps through February, and March is often quite snowy.
That said, Winter is losing its grip. The sun is getting higher. When it shines, we feel warmer, no matter what the air temp.
While you might shiver at the thought of a 40 degree day, we who have been through the cold heart of winter will walk outside in T-shirts the first day it hits 40.
It's like a rebirth.
Here's something you don't see every day, a house on ice.
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