Crocus!

Ok. Some Springtime at last. We have crocuses blooming in our yard. And yesterday (which was the anniversary of the COG's father's birth) was sunny. It made all the difference.

Today, was unremittingly gloomy, of course, but it had other pleasures which I'll blog about later.

Weather Induced Misery

I've been thinking about what I posted last week,

"Daily temperature 35 degrees, no sunshine, result misery".

We've had a week of unremitting gloom. It has rained quite a bit - there were flood warnings over the weekend and the National Guard was handing out sandbags. But all the anticipation came to naught. I'm so so so ready for winter to go away. Spring is late this year. Usually by now we've heard the little peepers singing in the swamp.

I've been following the weather in other parts of the country and I know that Minnesota is colder than here. I've tried to keep a sense of proportion, therefore, because however horrid it is here, it's colder there.

But it makes no difference. I've decided that there is only a certain amount of weather-induced misery that any one person can feel. Once you reach that outer limit (assuming the absence of war, famine, natural disaster, poverty, death, and insect swarms) it really makes no difference whether it's a little colder, hotter, wetter etc.

And I have reached that outer limit. I am at the Peak of Weather-Induced Misery. All my loved ones are well. I am busy and engaged with interesting tasks. Life is good. But I need some Springtime Now.

The Bride Dreams of Faraway Places.

The Bride and her sister Rose are going to France for the month of June, to take a French immersion course. This has been talked about for months, but now, they have enrolled in the class, and, yesterday, they actually booked their tickets.

At the end of the month, the Husbands will join them for A Walking Tour, probably from Collioure (in France) to Cadaques (in Spain). It's a fairly easy walk on cliffs along the Mediterranean descending, now and then, to swimmable little beach coves. The last day seems a bit more strenuous, but with the reward of beautiful views at the end.

Collioure is a beautiful place. The picture here was taken by the Bride a couple of years ago. It was snapped while she and the COG having lunch in a restaurant overlooking the town.

If you're a Patrick O'Brian fan, you'll want to know that on the walk from Collioure to Cadaques one passes very close to the castle which would have been owned by Stephen Maturin, had he (and the castle) not been fictional.

Today, in cold and sunless New England, this seems very, very far away.

“The most serious charge which can be brought against New England is not Puritanism but February.”

I've been thinking of Charles Dickens, who wrote, in David Copperfield. :

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

But I've been thinking of it in reference to the weather. Something like

'Daily temperature 35 degrees, no precipitation, sunshine, result happiness. Daily temperature 35 degrees, no precipitation, no sunshine, result misery."

It's amazing the difference the sun makes. The earliest birds have returned from their Southern migration and are beginning to sing. I"m told by Son of COG that a lot of the first ones to arrive are young males, who come early to establish their territory so they can attract a mate. They sing whether or not the sun shines - it's about sex and territory, not weather. But, when I hear them singing in the morning and the sun is shining, my heart lifts and I know that Spring is around the corner.

Today, on the other hand, has been unrelentingly grey and gloomy. Sheba and I took a long invigorating walk, but now we are back home and the house is dark and cold. The kitchen will soon be warm and bright, however, so that's where I'm going right now to make dinner.

The quote in the title is by Joseph Wood Krutch (pronounced 'krootch') who, according to Wikipedia, was an American writer, critic, and naturalist. He was born in Tennessee, taught at Columbia for many years, and then spent the last 20 or so years of his life in Arizona writing about nature. He seems never to have lived in New England, but he was right about February.

Ireland 2008: Dustin The Turkey - Irelande Douze Points

This is what we are laughing at today: Ireland's Eurovision Song contest entry - Dustin the Turkey.

Snow, Vertigo, Johnny Cash

It's snowing very prettily right now. We are expecting 6 to 8 inches over the next 12 hours or so. The good thing about these late February snows is that they melt quickly. Also, it's so much prettier when it snows that a couple of days of snow cheer me up and get me farther through mud season.

I have vertigo today. I get it occasionally and it's particularly bad today. The floor is uneven, rolling. I'm dizzy, seasick. In fact, the treatment is motion sickness medicine. Tomorrow, it will be better. Or the next day.

Just watched Walk The Line and really enjoyed it. Reese Witherspoon and Jaoquin Phoenix were terrific. A perfect film for a snowy, vertiginous Friday.

Weather: Good News and Bad News

It's 60 degrees today. That's the good news. No walkies for Sheba, however. The bad news is we have torrential rain and high winds. Sigh.