Fierce and Fleeting, Winter Aconite Blooms

Winter Aconite, fierce enough to dare blooming in February, is here again for a short while. But this year with the balmy weather it's easy to forget that this is one of those rare things, a winter bloomer.

Just That Crack of Color I Followed

The witch hazel flowers are small, but the crack of color they are marks for me the time between two seasons. If Nabokov was right in saying our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities, well, then you surely ought to stop for a second to celebrate these fleeting flecks of yellow (and in some cases,or cultivars rather, orange and red) here in the winter of right now. I did.

Bewitch Hazeled Again in February

It's not sunny today nor cold and crisp like it was the first time I remember standing slack-jawed in front of some blooming witch hazel in February.

It hasn't just rained either like another sighting in a winter gone by.

Still it feels magical though to catch a little glimpse of color this time of year out of the corner of your eye and to walk toward it, knowing this time pretty much exactly what delightful thing it is you will find.

At Hofstra with a New Camera Today!

I felt like I was walking around in this beautiful dream, once again able to zoom and to focus and to capture just a smidgeon of the small gorgeous things passed along the way. Yay!

Inside Out (side)

Inside a geranium blooms, stretching towards the light outside the window, while outside most trees are bare silhouettes. And the times have felt inside out and upside down to me for quite a while now too.

Today ain't a Walking Weather Kind of Day...

Today ain't a walking weather kind of day. That's for sure. Seems more like winter actually wants to assault somebody. It isn't so much that a hard rain is falling as the sky is launching little daggers of ice.

Still this winter has been mostly mild and at least one day a week the sun has managed to make an appearance, breaking through the clouds and the gray. And those days? Well winter doesn't seem so tough at all. And Hofstra? It's a pretty spectacular place to go for a walk.

Whiplash Weather

It was hard to believe the weathermen and their winter storm warnings on Wednesday. Not while the mercury was reaching some record highs. But come Thursday and sure enough outside the window the snow was coming down (really more blowing sideways than falling) for most of the day. And then, in almost as sudden and dramatic a change as when the snowstorm blew in, the snow stopped falling and the sky transformed once again.

It's not every 24 hours that the weather threatens you with whiplash.

Spring Visits Winter

On a lark, and just maybe like a lark, spring came flying into New York today soaring on a balmy breeze. Maybe she just wanted to say hello to remind you of who she is?

It feels like spring today with only the flowers of last summer and hues of winter and fall to clue you in on the fact that it's still February after all. Tomorrow's forecast says snow but it's like all the seasons are here just for today.

You Can Almost Taste May Today

I won't be passing a flowershow like this likely for another three months but I swear in the air of today if you stop for just a second you can almost taste May coming.

The Year of the Crow

According to the Chinese 2017 is the Year of the Rooster but for me it can be the Year of the Crow if I say it is. And I do. Seems like whereever I go these days I am always lucky enough to be treated to some fantastic crow show. Is it me tracking them or is it the other way around?