Discovery Drafts

The promise of a good night.  Love it. Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

 Tonight as we in Connecticut face another Arctic blast, Maeve and Clyde are doing the only sensible thing.  Clyde has made friends with my very warm and beautiful sweater that came from Ireland via L.L. Bean, and Maeve is lying near me for a little of the ol' body heat.  Around here, finding warm place is a full-time job as well as a survival skill.  Those of us who were born without fur coats are very jealous of our canine brothers who take our sweaters from us.  But we understand. I wonder if their dreams are anything like mine: It's hard not to be tickled by the thought of the ocean and all those wonderful treasures that make it a dream. Our World Tuesday

These daffodils from LaBonne's Market are the only light in the day today!  I'm told to expect "substantial snow" on Wednesday.  I'll be clinging to this little bouquet if that happens! Today's Flowers

Adella and I took a ride to Surf City the other day to catch the setting sun and whatever marine life was out and  about and still long enough for us to capture a photo.  I was just about to get a shot of a seagull on this "cars only" sign, but he was gone before I was ready for his close-up.  Alone and quiet.  So it goes. Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

On Saturday, Dell and I left Connecticut to get away from the snow for a few days.  En route to North Carolina, we stopped to see mom and dad.  They've had it worse in Pennsylvania than we have in Connecticut, but after the first few feet, who's counting? You can see my trusty automobile was resisting the weight of yet more snow.  While the engine was warm, she made it go away.  We camped out with mom and dad, and we had a great time.  Next day, we were on the road again with hundreds of other southward flying snow refugees.   Crossing the Carolina line, we were free of snow and the yuckiness--salt, sand, slush, muck, wet shoes--that goes with it.  People were so happy at the first Carolina rest stop, they were taking pictures of each other outside the building.  Make no mistake, this was a spiritual pilgrimage to pure blue. Poseidon dropped this beauty at our feet.  I did my best to photograph it in situ.  I was just glad the shell was actually in the frame becau

Here we go with more and more snow.  When I stepped out back yesterday and had a look, I saw how our world is shaped by the elements.  I have to marvel at the ability of trees to take on the weight of so much snow.  We can't say the same for our gutters, which need constant attention so they don't collapse under the load.  There's a lot to be said for being flexible and drinking in what comes our way. Today's Flowers

During the week, I don't see much of the morning by the time it gets underway because I usually have my back to it as I get ready for the day.  After the snow on Tuesday, though, I had to take a minute and have a look at the Rock.  A beautiful morning. Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

My nephews came over Saturday to do some sledding with Adella. The occasion called for some cookies. Before that, though, we had some truffles from the most amazing chocolate shop in the world--Fascia's in Waterbury.  (Even better than Butler's.) The weekend got even better when we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary at a fabulous, humble restaurant in town, Constantine's. Life is good, simple, short.  It would be a shame to forget that.  Let's here it for right now! Our World Tuesday 

Wind, snow, freezing rain, and (as one of the local TV networks now calls it) plain rain combined with sunshine and melt to encase the mountain laurel in sheaths of ice.  Today, I heard robins and blue jays and other birds sing under a blue sky that seemed broader and warmer than hit has in a long time.  Spring's coming.... Today's Flowers

“The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” (John Muir) Skywatch Friday

Wordless Wednesday

Our lives have very happily revolved around Adella and her clarinet since she set herself the goal of making regionals last year--right after she found out she didn't get in for 2013.  A better clarinet and lessons with a very talented young teacher who loves teaching as much as she loves music combined with hours of daily practice paid off yesterday after she auditioned for states and made it. She left the audition sure she had bombed, and the hours immediately following were funereal, at best.  We went out to dinner at Istanbul in New Haven that evening to celebrate her fortitude and sincere effort, but that didn't take her mind off her thoughts about how she could have done better. Even the beautiful, exotic atmosphere of the restaurant and the tantalizing aroma of my delicious tea couldn't set her moving from her doldrums. When we got home, she finally spoke, saying she was mad at herself because she thought she had messed up easy stuff, and a certain