Afternoon sunshine
a bit of sunshine from this afternoon.
I know the sky is a bit too aqua in this one…I just LOVED the color and decided to leave it – artistic license…
The sun got too warm for Karl
Apparently Karl is ready for Spring…
April Snow
And just to end with at least a little color…
the sound of snow
Lately, whenever I write about the weather, it immediately does the opposite. Yesterday, it started snowing, which changed to rain and back to snow and occasionally to icy pellets. I wrote that I didn’t think it would stick on the valley floor. It stuck…and when I checked the weather before going to bed, the forecast was for 1 – 3 inches accumulation. It is early and dark and I don’t think there is more than an inch, but some “real” snow stuck – the ground is white!
I like Winter – at least a bit of it. I know from past experience that at this time of year I have had my fill of it and am ready for Spring like everyone else. But this year, having spent the Winter in a mild and sometimes quite warm climate, I’m enjoying this blast of Winter.
Yesterday was cold and gray and by evening the surrounding hills were white with snow. I sat in a dark motorhome and listened to the wind. And this morning am doing the same. The toppers are not flapping – they might be weighed down by snow/water/ice – and the wind is not the constant, howling wind of the last several days. It is a “storm” wind of occasional gusts and swirls of snow. It grabs at the flaps of the various vents in the motorhome, rattles the rooftop antennas and makes its presence known by the occasional draft near the door. The sound invokes that feeling of coziness at being inside in a warm and dry place – the sound of snow.
Snow, sort of
That is snow on Karl – well, pellets of a snow-like substance…
Snow in the “hills”…
I don’t think it is going to do enough to stick so we can play in it and probably I am the ONLY person in winter-land who even wants that, but fun – for me – to see a little bit of the white stuff!
Bad news is the rain/snow mix and near freezing temps are forecast through Saturday so I will hold here through Saturday. I’ll work Saturday and drive Sunday and Monday for home – back to work from the home property on Tuesday. I will be continuing to live in the Winnebago for at least a week. Sara, my caretaker, is in the process of buying a condo and closing, etc. – it is never over until it’s over! Currently she is planning on moving on the 3rd and 4th. If Bob (my cat who has been with her) condescends to allow Karl and I back in the house we’ll move in after.
Sara and I have “shared the property” before. She was in the house and I was in the Winnebago for 3 weeks before I flew to Florida to meet Bill for the first time. Bill and I had been talking and emailing for 5 months and were optomistic and hopeful about a long term relationship – so when I found Sara – we just did it!
And as far as hope – now – particularly in the last several days, there is renewed hope.
“Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great.”
Comte de Bussy-Rabutin
Time will tell if ours is small or great…
Birds of a feather
Late yesterday afternoon I heard the rumble of diesel close by. The “office” in the Winnebago is the passenger seat. There is a pull-out desk top built into the dash…my laptop goes on the desktop, I keep an all-in-one printer in the “well” left by the extended desk top – and a nice large, crisp (52 year old eyes) external monitor sits on top of the all-in-one. I have the windshield “drape” drawn to keep background glare off the monitor.
The drape wraps around both the passenger and driver-side windows, i.e. I can’t see outside when I’m “in the office”.
But I can hear! – and the deep rumble of diesel was enough of a “different” sound to get my attention – New neighbor…my row, 2 sites down. I didn’t hear the others come in, but by the evening walk there were 3 other motorhomes and one new travel trailer.
Off season, in locations where it gets cold, many rv parks that are open keep power and water to a limited number of sites. It is not unusual so also not unusual that anyone travelling the “shoulder” season in winter country would choose a site near where everyone else was. I did – although up a row as I wanted an end spot. What did strike me as funny though, is the 5rs and trailers stuck to the back row…the motorhomes selected the next row where I am. There was a Class C (Cab over truck vs “bus” or “bus-type) here for a bit and they were one row ahead of me…birds of a feather???
And I think they are all here for at least a couple of days as all unhooked or unloaded tow cars. Lest you are thinking that maybe I don’t have enough to do since I’m running around taking photos of how everyone parks and speculating on why and how long…this is a generally accepted pasttime of rvrs – being nosy I mean. See the The Tale of Woody post for more evidence of this.
After Karl and I walked around spying on observing the new arrivals, we sat at the picnic table and enjoyed the once again warm, quiet early evening. Clouds were gathering and the forecast thunderstorms headed our way. I took some photos and played with a new obsession: Adobe’s LightRoom
The results below – my first attempts – much to learn! I played with color, contrast, white balance.
A little surreal, but fun!
The neighborhood
Late afternoon, early evening yesterday, the wind stopped. All day, it had howled and gusted and I had a headache from the noise, from concentrating at the computer and probably from the dust in the air. But evening was calm, quiet and had that feeling of spring – warm enough to sit at the picnic table with a cup of hot tea after an evening walk.
Someone was working in the adjacent field, cattle in the background – soft, pleasant sounds of the tractor and the occasional bellow from the cattle – Karl and I sat quietly and enjoyed.
The tractor was left in a perfect position for this morning’s moonset…
All 5 of us!
my spot from a distance…
and up close – lots of breathing room!
Another spectacular sunrise.
Time to get to work!