February 2021 Photo a Day Challenge: Today's Weather

It's been quite a while since I attempted a "Photo a Day" Challenge. But today is the start of a new month, and it seems as good a time as any to jump back in the saddle. Here is this month's list, courtesy of Fat Mum Slim:

Today's subject is "today's weather." With a big winter storm about to roll in this afternoon, I considered waiting until it starts snowing to take my photo. But then I peeked out my window and realized there is already plenty of weather-related beauty out there. For example, this:

Ice can be incredibly beautiful. It sparkles in the sunlight, it drips artistically from the trees and the eaves, it forms fantastical shapes. It can protect and it can destroy. It is both incredibly strong and incredibly fragile. It can break apart rocks but it shatters at a touch. It can kill trees, knock out power lines, and burst pipes. But it also preserves our food, chills our drinks, and heals our pain. 

So while I look forward to the beauty of the snow that will come later in the day, I will also enjoy the beauty of the ice that is already here. But I'll enjoy it from inside my cozy house, with my cup of coffee and my fuzzy slippers.

Today's Weather.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

I was born and raised in New England, so frigid temperatures in January do not come as a surprise to me. The cold pretty much comes with the territory. But that doesn’t mean I like it. I can handle it, but I don’t like it.

I don’t like it when my car groans and protests when I try to start it in the morning, and when gripping the steering wheel feels like gripping an iceberg, and when the car seat is crispy and stiff from the cold.

I don’t like it when the walkway ices over, and the front door is frozen shut, and the roads are dotted with patches of treacherous black ice.

I don’t like it when the wind rattles the windows, and pulls the front door out of my hands, and howls down the chimney.

I don’t like it when my hands get stiff, and my feet ache from the cold, and my nose gets red and runny.

But there are things about the cold weather that I do love.

I love all the wonderful comfort foods we enjoy during the cold weather: chicken pot pie, and lasagna, and hot oatmeal, and chicken noodle soup, and shepherd’s pie, and grilled cheese sandwiches, and chili, and beef stew.

I love all the cozy clothes we snuggle in during the cold weather: fuzzy slippers, and heavy sweaters, and elegant boots, and stylish scarves, and flattering leggings, and sleek wool coats, and warm mittens, and jaunty hats.

I love the ways we keep warm during the cold weather: sitting by the fire, wrapping in a warm blanket, holding a steaming mug of coffee or tea, tucking a heating pad between the sheets, soaking in a warm scented tub.

I love the things we find to do to keep out of the cold weather: playing board games, reading books, telling stories, cooking together, doing art projects.

Hmm, maybe I don’t dislike the cold quite as much as I thought I did!