Category Archives: Nature

Community, Family, Nature, Walking the Dog

A Little Late, but We’ll Take it: the Snow Day Arrives

 

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We knew it was cold this morning when we could barely see out the frost-covered upstairs windows.

We didn’t even have to wait for more white stuff to fall for a snow day to be declared.  My daughter learned, upon waking at 7:01, that today’s two-hour school delay (due to single-digit temperatures and below zero wind chills) had been changed at the last minute to a cancellation.  She was briefly euphoric.  Then she fell back into a deep sleep for several hours.  I guess that’s part of her job as a teenager.  I would have done the same thing, had I ever had the gift of a snow day.  They were pretty rare in Atlanta when I was growing up. 

My daughter’s celebratory cheers roused Kiko, who refused to return to his bed.  We were out walking earlier than I would have preferred.  Our porch thermometer read 8 degrees.  Now that’s chilly.  Even my little snow dog got more than he bargained for.  His choice is to walk in the road if possible, but once weather-treated, the mix of salt and ice stings his paw pads.  Every few steps, he picks up a foot pitifully and attempts to limp along.  The going is particularly tough when he’s favoring two paws on the same side.  I brush the yucky stuff off with my mitten and try to steer him onto the fresh, untreated snow.  Sometimes he gives up completely and sits down, looking forlorn.  Then he stubbornly struggles his way back onto the messy road, where the process begins again.  With all these delays, my toes (and wet fingers) don’t feel so good either.  Snowy day dog walking at its least enjoyable, I must say. 

Hurry, spring! 

Community, Family, Holiday, Nature, Walking the Dog

A White (last day of) Christmas

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The first snow of 2015 arrived here in Northern Virginia in the early hours of January 6.  This final, twelfth day of Christmas marks the visit of the Magi, who followed a star to worship and present their rare gifts to the baby King.  

You could say, then, that we had a somewhat delayed white Christmas.  

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Much to the disappointment and astonishment of my daughter and other local kids, school went on as usual, without even a delay.  After our ten snow days last year, we’ve come to associate even the slightest rumor of a snowflake with a school cancellation.  The snowfall was heavier than predicted, so our winding old roads saw many accidents and delays.  The elementary school bus in our neighborhood was so long in coming, and reports of road conditions so bad, that parents were discussing simply letting the children stay home. 

The dog walking, however, was fine.  Kiko and his friend Ziggy the ridgeback were playfully exuberant.  Kiko had to show Ziggy how fast he can run, stop and turn, repeatedly.  The temperature was in the low 20s, and the snow was the light, powdery kind that doesn’t clump and irritate furry paws.  Both dogs looked festive in their wispy Santa snow beards. 

Because of this morning’s extensive traffic problems, the kids can probably rest assured that the next time snow is forecasted in our area, it will come with a school closing.  My daughter, no doubt, is betting on it. 

Family, Holiday, Nature

Thanksgiving 2014

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Unlike those stranded at airports and braving icy roads across the country, my daughter is thankful for the nor’easter that brought snow for Thanksgiving.  It’s the earliest snowfall I can remember here in the Northern Virginia area.  I can’t say I like the precedent it seems to be setting. 

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Kiko evidently forgot that he used to enjoy snow.  He seemed to associate it with the possibility of thunder.  Once the flakes began falling, he shadowed my every step.  He kept his ears back at an unflattering angle, listening for menacing booms, his only fear in the world. 

Kiko and I are thankful that the snow system has moved well past us on this Thanksgiving day.  The sun is shining on the snow that remains, and the threat of thunder has disappeared. 

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To you and your family, I wish a safe, happy Thanksgiving, enjoyed with family and friends.  May we all count our blessings!  

Nature

Fall Color: The Final Days

It’s a mild but gray day today here in Northern Virginia.  Some mixture of snow and rain is predicted for tomorrow.  It’s as good a time as any to pay homage to fall’s jewel box colors, soon to be washed away. What a beautiful season it’s been.

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Kiko and I took our morning walks through landscapes of green and gold. 

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On a recent foggy morning, this multicolored maple seemed to be lit from within. 

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Until a day or so ago, our Japanese maples blazed with a glorious red intensity. 

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Not to be outdone, other maples put on leaves of golden sunshine. 

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This ginkgo’s canopy of yellow has become a carpet of yellow, perhaps equally lovely.  

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My daughter, an inveterate leaf-tosser, celebrates the season amidst the fallen leaves of a sugar maple outside our church.   

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Kiko, basking in the November sun, is content to model a cap of pine straw. 

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Enjoy these final days of fall color!  We may be in for an icy white winter!

Nature

What the Squirrels Planted

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After Halloween each year, we set our jack-o’-lanterns out under the maple trees in the front yard as treats for local wildlife.  We enjoy watching as the deer and squirrels make short work of them.  Last year, once Thanksgiving had passed, we also offered various small pumpkins, gourds and squash, which the squirrels had been nibbling at, uninvited, since early October. 

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By mid-July, fuzzy, big-leaved vines with yellow blossoms were popping up throughout our flower beds.  The squirrels, it seemed, had planted several varieties of squash. 

As farmers, the squirrels took a carpe diem attitude, eating most of the buds as soon as they appeared.  The occasional tiny proto-pumpkin developed, only to be gobbled up quickly before it had a chance to grow. We couldn’t complain.  The squirrels had done the sowing, so they were entitled to reap according to their whims. 

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One little pumpkin escaped their notice.  A thick tangle of vines among our black-eyed susans sheltered a single dark green fluted globe.  I checked on it regularly, expecting its color to turn to orange.  It grew to just over softball-size and remained green.  When I examined it more closely, I saw that it was an acorn squash.  How fitting, considering it was planted by a squirrel.  

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When our furry little farmers continued to neglect the fruit of their labors, I claimed the acorn squash.  My daughter and I will make a tasty fall meal of it soon.  (My husband only eats squash under extreme duress.) 

As a thank-you gift, the squirrels will soon receive our decorative gourds. 

Nature

Beautiful October

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I’ve been writing about springtime in London, yet all around me it’s autumn in Virginia.  October, that drama queen of quickly shifting colors, skies and moods, has not disappointed.  Only a scant three days remain in this most flamboyant of months.  Halloween is bearing down upon us.  High time, then, for a few local fall photos, reminders that nature’s beauty is near at hand.

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Nature

New This Season: Color

Before I continue with our return to France, I have to celebrate the beauty that surrounds me right here in Virginia.  Spring’s vivid colors are finally here, and after the long gray and white winter, they are more welcome than ever.  Nature, it seems, is dressing for a gala. 

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I was accustomed to seeing our Japanese maples covered in ice and snow.  The glowing intensity of their leaves in the sun is like a new revelation. 

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While the cherry blossoms along DC’s tidal basin are gone with the wind,  these darker pink cousins are at their peak.

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The woods, washed with green and gold.

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Our redbud in its hot-pink glory.

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No roses yet on the trellis, but plenty of green foliage.

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Our lilacs, more plentiful than in years past.

Art and Architecture, Community, Friendship, Nature, Travel

Along the Atlanta BeltLine

The Saturday of my stay in Atlanta, my friend Connie and I walked a portion of the Atlanta BeltLine.  Connie is among my parents’ most devoted neighbors.  She’s there to help, as needed, in any way.  She’s a nurse, and our family has relied on her numerous times for medical advice and assistance.  When I thank her for all that she does, she says simply, “I love your parents.  They’re family.”  And she means it.  I’ve come to think of Connie very much like a sister.  She also loves Atlanta, and she can be counted on to know what’s worth seeing and doing at the moment.  With Connie, I catch up quickly on the life of my old home town.

The BeltLine is a work in progress, the ongoing redevelopment of a former rail line that circles the city’s core in a  twenty-two mile loop.   It includes a wide paved path for walking, biking and running, along with other trails and parks branching off from the main circuit.  It’s bringing revitalization and the excitement that comes with it to in-town areas that had tended toward the derelict and run-down.  When finished, it will link up forty-five Atlanta neighborhoods.  It’s already possible to walk from Virginia-Highland to the Carter Center.  The BeltLine is an appealing place to get some air and exercise, to walk the dog, and to see city landmarks from unique perspectives.

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A section of the mid-town skyline, from the BeltLine.

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A view of the Ponce City Market, currently in development, from Paris on Ponce & Pop Marché, a vast collection of cool boutiques.  The enormous City Market building began its life as a Sears & Roebuck store in 1926.  In the 1990s it functioned as City Hall East, but has now sat vacant for years.

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One of many BeltLine oddities:  medieval-style fencing of braided sticks, awkwardly meandering, for no apparent reason, across a desolate hill.
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The Masquerade, a live music venue, seen from the back.  I remember it as a popular restaurant and bar called the Excelsior Mill, so named because the building was constructed as a factory to produce excelsior, a stuffing and packing material that predates foam rubber.


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An old water tower seems to perch precariously atop this apartment building.
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Public art is common along the BeltLine.


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An entrance to the Eastside Trail is near Grady High, my alma mater.  In front of the school is its football stadium, renamed in 2011 for Coach Henderson, who was on his way to becoming a local legend during my Grady years. 

Nature

Down South, Promises of Spring

Flying into Atlanta on the first day of spring, it was a great relief to see that the white patches below were not snow but the blossoming pear trees.  Otherwise, branches were bare, and color was at a minimum.  Spring has been slow in coming this year in Georgia, as in so much of the country.  The infamous ice that trapped hundreds of Atlantans on the highways overnight  in February evidently wreaked havoc on spring’s plans for buds and blooms.  The weather wasn’t warm enough for sandals and porch-sitting, as I had hoped, but it was a decided improvement over that of still-thawing Virginia. And once on the ground, in the bright, cheery sunshine, every tiny leaf  and every small flower appeared radiant and jewel-like.  It had been years since I’d had a taste of springtime in Atlanta.  It felt very right to be back.   

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Pear trees in full bloom in my parents’ neighborhood.

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Periwinkle peeked out among fallen oak leaves.

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Violets flourished in the cracks of the concrete turnaround at my parents’ house.

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In the rock garden, Lenten roses, shy and subdued.

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Every spring, for as long as I can remember, these small flowers appear in the lawn panel bordering the sidewalk in front of  a neighborhood house.  Pale lavender, with yellow centers, they have a strong sweet scent, unless they’re picked, when they quickly take on a sharp skunky odor. I gathered some in elementary school after a piano recital and learned my lesson.  Anyone know what they’re called?