Winter Patterns, January Thaw, and Light Grows Stronger....
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| Blizzard - the first mound in the forefront are my bushes, the second is my car buried in the snow, |
We find ourselves in what everyone is calling a January thaw, however the weather patterns this winter have been fluctuating back and forth from winter to almost early Spring. Despite our surprise 2 1/2 feet of snow (as they had originally predicted only 6-12 inches), the day after the storm was surprisingly warm and sunny. So people came out of their houses with shovels and snow blowers and even snow mobiles, in good spirits. And what followed was temperatures as high as 45 degrees farenheit so it was refreshing and rejunvenating.
A January thaw is usually a period after a long term cycle of intense cold days and several snow storms, But this Winter the temperatures have been constantly shifting back and forth all season and am flad for the mild temperatures as compared to the last 3 Winters. It was hard at first to adjust back and forth so that when temperatures dipped lower we were not used to it.
It allowed for a walk along the boardwalk this morning, and combined with fresh air, blue skies and increasing sunlight it was a joy as January ends. The light seemed incredibly bright, or is it that I was just to some dull gray Winter days? It seems to be getting stronger and sunset is almost 45 minutes later. Subtle, but the sun makes its return.
In the car the sun warmed the interior so I could finish my book on Renoir "Luncheon of the Boating Party" - sad to leave the characters who were real people in that painting at La Maison Fournaise on the Seine. But then again the moment is capture and these bits of color and light are at least expressed. Sadly my own glimpses of the Seine were brief along the Ile de la Cite, Le Pont Neuf, going to the Louvre and across to Musee D'Orsay, when this book claims that Impressionism began along the banks of the Seine with Renoir, Bazille and Monet at La Grenouilliere. Who knows - the sparks of inspiration can live inside anyone. I was further consoled to find out that La Maison Fournaise is still there and has been made into a museum in part of the restaurant, commemorating all the painters who came to paint the river there.
Renoir in the book spoke of seeing the light in Algiers and italy, which makes me wonder again about the qualities of light in different places. Algiers I imagine as a desert, with sand, heat, clay of some kind and harsh strong light and sunshine. My only 2 desert experiences were Arizona and Israel, two very different places.
Arizona was hot but dry and the sunlight and air so vibrant, but somehow benign when compared to Israel. Of course in Arizona we had our air conditioned rooms and my time in the actual desert with the cacti was on a trail ride with fellow workers.
But Israel, northern Israel, was more of a wilderness, with mountains rising out of the desert - hot during the day and cold at night. In a caravan with no heat, 30 degrees at night is no fun, and even worse was a sandstorm where sand ended up in your eyes and nose and teeth and the skies were dark and brown with no sunlight.
In summertime, it was very very hot, the sun blistering. We were told to keep drinking water because even the wind would take the moisture out of your body and leave you quickly dehydrated. And wearing a hat was also necessary to keep the sun off your head. And I remember walking in the nearby hills and being told to watch for snakes!
But the hottest, over 100 degrees farenheit, was going to the Dead Sea - not a breath of air, the sea retreating, the water a thick green soup of minerals. You had either be in the shade or in the water.
It will not be dark until 5:30 pm tonight. Hence i continue to align myself with the psuedo=thaw, the joy of increasing light and the promise of Spring, and the natural patterns of season and living a natural life.
(Since we are indoors so much right now, next time I will write about indoor pollutants and finding natural solutions...)
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