No snow Vale

This is the eastern end of the loop around the pond.  I've never seen it in winter nude like this, so the green really surprised me.  I don't know the plant; it looks like wintergreen but when I break the leaves I don't find any particular smell other than the typical grassy herbal woody note one gets from any low lying forest plant.  All the photos I find show red berries but I haven't seen those either.  Although during the year this area is heavily obscured by taller plants...

F Number	8.0
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/50
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

What's missing?

Yesterday, I decided to get off my lazy behind and take a walk.  Winter is depressing enough - being stuck inside only makes that worse for me.  The temperature hovered around freezing, the wind was low and the sun was out, so I decided to wander through my nearby sanctuary, Vale Cemetery.  I was more than a little surprised at the changes I encountered, and I'll try to use those changes as a reason to be more regular in my posting.  For this post, there's something important missing from this picture.

It is 29 January and there is no snow.

I can't recall anything like it.  We get the occasional flurry, and the ground is cold enough that it sticks, but even if the ground is cold and the air below the freezing point, sublimation makes the trace amount of snow disappear anyway!  Normally, I'd need snow shoes to walk down this hill, which is on the south side of the vale - the shaded side.  The side that always has snow.

Except for this year.

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	14.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/200
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

The first ice

I might have had some difficulty coming up with a title :-)  This pressure ridge of ice is almost inevitable.  When it snows, the snow plow pushes it from the middle of the street off to the side.  I can't get my car off of the street, so they have no choice but to plow it in a heap next to my car.  If I am diligent, I dash out and shovel it all by hand to the curb side of the car.  If I am not so diligent, it freezes and becomes very difficult to remove, leaving this ridge of ice.  You can see how the sun managed to melt some of it by the now-frozen puddles in the street.  This will stay here until we get a really big storm; when that happens, the city requires the cars to come off the street so they can use a big front end loader to remove the snow.  That machine will hardly notice this little bit of ice, and it'll be gone with the snow.

F Number	10.0
Lens ID	-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	16.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 32.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

First real snow

We've had a strange winter so far.  No snow to speak of.  Oh, a dusting here and there, but it quickly melted and was gone in a day or two.  On the 12th we got 4 inches of real snow.  Wet, heavy and perfect for snowman and snowball-making!  Of course, the temperature is hovering around freezing, and we got some rain too, so who knows how long this will remain on the ground?

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/60
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	Off, Did not fire

The well-read cat

I have too many books.  I haven't got enough shelf space, so this mess is the result.  Savannah has discovered this hidey-hole and jumps into it from the table.  She doesn't realise she's domesticated - I think that in her mind she's lounging in a tree high above the jungle floor.  She's quite the cat.

As for the books, yes I will read them all. 

F Number	5.6
Lens ID	LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm F3.5-5.6
Focal Length	45.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 90.0 mm)
Exposure Time	1/30
Exposure Program	Program AE
ISO	100
Exposure Compensation	0
Flash	On, Red-eye reduction