Just Another Monday

Posted on April 15, 2014April 15, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I got myself all excited in anticipation of yesterday. The weather folks said warm weather, no rain nor snow nor sleet. Temps mid 70’s maybe even 80 in some places. Oh yeah I am all worked up. Where will I go? What will I do with such a perfect day before me?

I was so excited I woke up at 4 am. The cats looked at me like I was nuts.

I peeked out the window at the pre dawn and saw…FOG! A thick gray blanket obscured everything. Ok back to bed. After all 4 am is almost the middle of the night.

4 hours later I hopped out of bed. It was pretty dark for 8 AM even with the curtains closed. I peeked out the window and it was still foggy. Not as thick as at 4 am but still a damper on the start of my day.

I got the cats fed, kitty litter cleaned, my breakfast done and shower out of the way in record time when my phone rang. I almost didn’t answer it but easier to just deal with it and get it out of the way. Turns out it was a work call. Oh well I was a good girl and took care of it.

Time now to take the trash out and decide where I’m headed with the camera. I was surprised by how windy it was. I had thought about going to the arboretum but with winds like this I decided to see if the ocean might be crashing…surfs up dude!

As I grabbed my camera the phone rang again. Another work call. What’s going on? No one ever calls me back! I took care of that one and headed out the door again.

I stopped at Oliver Mill first. There were car loads of people which as usual translates to no birds. Only 2 gulls and 1 Canada goose. I left the folks to wander the stream looking for fish and headed to Plymouth. Next stop Manomet Point.

By the time I got there the sun had completely disappeared behind the clouds. The wind was still blowing but there were only a few whitecaps, no “angry sea”, no seals. 🙁 Not to be discouraged I took out the big lens and attached it to the camera. I recently read an article about hand holding these big telephotos and I wanted to try it out.

I spotted a little bird’s head sticking up over a rock. I think it’s a cormorant. So here goes nothing. I hefted that big old lens up , focused and snap snap. I took 3 shots. 2 were only so- so but this one isn’t half bad for my first try.

I wrapped up my day by stopping by the park where the old Osprey nest is located. I had my binoculars today. And there is a osprey on the nest!

I may not have had the most successful picture day but it was a good day anyway.

Rain Rain Go Away

Posted on April 1, 2014April 1, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Or maybe not! What crazy weather! It’s been raining for two days and rivers are overflowing and streets in many towns are flooding. I went out to run errands during a lull. I’m glad I took my winter coat. I thought it would be warmer since it was rain but while I was out it changed to sleet and freezing rain and then finally to snow..again! I think I’d rather have the rain than the snow.

RT 18 New Bedford Floods

I drove around a bit with my camera looking for something to photograph but there’s nothing sprouting yet. It’s just too cold. Just browns and grays…no color yet. 🙁 Thankfully the rivers and streams in Taunton (and there are many) are high but not overflowing the banks. A few years ago the main street , RT 44, was underwater for a week!

2010 Flood RT 44 Raynham/Taunton Line

Anyway I came home empty handed. This Project 365 is really getting tough thanks to the nasty winter that never ends. I actually came home to warm up but once inside I was not going back out so here we go with another cat picture.

Maybe I should have done 365 cat pictures?

Don’t Forget ~ Spring Forward

Posted on March 8, 2014March 8, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Complaining Again

Posted on March 4, 2014March 4, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I feel like I’m stuck in an existential novel or something…just waiting, waiting, waiting …in this case for spring or warm weather or sun.

Sorry I’m just frustrated. Here we are in March. Spring is less than 3 weeks away and it’s still cold. I mean really cold. March is never “balmy” but we should have left the 20 degree weather behind by now, especially when there’s the wind chill factor involved. There’s more sun but we’re still getting a lot of overcast days too.

You run out to the store dressed like Nanook of the North, hats, scarves, mittens heavy coat and question your sanity but when you get there you see you are not alone. Everyone else is bundled up too.

What’s really getting to me is that I’m burning out my creativity. I started the 365 day project to kind of give my photos a boost but I’m not much of an indoor photographer. I like to be outside for pictures and all of the cold days have kept me trapped inside. I’m running out of inspiration. I don’t know if I would have tackled the project if I’d realized I was going to be either stuck inside or freezing outside.

Spring can’t be much farther away, can it?

It’s been a Long Winter

Posted on February 21, 2014February 21, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

I don’t mean to complain but Thursday’s post was the view after the storm last weekend but then we got another one on Tuesday and another one (minor) on Wednesday. It’s been like that all winter. Pictures of snow storms are all starting to look alike.

Yes I know there are places that get a lot more snow and much colder temperatures than Massachusetts but people that live there expect to be snow bound for 6 months of the year. A good big blizzard or “nor’easter is fun… now and then. But I’m getting weary. I’m tired of searching for a spot of color in a monochromatic world.

Even the blue skies after a storm have a kind of diluted color. Usually the snow sparkles and the sky gets such a deep blue it hurts your eyes, but not this year. This year the white is without the sparkle and the sky is a light blue, if it’s blue at all. We’ve had a lot of just plain gray days. It feels like the world is in black and white.

It’s depressing, at least to me. I wonder if this is how it feels to live in the “North Country” where there’s 6 months of darkness. I couldn’t do that.

People say this is New England…It snows…. but not like this. Skiers and snowboarders are having a great time. I’m glad for you! But not for me, oh no, not for me. 🙁

I see postings on Facebook telling people to stop complaining or if they don’t like it to move. I’m at the point I wish I could move to someplace with sun and warm weather. A tropical island come to mind. But my job is here and my condo is here (and upside down in value) so I don’t think a move is in the cards.