On March 7, the day was so gorgeous I took a walk. This was the day I found a tiny blooming flower in my yard.

There is a school near our home. I decided to go on the swing set for a while. I have always loved swings, though it seems that an adult body is never going to be comfy in a sling seat!

I slowed down my swing and sat there for a while, watching kids play basketball, younger kids climb the equipment, and a mommy walk a couple of dogs. I had an impulse to take a few photos, and held the camera out with my right hand. The angle could not have been better, just look at all that red lined up so nicely!

For the knitters, I am wearing a “Bloom Shawl” by friend Trish Bloom. It was knit in the original yarn, Noro Blossom. This yarn was discontinued but there is a very similar yarn now offered by Noro which really works well. LOVE this design.

I’m holding a Chippy sock, still in progress, in my hand. It is earmarked for my new niece (who is a tiny thing).

Here are a few other photos of the area. Remember, this was the same day I had a flower blooming. We definitely have a warm spot on our own lot. Most of the area looked white like this!

I found three places on my almost-two-hour walk, which had large areas of grass rather than snow. One was my own south-facing side yard:

The other big one was another corner lot, another south-facing area. I see a trend.

I feel lucky. I am *not* a winter girl. To be gifted with one of the very few patches of green, is a real delight. To find a flower the first week of March? Incredible. Lucky me.

Here she is:

There seem to be no affiliated leaves with this bloom, though there are myrtle groundcover leaves not too far away. Must be myrtle/periwinkle, though at this angle she sure looks like a tiny morning glory!

Most of the neighborhood is covered in snow. Around sidewalks and homes, there are areas thawing slowly. When I walk outside, there is a constant sound of water flowing into the drains.

Our south side yard seems to have a “microclimate” that I only saw three times on my walk. There are patches in a few yards where the whole thing is melted for some reason. It’s only on the middle of our side yard, where things are clearly warmer.

Five blocks away:

We are not done with winter yet. There are always at least a few flakes of snow in the air, in April. But a few melting days can make a woman feel tall again!

It has been about a week of sun/melting during the day and freezing at night. This is perfect. The mildew has not taken hold yet because of the frost at night.

Today I opened both the front door and the back. Our house is rather small and there is a straight line of airflow between the two. There are no bugs out yet, so even with no screen on the  back door, I gave us fresh air inside. I’m delighted.

Does anyone remember the mid-70’s John Denver album “Rocky Mountain High?” I remember he had a “song cycle” about the seasons. There were four songs titled with our normal four seasons. Then there was a “tune…” no words, just mood… entitled “Late Winter/Early Spring.” I almost never connect with instrumentals, but this one captivated me and I would play it repeatedly.

Today, on my walk through my neighborhood, I had an inner soundtrack going, with Late Winter/Early Spring. Kids, dogs, bikes, basketballs… young couples, babies in strollers. Snow melting, water flowing into drains rather loudly. It is a good day in Lansing.

Here is a photo of the daffodil buds I saw Monday. I took this photo about noon on Wednesday. As a point of reference, this is a photo taken in the same session (the view which was behind me when I took the above photo):

And this is a photo out the window of my front door, taken immediately after I took the above shot (notice the rare and beautiful hint of blue in the sky):

I am not a winter person, though I was born at the end of November and many of my ancestors lived in Norway and Sweden. Last year, the winter seemed to go on forever, even though we visited Florida for a week in February.

This year… no vacation, but it just was not as brutal somehow. I am grateful.

And the buds promise that things are changing, at least in one tiny microclimate in my yard. I think I am going to make it!

I went for a walk with friend April on Monday. We walked along the side of my house, where I do not often walk before dark.

For some reason, I noticed that there were a few inches around my house before the snow started. Apparently a little melting has been going on lately, and I saw actual green growing plants (mostly weeds, I will take what I can get on the first week of March).

We took a few more steps and I looked a little further in the same melted patch. I could not believe it! Not only daffodil shoots coming up through the soil, but a bud glowing yellow through it. It was close to the ground, but it was a bud.

I did not have my camera on our walk. Tuesday I left in a big hurry and did not get home before sunset.

However, you have my word. Michigan had at least one daffodil bud growing on Monday, March 1. The photo here is that same plant, blooming in a previous year.

We usually get at least one day with a few snowflakes, in April. Very occasionally we get a big storm in April.

But last year I showed photos of blooming flowers in my yard, on March 24. Let us hope that this year it will be at least that good. Crossing fingers!

I live in Lansing, Michigan, USA. I love the community. I don’t love the snow. The longer I stay here, the longer I think I’ll stay. However, in February/March I always consider changing my mind, at least for a fleeting moment or two.

Kid Adventure

Tuesday night Isabel (5 years old) and I tried to make a snowman. It had been warm enough during midday to have sticky snowman-making snow. By the time we got outside, it was too cold for such ideas. I chased her in circles in 6″ (15cm) of snow in her backyard until my legs were tired and my hands cold.

She played with some molds she has that make snow bricks. It was not fully successful, but she enjoyed quantity over quality and was content.

Luckily for me, we went out at twilight. We could not stay out too long, because we just could not see much after a little while. (Photo below is her on the swingset in full snow gear, in near darkness. Love this child!)

I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. Except maybe sticky snow and a snowman on top of the rest.

More Adventure

Wednesday it was another melty-sticky day. My friend Barbara said she made a snowman during the day, I was happy for her.

The roads were worse, it seems, Wednesday than even Monday (when so many schools were out for snow days). One of the main highways on the way out of town, was closed up tight at 3pm… just as state workers started to trickle out of town. It took me 30 minutes to go about 4 miles, normally a 6-7 minute drive. Crazy.

1-2-3 Rescue

I started my day stuck in my own driveway. My bug is usually better at snow than you might imagine.

I am a skilled and experienced driver. I have decent tires, and as long as the snow is not taller than the underbelly of my car, I can get around if I am cautious.

Here is a photo of my car/driveway on Tuesday morning. I got out just fine after taking this photo. We got a few more inches by Wednesday noon, when I attempted to go pick up a friend.

Wednesday morning somehow there was sheet ice under my wheels in the driveway. It does not help that our drive is made of earth rather than pavement, so there are little dents where the tires rest in the driveway (it’s a very short drive, there is little wiggle room).

Plan A: I tried to back out, with the reasonable assumption that I could do it just as I had Tuesday. I could not edge half an inch out of that icy low spot. I’m pretty darned good at winter driving, but I could only spin my wheels.

Plan B: I shoveled a lot of snow from anywhere near the car, and then got two thick pieces of dry cardboard from the house (thank goodness I had not taken out the recycling yet). I put the cardboard behind the front tires, as close to the tires as possible. Still, I could not get a half inch of traction to get on the cardboard so I could move.

Plan C: The big guns, so to speak. We have “salt” which is the kind which supposedly does less damage to soil and cement than regular salt. It’s also grainy like colored fish gravel. We do not use salt unless things are desperate. I was desperate.

I tossed a handful of salt in front of/in back of my tires. Fortunately, since the weather was a little warmer than freezing, the salt could take hold rather quickly. I was able to back out. Whew!

My Own Princess Charming, Today

I love being able to say “I rescued myself.” It is a powerful phrase. However, don’t think for a minute that the part where I figure out how do do the rescue is much fun. Today, no fun at all.

But I did it. I rescued myself. Score 1 for Lynn!

CityGrrl Goes Suburban and Learns Something

I visited my Mom’s house the other day. This is maybe 10 miles east of my house. I’m a city-dweller and she’s suburban. My lot is not as wide as a city bus is long. The photo above is part of her front yard.

I grew up in this house. It edges a cemetery, behind which once was wetland/flood plain. Now even the wetland has houses built on it. This means that critters crowd into the cemetery for peace, and forage out when they need food.

When I was a kid, we had rabbits in the yard. They were guaranteed to eat the blueberry bushes, from the bottom up. We had chipmunks and squirrels. I do not remember other wildlife, besides birds.

In the last dozen years or so, Mom has dealt with large rodents (groundhogs?) at the back of her yard, near the cemetery. She has been brilliant dealing with those, but that is a different story than the photos I present here.

When I visited Mom’s the other day, I saw tracks in her front yard and thought “bunnies!” Then I looked again, and the tracks seemed too deep for that. I stopped and got out my camera.

The glimpse above made me think “hooves, not paws.” I remembered mom’s stories of her plants being eaten, even her front yard, last year. I wondered… deer?

Looks like it to me. I found a photo on Travels.com which confirms this thought.

I can’t help it, now I want to sing that song from Sound of Music…

This is totally fascinating. Story of cotton farmers in Texas, dedicated to doing a better job… if you are interested in cotton, organic/sustainable anything, farming, business or human-interest stories, you will be glad you watched this.

Thanks to a Twitter post from Deb Robson/@effortlesszone: RT @RAntoshak:

STORY: When organic cotton is not sustainable
FILM: Two days in Texas

My beloved Brian goes on long bike rides whenever he can. He really enjoys being outdoors in this weather. He notices you can see further when trees do not have leaves. Snow does not slow him down (though his winter bike has metal-studded tires).

Since he sometimes goes over 100 miles by bike on his day off, he spends a lot of time on remote roads looking at fields and woodlots. Right now, there is little color out there, it is nearly monochromatic. Again, Brian is able to really appreciate things for exactly what they are. (Photo added 2/18 pm)

Me? I have opinions. I like big cities with skyscrapers, art museums, ethnic diversity, and subways. I collect cities which fit this profile. I especially collect subways/public transit systems. I’ve been on 10 systems, plus Detroit’s people-mover (which does not take anyone to work, so I don’t consider it equal).

I always feel a little let down when we drive 3-4 hours to somewhere for a vacation, and it is rural rather than a bustling metropolis. Walking through a field of knee-high grass is stressful for me, but walking miles on a sidewalk makes me happy. I understand the appeal of “the great outdoors,” but it doesn’t register inside of me.

What is nice, is that Brian can get a full dose of any needs he has for rural Michigan, by riding on his days off. He loves to find good local diners (especially if they have excellent fruit pie). He notices trees… which types grow more in which counties, for example.

He enjoys checking out the small, older towns he can find. He looks to see if there are signs of a mill, if the town is old enough to have been built on a river. Sometimes the mill is no longer there, but he can figure out where it once was.

He notices in railroad-era towns, where the grain elevator is. Usually it is next to the track. Of course this  makes sense, but I never thought about it at all. These days, often the grain elevator location will include a feed store, if it’s still operational.

Right now, the ground here is covered in white snow. On a lot of days, the sky is covered with clouds. The trees have no leaves, though if you look you will see tree bark in many subtle colors from gray, to red, to green. Brian spends long days viewing neutral scenes.

Then he comes home. And he finds his citygrrl wife, with her “retina-damage color” collections. My clothing, my dishes, paint trim inside/outside the house? Color!

This Sunday, he was so struck by the contrast, that he took this photo. It’s just the top of the dresser which functions as our bathroom vanity. This is just how it looked that day. Yes, this is how I really live, there were no attempts to make it anything other than it was at the time.

This makes me giggle. I just don’t notice it when I’m walking by. The photo makes it much more clear.

Yup, that’s me. Good thing Brian appreciates variety in his life!

It is snowing like a 1950’s Christmas movie here. It was normal, sparse snow until about 1 pm or so, but it got more dense all day. I am not a fan of winter, to say the least, but this snow is gorgeous. It helps that it stayed about freezing all day, and there was little wind until dinnertime.

When the streetlights shine near this snow, the undisturbed spots sparkle like glitter. Flakes on my mittens look like perfect miniature crystal artforms. Sound is muffled, and it is magical. That is, when you are not driving.

At 1:30, the main roads were damp but the side roads were ice rinks. We park on a very short street, and as I pulled away from my home, an SUV was helplessly driving an S-shaped path, using two full lanes on a two-lane street, barely stopping in time to avoid a collision with me. I saw his face in horror just before he stopped.

It’s actually better when the main roads are also slow, because then folks realize that prudence is essential. Four-wheel drive is no good once a skid starts.

I was out until about 7pm or so. On the way home, even the ambulance route on Michigan Avenue was white rather than wet. I took the main downtown artery, I-496, for a mile or so from Frandor shopping center to the Pennsylvania exit. Nobody was going over 35MPH. Excellent!

I got home safely.

Brian also got home safely:

I giggled as I approached Haslett Middle School Monday, to teach a computer class. This was what I saw:

Poor Bob!

A few days ago I went to the grocery store and this was the view from my car in the parking lot. There are man-made intrusions in this view (wires and buildings) but the color is lovely in spite of it all.

I don’t like winter’s cold, and I don’t like snow. Lansing has a lot of total cloudcover, particularly in December. Any day which brings me color or light, is most appreciated.

I thought I would share one of the lovely things of winter. I hope you like it, too.

Our neighborhood has quite a variety of homes and styles. There are sections of 1920s bungalows, 1940s Cape Cod homes, an out-of-place but cool 60’s split level, and a bunch of 1900-1910 homes with front porches (some called four-squares). There are even a couple of houses that were once farm houses, before the other homes were built.

It seems that each block has its own personality. I joke that we live on the “Dandelion Side of the Street.” Just across our side yard, and behind us, the chemical spray fertilizer companies do a grand business. The yards are green and well-tended.

Our yard blooms, but grows without a lot of guidance. I love plants which “bloom where they are planted” without much help.

Well, back behind us and nearer a busier street, is one single block which has been very into decorating for Christmas, since I’ve lived here. Each year is different, as people come and go. But all the photos here, save for the last, came from that one block of Roberts Street.

If you live in Lansing, it is  just south of Mt. Hope Avenue, between Pennsylvania and Cedar. If you have a child who likes lights, this may be a good spot to check.

Of course, it looks different after dark, but our walk was in the afternoon. I think my camera does better in this light, anyway.

We always go for a walk on holidays. This block is usually the highlight of the walk.

For the record, all of the photos above this sentence, are from one household. To be fair, they do have a double lot. But wow, they are VERY into this decorating thing! The rest of these photos belong to one lot each, on that same block.

And last, but not least… The Guitar Man. He plays guitar on street corners in Lansing, no matter what the weather. He’s got an orange bucket on that street corner, and I mean, corners where there is an abandoned gas station (thus nobody to tell him to move on).

Lansing is not much of a walking town, and he is stationed where few walk… where vehicle traffic is high. He works often, I see him a lot, and there are several corners he frequents.

This Christmas afternoon, we put a buck in his bucket but he was quite busy chatting with the guy in this pickup truck. He’d been playing when we’d rounded the block but found a buddy for a while, I guess. I got this photo from across the street, at the almost-empty huuuge Walter French Middle School. An amazing building, early 1900s red brick with limestone accents.

But the story of the school must wait for another day. Meanwhile, check out one of Lansing’s fixtures, the Guitar Man (see guitar on his back) chatting with Pickup Truck Guy.

By the way… while waiting at the corner by Guitar Man, for the light to change… a guy in a fancy SUV was playing some jazz pretty loud, and I could hear it. So I danced my way down the sidewalk, in time to his music.

When the light changed, he honked at me on his way by, and gave me a peace sign. Sweet.

More Light?

My brother has a T-shirt appropriate to this week. It says something like “Sun: The Comeback Tour.”

According to one calendar, Monday is the first day of  Winter. This theoretically means our sunshine will be with us for a little longer every day starting on Tuesday? Or something close to that.

I’m ready. I miss July something fierce. I guess a week ago in Florida, it was in the 80’s F (for non-US folks, think Summer/July/August, sleeveless dresses, swimming pools). Then overnight, it was in the 60’s. Ugh.

However, here it is hovering just around freezing, making for very dangerous surface roads and bridges/highway overpasses. Just about a week ago, we had a lot of snow in Michigan (not as much in Lansing as in Grand Rapids, but plenty spread around). It is finally real winter weather here.

Holidays Continue

We had a lovely day with Brian’s family in Grand Rapids Sunday. The highway was clear but in places you could not tell if it was dry, moist, or black ice. We got there and back safely, but did not drive any faster than we thought was safe.

Cautious Travel, but Travel

I guess we must have gray hair now, because fast does not sound like a good option when there is any chance of spinning out. We have done that enough times for a lifetime (once is too many if you ask me). No chances taken here, beyond venturing out. Let’s face it, we can get hurt even at home… so staying here would provide no guarantee.

But I propose a toast (with hot chocolate, topped with organic whipped cream) to the sun! Come home, friend, we miss you!!!

Well, the inevitable happened. Lansing got snow that stuck. We had snow, some sleet overnight, and pretty nasty winds all day.

During the day, driving worked OK. When the sun went down, it got noticeably treacherous. By the time I approached my neighborhood, I slid down Cedar St. (main artery) past my street. Whoops!

Above is how it looked out my front door at 3am last night. If you do not need color, as I do, you  might see this scene as beautiful. It surely was quiet at that time, but then again, 3am is quiet most days.

I have a few musician/poet friends who find things about this weather to appreciate. Doug notices the quiet. Kitty has spoken of it in respectful, even reverent terms.

It is good for me to know that people I respect can appreciate this cold. I somehow have a reaction to cold weather as though nature is attacking me in any place I can not cover up fully. I go out in layers of clothing which might make others feel bound or choked. For me, it’s a way to feel protected and comfortable.

For the record, Brian rides his bike to work each day. He does not find this weather to be a problem. He does not get cold much, though on some days he needs to pay a little more attention to traction. He has wide tires, though, and is very skilled, so it tends not to be much of an issue. (Me, I get cold just running from the house to my car!)

I do think that my circulation does not work as others’ systems do… but then again, how much of it has to do with my need for light and color? How much is about cold? I may never know.

July is a long way off, but I can remember…