Meltdown!

As the countdown to warmer weather continues (thus reenacting an ancient seasonal arc throughout human history), we begin to see the snow and ice finally recede, until one bright sunny day when the last bit of it is finally gone. "MELT, MELT, MELT!" Bye-bye snow and ice. See you next year.

Canadian Geese and Large Tree.

The annual snow-melt has officially begun: it's over 40 degrees!

Countdown to Spring!

That's A LOT of snow, dude!

Well, folks, it's that time of year when we become totally fucking sick of the snow, like, so over it, you want to punch someone in the face just for not shoveling, like any decent human being would. Yeah, it gets that bad here sometimes. 

That'll melt sometime in April, maybe. Yay...

Luckily for us, we live in the most bitchin' place on earth that is New York, New York City, and the greater tri-state area (including Canada and New Orleans as my territories:), a place so in balance with nature that each season is a beautifully perfect and brilliant three months long*, so just when you want to die from sweat during the hottest, most doggiest days of August, the month of September rolls in like the coolest, sweetest breeze that's ever kissed your face.

 

Just ask any remaining member of the 70s group Earth, Wind, and Fire. They wrote the song about it!

Spring Countdown

(Click on me above)

*http://www.nps.gov/gate/planyourvisit/weather.htm

Thin Wispy Clouds in Wintertime Sky

High thin clouds meet thick fluffy clouds in the clear blue sky.

Wispy clouds, snow, and sun in wintertime(Pearl River-February 2015).

Rabbit Tracks (and Other Acts of Wonder)

Winter Tracks in Snow (February 2015, Pearl River, New York).

Old Houses in Snow

The home that love built (for little Natalie).

We're getting to the point where winter palls on us, especially those drearily dark commuter mornings into the city, rife with delays and power outages; that special time of year when the dirty pile of sidewalk snow on the corner becomes our greatest most hated enemy, the most dreaded, iciest foe to our winter-weary minds: "So ugly!! Grrr!! I almost fell" <shake fist>:o( "I hate you, dirt pile of snow, ice, and slush!!!" 
<shakes fist and slips in patch of black ice that's almost invisible> "Shoveling!!...Again!!...WTF?!", and so forth until it finally ends...again.

Spooky old houses in winter...booo!

Ads on t.v. for Disney vacations and beach trips to the Bahamas become almost every New Yorker's dream of escape. But take heart! You're not alone. February is a short month that's over quickly, and St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner. 

"It was a dark and dreary winter's day, so cold, and alone..."

That means beer (and lots of it), a great little small town parade (BTW, midget pony in the little green coat with the long blond mane needs to come back this year, and this means YOU, lady in acid-washed jeans with the 80s hairdo from New Jersey. I know you are close by, breeding little horses :( , so don't be lazy, and come back to our parade this year!!), corned beef with cabbage, and also leftover breakfasts of crispy pan-fried corned beef hash with lots of ketchup on the side, and yes, that means you, you Pearl River Mick. See you soon!

"Please, no more shoveling. I can't take it anymore! Aggghh!"

Still, it is pretty as a postcard here. Wouldn't change a thing!

Dark Tree, Bright Snow

A Maxfield Parrish kind of day (Pearl River, NY - January 2015).

Shadows in Winter

Wintertime in the sun and shade (Pearl River, New York, 2015).

Snow-Filled Days Ahead

Garage in snow.

Garage in snow, II.

Look, muthaf#ckas, let's get this straight: we have a blizzard on the way in the Northeast for the next few days, so if you aren't 1) the President of the United States of America (and he knows better than to push it, kids) or 2) the head of Médecins Sans Frontières, where the entire fate of the world at war hangs in the balance of your command (and when hasn't the world been at war with disease, starvation, and well, war?!!), then stay the f#ck home! The markets won't close without you, Wall Street assh@le. You ain't the entire market, and computers do work in your friggin' generic stucco McMansion, in yet another bland cul-de-sac. Sh*thead.

Bush in snow.

Bush in snow, II.

Bush in snow, III.

You do not control the weather, except the damage you do in excess with your pricey plastic trash that pollutes the earth. The world does not revolve around you, so, again, stay the fuc% home today! Stay off the roads, don't go out if you do not absolutely have to, and deal with being prepared ahead of time, like the rest of us decent humans do. Snow is not some g-ddamn demon sent to plague you. It's snow. It's f*cking weather. You know how this goes by now: Mother Nature always (and I mean, always) wins. What do think cold countries like Norway and Canada do? Die?! Just f&ckin' deal with it, sh*theads.

Carousel in snow.

Firehouse in snow.

I'll see you in a few days. Now, where are my candles? Ah, I already have them, because I know what to do under these conditions that I've adapted to. It's f#cking winter, and this is f#cking weather. It's called a f#cking "season". And this upcoming storm is called a blizzard. NOT a "POLAR VORTEX" super villain, not "The Plague" sent to you from G-d (you'd know it if it was that, homie), and you are not the center of all life on this planet. Enough with it, already. "Newsie airheads", that includes your dumb act and b$llshit routine, because we're totally on to you, with the phoney 20 questions and playing stupid, like "Golly Gee, this is soooo new!!". Go find a real story. It's time. It's the muthahumpin' 21st century, for chrissakes. Stay home, human! You are not needed! (with the exception of  our emergency personnel, but you already know who you are).

Snow and Columns and Trees (in Winter)

Wintertime in the Hudson Valley (Pearl River, NY, January 2015)

Footprints in Snow

This week's snow (Pearl River, N.Y., January, 2015).

The First Day of Snow

We had our first snow day a week or so ago, right before Thanksgiving. It was awesome: the stores closed early, only a few people were out, and everything was covered with a pretty blanket of snow. There air is so clean after a snowfall, I just breathed it in, remembering childhood snow days past: "no school" announcements on the radio with a brief (but joyous) family freakout, pancakes and cartoons for breakfast with my bros, followed by snowmen and precariously-made snow tunnels outside with our snow dog "Snowflake", the cutest little girl Samoyed an Acadian kid could ever hope to have. 

If it was Saturday, my Dad might take us sledding at Rockland Lake, with hot chocolate and melting marshmallows at home later, around the big kitchen table my mother's cousin made for us, after removing layers and layers of heavily sodden snow gear. It still has the power to bring out the kid in me, and so it did. I padded around town in my red snow boots with a big smile on my face. Enjoy it while you can. Snow today is often gone tomorrow.