Transparent forests / Whoosh, it’s cold!

Pretty much all of the leaves have fallen by now. It was very windy last weekend, and the trees that were holding out the longest finally had to give in and release their leaves. As a result, trees that previously offered shade and concealment now are bare and, yes, transparent. The greenway (natural bit of open space inside the city) by my apartment that I walk along each day is fairly narrow, and I can now see through it to the street on the other side. I also now have a better view of the piece of Muddy River along the middle of the greenway. And if the trees are transparent horizontally, they’re also transparent vertically. I used to be able to walk along the greenway and keep the sun out of my eyes by walking on the shadier side of the street. Now that the leaves are gone, there is no shade. Furthermore, since the sun is lower in the sky, it hits ya right in the eye. Surprising, then, that a major department store doesn't sell sunglasses in the winter. Today I wore my ski hat (to keep my head and ears warm) underneath a hat with a brim to block the sun. This may be routine and now the things I’ll always have in my backpack are: umbrella, sunglasses, scarf, gloves, ski hat, and brimmed hat - unless I find a brimmed ski hat. This is in addition to the standard Kleenex, camera, Chap Stick, etc. (My friend Heather pointed out that a brimmed hat will also keep snowflakes off my eye lashes.) It’s dark here by 4:45pm, so I only have to adjust for the glaring sun during my morning walk. I was thinking that it was weird to have it completely dark by 4:45pm, but we’re still not at the winter solstice yet, so the days are getting even shorter.

According to weather.com, this morning it was 29 degrees on my walk to work, but with the wind chill, it felt like 16 degrees! The ski jacket that I've had for years has kept me warm where it covers, but this weekend I hope to get a winter coat that covers my butt – everyone says this is very important. I went out to dinner with a friend last night, and on the way home, we saw a puddle that was frozen on the top. I held onto his arm for an anchor and tapped the puddle with the toe of my shoe. The ice crackled satisfyingly. Said friend also told me that if you breath into the collar of your jacket, (which is so inviting since your breath warms you up), your jacket will end up soggy: wet and cold. Wow, the things you learn.

Depending on which weather report you look at, snow is expected for tomorrow...