Susan's Flowers

My old roommate Susan recently went to Glorietta Canyon to see the blooming desert flowers. This photo, of Phacelia crenulata, desert phacelia, is so stunning, I just had to share it.
And check out these ones, too:
Ghost flower above and Beavertail Cactus below.And look at this Eremalche rotundiflora, desert five-spot. I don't get homesick for Southern California very often, but ooh, there's nothing like these flowers in New England. Thanks, Susan, for sharing your wonderful photos.

Spring is Trying

Many of the trees have fuzzy buds, getting ready to pop for spring. Most of the snow has melted, again. It was a beautiful morning today. I think I'll enjoy the struggle as winter hangs on, but I'm now also looking forward to everything turning green again.
The geese really are everywhere. Here are two geese on a traffic island in the middle of a busy thoroughfare. These geese are wise to the streets. They cross using the cross walks. This is the second time - I swear it's true - that I've seen geese cross a street using the cross walk. They even go when their light is green.

The goose was taking too long to cross (his buddy was still on the island munching away), so the cars slowly approached, honking their horns. Geese understand honking, so this guy promptly crossed the street.

I'm sure there's a "Why did the goose cross the road?" joke in there, but I'm not touching it. You silly goose.

Winter Isn't Gone Yet

I was so worried that it was done snowing. Last Saturday, there wasn't any snow left on the ground. Then last Sunday, it snowed when Greg and I went to Revere Beach, and then a lot (I think about six inches) Sunday night. These first pictures were taken this past Monday morning on my way to work. Yay for more snow. This bike has extra cargo.

You know how when you make cookies, you start with sugar, brown sugar, and butter, and you mash it all together until it's creamy? I think snow looks like that when people walk on it for awhile. See below.
The storm last weekend was really windy. The wind blew snow onto this car, almost covering it. The sidewalk plows didn't help, either.

Here's the same car from behind. It looks like it crashed into a snow bank.

This car looks like a Lamborghini because the wind blew the snow over the car, like in a car commercial demonstrating aerodynamics.

This car's snow drift is more like a big bump than a Lamborghini.

And this car just had a snow tail added to it by the wind.

This truck, like the bike, is carrying extra cargo. Many pickup trucks have bed covers to keep the snow from piling up inside. (Did I already tell you this in a previous post?) The problem is that it severely decreases your gas mileage. The up side is that it can stabilize you if you lose control on an icy turn.

Can you see the snow drift piled up and hanging off the roof? (Apologies for the slush on the screen.)

Snow outside my kitchen window.

Can you see the tracks in the photo below? Guess what they are.
Does this second picture give it away?
They're geese prints! I'm sure it was tiring for the geese, trudging through the thick snow like that, but there must have been tasty morsels under the snow. Below, Mike the Bike went out again today. This time, we went 16 miles. Mike had his first experience with slush and ice (I think he liked it; he was a champ). Unlike last weekend, today was very pleasant, temperature-wise. By 10am, it was already in the mid-50s.
It hasn't snowed since early Monday morning, but we might get some snow tonight. It's 61 degrees now, but Monday's high is expected to only be 38 degrees. I guess, just like the tumultuous transition between autumn and winter, we're now having a battle between winter and spring. It will snow, then it will be warm and melt, then it will snow again. I hear it's called Mud Season. Below is Greg on our run/ride this morning. There's snow, a puddle, and you may be able to see the spray coming off Greg's shoe (not an easy shot on a bike, let me tell you).

As a totally random aside: There are more revolving doors here than in San Diego - to keep the weather out. Lots of places have two sets of doors, or have a curtain inside the front door - all ways to keep the frigid winter air out - or to keep the frigid air conditioning in during the summer.

The Snowy Beach

At the end of the Blue Line (The T, the subway) is Wonderland (Just call me Alice). Revere Beach is there, and I'd wanted to see the beach with snow. There was snow in the forecast, so off we went. There really are sea gulls everywhere.
Icy sand or sandy ice?

Friends for Billy

Billy and I discovered that there's a kitten living next door. I took Billy's old kitten toys over and got to meet 4-month old Marley. He's like a mini Billy. I hope he keeps coming to the window. I got a goldfish for Billy. He loved the fish, but it died a few hours after coming home. NOT Billy's fault.

Then I got Billy a betta. He loved that fish, too...

...Until it died. I'm going to take a water sample into the pet store before getting another fish. Maybe the Boston drinking water has the wrong pH.

Dusting off the cobwebs

Greg is training for the Boston marathon. Mike the Bike and I went along while Greg ran 13 miles. I hadn't ridden my bike in about five months. There were literally cobwebs I had to brush off of Mike, in addition to pumping up the tires and lubing the chain. It was so cold. I had to wear ski gloves and my fingers were still frozen.
Above, the Charles River and the Citgo sign. There used to be a Citgo gas station there, too, but now it's just the sign. The lights have been replaced, and now they're LED and they flash in patterns. It's pretty close to my apartment, so when I see it, I know I'm almost home.
This is the Harvard foot bridge. Below, you can see that part of the Charles is frozen. Can you see the seagulls on the water out there on the right side of the frozen part?
It was a beautiful morning, but by the time we got back I sure was sore from being on the bike for so long. I guess that's what I get from neglecting Mike the Bike.