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.

Wobbly Weather

I've left the kitchen window open a bit throughout the winter. The radiator stays on in the kitchen and bathroom, and is controllable in the bedroom/living room only. I usually only open the radiator (to allow steam to pass through the pipes) in the bedroom for short intervals. Perhaps it's because I'm on the 4th floor that my apartment doesn't get very cold. Still, I've left the bedroom and bathroom windows closed all winter, until tonight. It's raining and I opened the window. I love the sound of the rain, and Billy loves to sit by the open window, even if there aren't birds on the fire escapes outside. A friend of mine told me today that the unofficial first day of spring is when you can go outside without a jacket. We went out to lunch today and I wore only a thin turtle neck and a fleece. Hey, don't laugh - that's a big improvement; today it was almost 60 degrees. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 40s and Sunday it's supposed to snow and be in the 30s. March is supposed to be really windy. At the beginning of winter (and before that), I was so enamored with the snow. I still am, but I see now that if it's cold but dry, I won't like it as much. Just like in San Diego, when it was cloudy for several days but it didn't rain, I would feel cheated. We haven't even had a really severe storm or a blizzard. Please, THINK SNOW.

Dancing Billy

Sunshine captured Billy perfectly.

Manchester, Vermont

Vermont, vert mont - French for Green Mountains; not very green in February.

My first escapade on a frozen lake. Apparently, only 10 inches of ice is enough to support people, snowmobiles, even full-size trucks.

I found a slick curve of slippery ice, a track leftover from a snowmobile. Great for mini-ice skating.

I guess cracks are okay.

The Barnstead Inn
Every Inn needs a sugar shack, right? They're big on their maple products in Vermont - maple syrup, maple candy, maple latte.

The Hungry Hiker breakfast

Icicles in the creek

San Diego is Stealing Our Weather

It hasn't snowed in Boston for two weeks, but San Diego has had lots of rain. Give us back the weather! All of our snow is melting, but my friends assure me winter isn't over. I guess it's fairly common to have a spring teaser, then, ka-blam-o! Big snow again. I hope they're right. I'm not done with winter yet.

+ My friend Cynthia and her husband bought a house last month. To get there, I take the Worcester train. No, no, that's "Whoostah." + I've been seeing lots of wreaths still on people's windows and doors. They even have the red bows on them. In February! I guess they're "winter wreaths," but they look like Christmas wreaths to me. + Working back at the San Diego Natural History Museum, I was around many democrats. Boy, oh boy, is New England Blue. I love it. It feels so good to be around so many Obama lovers and liberal-minded folks.

+ The two main area codes in San Diego are 858 and 619. In Boston, they're 857 and 617. It was really confusing when I first moved here. + Even though the snow is melting, it was just a couple weeks ago I saw a lamp pole with snow caked on one side where the wind had blown it. I realized that flocking on Christmas trees imitates what happens naturally in snowy places. + Okay, enough of this snow melt and 50 degree days. Think Snow!

The New England Aquarium

Above, a barracuda swimming across the top of the main fish tank.

Everyone likes a little wine. Or is that a beer bottle?

I love the apparent personality of this hermit crab.

These schooling fish were too quick for my camera setting.

This isn't how kids watch the harbor seals in San Diego. And this day was 20-30 degrees warmer than it's been.

Along the Water, Winter and Summer

Along the water yesterday, the air was more mild than it's been, but it was still pretty cold.

There's still snow on the ground, and I was glad I had a scarf and hat.

It seems so long ago that I was wearing a tank top and flip-flops, and still sweating at 6pm.