Things have warmed up enough around here that the beautiful weekend snow is now turning to yucky gray slush. The anti-snow forces are quite happy about it, to be perfectly honest.
Yesterday, we drove to Pamiers for a few errands and were once again struck by the beauty of the countryside, no matter what the weather. The skies were steel gray, the fields were pristine white and the trees were still covered in their white blankets, although that was melting off at a rapid rate. It's always impressive for us to see how different the landscape is from one day to the next, depending on the weather.
There are stunningly beautiful days in Los Angeles, of course. Usually the day after a heavy rain, it's enough to take your breath away. The sky is so clear and you can see the mountains in the far distance. If you're lucky enough to be near the beach, it is even lovelier. But, with the pollution, it never lasts for long. Soon, the air takes on a yellow glow and the metallic smell of pollution from too many cars returns with a vengeance.
Here, the air is always so clean that you are immediately struck by any industrial odor. It seems so incongruous in the beauty of the countryside. We often find ourselves walking Maggie at night and lifting our noses into the air just to smell whatever is being carried on the wind. At this time of year, it's often a mixture of wood smoke and peoples' dinners. Sometimes, when the temperature has dropped and the clouds are low, you can even smell the snow coming. For JM and me, who both spent our childhoods in places that did have winter, we're immediately thrust into a Proustian state of mind, longing for the winters of long ago.
But, it's not all hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire. My reading at the library for this afternoon has been cancelled. The snow melting on the roof is coming in through the ceiling, directly above the light fixtures. Not a prudent thing to have a room full of five-year-olds there. And, that doesn't even take into account the fact that there are buckets everywhere to catch the drips. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Ciao for now!
R
(see pictures on my personal site.)
Yesterday, we drove to Pamiers for a few errands and were once again struck by the beauty of the countryside, no matter what the weather. The skies were steel gray, the fields were pristine white and the trees were still covered in their white blankets, although that was melting off at a rapid rate. It's always impressive for us to see how different the landscape is from one day to the next, depending on the weather.
There are stunningly beautiful days in Los Angeles, of course. Usually the day after a heavy rain, it's enough to take your breath away. The sky is so clear and you can see the mountains in the far distance. If you're lucky enough to be near the beach, it is even lovelier. But, with the pollution, it never lasts for long. Soon, the air takes on a yellow glow and the metallic smell of pollution from too many cars returns with a vengeance.
Here, the air is always so clean that you are immediately struck by any industrial odor. It seems so incongruous in the beauty of the countryside. We often find ourselves walking Maggie at night and lifting our noses into the air just to smell whatever is being carried on the wind. At this time of year, it's often a mixture of wood smoke and peoples' dinners. Sometimes, when the temperature has dropped and the clouds are low, you can even smell the snow coming. For JM and me, who both spent our childhoods in places that did have winter, we're immediately thrust into a Proustian state of mind, longing for the winters of long ago.
But, it's not all hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire. My reading at the library for this afternoon has been cancelled. The snow melting on the roof is coming in through the ceiling, directly above the light fixtures. Not a prudent thing to have a room full of five-year-olds there. And, that doesn't even take into account the fact that there are buckets everywhere to catch the drips. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Ciao for now!
R
(see pictures on my personal site.)
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