Sunday, January 13, 2019

Where is Winter?



The question in the title might be a moot point for some of you, but here on the west coast, we are enjoying a very warm winter due to a strong El NiƱo system. We've had a lot of gloomy rainy days followed by sunny bright ones. On the sunny days we head outdoors. 

On Saturday afternoon we walked up Christmas Hill for a view of our city. Across the Strait to the south the white peaks of the Olympic Peninsula of our neighbours formed a line across the horizon. To the west, Mount Baker, also in the USA, glowed as the sun dipped low and a faint moon stood out against the darkening sky. 


On Sunday afternoon the good weather took us to the waterfront along Dallas Drive, along with many other walkers out to enjoy the sunshine. It's not that warm, really, 10-12 degrees Celsius, but we saw several people barefoot on the beach, others in shorts, and one hardy young man swimming! He was in the water for a very long time, it seemed to me, and he strolled out, not rushing for a blanket or towel as I would have done. 


The caption of this photo might be "The one that got away" for the crab wriggled mightily and eventually escaped despite the desperate grab of the gull's beak.


At Clover Point pigeons flew dark against the eastern sky, then wheeled and circled to the west where the light illuminated their wings. A single male pigeon alighted on a lamp post and was soon joined by a female pigeon. Immediately, the male began showing off. He jumped onto the green bit on top of the lamp, turned round and round, bobbed his head up and down, and tried desperately to impress the lady. She seemed very unimpressed, and if pigeons could yawn, she would have. After a bit, the male gave up and just stood there, head to the wind, perhaps thinking of his next tactic.



“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.” 
― Thomas De Quincey

After we arrived home I made a lemon loaf and we had tea and cake. Delicious and restorative, beside the fire, even on a sunny afternoon! 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Angie of Letting Go of the Bay Leaf. 

29 comments:

  1. Lorrie - a delightful post from beginning to end. For us, el Nino has meant reduced snowfall, but fortunately we have enough to keep our ski mountain in good condition. It's typical at this time of year to have an inversion; the clouds are low over the valley, but it is sunny above 5,000 feet. It makes for spectacular views when you can see 360 degrees of snow-capped mountains, seemingly floating on pillows of cloud. And it's a good reason to get up on the mountain to ski - you get to see some sun! I was amused by your pigeon story - I also noticed that a seagull was nearby watching the proceedings - some added pressure for the male pigeon, I'm sure. Thanks for the levity on MM this week!

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  2. Oh Lorrie, as usual, I'm so impressed with your photography. The bird shots are terrific! I love the first mosaic because I have never seen such snow-capped mountains except in books or on television. What a splendid sight!! Your really live in a beautiful area, it seems.

    The lemon loaf looks delish (I never met a lemon I didn't like) :D and your china plates look so pretty. I especially enjoyed the quote by Thomas deQuincy because it sums up the way I feel about winter. It is a cozy time of year. By the way, I think we have your winter weather down here. We had a big snow well before Christmas, and yesterday, we had sleet and freezing rain. Many folks have been without power today.

    Happy New Year, Lorrie, and thank you so much for your visits and kind comments during the holidays.

    Blessings,

    Denise

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  3. It’s really delightful... I enjoyed your Post. Happy MosaicMonday!

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  4. Lovely photos
    Winter starts and stops on cold at this lower elevation here in Vermont. One day feels like early spring, and the next few a frigid cold. It snows, but not much as yet. I think the sun has been out more than last year.

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  5. I love your photos with a lot of blue <3 The weather here is fluctuating strongly, between -10C and +2C... The winters are not any more what they used to be. Wishing you happy MM and a great week.

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  6. wow..it's fantastic blog. i like this post. it's contains really nice information that enhance my knowledge...

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  7. You got some great pictures! I love watching the birds. The seagull also seemed unimpressed with the male pigeon's antics. HA! It's a very dusty, dreary day here. 20 C outside, supposedly, but inside these concrete walls, I am absolutely freezing. We had beautiful blue skies on Friday with a nip in the air. Looking forward to more days like that so I can get outside and walk again. Have a great week.

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  8. Lovely, always so lovely to visit. I am making my stroll and scrolling down my sidebar to visit for the first time in weeks...6 weeks tomorrow since I first became ill and now all that lingers is a raspy voice. Lemon cake, oh I have not made one in quite a while...and with tea, sounds so good right now. Our Winter has also been mild, just had our first snow 2"...but this weekend more with ice on the way. Take care~

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  9. Such lovely non-winter photos. Although there seemed a pile of snow atop that mountain peak. Your lemon loaf looks lovely -- a perfect way to spend an afternoon with tea and cake.

    Wishing you a beautiful week ahead, Lorrie.
    Brenda xox

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  10. My goodness, what a joy to visit your blog post today and admire your photography skills. Such beauty to admire. Afternoon tea, a favourite pastime.

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  11. Mmm, I could live with that kind of Winter (especially with the lemon loaf at the end of an outdoor day). Our daughter mentioned a similar Oregon week in our latest call.

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  12. ...we have had some cold temps and then warm temps, a bit of snow and then rain. this sure isn't my idea of winter!

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  13. Restorative...I like that word! And your photos are awesome! I love that you even caught the moon in one of them! I finished my book this morning! I could have finished it last night but saved the last 20 pages for today! It was THAT good! OH MY! Enjoy your day sweet friend!

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  14. Lemon cake, a wonderful comfort food, especially at 4 oclock!

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  15. Lemon loaf and tea in pretty china are the perfect way to end your winter walks.

    Winter has also been fairly mild over here--I hope it stays like this for the next 2 months!

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  16. Anonymous4:15 PM

    Lorrie, that picture with the gull and the crab is amazing! I'm glad the crab got away! Lemon cake and tea sound perfect warm or cold winter day!

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  17. Your winter is one I could very much embrace, except for endless rainy days. Beautiful pictures and beautiful prose.

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  18. Luv "the one that got away" very drsmatic shot.
    Happy mosaic Monday

    MuchšŸ“šlove

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  19. Good question! You got some amazing bird shots!

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  20. Lorrie, I am not sure whether my favorite part of this post is this bit, ". . . if pigeons could yawn, she would have which made me laugh, or if it is the De Quincey quote with its cozy imagery. It could even be the lemon loaf. Either way, it is a delightful post!

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  21. Dear Lorrie, What beautiful photographs, especially the shot of the seagull. I love the way you caught the sunlight in her/his wings.
    Did you bake the pound cake? It looks rich and delicious.

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  22. I love birds but I have never witnessed mating behavior. I suppose I'm not observant enough. That's really fun. Your time out as always--so lovely!

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  23. If a pigeon could yawn!...lol Lovely pics. You are so lucky to live so close to the water. Just beautiful. We are very cold right now and cloudy, and your lemon loaf would be very welcome with my coffee. :) Kit

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  24. It's still mild in my part of California, too - but enough wet and wintry that we can enjoy the cozy fire and being in out of the rain. And rain always feels like a miracle around here...

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  25. Gorgeous pictures...I love all that blue sky and the birds are beautiful. So nice to read the quote and see your delicious tea and cake there too. We have had similar weather here...no cold snap yet but they say it is coming soon. XxX

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  26. I was surprised to see your view of Baker from there! We see it from our front bedrrom window and front door ... you see it from across the water. So often we say, "Look at Baker!" Once, when my niece was visiting from the prairies, she fianlly said to us, "don't you ever get sick of it?" We still laugh about that. I can't believe that photo of the one that got away!!! It didn't get away from you!

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  27. Hello Lorrie, Beautiful photos. The one that got away is a fabulous catch! Even though I'm experiencing winter here in the northeast tip of Washington the locals say it's very mild and are wondering where all the snow is. I'm happy to be broken in with a mild winter! Still plenty of ice to deal with. I'm happy, too, that we chose a property on a well traveled road that gets plowed regularly instead of a property on a side road that stays snowy and icy. I enjoy the sunny days that you go out and about and share your photos with us.

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  28. Blue photos usually have a chill about them but yours have a glow and warmth pervading them - a bit of sunshine makes such a difference to both our mood and our surroundings. Great action shot of the bird catching the crab - you must have been very quick off the draw with your camera.

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  29. Fabulous photographs and what better way to finish a walk with tea and cake :)

    All the best Jan

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