Spring opening

Empty beach lifeguard chair

The ice isn’t quite gone from the local lakes and ponds, but the season is turning towards the warmer months. The snow has gone leaving behind the bland brown gray color on the lawns and forest floor. The tender shoots from bulbs will be poking up shortly as the days lengthen and warm. This spring will be as unusual as lest spring was, people will have their vaccines and be venturing forth to the many places that were off limits a year back. The outdoors never closed, but many shied away from the crowded trails and beaches. As things re-open it will be nice to have it coincide with spring, a time of freshness and growth.

Where are you looking forward to going or returning too? Far flung places or familiar local haunts? I have both new and old places on my list, nothing extravagant, but that hardly matters. I just finished reading The Art of Frugal Hedonism, which among its many suggestions list finding third places. These are found everywhere and open to be enjoyed for nothing. Libraries, outdoor concerts, art fairs and the like. Places you can take a picnic, or bring a coffee to, where benches or spots to sit and just enjoy being in while people pass by, for free. I am looking forward to museums opening up again, it will be well worth the fee to see them back up and running!

Wintering

Snowy sunset village scene

We are into those February days where a storm seems to roll through with some regularity. Tuesday seems to be the day of choice this year, as we will have 3 in a row this week. The snow will add a blanket to my plants, keeping them insulated from any biting cold that might settle in. It is nice to be able to spend cozy days with a book or in my studio when it is stormy.

I have gotten out twice on my snowshoes, and hope to get in a several more this month. That is the sort of exercise I enjoy, outdoors moving in the fresh air. Before the snow flies tomorrow I might be able to squeeze in a quick trek. The tracks today at the park showed cross country skiers, walkers and snowshoers had all felt the call to get outside, yet no one else was in sight.

When I am at work I can watch the flakes through the huge windows, it is a bit like being in a snow-globe. I have a friend who has equipped their home to age in place. They added an elevator which will allow them to enjoy one of the most amazing rooms I have ever seen. Perched on the roof is a glass sitting room that looks out over the treetops, not a neighbor in sight. The room, complete with a wood stove, would be my choice of places to watch a snowstorm from.

Various views out of windows

The house where Bette Davis was born.

I am a tireless wonderer. I see a place or a house and try to see myself there. Going about my day, the views from the various spots or how the light changes through the seasons. It isn’t dissatisfaction with my life that drives this, I have done these flights of fancy since childhood. It is more a reverie or exploration of self to try and see things differently.

To be fair, when it is about travel destinations, there are never bad lodgings or storms. Those mental trips all go smoothly. Houses, on the other hand, are of a broad variety of styles and conditions. I wonder about how people live in a wide swath of places, a picket fence is no guarantee of a safe haven.

Part of me wants to live everywhere, and part is content under my own roof.