Into the Wintery Beyond

Enthusiasm has taken hold of me in the new year, and I have resolved myself to power through the cold weeks of January and February, and then stop, look around and reassess everything on March first. So from now 'till then, lotsa hard work (at work), commuting, keeping warm and working on my photo series "The Wines of Tall Pines" (previously known as "I Drink Alone ...").

New Year's Eve (and week) was a fine time up at Tall Pines. RP was supposed to come stay with his GF, MC. But at the last minute, Rich slipped on something (ice? snow? lemon wedge?) and knocked his back out. In bed for 5 days on Percocet in DC. Meanwhile up at TP, LP and I slept, cooked and red-wined our way through five totally relaxing days together. Thanks to LP's mom for the Slow Cooker -- and Rodale for Slow Cooker magazine. And it snowed on the very first morning!

Since the winter started, there's been no less than four bona fide winter storms, all leaving me with like 10, 6, 8, and 6 inches of snow, plus a whole lot of ice underneath that. Also, last night's low temp? Seven degrees. Surprisingly, I am only a little bit wondering why I didn't get a country house in California. Oh well, maybe for my second country house!

Yesterday, we had a beautiful light on the grounds, and I had the opportunity to walk the property with my trusty dSLR and take some nice photos. You know, snow on tree branches, glistening in the winter sun -- that kind of thing. I'll post some of them later.

Fast forward to March -- We move from the indoors to the outdoors. Spring promises to bring all sorts of projects, and I think through spring, summer and fall, its going to be a very active time at Tall Pines. Yay for spring!