Winter has arrived

I am always amazed at the ability to fly. To get from here to there in a few shorthours is just miraculous. Altho it is not calm, nor comfortable, nor relaxing, it is better than riding a horse.

We came north to see two cute kids play in the warm rain.
And on the first day in the cool refreshing air, I joined some long time friends and went to the NY Botanical Gardens. It is a majestic place. Aside from the flowers and plantings and gardens, the magnificent trees are humbling. Because I am neither a botanist nor a photographer, I have no words or pictures capable of describing this haven. You really need to go there.
In the Conservatory was a presentation of Emily Dickinson's poetry and a depiction of her garden. It was well done but not a focal point in my opinion.
It was good to return to the state where we lived for 34 years. It was cool and soothing and a wonderful respite. And watching Mason don his old shoes, his gardening hat and gardening gloves and taking up his shovel, sized for a 4 year old, was worth the trip. He enjoys everything about gardening and is very helpful. Andy..., well I think he got my gardening genes.

It was a very quick trip....just long enough to see a bad movie (Marmaduke, avoid it at ALL costs), watch them play soccer and remember it was just a few short years ago when their dad ran on those fields, and relish the weather.

But now we are home and I have named this miserable hot and humid weather.... WINTER. It is a time for staying inside and indulging in activities that don't get done when the outside is calling. Like drawing and painting and knitting and reading. There are heat advisories most days, the heat index is 105-110. The laborers are working with damp towels over their heads and the golf courses are mostly vacant in the heat of the day. Be happy you didn't plan a trip to Disney. I don't remember it being this hot last year. We are to play golf tomorrow and I'm not sure I'm up to it....... that's how bad it is !!

Speaking of reading. Recently, I read a popular blog and she asked her readers to name their favorite book. Hundreds, if not thousands of replies later (yes , she gets thousands of comments),the results were the usual; classics, Harry Potter, the Bible etc., but one of the most popular was called "Outlander". Now , I had never heard of this so went to amazon.com to read reviews. Well, it turns out that it is a series of 7 books, written over the last 15 years. It has been hard to label but is called a romance, a time travel, a mystery and a historical novel. Considering that I am somewhat of a book snob (yes, one of my few faults) I wasn't sure I wanted to associate myself with anything that smacked of a romance novel, I had P pick it up at the library to preview. The book arrived looking grungy . I washed the plastic cover and then gave it a thorough swipe with hand sanitizer. I began reading and was disgusted at the filth on the pages......NOT the words, but the goo and ick on the paper. I couldn't go on even tho by now I was interested. So I broke down and bought the book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was escapism to be sure but a good story and yes, a bit of a bodice ripper too. I'm now beginning the 2nd book...... I look forward to the rest of WINTER.