life in a snow globe

It is snowing with great gusto. A good day to stay inside. But that’s not me. I saw it as a photo op, not as a sit inside day. Right. I know. If I’m writing a blog post, I’m obviously inside. Well, I did get my little adventure.

First, I looked at the courtyard of my apartment building through my window, and I saw two male cardinals at the feeder. Sometimes, both at the same time. They were having a great time. Or maybe, they were just hungry. Well, wasn’t that cool? I felt lazy so I decided to take pictures through the window. It didn’t take long before I realized that this energy-challenged form of photography wasn’t going to be very successful. So, I got this somewhat atrocious photograph.

There was no way for me to maneuver myself to get a picture of those cardinals, although the image of the snow-laden lawn furniture was fun. I enjoyed taking that picture because it gives you an idea of the view (or lack of view) that I was experiencing at the moment. By the way, it’s still snowing with great gusto. So, then, I decided that maybe going outside was a better option. First, I went out the front door and saw this on the porch.

I probably won’t sit down there to draw a picture!

I went to the courtyard and put my zoom lens on my camera. Then, I waited and saw cardinals. So I took bunches of pictures. Most were blurry and yuck. But patience has its rewards, so I got this image. When I looked at it, I celebrated. And it gave me an idea for what to put in my blog post.

I could probably paint that image for this year’s Christmas card. It really does kind of look like a Christmas card, and it would be fun to paint.

Later on, I got a ride from a friend, so I could see the ice in the river. As we drove over the bridge to Niagara Falls, I saw the ice in the river. It was flowing freely. The ice is coming from Lake Erie. It’s very possible that, because of the colder temperatures recently, the lake will freeze over. That would definitely put an end to lake effect snow, which is a good thing. The last time Lake Erie completely froze over was in 1996. Which means a whole generation has grown up without ever seeing the lake freeze over. That could easily change this year. That means there are chances for fun outdoor activities that many people haven’t experienced in years and some have never experienced. It would be a great chance for young people to experience ice fishing for the first time in Lake Erie. According to my friend, AI, fish species that people catch in the winter in Lake Erie include walleye, yellow perch, crappie, saugeye, and steelhead. It could be a fun adventure for people who have a high tolerance of cold weather.

But I digress. It’s my best skill! But back to the river. I took a few pictures at Eagle overlook. It was very hazy and the images aren’t sharp, but they at least capture the haze and maybe the snowfall.

I hope that you enjoyed my snow world. What have you been doing today?