An ice storm has made it way too slippery to walk further than absolutely necessary. Plus, I have a package coming that I need to sign for. So, for the dog’s third walk today I kept her within my front and side yards.
Happily, there was this nice patch of lichen right there. #lichensubscribe
If there’s anything better on a cold day than a warm dog and a cup of hot cocoa, I don’t know what it is. #dogsofmastodon
I put Ashley in her new coat, put on my Alaska Pipeline coat, and went out into the bitter, bitter cold. Ashley would have liked to come right back in, but I made her stay outside until she had accomplished a couple of very important tasks. #dogsofmastodon
At the airport it’s currently -9°F, with a wind chill of -34°F (-37°C).
After yesterday’s brightly colored dawn, a dramatic change: Today’s rather somber snow on the sycamore tree.
I took Ashley out just a little earlier than usual, because the dawn sky was so pretty. And good that I did, because now it’s pretty much just grey out there.
Not many people out-and-about before dawn on a foggy Christmas Eve.
For several weeks before and after the winter solstice, I’m quite prone to seasonal depression. In recent years, I’ve come up with a list of things I can do to ward off depression, two of which we practiced today.
First, we went to the University of Illinois Conservatory. It’s a rather handsome greenhouse where the plant biologists keep interesting plants, and make the space available to the public to come and see the plants, and hang out in the warm and humid and sunny.
Sadly, today it wasn’t sunny.
But that’s okay. It was still warm and somewhat humid, with lots of exotic plants.
After the Conservatory, we went to the iHotel, where we had drinks by the fireplace, then went into Houlihan’s for lunch, then sat in front of the fireplace some more.
It was very nice. I’m sure it staved off winter depression for a day or two.
Jackie has an Illuminated Brew Works Weird Studies. Isn’t that a lovely Cthulhu illustration? I’m drinking a Triptych Dank Meme.
At Black Dog bbq.
One of the best things about cats was that they seemed to understand when you were sick. They’d sit on your lap all day and be completely undemanding.
This is so not true of dogs. #dogsofmastodon
