It’s Snow Big Deal

A foot of snow in mid-November is unusual but, in this region, it’s no big deal. Not really.

And it’s always fun to see what the snow and wind leave in their wake.

We often get amazing sastrugi but this time around we got twin peaks.

The table on our deck and the porch rails are a couple inches apart, far enough to give us two identical shark-fin-shaped piles of snow, about 18 inches tall.

And this spider’s lovely work was further adorned by the snow.

My sister says it says as much about my housekeeping as it does about the weather. I say the web is outside and that doesn’t count as “housekeeping.”

In fact, the snow makes the world look clean and sparkly as the sun shines today. The temperatures will warm soon and this will all melt. And, then, inevitably, the next storm will come and pile us up again.

But we have a cozy house, a fireplace, cats to cuddle, and warming beverages.

Winter is snow . . . big deal.

What’s a Girl To Do?

What to do, what to do . . .

The news seems to be all about our leaders behaving badly. Lying, backstabbing, craven finger pointing.

It seemed sensible to visit some patriots and visionaries, and good, decent Americans.

George Washington, by Thomas Sully

Thomas Jefferson, by Jean-Antoine Houdon

Alexander Hamilton, by John Trumbull

Paul Revere, by John Singleton Copley

John Quincy Adams, by John Singleton Copley

John F. Kennedy, by Jamie Wyeth

These are not the only leaders who inspire me but I came face-to-face with this group recently.

These heroes lift me up. They were not perfect but they put country and democracy, imperfect though it may be, first.

These may not be your heroes, depending on where you live and your political leanings. But, surely, you can identify good, decent people who remind you that strong, selfless leadership prevails.

Let us focus on and be inspired by them.