Another weather rant

Oh well, I suppose there will be many more by the time the winter is over (and it hasn't even started officially)... I just can't stand this colourless cold depressing weather.

After about 15 cm of snow that we got Friday night, the snow turned to rain during Saturday and it has rained most of the time since. The oversaturated slushy mess covering every surface where the snow hasn't been removed contains just enough ice crystals to resemble snow on the outside. But try stepping into it and you're up to your ankles in ice cold water. Definitely no time for walking around. And I miss walking and taking photos. But with the 'merry' December in sight there will be even less time for such activities as December is party time.

I hate parties, by the way, where I have to spend time with people I don't care about doing things I don't enjoy. And there are always some I just can't avoid.

Pft

It's snowing again and that's all I have to say.

Weather report (sort of)

Oh well, after the snow had ceased, we were supposed to have a couple of cloudless sunny days. Fat chance, though, for this to come true in the cold season. Truth be told, we did have a little sunshine yesterday but today the sun struggled in vain to burn away the misty clouds hanging low above the city. Pieces of blue showed up around midday just to be veiled in mist again only minutes later. And the temperature never rose above freezing. This is about to end, though, as we seem to be in for several days of snow/rain, starting tomorrow. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Word verification titbits

Has anyone else noticed that blogger seems to be giving amusing word sequences as word verification lately? Well, with no other idea what to write about I decided to collect some on my blogging rounds, and here are a few recently noted:

cringic
woomers
ossapt
nonal
beenesse
disses
fried
latte

White stuff

Oh well, it's here... the wet slushy nuisance, a.k.a. snow...

Sunday madness

A Sunday for Slovenians is a day for trips and lunches outside. So, particularly if the weather happens to be fine, all the roads are crammed with 'Sunday drivers' - folks who only take their precious steel horses out on special occasions, and then drive with max 60% of the speed allowed, careering left, right and centre in the process, turning off the road without a signal or stopping in the middle of the road ditto... you get the picture. And whenever I happen to find myself on the road on a Sunday, I'm bound to get stuck behind such a dawdler.

And a favourite destination for your average Slovenian on a fair Sunday is any one of the hills within reach from any of the cities, possibly with a church and an inn. So, all the hilltops become stuffed full with vehicles and humans swarming all over the place. You can't get a seat in the inn unless you reserve a table a few weeks in advance. And even when you do get the table you have to wait for your ordered food (provided you're lucky enough for a waiter to notice you at all) so long you almost die of hunger in the process. When the food finally arrives (of course, some things are missing, some are different from what you ordered but you dare not complain lest you had to wait another two or three hours for what you should have got long ago) you're past the hungry stage and hardly manage to take in a few mouthfuls before giving up. And for all these pleasures you are charged a hefty bill.

I was invited to such a treat today. I'm still alive but only just. At least I didn't have to pay.

Waving goodbye

This is probably one of the last leaves we'll get to see this late autumn. The pic is two days old - there was no blue sky since, just dull grey sky and wind and tonight lightning and thunder and a huge drop in air pressure. If we're lucky we may again see some clear sky tomorrow or Sunday but afterwards it seems we're in for some snow and more snow and yet more snow.

I hate cold and snow! Who wouldn't if they were once stuck in snowdrifts, the bitter northerly wind howling around the van, for over 20 hours!

The river again

Another pic of the river from a slightly different angle and slightly more obscured by the branches...

Whitewater

It's difficult to tell the scale of a certain thing by the photo alone. This could be a stream just a few metres below the viewpoint, or it could be a large-ish river rushing through a gorge a dozen metres or more below.
Which do you think it is?

Field geometry

The vivid green feels somewhat incongruous for the onset of winter but... I think it looks quite pretty, though.

Sweet buds of... November?

I found these late bloomers on my walk today. The bluish tinge of their petals is not a result of a failed white balance, they really look like that.

I wonder...

I shot a few frames with my macro lens this afternoon and, apart from the consequences of the wrong settings and my unstable hand, there appeared no glitches. Except in this photo, that is. Here, a horizontal line appeared across all the lower third of the pic (it can be seen better when embiggened) and I wonder what might have caused it... The frame is as taken, by the way, and I know I could correct it in photoshop if I wanted to but I still wonder...

A song

Just because I feel like listening to this...

Blues on a rainy day

Yep, another grey and miserable day here so I just had to look for some blue sky in my recent archives...

I don't like November

I must admit November is one of my least favourite months. Several reasons for that: the days get really short, the temperatures drop, the trees lose most of the leaves; the fog or low clouds hang like a lid over the valleys, sometimes for days on end... The greyness, the lack of colour and light and definition; the drizzle that seems never to end; the huge heavy slushy snowflakes... The mushy pulp of what used to be leaves clogging the drains; the people in their vehicles jamming the roads, unable to cope with the conditions; others crammed in buses, poking around with their dripping umbrellas; the sellers beginning to decorate their stores with Christmas stuff way before time...

Today was such a day.

fun guy

Some things just make me smile...

Strange

After days of rain the sky cleared and some surprising creatures turned up...



I have never seen a dragonfly in November before...

Red rose on a rainy day

On my way from work I took a slightly different route and came across this...

An unexpected buzz

A grey early November day, another one too warm for the time of year. The rain, falling much of the morning, has ceased. I return to the office from a walk by the river - a substitute for a lunch break and an opportunity to clear my head from the work-related stress. As I reassume position at my desk and unlock the computer to check the emails, I hear a buzzing sound and sense a movement in the air close to my head. I look around, perplexed - after all, it's November, and that is no time for insects to disturb the air, for heaven's sake - and there it is: an agitated wasp buzzing all around the office, looking for who knows what. It appears to be examining my left elbow, then moves around to my right ear while I try not to move a muscle (go away, you silly insect, I don't want to hurt you but if you sting me, I'll be sore but you'll be dead!), then I feel it buzzing at my left side again before it moves on. I see a colleague swatting at it a few moments later, with no damage done to either of them. The insect makes another tour of the office, then disappears as mysteriously as it has appeared.

Oh my!

I didn't intend to post this but...

First, thank you guys for your kind comments on my last post. I must say, though, the text was never really intended to be a poem, it was just a few words thrown in at random to match the photo.

Now I have to ask you this: do you really think the pitiful drivel posted there passes as poetry? And please be honest. I can stand constructive criticism better than flattery.

If the answer is yes, there are two possibilities: either I greatly underestimate my abilities or the standard of poetry posted on the web is alarmingly low. I am inclined towards the latter although I know there are a few golden nuggets hidden in the interweb mud. And not to confuse things, I am speaking strictly of poetry here.

One more thing I want to add to get my point across: I do practice one particular form of poetry, the shortest and perhaps the most controversial (some might even argue it is not poetry at all), and I know I am good at it. Publications in on line journals and a few awards go to prove it. But haiku is not the subject of this blog so you will probably never see it posted here. Occasionally, however, some random words thrown in in a desultory fashion may appear here. But is that poetry? You decide.

'Tis the season

large leaves
small leaves
broad leaves
narrow leaves
smooth leaves
serrated leaves
green leaves
coloured leaves
no matter the size
no matter the colour
no matter the shape
they all come to an end
they fall from the tree
cover the ground
slowly disintegrate
to provide nutrients
for another generation
of leaves

Shady

At this time of year the sun is relatively low above the horizon and the valleys crested deep among the mountains get little sunshine if any at all. But the surrounding slopes offer some nice views.