Waiting for a Tail Wind

[Peeling birches, Fresh Pond; 1/10/13]

Last week, Lorianne blogged about the doldrums. I've definitely been in the doldrums here, and unable to concoct nearly as lovely a post about it as she did. I have managed to gather my wits to fashion a tweet now and then, and Lorianne is right that just making a conscious effort to notice things yields some curative inspiration. On a chilly gray walk at dusk around my neighborhood last week, I collected an odd grab-bag of sights that seemed to coalesce: Dark sidewalk laced with black ice. A sooty, one-eyed snowman watches. In the window, a candelabra's one blue light like a sore thumb.

[Long shadows, Fresh Pond]

Work has also been in the doldrums, though while waiting for the trade winds to pick up I've spent some time mending sails and plotting routes. I finally finished a take-home course that I purchased more than a year ago at a professional conference I went to, intending to work towards a certificate. I sent out emails to clients alerting them to my availability for work and made a couple of new contacts. I did have bits and pieces of client work, nips and tucks from previous projects. I cleaned out my refrigerator of expired items and "science projects." And last week I ordered a new laptop to replace the 2007-era one I have been using that's getting a bit slow for my needs now that I'm working for myself again. It should arrive, I think, this week - and perhaps I'll be so enamored with it I'll feel inspired to write more! 

[Trail between Little Fresh Pond and Fresh Pond]

Another benefit of the slow work, besides taking care of long neglected personal tasks, was taking off for an afternoon to meet up with Lorianne to walk around Fresh Pond on Thursday. It not only offered leisurely time for us to catch up, but also rather rare January photo opportunities -- my Flickr photo count attests to the annual dirth of photos from January's often raw gray days. Alas, I think neither of us was able to really capture with our cameras' video settings the amazing sounds of ice chunks on the edges of the pond set in motion by gentle waves. In some places it was like wind chimes, in others like honking geese or like a passing train. Unfortunately, the wind across our little cameras' mics mostly obscured the delicate ice chimes. But I can still hear them.

[Ripple on Fresh Pond]

Update: You can see Lorianne's blog post on our walk here (including links to videos of that clinking ice!)

Comments

[marja-leena]

Oh, gorgeous photos, Leslee! It's so wonderful to see the sun in January - the same here, along with night frosts leaving shaded lawn areas looking as if they are covered in snow. Do enjoy the quieter times and your new computer before work gets too busy.

[Lorianne]

Great photos!

I remember attending a talk once with a scientist who recorded bird songs, and he had a parabolic mic (picture those clear umbrella-like things you see soundmen carrying on football sidelines) that basically funneled the "target" sound while screening out background noise. I thought it was an awesome bit of equipment, but I can't imagine actually carrying one around.

Winter is a doldrum-heavy season. I'm sure the winds will pick up soon.

[Relatively Retiring]

Such beautiful photos despite (or perhaps because of) the doldrums, and I can hear those ice chimes from here.

[Leslee]

Thanks, Marja-Leena. We're generally lucky to get some sun around here in January most of the time. Persistent gray is very hard for me to take!

Lorianne: Thanks! Yeah, I used to produce corporate video and the sound guys always brought those mics and baffles to protect from the wind.

RR: Thank you. Still catching up on blog reading - looking forward to reading about your trip!

[beth]

Beautiful photos, Leslee, and I hope the doldrums lift soon! Almost impossible to avoid, this time of year. Has the new computer arrived yet? A hug from here!

[Leslee]

Beth: Thank you, and I hope so, too - though it was nice and sunny today, which helped. Unfortunately I missed FedEx delivery of the laptop by 1 hour and now doing the FedEx waiting dance (sigh). Hopefully we won't be ships passing in the night tomorrow...