A Little Pleasant

During a trip to the dentist last week, the dental assistant told me that her husband was "going down to Three Rivers for the weekend, to do some ice fishing." He was going to Little Pleasant Lake, and since I didn't know where that was I set out to find it. Turns out it is one of the closest-in lakes, and, delightfully, the lake does not have the usual total encrustation of large modern houses that barnacle the shores of many area lakes (I used to live in a lake barnacle, don't hate me...) Anyway, I saw no ice fishermen, but I did see a group of people sitting in lawn chairs on the snow at the edge of the lake, with a nice bonfire going.

That's Little Lake Pleasant, glimmering icily just past the old barn.

Oh what a beautiful day we had today! It started out at 0F (-18C) and warmed up to about 18F (-8C) but the blue skies and sunlight on the snow worked their euphoric magic. On the way home I took the dogs to Meyer Broadway Park, where cross-country skiers and tubing children provided entertainment for the dogwalkers.

Skywatch - Cloud Line

A unique feature of this part of the country are the bands of weather that run out like ribbons from west to east across the state. Driving north or south on 131 there may be sunlight - and then a ridge of clouds across the sky, sharply demarcating where the weather changes. This is an example, looking south from the 131/131 business loop intersection. Part of Three Rivers in sun, part with snow falling!

More Friday skies from around the world may be seen at Skywatch Friday, click here: http://skyley.blogspot.com.

Big Bag

The Biggest Big Bags will be on sale on January 30th. Perhaps the sign means means something else; I may have to go see.
Taken downtown Three Rivers in the falling snow. Later, the sun came out.

Waiting for Summer

A cheery reminder of warmer days to come, the closed popcorn stand in the grey and snowy park waits for the summer children.

Chlorine

A group of citizens braved fluorescent lighting, TV cameras, and state bureaucrats tonight to attend a hearing about the local water system. It seems that Three Rivers is the second largest city in the state without a regular program for treating its water, and the state wants that changed. Young and old locals said that they like their water just fine the way it is, and used the opportunity to expound on the evils of chlorine. What will happen, I wonder?

(News coverage -online at http://www.rivercountryjournal.com/?p=23087, as well as regional tv, radio and newspapers.)

Thaw, then Not

We had a few days of "January Thaw". On Saturday, the temperature warmed up to 40F/4C, and I went out painting! But now the temperature is dropping into the 20s and the snow has started really coming down. Photo taken at dusk, downtown Three Rivers.

Monochrome in the Gallery

Everything looks more mysterious when backlit - and in monochrome.

Taken in the Armstrong Gallery at the Carnegie Center for the Arts.

See gorgeous monochromes by lots of people around the world, just click over to The Monochrome Weekend, presented by Aileni.