non-februrary february

For as much as I miss the not-so-wintery winters of the west coast, the last two years back east haven't been very wintery either. There were one or two snowstorms, but both of them melted right away, and been kind of warm the last few weeks. I won't complain, because I hate cold weather, but I do feel sorry for the farmers who are going to be affected by the lack of cold weather that they need for their crops! Anyway, last weekend, we took advantage of the warm weather and melted snow and walked up to the botanic garden. We were greeted by tons of crocuses! So winter is actually almost over (even if it's just a mild one). I'm really looking forward to summer and to eating outside, the sun staying up after work, our park being full of people, not having to spend ten minutes putting on outerwear to stay warm, going to the beach!, and the farmer's market being full of berries and summer veggies. Not to get ahead of myself, and I'm sure all seasons have their virtues...



















After we were done soaking up the warm sunshine we came home and watched Veep and sat around with our two monsters. And now I can even take photos of both of them! Before, my camera wasn't smart enough to figure out how to take pictures of Finny (the black one) so I just had a bunch of dark blurs and black holes when I tried to take photos of him. Now, even if it's night time, I can mess with the settings to get a decent picture of him! Still, practicing restraint with the number of cat photos...we don't have infinite storage!

the day after the snow

The day after our snowstorm walk, we decided to venture out again for a walk - this time, it was nice and sunny! And even kind of warm. We walked up through Prospect Park to the botanic garden. Our walk was a lot longer than we intended because we found out that the southern entrance to the garden was closed when we got there and had to walk all the way around to the northern side...only to realize it was also closed, and continue to the eastern entrance (which would have been faster to reach from the southern one, if we'd realized!). We definitely got our steps in!

















The botanic garden was mostly closed off because of the snow and ice on the paths - which is why the entrances had been closed - but luckily, it was clear to the greenhouses, so we took a short walk around. We've only been there a few times when there's been snow on the ground, because it just doesn't stick around in New York. It's really pretty to see everything covered in snow, so I'm glad we went!

















I'm still getting used to and amazed by my new camera! Haven't made any more progress on the manual, but I did learn out how to set it to focus manually and how to set it on high or low key modes...so I'm getting there. Before I started my camera research, I thought all digital cameras would feel cheap compared to my old metal beast...but this one actually only weighs a tiny bit less than that one and feels super sturdy. I might still have an analog bias, but I definitely appreciate and enjoy digital too!

a walk in the snow

Last Saturday, we got our first real snow of the year! It probably ended up being 4-5 inches when it was all done and it was super cold and windy all day. Naturally, we thought we should take a walk in it!

















We walked up through Prospect Park to the library (I had another book to pick up!) and then took the train home, because by that point we were freezing and covered in snow. The whole time we were out, I regretted not bringing my umbrella! Next time, I'll remember. Even if it was fairly extreme weather, it was nice to take a walk! There were lots of people out - we saw a bunch of people cross-country skiing and dogs rolling around in the snow. Still...I won't be sad for later this week, when the high is near 60. I don't think I'm a winter person - the whole time we were out on the west coast, I never once missed freezing temperatures or walking through knee-deep snow or having to wear a million layers to go outside!

rainy day at the botanic garden

I thought I'd share more photos from my rainy trip to the botanic garden - the first day using my new camera! I'm still learning how to use it, and all of these photos are with my old, non-auto-focus lens. Even though it was rainy, it was nice to visit the garden. There was hardly anyone there. Tip: the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is free on weekdays in the winter! And even if it's rainy (or worse) there are a lot of indoor areas to explore too.

belated cherry blossoms

I forgot to update the blog at all with photos of the pretty cherry trees! Here's round one - from the last weekend in April. The cherry blossoms were perfect!