Took Sóla out for her mid-day walk and saw some odd patterns in the melting snow.

Final snow total for this SKYWARN spotter: 2.75”. Just enough to be beautiful and not enough to complain about. Did see a spreader truck engage his plow, on the city bus route, but it was a light lift.

Sóla’s Monday AM walk: 32(feels likev12)/77%/17MPHNW. Dogs:8; Runners:2; Snowplows:2. Sorels today. Reported a downed live wire over the sidewalk; met two fav canine friends; snow still here-like a 3-day guest. “Now is the winter of our discontent/made glorious by this son.” WS. #Dogsofbluesky

Got up to file a SKYWARN report: 2.5”. Still snowing but just barely. Family in NJ, NYC, CT and VT are getting slammed. If you would like to become a SKYWARN spotter, take the training - NOAA. It has been fun reporting totals.

Sóla’s rainy Sunday AM walk: 38/87%/4MPHNE. Dogs:8; Runners:2. First thing I do in the AM is check the forecast to walk in best weather. When I saw the weather radar image for DMV this morning (previous post), I burst out laughing. We will be getting mostly rain. We got lucky! #Dogsofbluesky

Surely, this can’t be right! A most unfortunate weather radar image.

Okay, true confession, I’ve been listening to Donna Summer’s version of McArthur Park, a lot, watching Alysa Lou’s routine that won her gold and yes, it brings tears to my eyes. A great story there. And disco was the music of my college years and I got so sick of it but wow. It was a great choice.

Sóla’s Saturday AM walk: 41/67%/6MPHNNW. Dogs:12; Runners:3. Three pairs of Oboz boots come in handy - easy to find a dry pair. Part II of Working Deep in glass this PM. “Riot Women” on Britbox is v. good, especially if you like Punk, although the show themes are triggering for many. #Dogsofbluesky

Just in case the Epstein enablers, participants and those blocking investigations into the same want to see what might await them on the other side - an Italian vision of judgement, painted on the walls of the Scrovegni Chapel, 1303, by Giotto, Padua, Italy. Scary stuff!

Sóla’s Friday AM walk:39/91%/4MPHE. Dogs:2(Sóla+Squiggy, Swedish dog). Wettest walk in forever - Absolutely soaked through all rain gear, boots, etc. Flooding in streets, field, path & stream. Used two towels to dry Sóla but she is still wet. Dogs have to be walked no matter what. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Thursday AM walk: 38/94%/8MPHE. Dogs:22; Runners:2. Had a fun lunch yesterday w/former work buddies at a Peruvian joint - pollo papusas, rotisserie chicken and thick cut fries w/yellow and verde sauce. My God how much I miss them. Outrageous how DOGE ruined much of NIH. #Dogsofbluesky

And now for something completely different… WIP, Empress Theodora, stained glass mosaic, pre-grout, inspired by 5th Century, Byzantine mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitali, Ravenna. M took the photo of the mosaic used to make this.

Sóla’s Wednesday AM walk: 37/94%/3MPHSE. Dogs:5; Cyclists:1. The dog biscuit bin we pass daily was empty. M: “Old Mother Hubbard, went to the cupboard, to fetch her poor dog a bone….” Twas ok, I carry a supply of treats for Sóla. Seen: frozen footsteps on a diamond; heard: Can. geese #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Tuesday AM walk: 34/97%/4MPHSSW. Dogs:4; Runners:2; Cyclists:1. Foggy/icy/muddy conditions on the bike path/street. Favorite Duvall movie: The Great Santini. Am still disturbed by it after all these years - Duvall was magnificent, absolutely nailed the character. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Monday AM walk: 37/88%/8MPHN. Dogs:12; Runners:2. Muddy dog and boots. Today is laundry day though. PresidentsDay reminds me of the field trip we took to Mt Vernon w/pack- I was Assistant Cubmaster. A couple of the animals (donkeys) were in season. Those boys got an eye full. #Dogsofbluesky

Found this newsletter that belonged to my father, an “Island hopping” veteran of WWII. The newsletter offered interesting advice to the soldiers upon returning home. Believe it was meant to be taken lightly. My dad talked a lot about this voyage home, none of it good.

Sóla’s Sunday AM walk: 34/73%/1MPHNE. Dogs:8; Runners:2(1w/lab). We met a lady walking a Belgian Griffon in need of grooming. Looked like a blond mop. Lots of icy places along the walk. Discussion: flooding that will occur later today from heavy rains. Low-flying aircraft-low ceiling. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Saturday AM walk: 26/57%/5MPHSW. Dogs:20; Runners:2; Foxes:1. Had a wonderful walk today - M made found a way to put the new chains on my Oboz. The fox is healthy. So cool to see them. Many birds are singing now. Irish oatmeal- Saturday breakfast. Glass class- Working Deep. #Dogsofbluesky.

45 years ago today, first date, dinner at my apartment on Ashley Ave., Charleston, SC. Brandenburg Concerto No.4. on LP. M walked in and identified it straight off. I thought, my God, someone who might fit in w/my musical family. We swim in different pools of sound. M is 💯 classical music.

The “Rain on Wayne” concert on the National Mall, July 4, 1983. The plastic bag used as a rain coat did not help. Blast from the past photo.

Sóla’s Friday AM walk: 26/65%/7MPHNW. Dogs:4; Runners:1. Ice, clear ice everywhere. New Yak traks do not fit my boots-had to cross snow/ice in Sorels w/sticks. Worked on the mosaic most of yesterday & did not make dinner. Got lucky as M & colleagues took a guest out for dinner. #Dogsofbluesky

My grandfather’s blue grass band in France. He continued playing in a blue grass band after WWI ended and would appear weekly live on the radio in Greenville, SC. He was a gifted musician, made three instruments: banjo, mandolin, ukulele and he played all three + the fiddle. Musical family.

Banjo box, the fallen heart, a collapsed ice building and bad bunny in shrubbery. My grandfather made a banjo out of bullets and played in a blue grass band during WWI when he was posted to Brest, France. He was in the quartermaster corps and built barracks and bridges in Brest.

Sóla’s Thursday AM walk: 30/65%/11MPHNW. Dogs:8. Path/trail conditions are treacherous after thaw/refreeze. Students have fallen multiple times while walking to school and we saw one fall this AM. Ice building is heap of fallen blocks. Making 4 cheese frittata for dinner tonight. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Wednesday AM walk: 40/73%/9MPHNW. Dogs:10; Runners:3. The big melt is underway which made the snow traverse difficult. Noticed: multiple species of birds singing and/or carrying on convos. The ice building has crumbled on one side. Was tropical today. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Tuesday AM walk: 26F/75%/4MPHESE. Dogs:6; Foxes:2; Deer:2. One fox was well fed with a thick bushy tail. The other was thin with a mangy looking tail. The deer were doe w/young. Felt tropical today - we both broke out in a sweat and Sóla had a great time running in the snow. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Monday AM walk: 11F/65%/4MPHNW. Dogs:4; Runners:1. Came home late yesterday from glass studio to Cincinnati chili and homemade guacamole. M also made a huge batch of bolognese to put in freezer. House smelled like a restaurant. Watched Bad Bunny- was an amazing halftime show. #Dogsofbluesky.

Woke up to these headlines: Senator Ossoff, “The Epstein class is ruling our country.” Bad Bunny, “The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” I have a little bit of hope that the US will course correct. We the people.

Sóla’s Sunday AM walk: 16(feels like 7)/61%/13MPHNNW. Dogs:10; Runners:1(w/lab). It is good to be alive on this cold day. M, “I met a traveler from an antique land, Who said-‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert.’” Ozymandias, P.B.Shelley. We like poetry here. #Dogsofbluesky

To Sóla I say, “What need have you to fear the monstrous crying of the wind.” To a Child Dancing in the wind, W.B. Yeats. When you are married to an Irishman, these things come to you. It is pretty windy here, and things are bumping into the house. Sóla is barking at the sound of the wind.

Sóla’s Saturday AM walk: 13(feels like -10)/63%/21MPHNW. Me: deer tracks. M: unless there are dip sticks. Me: What? M: Thick sticks. Me: spell it. M: Dik Diks. Me: what is that? M: little antelopes in Africa. Mercy, it was a cold wind that blew thru the neighborhood streets/canyons. #Dogsofbluesky

Saturday morning with brutally cold temp, dangerously high winds and a dog begging to be walked. She will prevail, as always. Blasting “Jumper”, Third Eye Blind, to wake the house.

Heart of ice, Champlain Medical Bldg, Bethesda.

Sóla’s Friday AM walk: 18/77%/2MPHWSW. Dogs:8; Runners:3; Deer:6. Going to work on my stained glass mosaic (design from Ravenna) today. Must blast music, dance and sing like no one is watching or listening. It is good glass therapy and Sóla does not mind. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Thursday AM walk: 13/78%/4MPHN. Dogs:5; Runners:1(w/Visla); Cyclist:1. Todays’s song, Torn, Natalie Imbruglia. The implosion of the WaPo; the destruction of the WH East Wing; the renaming/make-over of the Kennedy Ctr; possible building of an Arc de Trump. I’m free falling now. #Dogsofbluesky

The salute at Blacksod, West coast of Ireland. September, 2017. From favorite photos.

To my WaPo friends in the DMV-What pisses me off, I mean really pisses me off, in addition to all the other shyte going on r/n is how Bezos paid for the trashy Melania film, paid for his Venetian trash wedding, & paid for the WaPo, a decent newspaper, only to destroy it later. He peed in our pool.

Sóla’s Wednesday AM walk: 28/77%/5MPHN. Dogs:10; Runners:1. State of the neigh: The thaw has begun. Melted ice refroze o/n to create slick spots. MoCo cut thru many snow berms to help school kids walk safely. Snow forts have all failed except for the ice building - still in good nick. #Dogsofbluesky

The “v” experience of our PM walk yesterday. Before the v was cut, dog and dog walker had to walk on the busy street with city buses, trucks and cars flying by, to circumvent the snow berm. Dog is here now begging for her AM walk. Time to blast Grazing in the Grass.

Feb 3, 2017, trip to the Langjökull glacier in W Iceland with @tmr65.bsky.social Not too different from here for the past few weeks. Actually, it was warmer there than it has been here. Really miss Iceland.

My oncologist, during my annual checkup today, told me that she is retiring in June. I’m so happy for her! Such a good decent person deserves many years of happy retirement, pursuing a goal of seeing her beloved raptors. She told me I’m more than a patient & will keep in touch. Hope to see her - BS.

Sóla’s Tuesday AM walk: 18/76%/3MPHW. Dogs:10; Runners:3; Deer:6; Foxes:2. Was so warm we broke out in a sweat. The hill we usually cross was treacherous today with hard ice so we walked across the field, which was also slick. The ice made today’s walk scary. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Monday AM walk: 19(feels like 13)/70%/10MPHNW. Dogs:9; Runners:1. Tracks: deer; raccoon; dog; squirrel; birds; rabbit; boots; cars; trucks; skis; snowboards; poles. M had to leave the walk early. Sóla, the herder, is protective and prefers that we walk together. She is sweet! #Dogsofbluesky.

My whole school & life experience: Staring out a window daydreaming. Every report card had: 1) daydreams too much and/or 2) talks too much. Just give me a window and I’ll stare out of it. What catches our attention? Movement, color, contrast, curious behavior, changes, the odd and the unknown.

Sóla’s Sunday AM walk: 10(feels like -3)/67%/14MPHNW. Dogs:10. #1 motivation to walk today was the image of a toasted “everything on it” bagel with lox/cream cheese from Bethesda Bagels I’d have when I got home. Even my Swedish neighbors are complaining about the ice-covered snow. #Dogsofbluesky

Sóla’s Saturday AM walk:11/69%/6MPHNNW. Dogs:7; Runners:1. Not many people about these days. Just so cold and icy now. Our new crampons arrived yesterday so we should be good to walk over ice. M still has his old crampons, mine were destroyed by use. #Dogsofbluesky

Rakugaki in Bethesda - it was so good, you can stick a fork in me cause I’m done.

Was talking to a neighbor and we decided that this snow/ice/cold weather event is the worst one that either of us have experienced in the DMV in our 43+ years here. The “concrete” weight of 3” of ice over 4” of snow makes it so difficult to clear. Extreme cold is not helping either.

Age isn’t important unless you are cheese.

Sóla’s Friday AM walk: 7/73%/5MPHNW. Dogs:1(Sóla); Snow day: 5. Enough of the cold. Discussion: distinctive differences between dogs & bitches, in the canyons and valleys of yellow snow. M - “A bitch is a dog a decent dog but you you pup you’re nothing.” It is an Irish thing… HBD-M! #Dogsofbluesky