Spring has.... recoiled.

I thought spring was well on its way... all the signs were there... it was above 50 degrees, there were two roadkilled skunks on the way to work, I could see terra firma instead of slush and frozen puddles. Alas, 'twas not to be...

It was pretty windy the last few days, enough that we were all making sure the greenhouse roofs were staying attached and having to open the outside door by bracing a foot against the frame and pulling with both hands. An exhaust stack cover took off like a Frisbee and smacked the back of my car (glad nobody was in the path of that thing! We're talking sharp spinning metal at high velocity.) In spite of the wind, the temps were still fairly reasonable until Friday night. Then it dropped 40 degrees or more. Saturday morning was deceptive... there was every indication that the sun would be out, but by noon there was snow blowing everywhere and causing whiteouts. Didn't last long, maybe an hour, and the wind blew most of it away afterwards. But last night... single digit temperature. The air was crackly-cold, the kind where you can feel the air going into your lungs like tiny little icicles. NOT that I'm complaining, mind you. I love cold weather. But I fell asleep early and missed most of it, and I'm looking out the window right now and the sun is out bright. Only going to be in the 20s today and around 9 tonight, but two days ago it was 60...

I had every intention of going outside to watch the sunrise this morning, hoping the icy air would lend itself to some more halos. But it was shiver-inducing cold in our place, more suited to hiding under the blankets for another hour. If we ever have a house with steady heat we won't know what to do. I've switched from flannel pajamas, wool socks, and a robe to a t-shirt and shorts, and back, in the space of an hour on more occasions than I can count. Anyway I'll try to catch the sunset later, as long as there isn't anything super-interesting going on with the Daytona race.

Yes, it's Daytona Day! The most over-hyped race of the year, the one Dale Earnhardt lost on the last lap in every way imagineable (including hitting a seagull, running out of gas, and even dying... sadly, he's done it all). At least he got one win in there. Since my long-time driver Rusty Wallace retired, I had to find a new driver to cheer for the first time in a decade. Mark Martin will be my guy this year. Always did like him. It's his last year so I hope he wins it all.

Here's a great halo photo from Atmospheric Optics :
The site has technical explanations and diagrams for various optics, plus photography tips. Very extensive submitted image galleries... check it out!