Dan Antion

Fire and Ice

The blue sky is almost gone.
The blue sky is almost gone.

Travel, work and weather kept me from writing much during the past week. Most of the posts that you read last week had been written and scheduled before I left for Florida. Days full of meetings and meals left little time for writing. I figured that I could catch up by the weekend, but 16″ (40.6cm) of snow on Thursday, followed by 3” overnight on Friday put an end to those plans.

I was able to steal a few minutes in Florida for some photos. In addition to the seabirds, I managed to sneak in the beginning of a sunset and the end of a sunrise.

So, instead of a normal Monday post (if there’s such a thing), I’ll leave you with some sunset photos (fire) and some photos from my days of clearing the driveway, sidewalk and yard (ice). I’ll circle back to those sunrise shots at some point.

I hope you enjoy the gallery. If all goes well, I’ll be back on schedule for One-Liner Wednesday. But, it’s snowing again. Who knows, I might even get close to one line.

The color of this sunset was deep and rich.
My hotel was quite a bit back from the beach, but that did give me some palm trees to shoot through.
I really liked the rays shooting up behind the clouds.
I really liked the rays shooting up behind the clouds.
Sunset on the Gulf
After the sun got a little lower, the blue sky gave way to orange.
Slow and steady
We had about 16″ of snow and winds as high as 35 mph.
That’s the snow we kept pushing off the porch during the storm.
Clearing some paths for the pup.
Clearing some paths for the pup.
Mt. Maddie is slowly being formed here
Making the paths a little wider.
Pretty stiff winds.
I think it’s the right height.

106 comments

    • Thanks Judy. I spent a few hours this morning moving about 6″ of snow that got covered with and compressed by a bunch of freezing rain. Maddie is happy, but the storms have been scaring her. I guess she senses the pressure change. Not sure, but it’s been driving her a little (more) crazy.

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  5. We do have some wonderful scenes down here. Hope your snow wasn’t that wet/heavy sort that weighs a ton to shovel out – I remember that quite well [even after 47 years down here].

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  8. Your fire photos are truly awe-inspiring!! But I found myself more captivated by … the Cab of your snowblower !!! (I have shown The Mrs your snowblower setup 3 times now & she still hasn’t gotten me a cab for mine…. but maybe for Valentine’s Day!!!!)

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    • If she really loved you, she would :)

      It was wonderful to have today, since I was blowing in a 25-35 mph wind. I would have been covered in snow (like my neighbor), Instead, when the big gusts cam, I paused and had some coffee.

      Thanks for dropping by,

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  9. I love your sunset photos. The rich gold just oozes warmth and the silhouette of the palm trees doesn’t hurt either ;)

    We got a lot of snow, but you guys got whacked a lot worse than we did. Armed with his new snowblower, Gilles was almost like a little kid with a new toy yesterday :)

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  10. Thanks for the lovely sunset/sunrise photos from Florida. Given that the sun is out today and the temp is above normal for this time of year, your images are a great start to the week. I feel warm all over!

    Boo to the snow. I know Maddie loves her mountain, but boo. I hope that’s it for major storms for the northeast. You’ve been hammered enough and deserve a break.

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  11. Dan, I was going to crab at you for posting the incredibly warm looking Florida photos, but since I also got that very same miserable dumping of snow, I won’t. So glad we had a January thaw where some of the snow melted, because getting nearly 2 feet of the white stuff in the last week really built up the banks. I can’t even see out my studio window now!

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    • I was worried, Wendy, that’s why I mentioned that I was only in the warmth for about 48 hours. My snow bank is high enough that I have to blow some of the snow over it, into my neighbor’s yard. It’s just too tall. I am sad about your window though :(

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  15. Wow…some contrast, Dan! Of course I love the sunsets! However, the snow reminds me of happy kid hood days in Maine winters. ☃️ Not the same thoughts as an adult looking at your photos! Yikes! Good you have a snow blower & not just a shovel! Have a happy week! 🎶 Christine

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  18. Gorgeous. Nothing like tropical sunsets Dan. I still can’t get back into my writing groove, but since hubby injured his knee and is at home, I am rarely alone enough to concentrate. Time for an iso,ation chamber. Lol hope that snow srops and clears soon!

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    • I hope his knee feels better soon. It’s amazing how fragile that writing groove can be at times. The snow has really taken a bite out of my free time, and the work to clear it also takes a toll. I’ve spend many hours behind that machine. It makes for a long day. I was very glad that I was able to witness the sunset. I would have liked to sit and watch for a lot longer, but dinner was starting soon.

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  20. Ohhhhhh those sunsets had me WOWOWOWOWOW ing out loud and then you had to show SNOW??? After that glorious array of colors and tropics you showed SNOW??? What’s wrong with you? You teased me into thinking aw wonderful a whole post about Florida and then you showed SNOW??? Ach! As a side note sorry about getting dumped on. But as I see it better you then me. Yet too I’ve been waiting all winter for snow like you got. Sigh. Life is so not fair! LOL

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    • I’m sorry about dashing those hopes for a full-sunny post, Amy, but this was the week I had. I think they are both beautiful, but going from one to the other in less than 48 hours was a little like whiplash. We had more snow yesterday and freezing rain overnight. ‘m just hoping to get back to a normal schedule at some point soon. But thanks for stopping by, Sorry for your whiplash :)

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      • LOL Sigh. Life. How I KNOW about those whiplashes. Crossing all fingers you get back to a normal routine and soon. Going from gloriously tropical to ice and snow … yuck! But, anything IS possible. I’ve had not one but two Miracles today, all kidding aside. I’m still pinching myself. Today is Heart day so like I said anything is possible. :) <3 <3 <3

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  22. I love the contrast between the set of shots. Maddie appears to be having fun despite, or perhaps because of, the snow. We’re getting ready to head to Philly for the weekend, so I’ll wave your direction when we arrive. :-)

    janet

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  23. Right now I envy these sunsets (yes, your photos), but I was there in the summer twice, and know I like dry heat and I hate hurricanes, so California much better (right now with some people wanting to separate themselves of the rest of the nation, and with businesses leaving, I can’t say I will stay here till I die). And I don’t envy you having to remove so much snow either, even if it is with a machine! But your photos are superb:)

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  24. The images are just brilliant. I love such sunsets/sunrises. As someone mentioned above, the contrasting snow images with bright sunsets work well. Is that you in the picture clearing the snow? Seems like Maddie is having a great time while you’re clearing the path.

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  33. I loved the sunset images. The colors and palms in silhouette are just stunning. It must have been glorious being there live watching it unfold.

    Wow! Your snowblower really sends out a spray of snow! It looks like hard work. I’m seriously rethinking retiring to a place that snows in the winter!

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    • Thanks Deborah, and thanks for the comments on the photos. The snowblower is more work than it should be, but it’s way easier than shoveling. I keep trying to perfect the pattern. The key is to put is somewhere I haven’t already cleared, which is hard in a small yard. I’m glad you liked the sunset photos. I was trying to hang on until it dropped below the horizon, but the bar was open for dinner and our guests were arriving.

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      • I’m so behind the blogosphere, Dan that I missed your reply. The north and the south have been the most affected by the rain. It’s kind of strange to see that too much rain is no better than not enough. But the drought should be behind California. At least for the north. The south is not sure yet if water has filtered deep enough. Reservoirs overflew which created flooding in San Jose for example. Thanks for asking. Take care.

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