Changes

Every morning, I wake up to find the sun is in a different spot on the horizon than it was the day before. In the evenings, I watch the sun set from my dining room window. It's hardly noticeable from day to day, but over the course of a week, or a month, big changes can be seen. That shift indicates that summer is on its way. In late June, the sun will start its journey back to the horizon. In the meantime, our plants will grow, some will set seed, cool weather plants will suffer under the heat of the day, and I'll get used to complaining about the heat rather than the cold.

On December 29, 2008, after a really long spell of wet, cloudy days, I took this picture.



This morning, I took another from roughly the same spot.



You can see how the sun has moved towards the east. It's a noticeable change in just over a month. While we go about our daily business, the world around is always changing. The trees are starting to show their buds. Spring bulbs are poking their first leaves out of the cold dirt. Perennials are waking up and multiplying beneath layers of leaves out in the garden. Baby birds are getting their first real feathers. And the cycles that keep our gardens beautiful continue with no help from us.

This is my first year trying to document the changes through pictures as they happen. Every Sunday I take a photo of the perennial bed from the same spot in the street. I try to photograph all the new growth on different plants. The camera records the date and time of each photo. It's a great way to keep a record without having to keep records. But most importantly, in the cold dead of winter, I'll be able to look back at all these pictures and remember, only a few more weeks, and we'll see some real changes again.

4:26pm - Another 70 degree day. I've had the windows open since 11am. The house is warm and the birds are chirping. I got the hammock hung between two HUGE trees out back. Chopped some more firewood for the next cold spell. And the basement is clean, clean, clean. I got all my planting and potting stuff moved to one corner. The "work" part almost looks like a shop again except for the wood heater. Oh, did I mention I got the project I bid on? I'll spend the rest of the week with my hands in the dirt. Starting on Monday the 16th, I'll be inside for 6 weeks watching spring through the tiny basement windows.

Pre-spring cleannig

Today is a good day to clean.

In the basement, I have several boxes of receipts and income tax returns from 2003. It's time to stop carrying these things around with me. I also found a box of books that I haven't thumbed through in years. I'm going to bring them out and think about a good place to put them.

I found pictures from college. A few drawings and photographs done by friends are in there as well. They should be in frames. They're that good. I also found parts of my old college portfolio. I had put it together when I decided it would be a good time to leave my last job back in 2003. It took me almost a whole year, but I finally went out on my own to found my company. With the economy in the trash, there's no money in architectural models these days. A new career is in the works, but I'm not sure what it will entail just yet. It needs to be something that combines technical skills with a creative aspect. I need both to keep from stagnating.

I've also found pottery that I purchased at a trade show back in 2001. I had just purchased my condo in Charlotte and was looking for decorative items. I really wish it was time to bring these items back out of storage, but the house isn't finished yet. There will be a few items brought out, three pictures of me and two friends. It no longer goes with my decor, but I think they'll work. I just need to find a place to hang them.

It's cloudy and 34 degrees. Light snow was forecast but never came. Scattered showers possible later this evening will keep me inside for another day. The fever and chills are gone this morning. I still feel congested, but it's nothing like the past 4 days. I hope I can quit drinking NyQuil at night. It's been giving me some very odd dreams the past two mornings.

Today's song: Faithfully by Journey

10am: It's either snowing lightly, or a lot of the ash from burning tax records in the heater in the basement is going up the chimney. It is raining.