Friday, January 4, 2013

THE ENEMY MET


The temperature earlier was 19˚F when I jockeyed the trash barrel up hill to the roadside. That's -7.2˚ for those of you who think in Celsius terms. Cold either way…though not as cold as it's been recently. Wednesday's reading at about the same time in the morning was 11˚F (-11.6˚C) and yesterday's 15˚F (-9.4˚C). So I guess you could say we're on a warming trend.

I'm not complaining. The sky was clear, and the air still, lacking even a hint of breeze. I dunno about you, but I'll take cold, dry and windless to damp, blowing and barely freezing every time. It's the latter which invariably chills me to the bone; pure cold—at least down to thirty degrees below where things stand now—is, to me, not at all uncomfortable. But then, I like winter—and what fun would winter be without cold and snow?

Now, to business—which starts with a confession: this ought to be my fourth post of the new year. That was my intention when 2013 began…post something—if only a photo and brief caption, or a diary-like entry—every day. It wasn't a resolution, mind you. I know myself too well—especially my track record at keeping resolutions—to have gone quite that far in setting such goals and making promises, even if I never told a single other soul. 

No, I figured I'd mess up sooner or later due to work, travel, health, technical difficulties, inertia, or recidivistic laziness. I just didn't expect to mess up the second day out of the gate…and follow that up with a blank on the third.
View from my deskside window

My excuse for Wednesday is that I spent the entire day at my desk working on columns—from 8:30 a.m. until a few minutes after midnight, with a half-hour break for lunch at 2:30 p.m., an hour off to have supper with Myladylove once she got in around 7:00 p.m., and various briefer interruptions throughout the day and evening to answer comments from Tuesday's post, take a phone call or two, and stare ruminatively—and/or bewilderedly—out the window.

And yesterday? Well, Myladyove had the day off, so we finished up multiple post-holiday chores around the house, rearranged the great room, installed the final piece of interior trim on the entryway, and pretty much stayed at our task list from the time we got up until time to go to bed. Meals were either warmed leftovers or, in the case of supper, slices of cheese, apples, and salami. I checked my e-mail and answered one comment just after 11:00 p.m. last night—which was the only time I fired up the computer.

I'd like to think this abysmal start isn't indicative of things to come. Surely I can do at least somewhat better! Though I'm also aware of the depressingly insightful wisdom of that observation from Pogo: We have met the enemy, and he is us.

Time, I guess, will tell. 
 

10 comments:

Kelly said...

hehehe...you made me chuckle. So true...

Vagabonde said...

My! intending to write a post a day…you are industrious. I never could do that – well I write about my trips and have so many pictures – it takes a while to go through them, and my posts are long – too long really. Today was warm again and I saw that next week we’ll be back to 63 F. I even looked at the weather in Asheville, NC to see if there was snow we could drive up there, but no, it’s in the low 50s there – too bad that Ohio is so far away… So in the meantime I keep looking at your pretty pictures and I enjoy the snow … virtually.

Jayne said...

Well, speaking as someone who did a DAILY post (which almost became a compulsion mind you) for going on five years, my hearty recommendation is to just blog as your heart sees fit and as you have the time to do so. Since I've come back at the end of July, I post when I have something I want to share and all the pressure is off. So much healthier and I am so much happier blogging now. Just my $0.02. :c) Happy New Year my friend.

Grizz………… said...

Kelly…

You, a fellow Buckeye and friend, laughed at me? Actually chuckled at my admitted dilemma? A man with apparently serious blogging-commitment/time management issues?

Well, huh! I'm plumb aghast! ;-)

Grizz………… said...

Vagabonde…

More like hoped than actually believed I'd manage a post per day. Me, who's never been able to keep a diary or journal. I KNEW that wouldn't happen. But I thought maybe five out of seven days might be realistic, on average—and I figured the first two or three months I might do even better than that. Nope.

And it's not really the length and task of writing. When I used to make most of my living with magazine assignment work, I published about 175-200 feature articles a year, each between 2500-3500 words. Considerably longer than a blog post. Plus I also wrote five different monthly columns for five magazines. Another 1500-2000 words each. And I wrote other stuff, too. I'd make notes in longhand on the road, but the actual writing happened when I came home for a few days—longs stints, 20 hours at a shot, a dozen pieces in three or four days. For me, the writing is easy. And I supplied photo support for the work, too—slides and B&W prints from my darkroom.

Nowadays…well, I'm not sure if it's laziness or what, but while I can still turn out copy, and I never miss a deadline on my columns, it's a chore to make myself put my fanny in the chair and actually work. I'm too easily distracted by birds and books and about a million other things. I think I'm probably just incorrigible.

Grizz………… said...

Jayne…

I actually thought about you and your situation when wondering whether or not to step up my posts. And I appreciate the friend-to-friend advice, which is doubtless exceedingly sensible.

As I said to Vagabonde above, I never really believed I'd pull it off, simply because of my track record on other daily writing formats such as diaries and journals…which I like and have always wanted to do, but have never been able to manage for more than a month running. It's just not in my DNA I guess.

I did think I could do better than one post in three days (or two in four, which is now the case); thirty-three percent or fifty percent, take your pick. Rather paltry, whichever, and not much better than I've manage this past year—which is why I wanted to improve in the first place.

What's that old line? Insanity is doing the same thing over the same way and expecting a different outcome.

I'm thinking it may apply here…




Rowan said...

I'm with you on preferring bright and cold to damp and mild as far as weather goes but unfortunately we're getting the mild, damp version here at present. I've managed to get two blog posts up this month so I'm pleased,I want to do better in 2013 as my posts got fewer and fewer last year. I know myself too well to even consider trying to post daily though:)

The Weaver of Grass said...

I love to read your posts and see your superb photos of the views from your windows - and that glorious river, winter or summer. Like you I love Winter - particularly still days. Shortly I shall eat my jacket potato (the farmer is out shooting today) and then wander down the lane with my dog, taking photos of the winter landscape. Give yourself the odd day off Grizz - it has to be a joy, blogging, not a daily chore.

Grizz………… said...

Rowan…

[HO, HO! In the mysterious way Blogger sometimes moves…the two lost comments suddenly reappeared. Thank goodness! So you can disregard the next paragraph. All is well!]

Please forgive me, but your comment and one from Weaver apparently got deleted rather than published. I'm so very sorry. I don't know what happened—whether it was me or Blogger. But so far as I can tell, after I read it and clicked, the comment just disappeared.

But I think I remember what you said…and I'm glad to learn I'm not the only one who knows themselves well enough that the idea of a daily post is unlikely to happen. It's not that I think the blog world is just waiting out there with bated breath to read my next brilliant words of wisdom—only that I'd like to put up more photos, and maybe expand the scope of Riverdaze, which I've mentioned before. Plus I just find the whole business fun. (Well, except when I lose a comment, which is awful, though thankfully, has never happened before.)

As to cold weather, I never mind a dry, windless cold down to maybe forty degrees below freezing (Fahrenheit); that's really not all that uncomfortable when dressed in even modest outerwear. But I swear, two degrees below freezing, with the ground wet, sleet coming down, and a 15 m.p.h. wind, and you can't find a heavy enough parka to keep you warm.

Grizz………… said...

Weaver…

[HO, HO! In the mysterious way Blogger sometimes moves…the two lost comments suddenly reappeared. Thank goodness! So you can disregard the next paragraph. All is well!]

Alas, I have to tell you the same thing I told Rowan… your comment apparently got deleted rather than published. Please forgive me. I'm really sorry. I don't know what happened—whether it was me or Blogger. But so far as I can tell, after I read it and clicked to approve, the comment just disappeared.

We fixed potatoes in the jacket last night for supper, along with a bit of ham. Myladylove never met a potato she didn't adore; I'm fairly ambivalent about them, which is a near-heresy admission for an Irishman. Which isn't to say I don't eat them regularly, just that I'd often rather have parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, yams, or turnips. In fact, I like to roast a tray of all of the above, quartered or cut into chunks, drizzled with a bit of garlicky olive oil and sprinkled with coarse salt and fresh pepper.

As you can well understand, I never tire of my river—of the view, and all the interesting goings-on it hosts throughout the seasons. The view in the photo is about a quarter of what I can see from my desk. To the left (downstream) I can see at least another hundred yards to the bend; to the right my view extends maybe three times the width of the photo—though that doesn't cover too much more river corridor because of the closing perspective angle. Still, it's plenty to keep me distracted whenever I need an excuse.

Again, I apologize for losing your comment.