Not only my own meltdown-rant of yesterday, but quite literally. Everything is melting, including our lovely layer of ice from Monday’s ice storm. After being below freezing for a week, our temperatures popped up to nearly 50 degrees yesterday and today we’re supposed to encounter thunderstorms. Whoa .. thunder and lightning in January??

Finding that my photo had been posted on FaceBook without my knowledge or permission and the fact that the person was asked to remove it and would not, really got me riled up. A good friend did a search for me on that image and found that it was also posted to Pinterest and had been “pinned” a bunch of times. So, not much I can do about that. How many other ones have been pilfered? Makes one wonder.

After some help from the same friend for whom copyright infringement has been an issue, I figured out how to file a complaint against the person through FaceBook. After they told me to stop leaving them comments (I was not harassing, just responding to what they said to me.) or they would report me as SPAM, I left them a comment saying simply that I had reported them for copyright infringement : good luck. This morning when I checked, the person had deleted all their comments back to me, leaving only my one-sided conversation. The photo is still there.

{Off that topic!!}

Too cool myself off from my annoying FaceBook encounter I drove to Skylands for a walk. I needed to get out and about after being so cloistered in the frigid temps of last week. Plus, I find that there is nothing like a walk with the camera to turn my mood around. It wasn’t sunny and the sky was gray, and even though it was near 50 it didn’t feel like it. I still had on a scarf, jacket and fingerless gloves. At least my fingers weren’t freezing like my last walk.

I do love this bottom loop walk with the woods on both sides. As I walked along I had to stop several times just to sniff the air as a pungent scent assailed my olfactory senses. No, wait, ‘sniff’ is not quite right. I inhaled the pungent scent through my nose, pulling it in deeply, taking every aspect of it in and still I could not define it. It was not an autumn scent like the damp, rotting leaves that are left uncovered on the ground now that the snow has melted. It was not a non-scent like winter. No, it was something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. More like an awakening scent. Like spring. It smelled wonderful.

I passed quite a few people out walking enjoying the warmer air. Some with dogs, some with cameras, and some jogging. Everyone nodded and smiled as they went by. One man who was toting a camera asked if I was getting any good shots. I smiled, shrugged and said it was hard to say.

The pileated woodpecker did not make an appearance this time and his pond (it’s real name is Duck Pond but I am going to call it Pileated Pond) was starting to melt but nothing photo-worthy. There was,  however, a woman kneeling by the pond’s edge taking photos. I assumed she was taking photos of the ice or leaves caught in the ice? Whatever it was it had her full attention. When I drove by on my way out after my walk about 45 minutes later she was still there, still hunched over, snapping away. I was thinking she’s going to have a lot of photos that all look alike when she gets home, but she was enjoying herself and that’s all that matters in the end. I do hope she ended up with some shots she really liked.

The little pond on the other side of the loop from Pileated Pond (or it’s more like a swamp actually) was more interesting with its melting reflections.

Almost back to the parking lot I veered off the road and risked life and a few limbs on the slippery mud incline that led down to the stream which is still mostly covered in ice.

I also came across this little waterfall frozen in time as it cascaded over a fallen log.

My mood was much improved after my little walk.

Back on the home front, my little snow squirrel was having a meltdown of its own. I’m amazed that there is anything still left of him! After today/tonight’s expected torrent of rain I’m sure he’ll finally be gone.

(photos:)
‘Pooled’ Cover
Icicle Rock
Swamped Reflections x 3
Brown & White Stream
Frozen Cascade x 2
Snow Squirrel Meltdown