The Changing Seasons: January 2016
I have spent the majority of this month in Arizona … an entirely different climate than New England. It was winter there. Which means rainy and — for the southwest — cool. Sometimes a bit chilly at night (which the natives called “cold” and which caused Garry and I to snicker). When the rain ended, the sun came out … brilliantly bright against the vast blue sky.
It’s Big Sky country — a land of mountains and deserts. Palm trees and high prairie. Ironwood and saguaro. It’s where so many of the western movies we love were filmed. It holds a deeply symbolic place in American iconography.
ARIZONA – January 4 – January 16
We came home a couple of days ago and got our first snow the following evening. But this month, it’s mostly Arizona with a taste of wintry New England.
Two very different weather zones and even more different psychological landscapes.
Winter in New England has just begun, has only flexed its frosty fingers. But maybe we’ll get lucky. Maybe it won’t be so bad this time. Maybe.
MASSACHUSETTS – NEW ENGLAND – January 17 – 18
This is the second year of Cardinal Guzman’s year-long project, The Changing Seasons. It’s not a challenge, not a competition. It’s just a way that we can show through our photography the way the world — one particular piece of our world — looks throughout twelve months of the year and all four seasons.
If you are interested in participating, please check out The Changing Seasons 2016, sponsored by Cardinal Guzman. I have found it interesting. Inspiring.
The rules are a bit different this year, requiring only one picture that to you most represents the particular month and season in your corner of the planet Earth. I’m stretching the rules because I’ve got thousands of new pictures from out west. But after this month, I promise to be better … or at least more compliant!
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Categories: #gallery, #Photography, Blackstone Valley, Mountains, New England, Sunset
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
I love the saguaro cacti. They take me back to watching TV westerns as a child. Glad you had a bit of warmth this January Marilyn. Back to normal now 🙂
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I want to go back every winter!
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Beautiful photos! You’ve certainly had a taste of 2 very different Januarys. What an interesting contrast. I wouldn’t mind trying an Arizona version of winter for a change 🙂
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Me neither. We’re trying to figure out a way to afford to go back 🙂
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Are you in the part of the northeast that got hammered with snow yesterday? If so, you have my deepest sympathy. At least it’s only cold here.
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Wonderful contrasts … especially since I’m in Atlantic Canada and not too far from New England. Never been to Arizona, so it looks almost exotic to me.
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It looked pretty exotic to us, too after all these in New England. Right now, it’s snowing to beat the band. Where are palm trees when I need them?
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For once, a snowstorm is going to miss us here. Watching it on CNN 🙂
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I am so happy to be missed. So happy. Although it’s snowing to beat the band at the moment, but I’m not seeing big accumulations. May it stay the way it is!
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I like your blog tagline!
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It reminds me that malice is far rarer than stupidity. These days, stupidity is running rampant.
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I think Einstein was right [if it now is true that he said this]: «Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.»
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Great quote! My email signature line is “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. — Robert Hanlon” It seems far too appropriate these days.
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Ohh … another great one! Every now and then, it happens, I see a good one. Mine is personal; «one god, many faiths, one wold to share»
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So many great photos, so hard to choose.
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And the snow is falling, falling, falling.
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Any place with Palm trees sounds good to me.
Leslie
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I think we have a quorum on that. Palm trees, good. Blizzard, bad.
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Sure hope that storm passes fast and back to our easy winter.
Leslie
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From your mouth … !
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Yeah … incredible isn’t it?! Some places they’re playing golf and sitting by the pool. And we’re shoveling snow.
Trying to remember why I live here?
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Can’t afford to move? That’s our story. Well, not entirely. I love this area. I could just do without so much snow.
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what an amazing opportunity to present 2 so opposite places in one entry. great photos. sunset desert was my favourite in the 1st series and bird in snow in the second.
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Thank you. It was a bit of a contrast, coming home. Especially with some major snow headed our way. I fear the rest of our winter will be spent here in the heart of snow country, but it was lovely to be elsewhere … for a while 🙂
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The difference will soon be even starker – there’s a Nor’ Easter coming this weekend…..
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Thanks for the reminder.
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Sorry… Actually the last I looked it isn’t going to be as bad as they predicted. It looks like Connecticut and the Cape will get hit harder, but the main storm will pound more the DC area.
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So I hear. I am not thrilled about it, either. I hope it’s not a really big one.
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As i just replied to Gary, the forecast isn’t as bad as it was yesterday. You’ll still be hit, but only a few inches.
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Trent, it’s okay. I think we’re stocked up with the essentials and have good stuff to watch and read. As I’ve said in recent years, I’m so very grateful I no longer have to stand in front of a TV camera and freeze the family jewels while reporting the obvious.
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You’re not stretching the rules, there’s two versions of the challenge this year: V1 where you post many photos and V2 where you only post one photo.
Great entry and it’s a big contrast between the two places! The colors in that sunset is just amazing. Thanks for joining in on the challenge in 2016 too. 😀
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Thank you for hosting! I enjoy this project a lot, at least partly because it’s not a contest. I only have to compete with myself. It was interesting to have spent the month in two such opposite environments. I wish I had this opportunity more often 🙂
The sunsets were stunning. Breathtaking. When that reflected red sunlight turned the mountains scarlet, it was a seriously OH WOW moment!
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Quite a difference. Then, even in our small country we have big negative numbers for temperature across much of the country and very small positive numbers where I am. It did drop below freezing a few days ago here, but it was only minus 2 or something.
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Our winter is really just gathering momentum. There a storm heading here for the weekend. I’m hoping the temperatures don’t get too low so that at least some of it will melt. It piles up very quickly when it’s below freezing all the time. Oh sigh. It’s New England and we have weather.
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Beautiful photography. The enormous sky over Arizona is quite breath-taking. The clouds seem to hang so low. Most ‘big’ skies here in the UK are significantly smaller versions! 🙂
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You don’t see sky like that around here either. New England resembles old England in many ways. It’s definitely a western phenomenon. The sky is huge and magnificent.
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Such a large country I can imagine the differences, from Hawaii to Alaska, and even New England to Arizona. In Switzerland you can live in the kanton of Tessin and emjoy a mild climate. In summer it is a holiday area. Live in the highlands and learn to ski and if you live in the lower lands (like us) you have a bit of everything, but at least the roads are cleared when it snows (most of the time).
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Arizona is kind of like that too. Altitude determines the weather as much as latitude. Go up in the mountains and it’s really cold. With snow. And skiing. Which is why we weren’t able to go there … too much snow on the roads and we didn’t have the right vehicle to deal with it. Yet it was shirtsleeve weather in the valley. It makes life interesting, doesn’t it? I’ve always thought mountains the most beautiful places in the world. If I have a choice of where to be, I will always go up rather than to the shore.
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As much as I wanted to see Monument Valley, I was more than happy with the choices we made in Arizona. We got to see lots of cowboy country in mild, therapeutic weather.
My body is back in its normal, whining New England winter mode. And, I know. We ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Just the cold.
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