Walking. As a floating, fluffy daisy seed.

Posted on by Live & Learn

6:25 am. 5° F, feels like Antarctica. Wind gusts up to 31 mph. Dorothy Parker’s: “What fresh hell is this?”

Cut me some slack people, I know that I’ve used her line many times in my posts, but it’s the only jingle that captures this moment. Many moments these days actually.

You know the drill. Cove Island Park morning walk. @ Daybreak.

I pull into the parking lot. And there I Sit, with the car running, the heater blowing.

I give myself a little pep talk. “Come on DK. Come on. A couple of snaps and back in the car. “ A wind gusts slam the car. I shift in my seat.

I see my middle-aged runner friend in the distance. She sees me in the car, and waves. Good God Man. Have you no pride? I yearn for those days when little would stop me.

I admire the 4’ Something Mighty-Mite, and her short choppy strides as she pushes her way against the polar wind.

And there’s me. 3/4s of the way through Highsmith’s Diary. “As Merely a floating, fluffy daisy seed. Now you have it, now you haven’t, now you have. No, it’s gone.”

I can’t get out. I just can’t.

I check my watch. 30 minutes to sunrise.

I pull out of the lot and drive to Calf Pasture Beach. Seeking inspiration.

And I find it.

I walk out to the end of the boardwalk.

The sun rises, urging the mist up over the water.

Frostbite circles my fingertips. And I snap, and snap and snap.

The floating, fluffy daisy seed. Now you have it. And it. And it. And it.

Hold that Moment.

Notes:

  • Photos: DK @ Daybreak. 7:18 to 7:45 am, January 15, 2022. 5° F (-15 C), feels like -9° F (-23 C). Calf Pasture Beach, Norwalk, CT. See more photos here.
  • Thank you Val. Thanks for checking in. You inspired this post this morning.

37 thoughts on “Walking. As a floating, fluffy daisy seed.”

  1. Hey, you got up and you went out… and I’m glad you drove to this other inspiration. That first shot is amazing. Kudos to you!
    I’m still sitting on my duff, wondering if I’ll get the cojones to go out there…

          1. Right now I am reading “Cider with Rosie” by Laurie Lee – I cannot remember who suggested it but it’s really enjoyable. And yet again, the first in three books… sigh.

  3. I can so relate… “What fresh hell is this,” as I gaze out my kitchen window with a fresh cup of coffee in hand! 😉
    But, I’ll bundle up and go for a morning walk in the cold winter wind…

      1. We’re actually getting a Chinook here but the wind has a bite. I’m going to go out and enjoy the Chinook’s bite today and tomorrow… The forecast is saying, “Winter is coming” back… 😉

  5. That lighthouse shot! WOW!!!!

    And… hmmm… maybe you should change your title from “I can’t sleep” to “I can’t get out of the car” 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Good for your for getting out of it though — With Beaumont’s constant reminders that he needs a walk, no matter the weather, there is no, ‘I’m not going out’. 🙂

  7. Wow, pal, I know it’s a bit nippy in your neck of the woods these days, but your photos are on 🔥! Gorgeous. And like Dale said, “ You got up.” ☺️

    I spent a couple of hours walking in Myakka River State Park yesterday.

    https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/myakka-river-state-park

    Saw gators big enough to saddle and ride…amazing. The sun on my back, the breeze on my face, and the glories of Mother Nature all around. Doesn’t get any better. ❤️

  9. You manage to make me laugh through it all… When a statement like Dorothy Parker’s so so apt, it’s always fresh. 5* ! [12* here, inside looking out at grays.]That first photo (6:25) looks like an orange sky with an atomic bomb mushroom cloud explosion–fantastical! Then after 7am, the lighthouse looks like it’s unreal and trying to manifest on the water. And, last, the bomb of light somehow floating in the otherworldly sky–is that the fluffy daisy seed? The light came through the cold! Look what you gave us by getting there!

  10. Don’t you know that us vertically challenged folks contain the stubbornness of a Yeti. If you’re over 5’5”, just applaud, pal..it’s no contest. And if you insist on comparing, she’s probably thinking you’re a professional photographer in mega-great shape, so no need to fight the elements.

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