A roller coaster ride of weather.
Thursday, January 8, 2026
A gorgeous pink and purple sky to start the day! The colors extended to the south and wrapped around the horizon in a narrow band of clouds. This burst of color only lasted a few moments and then quickly faded. Sadly, my view to the east is completely blocked from here, so I could not see the sunrise itself.
A warm morning with sunshine and very mild temperatures (high of 61°F). Too warm with my fleece jacket but then cold without it. I wish the weather would make up it’s mind.
So here’s a “new year’s” question for you, do you make vision boards? Does that sort of thing help to keep you inspired through the year? Do you set big goals or perhaps craft a simple list of gentle intentions? To be honest, I am not really big on resolutions, the whole concept feels a bit rigid (and sometimes punishing) to me. I believe that any amount of progress should be treated in a positive way (I guess I just prefer positive reinforcement). Mostly, I want to be encouraged to keep going, to keep showing up, even if I can only take baby steps, rather than drawing a hard line in the sand.
Over the past few years, I have had to re-evaluate how I go about setting goals for myself. I have found that breaking bigger tasks down into “micro-tasks” has helped me tremendously. Every small step I complete feels like a win and makes me want to do more. The reality is that life doesn’t always happen on a tidy schedule. Often times what we want and what we need are not the same thing. Flexibility in the face of adversity is what has allowed me to make it this far. Please let me know if you’d like me to talk more about goal setting and my strategies for doing so.
Friday, January 9, 2026
Gentle rainfall sometime after 4 am (can you tell I have trouble sleeping?). I could hear it pattering softly against the window pane. It seems we have a Severe Weather Alert, “gusty winds expected,” with maximum wind speeds of 35 to 45 mph. A large storm system is moving through today (it stretches from Canada to Louisiana). Oh, but what if the rain were snow instead? Then how much accumulation would we get?
In an article on severe weather facts, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory states that, “On average, thirteen inches of snow equals one inch of rain in the US, although this ratio can vary from two inches for sleet to nearly fifty inches for very dry, powdery snow under certain conditions.1” Using those numbers, a half inch of rain would, on average, equal 6.5″ of snow. Seems we get plenty of precipitation, now we just need the temperatures to cooperate! For more precise results, you can check out this Rain-To-Snow calculator.
Saturday, January 10, 2026
An assortment of birds singing on the hillside this morning. The rain from earlier has abated. As I walk down the street, I can see a male cardinal resting atop a small tree and a finch singing heartily from some lower branches. The rest dart about high in the canopy and remain unidentified. So many beautiful songs interwoven and overlapping. A free-form symphony of nature. Robin. Cardinal. Finch. Possibly a Mocking Bird. I am assuming they are so inspired today because of the warm weather (low 60’s). Enjoy it while it lasts dear friends, for it is nothing more than a false spring.
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Father Winter has returned, bringing with him cold temperatures and bitter wind (high of 28°F). The birdsong from yesterday has vanished as if it had never been. I suppose the robins are all huddled in their beds and shan’t come out to play today. A few snowflakes are buffeted about on their way to the ground. They almost seem to fly upwards instead of down. No real snow accumulation is expected.
January 12, 2026
A clear and cold morning with pale pastel blue skies (25°F). I am cold in the house even with my fleece lined pants on. Since the Winter Solstice, we have gained 15 minutes of daylight here in Cincinnati. Maybe that doesn’t seem like much, but taking note of it from time to time reminds me that we ARE gaining and ever so slowly moving towards spring. The forecast is calling for snow Friday into Saturday. I hope we get to see more fluffy white flakes!
The sunset was beautiful and it lingered for a long while. Slowly the clouds grew tinged with pink and even after that faded the western sky was a deep gradient of reds and oranges that blended into the dark sky above. I would have liked to take more pictures but I had my hands in the sink doing dishes.
What have you noticed in nature today?
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.”
– Unknown