The Weather

Maybe it’s because I’m fully retired, with idle time on my hands, that I focus so much on the weather forecast. February and March have been rough months for us here in SW Virginia this year: below normal temperatures, lots of rain and some snow, and too many cloudy, dreary days that affected my attitude. Numerous smartphone weather Apps overload me with information. Long range forecasts depress me when they point to a continuation of bad weather. Today I’m in that predicament. The first day of Spring just passed and cold and snowy weather is predicted. This photo sums up my mood in that regard.

I know better than to let this sort of thing affect me, but it does anyway. There’s a saying, “One can make their own weather … even if it’s in the mind.” I can’t control the weather but I can control how I react to it. The weather conditions and environment in the following photo is what I choose to focus on this week. How can I be any happier remembering that moment when I captured the image in Alaska last August.

While in Alaska for a week, the weather was absolutely top-of-the-line. Mostly clear blue skies, long range views, warm temperatures, little if any rain, and total bliss as far as the incredible scenery was concerned. It was easy to be pleased with the weather then. What I have to do right now, dreary as it is outside, is to have the same level of joy I had in Alaska. Make my own weather.