Saturday in the Park

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Saturday in the Park

When Alex, Pam, and I decided we would take a trip to the park for a walk on Saturday, the skies were dull with a complete blanket of gray overcast, the wind was brisk, and the television forecast indicated rain would be arriving within an hour. A squall line signaling the front edge of a cold front seemed imminent.

However, by the time we arrived at our destination after a brief five-minute drive, we discovered the cloud cover was breaking and a brilliant sun had begun to shine through spreading openings, lighting the landscape around us. The winds calmed and the temperature grew milder while we strolled along paths through the woods or across the wide lawns, their grass still green in January. Indeed, when we left after getting about an hour of exercise as we viewed the remnants of flowerbeds or the bright leaves yet clinging to thinning trees, clear blue dominated above us.

We were pleased we’d taken the chance and been fortunate to have the conditions improve so quickly and so dramatically, especially since we knew the clearing meant a shift in currents was beginning and the north winds would be kicking in, bringing with them a drastic change in weather. In fact, the extended outlook for the week ahead predicted near-zero temperatures and some snowfall.

Nevertheless, delighted by the surprisingly brightening skies that greeted us upon entering the park, I took the photo above of clouds dissipating, drifting away as the sun started to illuminate the leaves in trees lining a walkway and the benches beneath them. Perhaps I thought I’d choose to review the image during the days of deep frost scheduled to come the rest of the month, like the single-digit reading on the thermometer outside my window as I write this note.

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