Winter Doldrums

A few weeks ago, on a cold weekday morning, the alarm clock jarred me from a sound sleep. I usually wake up on my own just before the alarm, and on this particular day it was probably the 5th time in a row that I had been really sound asleep at 6:10 a.m. And in all of those cases, I was asleep before 10 p.m. the night before. I realized on that day, that I was having a case of Winter Blahs. Winter in Pennsylvania can be more than a little depressing. Not only was it making me want to sleep all the time, but I realized that it was making my artwork suffer as well. I hadn't even bothered taking my camera with me anywhere lately. So my wife and I decided to do something about it. We decided to take a nice day trip to Longwood Gardens. If you are unfamilar with Longwood, it's a slice of botanical heaven on earth. On a huge property left to the community by the DuPont family now sits acres of gardens, fountains, and a huge conservatory filled with eternal springtime. I remember always going as a child. My parents would take us in the winter time, and inside it's warm, the grass is green and there is always some sort of flower in bloom. It's an amazing place. And today, since its so close to Valentine's Day, they had some special romantic type events. They had a strolling violinist, 2 piano concerts, and a cooking class/demonstration. After a few hours in the warmth I felt absolutely recharged. And, of course, I dusted off my camera and snapped almost 200 shots.