I live where it snows, now

 And apparently that means I get to see things like this.

Barry

There was (apparently) a barred owl in New York that drew the attention of people because of her (researchers said it was a her) comfort with humans. She died last week, and the New York Times published a really lovely story about what she meant to the community. 

It's not every day you read a moving tribute to an owl. But I highly recommend. (Also: The photo of her gazing at her reflection is sublime.) 

Snow plows

It's snowing all over the place today (though not where I am). Because I am jealous -- and because they're hysterical -- I was delighted to learn that Scotland names its snow plows, the better for tracking them.

Some examples include The Great Grittish Flake-Off, William Wall-Ice, Sled Zeppelin and Salt Disney. But there are many, many, many more. And they are glorious.

Fresh pasta

I called a friend on a whim as I was driving near her house to see if she might want to eat falafel with me in her driveway. Sounds great, she said, but I'm already making pasta. How does that sound? 

Pretty delicious, actually. Tasted pretty delicious, too. She'd made pesto the night before, so my heaping pile of spaghetti was topped with fresh pesto and a generous helping of parmesan. And she sent me home with peppermint bark, on top of that. 

An excellent detour, and nice to have a tiny bit of spontaneity when it's so hard to these days. 

The sky

Today, the sky was lavender. Probably a combination of storm clouds and sunset. It was vibrant and unexpected and gorgeous. 

Read the comments

I always go into a comment section with apprehension. But seeing this as the first one on a story I wrote this week made me smile so big:

"I knew I'd love this article after the first sentence."

It had multiple likes, too. And as nice as it is to get feedback from strangers, it was even greater to hear from friends and colleagues who thought it was good. Hooray.

Favorite words

One of the options on a press-one-for-X menu I called today included hearing a radio personality say her favorite words. 

So I did! And she did. Among them: splendid and hilarious.