This is the window in my bedroom, and outside you see the frigid weather we woke up to three weeks ago. So cold, that the windows were fogging up. Fortunately (aside from that freak snowstorm), we have had a bit of reprieve. The snow melted. Maybe because I refused to take any pictures of it, or acknowledge it at all, it went away. Please just let me continue on with that fantasy.

Today, I want to share with you some photos that I’ve taken on my phone over the past few weeks. New England has been bracing itself for winter. We had a brief scare a few weeks ago, but I think most of us agree that we’d prefer to wait for a bit before another blizzard comes along.

We’ve been preparing. Gloves have been purchased (and one mysteriously lost already), and the coats have been taken out of storage. The heat has come on. We have these old radiators that clang and hiss and sound like tea pots. In fact, they sound so much like tea pots, that I routinely find myself running to the kitchen to turn off the burner. This has happened more than a half dozen times.

Even though fall is my favorite season, the quick descent into winter can be stressful, so I try my best to stay active and aware of my surroundings to ward off seasonal blues. Lately, I’ve been taking long walks in the afternoon, listening to RadioLab, from the beginning of season one. Even when I’m having the worst morning, the second I put in my headphones and get moving, things start looking up.

I don’t usually carry my camera with me when I go for long walks, but I do make a point to take photos with my phone. I love that I can capture moments and feelings on a whim, on the device that is always in my pocket. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Halloween in small town New Hampshire has some definite perks. I wasn’t there to trick or treat this year, but I’m sure sorry I missed it. The neighborhood has some hard core celebrators – my favorite being the orthodontist who has a police detail because he hands out super size candy bars. Dan Brown also lives down the road, and puts up a pretty good Halloween scene at the end of his half mile long driveway. Last year it was a graveyard for writers.

And here’s one of the gleeful pumpkin ghouls that popped up all over Portsmouth. This one was in front of our synagogue, screaming out Mazel Tov! Or maybe dancing the Hora? Who knows?

2. Another moment I felt the need to capture was this unicorn birthday party I attended. It also happened to be the birthday party of Raquel, my current favorite kindergartner. Her mom Ruthie is good friends with my mom, and I’ve been pretty lucky to spend time with them since moving back East.

Raquel is brilliant, and quite precocious. She’s a firecracker, and I can’t wait to see her grow up. But for now, I’m enjoying spending time with her at soccer games, and festive occasions like this one. Kids are pretty awesome.

3. I’ve been stumbling across plants that are unwilling to give up for the season. They make me smile every time. I’ve been taking a lot of pictures of my neighborhood, and am constantly surprised at the leaves, plants, and flowers that refuse to die even though the temperature has dipped down into the forties, and probably for good.

I’d also like to note that half of the time my phone captures better macro shots than my camera.

4. This is Hubble, my beloved cousin-dog. He’s a teenager – in human years – so life happens a little bit slower nowadays. In an episode of RadioLab I listened to yesterday, Jad and Robert were discussing how time likely exists at different rates for different animals. Think about how the hummingbird experiences time, versus the time sensation of a whale. Hubble was an energetic puppy, but now he spends most of his life relaxing, and I’m pretty sure that time has slowed down for him. Although, here he is on the kitchen floor, and don’t let the posture fool you, he’ll still jump up for handouts and crumbs.

5. And some more flora, still hanging on. I love these papery husks despite the fact that they look like the wings of moths. Random factoid: I’m actually terrified of butterflies and moths. I sat on one as a child, which started a mortal fear that has lasted for decades. It has gotten better over time, but I once had a legitimate panic attack on a Bloomingdales escalator due to an installation of fake white hanging butterflies. No fun, no sir-ee-bob. I’ve learned to appreciate them from afar, but they still make my adrenaline surge. Sigh.

6. And now, let the festivities begin! I’ve been watching in amusement as people have been going over to select their birds from the plastic wrapped rows at the market. It’s a different ballgame out here, and I sort of miss watching the line wrapped around Drewes’ in Noe Valley. And can I say it? I don’t really even like Turkey… well, maybe the next day in a big pot of Maneshewitz Lima Bean Soup with Barley… but I could probably do without the bird entirely. Blasphemy!