it was sleeting heavily this morning when i left my house to catch the bus into harvard square. by the time i got to the bus stop i was already covered in a thick layer of sleet despite the fact that i had an umbrella (thanks in part to a little bit of that horizontal rain action). there was already someone there waiting, an old woman wearing a heavy parka, her face poking out from the porthole of her closely drawn hood. we smiled to each other in that knowing way. "i didn't think it'd snow today!" i spoke loudly, trying to compensate for the insulating layer of hood covering her ears. "i knew it'd snow, but not like this!" she replied back. we stood there together, smiling, silent, as we were pelted with more sleet. minutes layer the bus came and i sat back in the relaxing warmth of the bus seat, peering out the slightly fogged up windows to the wet landscape passing by outside. bad weather brings people together. no one is above the weather, so when it gets bad, there's a bond that forms between strangers. i've spoken to more commuters the past few weeks of bad weather (which includes bitter morning cold) than i have compared to any other seasons. just this past week a woman waiting for the bus with me shared a special bad weather commuter moment when the bus we were waiting for blew right past us, the driver pointing behind him to signal that there was another bus coming. she and i looked at each other for a second and laughed. "what was that all about?" she asked? "i remember a few years ago, really bad weather, the driver did the same thing and there was no bus behind him. i will never forget that day!" i confessed. "sometimes when i wait outside the station, the buses don't stop either," she added to the pile of confessions. and so it goes. bad weather brings people together. and for that, i'm greatful.

i was coming into town to meet laurie for alternative dim sum. i wouldn't even call it dim sum, more like chinese breakfast items. weekend mornings mary chung's in central square has breakfast specials. it's been a while since we've been there. actually, the first time that i ever came out with laurie for dim sum was at mary chung's (010610, there is no written record of that event however), and that was also the last time i ever went there. i got to central square early and hid out at laurie's apartment watching footloose on tbs (a movie that i've never seen before) and watching her make mix cd's. laurie showed me her broken pinky toe and flinched when i tried to touch it (i'm no doctor, but maybe it's broken). she also showed me where she put her birdfeeder, tied to her fire escape with some wires. we took the car and drove to mary chung's, where laurie walked with a noticeable gait in the slushy sidewalks because of her broken appendage. we were to also meet up with sinali, and she arrived after laurie and i had settled into our booth, warming ourselves up with hot tea. we ordered, we ate, we talked. laurie told us about her school. sinali told us about her new job. i told everyone my failed holiday plans.

after a snowstorm, i can always expect birds to come visit the feeders. today was no exception, and i managed to take a couple of good bird photos.

squirrel

downy woodpecker

bluejay

cardinal (male)

forced miniature daffodils

house finch (male)

house sparrow (female)

junco

basically, the juncos, house finches, and house sparrows were the main visitors to the feeder. juncos i read are ground feeders but they're just as adaptable using the hanging feeders. i didn't see any female house finches, which i thought was kind of weird. occasionally a cardinal would pay a visit. the bluejays were very aggressive, giving a loud squawk and driving away all the other birds when they came to feed, crest raised in a dominance display. the downy woodpecker i saw jumping on a tree, but woodpeckers don't usually visit seed feeders (they like to cling onto something, like a suet cage). there was a squirrel roaming around, picking up any scattered seeds.