January 21 vs. January 21

What a difference a day makes, or so the song goes. Dinah Washington’s words ring just as true today as they did in 1959. But today let’s exercise a little creative license and stretch the Queen of the Blues’ day-to-day look at how much can change from one day to the next. What about year-to-year or every other year? What about January 21 vs. January 21, two years apart?

Let’s compare two previous “todays” — January 21, 2017 and January 21, 2019 — in photographs that capture just how unlike the two can be.

January 21, 2017

Let’s start eight years ago with snapshots that I took on the waterfront while playing with Griffin, throwing sticks, balls, and frisbees from our beach on an overcast but otherwise balmy mid/late January afternoon. No ice. No snow. Temperate. It could be November. Or March.

Here are three more photos from that oh-so un-January day.

Peculiar pictures from midwinter Adirondack Coast, right? Indeed. At least compared to the *typical* mid/late January day that our imagination might summon from years of experience.

Now let’s somersault two years forward to the same day six years ago. So much less balmy!

January 21, 2019

Barely beyond the drama of a blizzard, Rosslyn is frosted like a gingerbread house. Picture postcard perfect!

Home, boathouse, and barns all resemble the quintessential midwinter memories we trot out to unfamiliar, illustrating the picture book projections of Essex in mid/late January.

Both are real. Both are familiar. Both offer perks. And both are increasingly unpredictable indicators of climate change in action.

January 21 vs January 21

My January 21 vs January 21 comparison doesn’t really offer any useful insight. In fact, even if I were to expand the comparison to three, four, or five years, we probably wouldn’t be able to extrapolate any more useful or predictable pattern. We live in a time of flux, and it’s up to us to appreciate the extremes. Less angst, less worry, and more awe!