My Red Umbrella

The weather forecast was calling for 2 to 4 inches of fresh snow on this day, with dropping temperatures. Back into the deep freeze we go! I took the bus to work, just in case. When the weather's iffy, I prefer not to drive.

So I packed my daysack and caught the bus just before dawn. It was snowing, but not very heavily. I was bundled up, my camera bag tucked under my coat for safe keeping, my umbrella over my head. The first blast of wind caught it and turned it inside out. I felt like some awkward version of Mary Poppins, unable to control my own umbrella.

I usually snag a few pictures on campus between buses, and on this day, I tried, I swear I did. But somehow, while there wasn't a great volume of snow falling, it was whipping around from every direction at once. The wind was doing a lot with what it had to work with.

I took a few careful shots from under a roof here and there, but it was a frustrating experience. Dig under the coat to get to the camera bag, quickly pull out the camera, turn away from the wind, take off the lens cap, snap a shot, check for snowflakes on the lens, quickly put the lens cap back on, and back goes the camera into the camera bag.

When I got to my office, I left the umbrella opened up on the floor to dry out, and it looked so lovely sitting there that I just had to snap a few shots: a flash of color in my winter world.

It may be swirling snow and bitter cold outside. But beneath my red umbrella, it is always summer in my heart.

The song: The Hollies, Bus Stop.